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I didn't realize there was any Christian theme in Lord of the Rings at all. I also had no idea he was a Catholic (had to check wikipedia) either. On my flight to San Francisco last December I did watch the Tolkien biopic and I don't think there were any mentions of his religious beliefs.
 
Black Wizard said:
I didn't realize there was any Christian theme in Lord of the Rings at all. I also had no idea he was a Catholic (had to check wikipedia) either. On my flight to San Francisco last December I did watch the Tolkien biopic and I don't think there were any mentions of his religious beliefs.
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Yeah, the biopic pissed off most Christians (me included) because of that. He was rather devout and it played a big role in his life (like his relationship with his wife and the way they got together, for example), it's quite apparent from his letters.

Like I said, I chose him as my patron saint, although he's not canonized officially. And I did not do that just because I'd like elves and hobbits. (well, I actually like hobbits a lot, but you get my drift)
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
I wondered which features Tolkien would deem unacceptable.
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Oh sorry, I misunderstood you.
Treachery, I guess, the chthonic and shamanic aspects, basically all the more sinister and "negative" ones.
Some of them went to Sauron apparently (Necromancer of Dol Guldur in an earlier incarnation, and if Odin's not a necromancer I don't know who is; and I'm not even mentioning the Eye symbolism).
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
I heard that the inspiration for Mordor was Birmingham :lol:
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Probably. Parts of it were highly industrialized at the time and a huge contrast from the Shropshire countryside.

There are various buildings in Birmingham which are alleged to have inspired the tower at Isengard and the Minas Tirith/Morgul towers. For example,

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This is the clock tower at the University of Birmingham. Tolkien went to school right beside the university and would have been very familiar with the university campus.

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This is Perrot's Folly in Edgbaston, north of the university. I'm not sure what the original point in the building was, but I think it might have been used as an astronomical observatory for a while and was definitely used for taking meteorological observations until 1960.
 
I don't know enough about Tolkien's works to comment on that. I always felt that the "all seeing eye" of Sauron was metaphorical rather than Sauron assuming the physical form of an eye.
 
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