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<v Speaker 1>Hey friends, Today I'm going to provide you with one

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<v Speaker 1>of the first videos in the Wisdom of Tolkien, the

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<v Speaker 1>Lord of the Ring study, and so if you're already

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<v Speaker 1>participating in that course, then this will mostly be a

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<v Speaker 1>repeat for you. Now at the time that this is

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<v Speaker 1>being posted, we're only in week two of the study,

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<v Speaker 1>which takes us right up to Rivendell, but before anything

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<v Speaker 1>actually happens there, and so there's still time for you

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<v Speaker 1>to join if you have not already done so, just

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<v Speaker 1>go to patreon dot com slash Mythic Mind and sign

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<v Speaker 1>on at Tier three to get full access. But before

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<v Speaker 1>we go any further, I want to thank all my

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<v Speaker 1>patrons and my Tier three patrons by name. Now, up

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<v Speaker 1>to this point I have been naming all of my

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<v Speaker 1>Tier two patrons, and I still appreciate you greatly, but

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<v Speaker 1>that list was getting pretty long and that is a

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<v Speaker 1>good problem to have, I suppose, So by name, I

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<v Speaker 1>want to think Mark, Aaron, Avy, Jamie, Mariah, Paul, Tyler,

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<v Speaker 1>and William. And I would also like to particularly highlight

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<v Speaker 1>new patrons over the last couple months of any tier

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<v Speaker 1>and so that's Evy Kroner, Nate, Mariah, and Tyler all

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<v Speaker 1>of my patrons helped me to keep leading studies, producing

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<v Speaker 1>this content and embarking on other ventures as well. If

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<v Speaker 1>you would like to support my work and gain access

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<v Speaker 1>to the Tolkien course and other materials such as the

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis course that we did last summer, go to patreon

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<v Speaker 1>dot com slash Mythic Mind that lincolns in the show

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<v Speaker 1>notes and go ahead and do that today. And I

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<v Speaker 1>would like to remind you to sign up through your browser,

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<v Speaker 1>either on your PC or on your phone. Don't sign

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<v Speaker 1>up with the Patreon app because when you do that, Apple,

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<v Speaker 1>uh well, Apple raises the price a little bit. So

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<v Speaker 1>use your user browser. Sign up at patreon dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash Mythic Mind today. Now, I haven't decided for a

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<v Speaker 1>certain but I think that starting next time, I might

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<v Speaker 1>get back to my roots of the show where I

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<v Speaker 1>started with Kirkeguard, and I might get back and start

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<v Speaker 1>a series on Carikeguard's fear and trembling. But we'll see

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<v Speaker 1>what happens. I haven't decided for sure. For now, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to bring you a short video on the Inland

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<v Speaker 1>Delay from the Wisdom of Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.

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<v Speaker 1>There was Eru, the one who in Arta is called

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<v Speaker 1>a louvtar. And he made first the Iinar, the holy

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<v Speaker 1>ones that were the offspring of his thought, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were with him before aught else was made. And he

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<v Speaker 1>spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music. And

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<v Speaker 1>they sang before him, and he was glad. But for

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<v Speaker 1>a long while they sang only each alone, or but

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<v Speaker 1>a few together, while the rest hearkened, for each comprehended

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<v Speaker 1>that only that part of the mind of a louvatar

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<v Speaker 1>from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren,

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<v Speaker 1>they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened, they

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<v Speaker 1>came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.

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<v Speaker 1>Then a luvatar said to them, of the theme that

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<v Speaker 1>I have declared to you, I will now that you

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<v Speaker 1>make in harmony together a great music. And since I

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<v Speaker 1>have kindled you with the flame imperishable, ye shall show

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<v Speaker 1>forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his

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<v Speaker 1>own thoughts and devices, if he will, But I will

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<v Speaker 1>sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great

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<v Speaker 1>beauty has been awakened into song. But now a luvitar

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<v Speaker 1>sat hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good

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<v Speaker 1>to him, for in the music there were no flaws.

