XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   On Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:13:59 -0700 (PDT), R Davidovich   
    wrote:   
      
   >The Ainulindale, the Tolkien creation myth, is JRRT's halfway point between   
   the pagan mythos he was emulating for Ancient England and the Hebrew/Christian   
   Monotheistic system he accepted as the ideal.   
   >   
   >The main elements of ancient pagan creation myths are there, in the sense of   
   there being many gods who create or play a large role in forming the different   
   elements in the world.  (The Elves revere the Valar, Elbereth more than the   
   others.)   
   >   
   >On the other hand, JRRT's system has the elements of a future strong   
   monotheism, in that Eru is the one who emanated or created the Ainur,   
   >awareness.   
      
      
      
   The Ainulindalë makes explicit the Christian worldview on which Tolkien's work   
   is implicitly based.   
      
   Cf the chapter on the Singing Stars in C.S. Lewis's "The magician's nephew",   
   and Job 38:7 (to see it in context you need to read the whole chapter, or even   
   the whole book).   
      
   Nowadays people often seem to overlook the fact that there is not just one   
   account of creation in the Bible, there are several. Most seem to think only   
   of the Genesis 1 version, and that one, especially, takes a pagan creation   
   myth, leaves the furniture and populates it with different characters to make   
   a different theological point. It takes the story of Marduk and Tiamat, but   
   leaves Marduk and Tiamat out of it, though Tiamat makes an appearance   
   elsewhere in the Bible as Rahab (eg Isaiah 51:9).   
      
      
      
      
      
      
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