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Ok, so LotR is entirely devoid of "gods and after-life" and all that religious stuff...in a reality sense...but Silmarillion does deal with that...and the Silmarillion is the myth for those in LotR.

So...isn't this like today? Our myths involve Gods walking the earth and so forth...but today is very much more "atheistic"...not that people don't believe that's not the question, but that God isn't smiting any number of the hundreds of sodom and gehmoras that exist today...

Eh...just something I find Interesting

And just so you know should it come up, I'm not an atheist...my opinions are that you have to be nuts to look at a the mathematical structure of a proton and declare there to be no God.

I have to disagree with you some what Free Mason. There is religion and afterlife in LotR. It just does not come into play for this story(LotR that is). So, while most people would view The Silmarillion as myth, many present day Elves were around during the time of Morgoth and know it to be fact. They know Sauron is actually a minor demon(compared to Morgoth that is) and that he wants to create a "hell" on middle earth. Now I do not know if the Elves know that Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the other wizards are really very minor angellic beings there to help counter Sauron's evil.

Anyway, the book is awesome. I thought the beginning paralleled The Bible with the creation story and the casting out of Morgoth by the other angels and the greater being, but after that it was definitely original. All LotR fans should read it.