The Lord of the Bible?

[Macalaure]

Originally Posted by me

I start to get the feeling we're all talking past each other.

I should keep to my own words. I don't think we actually disagree. What you call the ultimate goal to understand Tolkien's works better I called searching for answers even if there might be none - and by this understanding Tolkien's works better.

Originally Posted by Mansun

Ridiculing opinions, to my mind, is the wrong approach. A balanced arguement is probably the best method.

If you felt like I ridiculed your opinion then I apologise - honestly. That was not my intention at any rate.

Agreeing or disagreeing is acceptable. But discarding???

If you're able to prove an opinion wrong or incoherent, then discarding it is the only thing left to do. (Take an absurd example: "In my opinion elf women had beards." is a wrong opinion) In reality, sadly, one can usually achieve little more than rendering an opinion implausible, if at all.