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Originally Posted by davem
Well, this illustrates the problem in attempting to Christianise non-Christian things.
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I don't disagree. But, given his beliefs, could Tolkien really do anything else? And, if we are to address the positive moral messages that we might draw from his tales in a "real life" moral context (as we regularly do on this forum), should we also not consider the moral dilemmas that they might present on the same basis?
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Originally Posted by davem
I suspect that if Tolkien had called the creatures Demons rather than Goblins no-one would have even asked whether it was 'fair' that they should be condemned to a life of evil.
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But, had he called them Demons, that would have suggested that they had chosen an evil path. I can accept that those who have chosen evil, such as fallen Maia like Sauron and the Balrogs, suffering for their choice. What is more difficult to accept is that those born as Orcs, with no choice in the matter, should suffer for their intrinsically evil nature.