Oh, sure. Mock Christianity. But no one bats an eye when Tolkien retcons half of The Hobbit and gives an excuse like “well the book is written by Bilbo and he lied at first”.
The difference is that, afaik, Christianity has people that believes that Bible is NOT fiction, while nobody thinks that The Hobbit is a historical book.
I dont think so.
The hobbit+lord of the rings are “Tolkien’s translation of the red book written by Bilbo and Frodo into English” (not a direct quote). Middle earth is our earth and our history.
I don’t think he said “its real bro trust me” like the book of Mormon, but “its real in a fictional real world”
I mean, The Hobbit was primarily written to be a children’s bedtime story. The fact that adults latched onto it was sort of an accident. Tolkien was primarily a linguist, not a writer. He developed several fake languages, and wanted an excuse to use them. So he did a ton of world building, just to have a reason to write song lyrics in elvish and dwarven.
Oh, sure. Mock Christianity. But no one bats an eye when Tolkien retcons half of The Hobbit and gives an excuse like “well the book is written by Bilbo and he lied at first”.
Well, IIRC The Hobbit was initially just a collection of bedtime fairy tales he made up for his children, of course it had inconsistencies.
Actually, thinking about it, that seems like a plausible source of the Old Testament as well…
The difference is that, afaik, Christianity has people that believes that Bible is NOT fiction, while nobody thinks that The Hobbit is a historical book.
…yet
Well, I give you that point…
BUT I HAVE A BETTER ONE: •
What’s the retcon in the hobbit?
https://sweatingtomordor.wordpress.com/2018/05/17/were-tolkiens-changes-to-the-hobbit-really-a-good-idea/
The ring was just a magic ring. And other stuff.
I don’t remember anyone telling me that bilbo was the son of God, so I think we can hold different yardsticks here.
Well of course not. Samwise was the incarnation of all that is good, loyal, and holy. Bilbo was just a prophet.
He also does say it’s fiction, no?
Most stories are fiction until some fool believes it hard enough.
I dont think so. The hobbit+lord of the rings are “Tolkien’s translation of the red book written by Bilbo and Frodo into English” (not a direct quote). Middle earth is our earth and our history.
I don’t think he said “its real bro trust me” like the book of Mormon, but “its real in a fictional real world”
I mean, The Hobbit was primarily written to be a children’s bedtime story. The fact that adults latched onto it was sort of an accident. Tolkien was primarily a linguist, not a writer. He developed several fake languages, and wanted an excuse to use them. So he did a ton of world building, just to have a reason to write song lyrics in elvish and dwarven.
Allow me to introduce to you…George Lucas.
Well I’ve already met him, but the first time Jabba the Hut wasn’t in the background, so I’d definitely like a do-over.