LOTR & Spirituality

Lil_Roo · 10-04-2005, 10:21 AM

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am doing some reasearch on LOTR for my 3rd yr dissertation and I would love people's input. If you could take a moment to answer the following question:

Has LOTR has any deep impact on your spiritual journey and if so in what way? (Either films or books but please state which or both)

If you don't feel comfortable posting here, please send me a message or email. By the way, this is any kind of spirituality, you don't have to be of a particular religion or belief but if you follow a particualr religion, please let me know if you answer!

Thank you very much

-Emily

***Sister Golden Hair*** · 10-04-2005, 10:52 AM

Hello Lil_Roo and welcome to Entmoot.

I am moving your thread to the Lord of the Rings forum, and you will find that we already have a numerous amount of spiritual threads in the General Messages forum. Please feel free to participate in any one of them.

Again, welcome and enjoy your stay.

brownjenkins · 10-04-2005, 11:14 AM

welcome! good question... i'm not spiritual, but since lotr is something i read at a very young age (my first "adult" book), it certainly had an effect on my outlook on life... will try to add some detailed thoughts later

Spock · 10-04-2005, 11:43 AM

The Gaffer · 10-04-2005, 12:18 PM

I'm not religious, but I would say that LOTR hooked into a spiritual aspect of how I relate to the natural world. Like BJ, I was probably at a particularly susceptible age, but LOTR embeds respect for nature in a way that I have not seen elsewhere.

Specifically, good things in LOTR are the ones which respect and live in harmony with their environment while evil things are the ones which don't.

olorin hamfast · 10-04-2005, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil_Roo

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am doing some reasearch on LOTR for my 3rd yr dissertation and I would love people's input. If you could take a moment to answer the following question:

Has LOTR has any deep impact on your spiritual journey and if so in what way? (Either films or books but please state which or both)

If you don't feel comfortable posting here, please send me a message or email. By the way, this is any kind of spirituality, you don't have to be of a particular religion or belief but if you follow a particualr religion, please let me know if you answer!

Thank you very much

-Emily

Its possible that people, religious or not, select spiritual meaning from anything that stimulates it. A psychologist(cant remember the name) did a thesis on the soul and how (it) sings the blues by nature, even if the individual has no interest in the blues or is not musically inclined. I believe Mr Tolkien related personal spirituality in his writings, particularily in his elvish hymns, if you will. His higharchy has Eru on top, and others that follow with Mithrandir as some sort of angel from heaven who has come to help the little folk. I believe it bears some similaritites to popular religions. The Silmarillion is a good study of that, although I myself havent read any of it for many years; i have to finish reading the LotR aloud before i even think of going there! But as an agnostic, it fills a spiritual role for me. Hooray for JRR

Spock · 10-04-2005, 04:09 PM

I hates the blues, I loves the reds. I also believe in Hobbits.

olorin hamfast · 10-04-2005, 04:23 PM

Red smarties? you eat the red ones last?

Curubethion · 10-04-2005, 10:21 PM

I'm not quite sure yet how much of an impact LOTR has had on me, but I do know it's chock full of Catholic allegory. Yes, I will answer objections, starting with Lotesse

P.S., welcome to the moot, Lil Roo

...you should get an avatar.

rohirrim TR · 10-05-2005, 11:29 AM

techically LOTR has spirutual applicability, not allegory, tolkien himself despised allegory and all its forms, granted there is a spirutual applicability that i'm sure you and Lotesse can argue about

Spock · 10-05-2005, 12:18 PM

What?????????

Lotesse · 10-05-2005, 12:21 PM

Lotesse whispers behind hand, little smile on my face *shhh! they're trying to sound like intellectuals; let 'em play!

*

Spock · 10-05-2005, 12:29 PM

my friends in London have a name for such people: "twits".

rohirrim TR · 10-05-2005, 02:57 PM

you have friends??

just kidding

Spock · 10-05-2005, 03:01 PM

Oh, jocularity, I recognize that.

inked · 10-05-2005, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohirrim TR

techically LOTR has spirutual applicability, not allegory, tolkien himself despised allegory and all its forms, granted there is a spirutual applicability that i'm sure you and Lotesse can argue about

rTR,

YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!!!!!!!

APPLICABILITY DOES NOT EQUAL ALLEGORY!

Just thought I'd let you know you were right and all...

.

See The Choice in Middle Earth thread for pertinent applicable commentary.

rohirrim TR · 10-05-2005, 06:11 PM

thanks, at least someone agrees, or at least seems to agree

There really is a lot of symbolism that can be applied to life in LOTR and as tolkien was catholic i'm sure there are some parts of LOTR that were influenced by his faith

Curubethion · 10-05-2005, 07:15 PM

Whoops I think I used the wrong term...not allegory, but "suspicious similarities". For example, March 25 (the day the Ring was destroyed) coincides with the traditional date of the Crucifixion. Was it really a coincedence?

