LoTR discussion project: Book III, Chapters 8 and 9:

[Bombadillo]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

In a way I always see LoTR as a testament of Tolkien's mind, but not one that was written fully knowing. LoTR holds all the elements and ideals that were dear to Tolkien. LoTR, in my opinion, tells you more about the way Tolkien thought than merely being a show case for Christian themes he valued.

That was very well put, and I think you're right.

Yesterday I suddenly remembered some more of the details of that Lewis-Tolkien deal. The plan was that they would write trilogies that would complement each other, one about space, one about time, both with sneaky Christian undertones. Lewis obviously wrote the "Space Trilogy," and Tolkien barely began his time trilogy before deciding that he could get the same themes across in another, better way. He never went through with it. I found out about it through Wikipedia IIRC, and they were inspecific as to what else he had in mind. I suspect he wasn't sure himself, but the themes certainly did shine through in LotR.