Is [i]The Lord of the Rings[/i] really Catholic?

[Sockpuppet]

You have to hand it to this priest. It takes some talent for a trad priest to say something so off the wall, that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

[VeraeFidei]

I always think of Aragorn as the Great Catholic Monarch, the prophesied Return of the King.

Makes sense seeing as he is a legitimate but hidden heir.

[james03]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

[dueSicilie]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

Good thing I'm already married....

[Sockpuppet]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

But, if she is impressed you know she is a keeper!

[dueSicilie]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

But, if she is impressed you know she is a keeper!

Very true!

[Chestertonian]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

I can see why it wouldn't appeal to women.  There are almost no female characters with the exception of Galadriel and a few others.  And the virtues that you see in some of the more noble male characters are very male virtues.  It's a type of story that naturally appeals to a young boy but not all girls will identify with it.  I do find that when a woman gets into LOTR she is VERY into it.

[Sockpuppet]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

I can see why it wouldn't appeal to women.  There are almost no female characters with the exception of Galadriel and a few others.  And the virtues that you see in some of the more noble male characters are very male virtues.  It's a type of story that naturally appeals to a young boy but not all girls will identify with it.  I do find that when a woman gets into LOTR she is VERY into it.

This reminds me of the quote:

"There are two novels that can transform a bookish 14-year-kld's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish daydream that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real life more like a fantasy novel. The other is a book about orcs."

[dueSicilie]

This reminds me of the quote:

"There are two novels that can transform a bookish 14-year-kld's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish daydream that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real life more like a fantasy novel. The other is a book about orcs."

That is maybe the best quote ever.

[Penelope]

My sister is into LotR, but she isn't way into it. She read all the books when she was in high school and she enjoys the movies (and does a creepily accurate Smeagol impression) and would probably sit down to a marathon of the movies or set a goal of re-reading the books in some short time frame, but she doesn't, like, wear LotR t-shirts or write fan fiction about hobbits or anything like that. She's not weird about it. She is not, however, a practicing Catholic, unfortunately. I keep hoping that her interest in LotR will spark her return to the Faith.

[Kaesekopf]

that an entire forum devoted to traditional Catholicism thinks he is off the wall, 

Not true.  Some of the ladies found the story boring.

Which reminds me, Trad lads should not talk about LOTR on the first date.

I can see why it wouldn't appeal to women.  There are almost no female characters with the exception of Galadriel and a few others.  And the virtues that you see in some of the more noble male characters are very male virtues.  It's a type of story that naturally appeals to a young boy but not all girls will identify with it.  I do find that when a woman gets into LOTR she is VERY into it.

This reminds me of the quote:

"There are two novels that can transform a bookish 14-year-kld's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish daydream that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real life more like a fantasy novel. The other is a book about orcs."

That quote is always so enjoyable.

[Chestertonian]

Oh, how I hated Atlas Shrugged.....

[erin is nice]

I loved reading LOTR, and have read it several times, and I do not see it as a "Catholic book". I just finished the Prose Edda a couple weeks ago, and Tolkien was so obviously influenced by it, he even stole names right out of it! The fatalism, etc, is all very Norse.

As an aside, Tolkien thought very poorly of women, thought they were mostly incapable of learning and creativity, etc.

[Adeodatus]

The problem with this priest's 'analysis' of LotR is that it is so irrational (dwarves = underground = hell? Then what does he say about spelunkers? Geologists?) that it essentially ends his career as a theologian and homilist. Since I happen to know enough about LotR to know that this 'analysis' is bonkers, I can assume that if this guy starts talking about something about which I am not well studied, that I ought not accept his opinion because it is likely also completely bonkers.

It's simply too bad that they did not reveal this priest's name. The damage that an irrational priest can do is almost incalculable.

[Chestertonian]

The problem with this priest's 'analysis' of LotR is that it is so irrational (dwarves = underground = hell? Then what does he say about spelunkers? Geologists?) that it essentially ends his career as a theologian and homilist. Since I happen to know enough about LotR to know that this 'analysis' is bonkers, I can assume that if this guy starts talking about something about which I am not well studied, that I ought not accept his opinion because it is likely also completely bonkers.

It's simply too bad that they did not reveal this priest's name. The damage that an irrational priest can do is almost incalculable.

Yeah, I never thought taking the subway was so spiritually dangerous