I'd agree with you, Mad Sweeney, that Tolkein would disagree with you about "Lord of the Rings". His modern myth is a subtle retelling of the religious story.
How about these?
"Inspirational" stories without religion?
by Mad Sweeney 14 Replies latest jw friends
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Mad Sweeney
Good ones, everybody. Thanks.
Just re-read my OP. Didn't mean to imply LotR was anti-religious, or lump it in with Pullman. What I had in my head is what the quote above from "Letters" states, that there isn't religion in it (at least not overtly). Good versus evil doesn't imply religion to me and despite what Tolkien said later in life, LotR is not a religious book unless you are looking for it. If you seek it, you can see the invisible hand of providence and the faith of several of the protagonists throughout, but as Tolkien said, religious practices - which is what I mean by religion (personal faith isn't "religion" to me), are not in the story.
The Silmarillion, on the other hand, is entirely mythical - with elements of religious ritual in it.
Hope I'm making more sense now. I should not have included that sentence in the same paragraph as the Pullman one. FWIW however, the Pullman books are great in their own right, IMO.
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jgnat
Great thread, Mad Sweeny. I have a special interest in the relationship between Tolkein and C. S. Lewis. Tolkein wrote a masterpiece, a carefully crafted world with it's own history, language...everything. What a delightful world must have lived in his head. I read he was right ticked when C. S. Lewis ran with the idea and cobbled something together from existing mythology. All the public adoration, at a fraction of the work!
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Mad Sweeney
I find both Lewis AND Tolkien inspiring, but not Peter Jackson, I'm afraid.
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jgnat
Sometimes imagination is better than 3D.