You say 'Faeries' & I say 'Fairies'

[davem]

Originally Posted by LMP

Again, I think that he did not believe faery to be objectively real (i.e., primary belief). However, he achieved secondary belief in faery for the sake of his story so that he could write it in such a way that others could do the same.

Being the believer I am, however, I can't (and don't want to) get away from the idea that even faeries have at least the relation to a Creator of having been, well, created.

Spot the difference? You say Tolkien didn't believe Faery to be objectively real - you, however, 'can't (and don't want to) get away from the idea that even faeries have at least the relation to a Creator of having been, well, created.' You seem to suggest that Tolkien saw Faery as another term for the human imagination & didn't believe it to have any existence beyond that - hence Faeries are created by humans & have only 'secondary' existence. You, however, want to think of Faeries as being created by God & therefore as having 'primary' existence.

The question, perhaps, is which did Tolkien set out to do - 'baptise' Faery, or 'baptise' the human imagination?

(Oh, of course, the other question is, did he succeed in whichever he set out to do?)