Spock · 10-05-2005, 08:16 PM

where did you get that date, no one ever mentioned that date to me, my reference books don't have a date, are you sure about that date?

Curubethion · 10-05-2005, 08:27 PM

Google it. There's tons of stuff. Incidentally, what was the date this year of Good Friday? March 25
But there's more references than that. For instance, Purgatory (Paths of the Dead), Christ's Resurrection (Gandalf, it's probably been said a million times...), and in the Silmarillion are references to a Heaven and a Hell, as well as angels(good Maiar), archangels(Ainur), Satan (Melkor, including a rebellion remarkably similar to the one depicted in Revelation), and demons (evil Maiar).
But I think there's another thread for this discussion...something like "Christian themes in LOTR"...

10-04-2005, 10:21 AM	#1
Lil_Roo Sapling Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2	LOTR & Spirituality I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am doing some reasearch on LOTR for my 3rd yr dissertation and I would love people's input. If you could take a moment to answer the following question: Has LOTR has any deep impact on your spiritual journey and if so in what way? (Either films or books but please state which or both) If you don't feel comfortable posting here, please send me a message or email. By the way, this is any kind of spirituality, you don't have to be of a particular religion or belief but if you follow a particualr religion, please let me know if you answer! Thank you very much -Emily

10-04-2005, 10:52 AM	#2
*Sister Golden Hair* Queen of Nargothrond Administrator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Akron, Ohio - USA Posts: 7,121	Hello Lil_Roo and welcome to Entmoot. I am moving your thread to the Lord of the Rings forum, and you will find that we already have a numerous amount of spiritual threads in the General Messages forum. Please feel free to participate in any one of them. Again, welcome and enjoy your stay. __________________ "Whither go you?" she said. "North away." he said: "to the swords, and the siege, and the walls of defence - that yet for a while in Beleriand rivers may run clean, leaves spring, and birds build their nests, ere Night comes." AboutNewJersey.com - New Jersey Travel and Tourism Guide

10-04-2005, 11:14 AM	#3
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	welcome! good question... i'm not spiritual, but since lotr is something i read at a very young age (my first "adult" book), it certainly had an effect on my outlook on life... will try to add some detailed thoughts later __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

10-04-2005, 11:43 AM	#4
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	__________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-04-2005, 04:09 PM	#7
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	I hates the blues, I loves the reds. I also believe in Hobbits. __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-04-2005, 12:18 PM	#5
The Gaffer Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: In me taters Posts: 3,288	I'm not religious, but I would say that LOTR hooked into a spiritual aspect of how I relate to the natural world. Like BJ, I was probably at a particularly susceptible age, but LOTR embeds respect for nature in a way that I have not seen elsewhere. Specifically, good things in LOTR are the ones which respect and live in harmony with their environment while evil things are the ones which don't.

10-04-2005, 04:23 PM	#8
olorin hamfast Hobbit Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: In your box Posts: 44	Red smarties? you eat the red ones last?

10-04-2005, 10:21 PM	#9
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	I'm not quite sure yet how much of an impact LOTR has had on me, but I do know it's chock full of Catholic allegory. Yes, I will answer objections, starting with Lotesse P.S., welcome to the moot, Lil Roo ...you should get an avatar. __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan) Last edited by Curubethion : 10-04-2005 at 10:22 PM.

10-05-2005, 12:18 PM	#11
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	What????????? __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-05-2005, 12:21 PM	#12
Lotesse of the House of Fëanor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,150	Lotesse whispers behind hand, little smile on my face shhh! they're trying to sound like intellectuals; let 'em play! __________________ Few people have the imagination for reality. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

10-05-2005, 12:29 PM	#13
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	my friends in London have a name for such people: "twits". __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-05-2005, 03:01 PM	#15
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	Oh, jocularity, I recognize that.

10-05-2005, 07:15 PM	#18
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	Whoops I think I used the wrong term...not allegory, but "suspicious similarities". For example, March 25 (the day the Ring was destroyed) coincides with the traditional date of the Crucifixion. Was it really a coincedence? __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan)

10-05-2005, 08:16 PM	#19
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	where did you get that date, no one ever mentioned that date to me, my reference books don't have a date, are you sure about that date? __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10-05-2005, 08:27 PM	#20
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	Google it. There's tons of stuff. Incidentally, what was the date this year of Good Friday? March 25 But there's more references than that. For instance, Purgatory (Paths of the Dead), Christ's Resurrection (Gandalf, it's probably been said a million times...), and in the Silmarillion are references to a Heaven and a Hell, as well as angels(good Maiar), archangels(Ainur), Satan (Melkor, including a rebellion remarkably similar to the one depicted in Revelation), and demons (evil Maiar). But I think there's another thread for this discussion...something like "Christian themes in LOTR"... __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan)

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