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<v Speaker 1>But as the theme progressed, it came to the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of Melchor to interweave matters of his own imaginery that

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<v Speaker 1>were not in the corps, with a theme of Alluviatad,

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<v Speaker 1>for he sought therein to increase the power and glory

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<v Speaker 1>of the part assigned to himself to Melchor. Among the

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<v Speaker 1>Einar had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge,

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<v Speaker 1>and he had a share in all the gifts of

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<v Speaker 1>his brethren. He had gone often alone into the void places,

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<v Speaker 1>seeking the imperishable flame, for desire grew hot within him

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<v Speaker 1>to bring into being things of his own. And it

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to him that Aluvatar took no thought for the void,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found

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<v Speaker 1>not the fire, for it is with Louvatar. But being alone,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd begun to conceive thoughts of his own, unlike those

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<v Speaker 1>of his brethren. In the midst of this strife whereat,

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<v Speaker 1>the halls of a Luatar shook, and its shredder ran

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<v Speaker 1>out into the silences. Yet unmoved, a Louvatar erose a

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<v Speaker 1>third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then

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<v Speaker 1>he raised up both his hands in one chord deeper

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<v Speaker 1>than the abyss, higher than the fermat, piercing as the

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<v Speaker 1>light of the eye of a Luvatar. The music had ceased.

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<v Speaker 1>Then Aluvatar spoke, and he said, mighty hear the ire,

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<v Speaker 1>and mightiest among them is Melchor. But that he may know,

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<v Speaker 1>and all the ire that I am a Luvitar. Those

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<v Speaker 1>things that ye have sung, I will show them forth,

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<v Speaker 1>that ye may see what ye have done. And thou Melchor,

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<v Speaker 1>shalt see that no theme may be played hath not

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<v Speaker 1>its uttermost source in me, Nor can any alter the

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<v Speaker 1>music in my despite for he that attempteth this shall

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<v Speaker 1>prove a mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful,

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<v Speaker 1>which he himself hath not imagined. Then there was unrest

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<v Speaker 1>among the ininre, But a Louvatar called to them and said,

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<v Speaker 1>I know the desire of your minds, that what ye

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<v Speaker 1>have seen should verily be not only in your thought,

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<v Speaker 1>but even as ye yourselves are, and yet other. Therefore

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<v Speaker 1>I say, AA, let these things be, and I will

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<v Speaker 1>send forth into the void the flame imperishable, and it

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<v Speaker 1>shall be at the heart of the world, and the

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<v Speaker 1>world shall be, and those of you that will may

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<v Speaker 1>go down into it. And suddenly the inar saw far

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<v Speaker 1>off a light as it were, a cloud with a

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<v Speaker 1>living heart of flame, and they knew that this was

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<v Speaker 1>no vision only, but that Alluvatar had made a new

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<v Speaker 1>thing aa the world that is now. Those are just

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<v Speaker 1>a few snippets from the Island Today, which we find

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of the Silmarillion. Now, if you've never

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<v Speaker 1>read this before, or if you have, then I strongly

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<v Speaker 1>recommend that you give this a read. Honestly, just pick

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<v Speaker 1>up the summarily into yourself a favor if you have

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<v Speaker 1>not already done that. But if you don't have a copy,

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<v Speaker 1>then I am providing a PDF of thelay itself, and

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<v Speaker 1>so make sure that you take a read of that

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<v Speaker 1>get the full context. It is just absolutely beautiful, one

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<v Speaker 1>of my favorite sections of Tolkien's entire legendarium. But let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about just a few elements here. There are literally

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<v Speaker 1>books that I've been written on just this section on

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<v Speaker 1>thelay that the Creation account, but we're just gonna look

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<v Speaker 1>at some little snippets there laying out some foundational ideas

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<v Speaker 1>for Tolkien's world. For talking story as we start off

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<v Speaker 1>on the Lord of the Rings. So in the beginning

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<v Speaker 1>we have Aero Aluvatar, the one God who created the

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<v Speaker 1>ininor from his thought. But what are the ininor? And

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<v Speaker 1>this could be an important question because it's the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of thing that gets some people to claim that Tolkien

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<v Speaker 1>was promoting some kind of like polytheistic peganism, as if

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<v Speaker 1>he has multiple creator gods. And in a certain sense

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<v Speaker 1>he does, but not in the ultimate sense. And this

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<v Speaker 1>is where we need to disentangle the ideas of creation

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<v Speaker 1>and subcreation. It's very clear that there is one ultimate

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<v Speaker 1>creator God. There is one being that doesn't owe its

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<v Speaker 1>being on anything else, but it independently exists, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is Eru Eluvitar. The ininor who do play a part

