the religion of Sauron vs religion of Morgoth
PJ the White > March 9th, 2003, 11:22 AM
I don't really have any answers to your questions but I have some of my own. The extract about Sauron claiming to be Morgoth returned is most interesting. I had always wondered whether Sauron had continued to worship his former master after his casting out into the Void and whether he was ultimately hoping to bring him back into Arda somehow - by claiming to BE Morgoth himself however, Sauron would appear to be commiting blasphemy (or am I wrong?).
Perhaps this is why (during the Third Age anyway) Sauron permitted none of his servants (with the possible exception of the Mouth of Sauron) to speak his real name. I doubt any of the free peoples of the West would believe his claims to be Morgoth returned - if he did indeed voice them. His claims probably had more effect in the East where men had lived under the shadow of Morgoth and this helped him to recruit such large hosts.