[Nogrod]

Thank's for the appreciation Boro. That kind of assures me there's something interesting in there...

I mean yes, there are a host of speculation of things between Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their different views on allegory and parable, on symbolic and mythic tales etc. The prof's uneasiness with things Lewis exploited in the Narnia chronicles come to mind once again.

But also it seems to me it's clear Tolkien is a catholic writer, not a protestant one.

Avoiding the pure Good vs. Evil as too Manichean thought-lines in the world of ours he goes to pity vs. malice and mercy vs. revenge (so central to the teachings of Jesus!), and adds there the benevolent "something" many Christians call providence... and with the famous line of "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us" he then relies on the basic concept of the choice and what will come out of it so central to catholicism compared to protestant churches where according to Luther "nothing we do will make us dearer to God" (that's not a quote but a principle).