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<v Speaker 1>in creation. They play a kind of derivative role in creation,

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<v Speaker 1>or they engage in subcreation. They themselves are creative beings

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<v Speaker 1>and they work with creative realities, namely the creativity that's

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<v Speaker 1>implicit in their own creation, and they use that to

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<v Speaker 1>go about fashioning the world. And so ultimately there's one

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<v Speaker 1>creator God, despite the fact that he does make use

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<v Speaker 1>of intermediaries, and so the ininor should best be understood

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<v Speaker 1>as the heavenly court of God or the ranks of angels,

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<v Speaker 1>which even Scripture sometimes refers to as gods with a

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<v Speaker 1>lowercase gene. In fact, Tolkien himself of being a devout

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Catholic, so that he wanted his mythology to be

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<v Speaker 1>consonant with Christian theology. And so he's not writing allegory.

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<v Speaker 1>He's writing a prehistory for our world, which, as a

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Catholic he sees as a Christian world. And so

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<v Speaker 1>he's trying to write a mythology that is consonant with

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<v Speaker 1>orthodox Christian theology. And so with Tolkien, in the way

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<v Speaker 1>that his whole story, his whole legendarium is framed, we're

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with legends that have been passed down from a

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<v Speaker 1>very pre Christian people, but in a world that anticipates

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<v Speaker 1>Christian revelation. In a nineteen fifty one letter to Milson Waldman,

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<v Speaker 1>Tolkien says, of the valor which are the leading Iinor

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<v Speaker 1>that entered into the world of Arta, the material world

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<v Speaker 1>in which we live. He writes the cycles begin with

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<v Speaker 1>the cosmogonical myth the music of the iinor God, and

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<v Speaker 1>the valor or powers English as gods are revealed x

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<v Speaker 1>latter are as we should say, angelic powers, whose function

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<v Speaker 1>is to exercise delegated authority in their spheres of rule

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<v Speaker 1>and government, not creation, making or remaking. They are divine,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, were originally outside and existed before the making

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<v Speaker 1>of the world. Their power and wisdom is derived from

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<v Speaker 1>their knowledge of the cosmogonical drama, which they perceived first

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<v Speaker 1>as a drama, that is, as in a fashion we

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<v Speaker 1>perceive a story composed by someone else, and later as

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<v Speaker 1>a reality on the side of mere narrative device. This

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<v Speaker 1>is of course, meant to provide beings of the same

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<v Speaker 1>order of beauty, power, and majesty as the gods of

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<v Speaker 1>higher mythology, which can yet be accepted well, shall we say,

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<v Speaker 1>badly by a mind that believes in the blessed Trinity.

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<v Speaker 1>And so Tolkien very much believed that his so called

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<v Speaker 1>gods lowercase g gods or powers, or the holy ones

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<v Speaker 1>were entirely consonant with Christian orthodoxy. Will not explicitly focused

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<v Speaker 1>on them alliance content. He famously said in a nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty three letter to Robert Murray. The Lord of the

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<v Speaker 1>Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work,

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<v Speaker 1>unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. Now

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<v Speaker 1>for one more defense of Talkien's theological orthodoxy as even

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<v Speaker 1>represented within his story, Let's check out this clip from

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<v Speaker 1>a nineteen sixty five BBC interview.

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<v Speaker 2>There's an autumnal quality throughout the whole of The Lord

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<v Speaker 2>of the Rings. There's a sense of continuous change. Each

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<v Speaker 2>character feels himself to be part of a story that's

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<v Speaker 2>forever continuing. In one case, a character says, the story

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<v Speaker 2>is continued, what I seem to have dropped out of it? However,

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<v Speaker 2>everything is declining and it's fading, at least towards the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the third age. Every choice tends to the

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<v Speaker 2>upsetting of some tradition. Now, this seems to me to

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<v Speaker 2>be somewhat like Tennyson's The Old Order changeth, yielding place

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<v Speaker 2>to new and god fulfillms himself in many ways? Where

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<v Speaker 2>is God in The Lord of the Rings?

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<v Speaker 3>You mentioned one sort of is he the one about one?

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<v Speaker 2>Despite the continuous war between evil personified and souron and good,

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<v Speaker 2>you never personalize or personify goodness. Good is there, but

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<v Speaker 2>it's totally abstract. You don't attempt to ascribe any any

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<v Speaker 2>godship to it. Particularly No.

