The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings are 100% based on our European mythology, style, imagery, archetypes, and storylines.
The same goes for the worldview and mindset in The Hobbit and most of the LoTR.
These books praise bravery, strength, willpower, valor, respect, and beauty.
The main characters are European folklore creatures – elves, dwarves, dragons, trolls, and others. Gandalf, for instance, is a representation of Odinn – he even gets reborn into knowledge and power.
However, we can’t deny there are Christianity-inspired themes in the LoTR – just as Tolkien himself stated in his letters. But that does not matter much if you approach the books with a clear eye.
What seems to have really happened is that JRR created a beautiful Pagan story, The Hobbit, but then decided to give it a more “serious” twist more in tune with his times and society.
While working on LoTR he constrains himself to a more Christian paradigm due to several reasons. The reasons are:
- Societal pressure. Producing an openly non-Christian work of literature was out of his capacity for innovation and thought leadership. He never meant to be underground and never signed up for that. We have the freedom to do that today.
- Historical context. Being openly pro-Pagan and thus pro-European would hint at sympathizing with Germany which was the enemy.
Basically, at some point JRR probably had a “what have I done” moment. This led to the creation of the Sylmarillion, which actually draws a very yahwist view of the world, especially its’ creation; as well as all the later letters and explanations.
That is also exactly why Tolkien tried to put so much focus on the storyline of a “small man” suddenly doing heroic things, which is the opposite of the Homeric European standard of heroes winning as a result of living a strong, rich, and heroic life of discipline and victorious wisdom.
Nordic sagas also reject the Hollywood small man trope. All the heroes in them are tall, handsome, respectful, noble. The short, the weak, and the ugly are always the bad guys.
Aragorn is that Homeric hero, but he is shoved back by Frodo, the Christian/Hollywood parody of a hero.
Yet Aragorn’s story is much more impressive – he is the embodiment of obsession, preparation, and execution, and no wonder Aragorn is the most likeable character for every first-time reader.
The true Pagan Europe shines through LoTR so brightly that no amount of post-factum explanations can eclipse it.
This is very similar to how Christians try to rationalize following an offshoot of judaism designed for slaves. When you enter any Christian bookstore – you’d think it would only be filled with Bibles printed in different styles and formats.
But 99% of the books in these stores are explanations of the Bible, explaining how to “really” read it and what to think about it.
The Bible explicitly tells us about Jewsih mythology and Jewish faith that has always opposed Europe and the European spirit. Most Christians don’t like that and will fight tooth and nail to debate it using wonders of mental gymnastics.
Just like Tolkien spent all of his later efforts trying to bury the fact he created a Pagan European tale.
But the first impression is always correct.
So, Tolkien could’ve been a devout Christian, or a Muslim, or anyone else throughout his life – we, as readers, don’t really care. Once a work of art is finished it’s no longer the property of the creator, — I don’t make the rules!
Can we, as pagans, still enjoy LoTR?
We absolutely can, and we should, because it’s our heritage with a weak artificial veil of Christian propaganda inevitable for someone who lived in a Christian society.
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