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Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar
Please remember to keep your posts in the context of Tolkien's works - this is not a general theological discussion!
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Sorry, Esty, but it actually became a theological discussion a long time back. However, we've decided that its relevant in the context of what we know of Inklings discussions. The point is exploring how 'Christian' a work the Legendarium is - hence we have to decide what constitutes 'Christian' (as opposed to 'religious') in this context, & how relevant that is. This effectively requires us to discuss general theology.
My position is that what is uniquely 'Christian' is the Incarnation, Crucifixion & Resurrection of Christ (& I suppose the idea of a 'personal relationship with the Creator) & that anything else in Christianity is shared with other religions like Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, & philosphies like humanism, Platonism, et al. As none of those four things is present in the Ledgendarium generally or LotR specifically I can't see how it can be called a 'Christian' work.
Obviously the nature of Christianity has to be established before we can determine whether LotR is a specifically 'Christian' work.