book review, part I - Reading 'The Lord of the Rings'

[caraloup]

Reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’. New Writings on Tolkien’s Classic. Ed. Robert Eaglestone. London & New York: Continuum, 2005

Comments

Re: Barry Langford: Time

[slender_sail]

“Consciousness of the unity of created time carries with it as a consequence an obligation not only to the present but to the future.” By reverse, ‘opting out’ of history (here Langford cites the Gaffer and Butterbur as examples) is “morally as well as practically unsustainable”.This is perhaps the most Christian aspect of LoTR, but it is also found in the Zoroastrian doctrine. The Christian never knows when it's a mundane history, or a sacred history (like in Hinduism), so he has to take it ALL on because the Revelation happened IN history (Maya: something the Hinduist may deny, as being created only through his own ignorance). Zoroastrianism & Asceticism are opposite terms, as well