The White Council

Re: More on Tolkien and Christianity

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : [Lots of snippage]

: : : as for the Feanor-Adam thing: indeed there is a rebellion against the will of god, and after the temptings of the snake(sauron), but there are many differences: the temptation in "genesis" was knoweledge, here it is power. Adam was exiled by god, Feanor exiles himself. the sin is also different: in the bible it is acting against a rule of god, in "the Simarilion" it is something more between Elf to Elf, and the sin was never directly spoken against (the sin is the kinslaying, ofcourse). the stories can seem parallel from afar, but not in close-medium details.

: : The point is not whether the stories are parallel in "close-medium details" but rather if they are what inspired Tolkien. Therefore, when you say that they "can seem parallel from afar" you are hitting the nail on the head because this is what Tolkien wanted...a slight parallel, not an overwhelming allegory.

: actually, what slightly angered me was: "There can be no doubt : that Tolkien's world view is essentially Christian. The Silmarillion holds many parallels to the Bible that are : impossible to ignore" : a bit too decisive to my taste... : I'm not against saying Tolkien took some details, or world aspects, from christianity into his work. that was very likely to happen, and must have happened, after all Tolkien was a christian in a christian land, in a time almost the whole world seemed to be christian. What I think is wrong to say is that ALL, or even Most of ME world was influenced heavily from christianity, it is also wrong, to my opinion, to say that Tolkien wrote a christian work (if you say he has, then you actually say almost every book written by a christian is a christian book, as every book by a jewish is a jewish book, and by every book by an islamic is an islamic book). : In my opinion, Tolkien's work and stories (but not likely his world-view, which was probably christian) was much more influenced by norsk (if that's the right word) mythologies, and he actually set out to write such a mythology.

I agree totally. This point of view is also held by Tolkien because if it was a "Christian" book with "Christian" themes it would be allegorical, which, we all hopefully know, it isn't.