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Originally Posted by littlemanpoet
Other members of the Downs will contend with great erudition that the Sil and LotR are no more Christian than they are Buddhist, Pagan, or what have you. I think they have a difficult case, though, seeing as Tolkien himself was Christian, and stated that LotR was consciously Christian in the revision.
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I've stated before that the whole 'consciously so in the revision' thing, its simply not sustainable. I'm not saying Tolkien was lying - I'm sure he believed that - but if you can find any examples in HoM-e vols 6-9 where the revised LotR is more obviously Christian in form or content than the earlier drafts please show me them. In the Letters in particular we see Tolkien on the defensive a great deal of the time, being challenged by Christian readers on the orthodoxy of many elements of the story. Tolkien is clearly thinking in his feet in many of those letters & attempting to convince himself as much as his correspondents of the Christianity of his story.
As to finding clear & obvious 'Christian' elements/themes in the story. I suppose you can, but only if you know nothing of myth & fairy story. Incarnate spiritual/magical beings who die & are resurrected are legion - Odin, Osiris, Leminkainen, Llew Llaw Gyffes. The victory of the small insignificant youngest son achieved through an act of kindness to another, the lost King who returns to save his people - all these themes are commonplace in non-Christian traditions.
I'm reminded of an anecdote in 'The People's Guide to Tolkien'. The writer relates seeing a grandmother with her grandson in a bookshop, pointing out LotR & telling him he should read it, because it was a Christian book & would do him good.