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Originally Posted by Formendacil
I wonder...
Throughout most of this thread, it seems to me, you have argued on the side of Eru is not God.
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Actually, I've said that I think Eru was the same God Tolkien believed in & the one he worshipped. I do, however, think that Tolkien's concept of God was somewhat 'unorthodox', to say the least. Tolkien clearly found something in old world paganism that he felt was necessary, & he created a secondary world where pagan gods could exist under His God, rather than being cast out & demonised by Him.
LotR, taken as a stand alone novel, could have been written by a Pagan, & I think that's why so many Pagans have taken it to their hearts. There is nothing uniquely 'Christian' in LotR. Only when LotR is read in the light of the Sil does it become part of Tolkien's 'Christian' mythology. Let's face it, if there is a 'Deity' in LotR, it is the 'Goddess' Elbereth, not Eru. In fact, all the references to 'meaning' in LotR could be taken to apply to Her.
In short, I think if we only had LotR & knew nothing of its author's life & beliefs I can't help thinking that no Christian would make a claim to its being a Christian work by a Christian author - though they may notice some 'similarities' between Galadriel/Mary, Lembas/the Host, etc.