and Lewis believed that ultimately all myth emanated from the one true myth:
God incarnate died as a man to pay the price for the sin (the fall) of His
human creation and then was resurrected to give those He created eternal life
with Him. In Letter # 131 to Milton Waldman (the one in which Tolkien
summarizes his entire mythology), Tolkien stated "There cannot be any 'story'
without a fall - all stories are ultimately about the fall - at least not for
human minds as we know them and have them."
Think about it:
Don't your favorite stories include some form of fall and redemption? Well, why
do you think that pattern resonates with all of us? It seems as if, in their
understanding of The Truth, Lewis and Tolkien discovered a universal truth
about myth and about good fiction.
My point is that Tolkien created his own myth and that, if he and Lewis are
right, then all of us can relate to LOTR, not because of - or in spite of -
being Catholics, atheisits, or anything else, but simply because we are all
fallen humans who live on the same
planet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Gandalf! I thought you were dead! Is everything sad going to come untrue?"
* * * * * * * * * *
"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten."
"And I will raise him up in the last day."
