The Ring and the Cross

[tumhalad2]

This article is pretty interesting food for thought:

The Ring and the Cross

But no discussion of Tolkien and religion should miss this:

Light From an Invisible Lamp

I find both treatments really interesting; they present a somewhat different view to the usual "Tolkien was Catholic writer, period" argument. Madsen's essay in particular is thought provoking.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by tumhalad2

I find both treatments really interesting; they present a somewhat different view to the usual "Tolkien was Catholic writer, period" argument. Madsen's essay in particular is thought provoking.

I would dispute that's the "usual view" at all; it's the view of some commentators. (And, in fact, note that the first article says, "quite a few" critics take this tack, not that it's anything like a universally accepted opinion.) Although I don't think this is mentioned in either the article or the book extract, I'd guess a good deal of it has been a response to the various scares associating fantasy fiction with the occult.

Apart from that, though, some people in general have what I consider a very odd attitude to reading books; they feel it somehow wrong to enjoy anything that doesn't actively and explicitly promote their religious beliefs– or, as it may be, their political and social views– and have to do all kinds of mental gymnastics to "prove" that it's okay to like whatever they happen to like. (I'm not, in fact, sure that the author of the second piece isn't doing this a little bit herself)

So, indeed, a writer who is a Catholic is not necessarily a "Catholic writer" in the sense you evidently mean.

[narfforc]

The ONE THING that turns me off more than anything in the world..... is trying to find religion in The Lord of the Rings, especially Christianity, if anything it is Paganistic. Why do they continually try a promote one myth through another.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by narfforc

The ONE THING that turns me off more than anything in the world..... is trying to find religion in The Lord of the Rings, especially Christianity, if anything it is Paganistic. Why do they continually try a promote one myth through another.

I think people generally see in works of art, be they paintings, songs, or books, what they want to see, and what they can see based upon their own experience. There are elements in the book that appear to have Christian overtones. As you say though, there are also bits that aren't necessarily in line with Biblical teachings and are based on other things. I think that's a prime reason for the popularity of the books across so many varied ethnicities and backgrounds.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Zil

I think people generally see in works of art, be they paintings, songs, or books, what they want to see, and what they can see based upon their own experience. There are elements in the book that appear to have Christian overtones. As you say though, there are also bits that aren't necessarily in line with Biblical teachings and are based on other things. I think that's a prime reason for the popularity of the books across so many varied ethnicities and backgrounds.

I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out Christian elements; that's not the same thing as making out the whole book's a tract or allegory, though.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out Christian elements; that's not the same thing as making out the whole book's a tract or allegory, though.

That's not limited to LOTR. I've seen people ascribe the meaning of Orwell's 1984 as everything from merely anti-communist, to a warning against the dehumanization of mankind, to the claim that "the point of 1984 is that a productive and free society cannot help but be luxurious and self-governing". Maybe it's none of the above, or all of them at once. People are going to read into works whatever meaning they like.