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by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on September 16th, 2008
by Freagartach the Answerer on October 27th, 2008
by singwell-is off researching a lot on September 28th, 2008
by JamesWW on September 28th, 2008
by Brian I on September 16th, 2008
by MG1942 Has a Life Penguin on September 16th, 2008
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
by Someguy on November 2nd, 2008
by Stargater on October 12th, 2008
by WiseOldUnicorn on September 19th, 2008
by MG1942 Has a Life Penguin on September 16th, 2008
by Halskiisaklink on September 16th, 2008
by BigDaddyBS on November 2nd, 2008
by Galeanda on November 2nd, 2008
by BeenThereWillShare on November 2nd, 2008
by Anonymous on November 2nd, 2008
In "The Songs of Distant Earth", (Spoiler Alert) how did the Thalassans survive the Tsunami?
by asimore on February 21st, 2012
| 1 person likes this
Does this sound like a good story? Can you help me take it further?
by mmroxmyworld on December 16th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
Do you think that there is a serect world around us that we don't know about?
by kmonet94 on November 12th, 2011
| 2 people like this
Do you like being lost in more than one different fantasy world at the same time?
by A on February 3rd, 2012
| 1 person likes this
if you could chose between your life and a james patterson character would you?
by gigpug on March 1st, 2012
| 1 person likes this
You're reading Besides the Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books, have there ever been any science fiction books that even approached the standard of "literature" (as opposed to "pulp")?
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Comments
I didn't know that JRR was a Christian.
by Amorphous Blob on September 16th, 2008
He was a devout Catholic and best friend of C.S. Lewis, who was one of the top theologians of the last century.
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on September 16th, 2008
it's odd then that the hardcore Christians want Harry Potter books banned.
by JamesWW on October 12th, 2008
I think that people want it banned without having read it. The Bible does say not to have anything to do with witches. But I think the book is pretty much written so that the magic is just a plot vehicle. It gets you to read the book. But the story would be the same if the students were studying chemistry, which is basically what their herbology is. It comes down to a struggle between good and evil, and the winner wins because of love and self-sacrifice, not because of extraordinary skill or power.
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on October 12th, 2008
I think it's more along the lines of the old witch hunts. But you're right it's mostly because they hear wizards and witchcraft is involved and they think all that has to do with the devil
by JamesWW on October 12th, 2008
Well, there is a lot of evil in it. But there is also a mere weak boy, with a small talent, who is battling it with love and sacrifice. There is a large part of the population who wouldn't have read it if Harry had been praying, but God has always used the small and the weak. I don't think you are right about the old witch hunts. I don't think most Christians even think about that. But the witchhunts came from that verse in the Bible that says we shouldn't have anything to do with witches. Unfortunately, like most Christians, I think they were blinded into taking matters into their own hands instead of asking God first. We are all prone to the sin of pride.
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on October 12th, 2008
... Lord of the Rings was not meant to be perceived as having Christian themes....
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
I think Tolkein would disagree with you on that.
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on November 2nd, 2008
I think I've read his biography, and he had no intention to make a story with Christian themes.
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
More over, Tolkien was Catholic, true, but by no means devout. Lewis most certainly was, but not Tolkien.
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
In his last interview in 1971, Tolkien stated that he did not intend The Lord of the Rings as a Christian allegory and that Christ is not depicted in his fantasy novels. When asked about the efforts of the trilogy's hero, Frodo, to struggle on and destroy the ring, Tolkien said, "But that seems I suppose more like an allegory of the human race. I've always been impressed that we're here surviving because of the indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible odds: jungles, volcanoes, wild beasts... they struggle on, almost blindly in a way" (Interview by Dennis Gerrolt; it was first broadcast in January 1971 on BBC Radio 4 program "Now Read On"). That doesn't sound like the gospel to me. When Gerrolt asked Tolkien, "Is the book to be considered as an allegory?" the author replied, "No. I dislike allegory whenever I smell it."
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/tolkien-lordoftherings.html
If you still do not believe me, I invite you to do some more research, but it would be useless, as you'd find the answer I gave you to be correct.
As a correction to my previous statement however, I double checked to make sure I was right and it turned out Tolkien was devout, however he disagreed with some of the church's decisions over the years.
Its been a while since I read the biography, I apologize.
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
I read his biography too, and like you, its been a few years. I know he didn't set out to write allegory, but I think it is inevitable that what he believed crept into his work. I think it is almost impossible to write something that doesn't reflect what you believe.
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on November 2nd, 2008
True, but nonetheless, he did not intend it to be an allegory, and thus people should not state that it was. Its one thing to interpret it for yourself, but people widely publicize the novels as Christian allegories, and they're just not.
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008
** Intend them
by Caffenated llama of flourescent doom on November 2nd, 2008