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<v Speaker 3>No, there's in the dualistic mythologies based on no.

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<v Speaker 2>But I mean the whole book is nevertheless nothing but

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<v Speaker 2>the battle between good and evil.

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<v Speaker 3>All that's surprise. Suppose the actually conscious reaction from the

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<v Speaker 3>war from these stuff that I was well on my

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<v Speaker 3>ward end, wars which I didn't believe in at the time,

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<v Speaker 3>I believe in less now.

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<v Speaker 2>If I can take this a bit further, I may

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<v Speaker 2>make my point clearer. In battle, Frodo and Sam call

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<v Speaker 2>on Galadriel or their native country, Gimli calls on the

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<v Speaker 2>ancestors X. If I read your appendices correctly, and the

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<v Speaker 2>men call only on their swords by name, or on

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<v Speaker 2>their kings or lords, I would expect them to call

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<v Speaker 2>on their gods. And yet amid thousands of names, you

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<v Speaker 2>don't name the there it is of any of the

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<v Speaker 2>races you've invented. Why have they know gods? That sut

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<v Speaker 2>to me. I would have thought a story of this

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<v Speaker 2>sort was almost dependent upon an intense belief in some

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<v Speaker 2>theocratic division, some hierarchy there is.

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<v Speaker 3>Indeed, that's where the theoretical hierarchy comes in. The Man

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<v Speaker 3>of the twentieth CENTI master, of course see that you

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<v Speaker 3>must have well, whether you believes them or not. You

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<v Speaker 3>must have gods in a story of this guy, but

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<v Speaker 3>he can't name so believe in gods like thorn Odin, Aphrodity, Zeus,

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<v Speaker 3>snake Canny.

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<v Speaker 2>You can't believe that the men in your story would

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<v Speaker 2>have called on Odin.

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<v Speaker 3>I could't bossibly construct the mythology which had the olympus

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<v Speaker 3>who asked God. Aren't the terms in which the people

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<v Speaker 3>who worshiped those gods believed in. God is supreme, the creator, outside, transcendent.

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<v Speaker 3>But the place of the the gods is taken so

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<v Speaker 3>well taken, I think that it really rikes so difference

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<v Speaker 3>to the ordinary reader is taken by the angelic spirits

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<v Speaker 3>created by God. The creating before particular time sequence which

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<v Speaker 3>we call the worlds is called in there that which

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<v Speaker 3>is that now exists. Those are the battle of the bar.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a construction methodology in which a large part of

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<v Speaker 3>the demiourgic I think has been has been handed over

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<v Speaker 3>two bars who are created there in under the one.

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<v Speaker 3>It's certainly like a much more elaborate and more thought

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<v Speaker 3>out of the C. S. Lewis business when it is

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<v Speaker 3>out of the side of the planet where you have

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<v Speaker 3>a we have a demiogos who's acting command of the

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<v Speaker 3>of the planet Mars. And the idea there was elusive.

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<v Speaker 3>It was originally the one in command of the world

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<v Speaker 3>that he fell, So it was a silent planet, was

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<v Speaker 3>it falled out of that was the idea.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, this is not the same with me, yes, yes,

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<v Speaker 2>So then you have in your theopracy you have an

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<v Speaker 2>ultimate one whom you call and then the vella who

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<v Speaker 2>are considered as living in Vellinore.

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<v Speaker 3>This particular little group of them who are who were

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<v Speaker 3>moved from other parts of university to do this pot

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<v Speaker 3>because they became interested in.

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<v Speaker 1>So with that settled, let's talk about what we see

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<v Speaker 1>in this creation account. Aero creates the ire from his thought,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Inar reflect on the goodness and glory of

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<v Speaker 1>Eru through a majestic song that gains beauty, gains harmony

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<v Speaker 1>as it progresses, which with each of the ininre learning

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<v Speaker 1>from other ininre things about that they know uniquely, that

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<v Speaker 1>they uniquely know about God. And by the way that

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<v Speaker 1>this organization that we have here is very much in

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<v Speaker 1>line with medieval angelology, and we take a look at

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Pseudodionysius, for example, this idea that knowledge of

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<v Speaker 1>God is passed on through the angels, and so we

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<v Speaker 1>have an innumerable line of intermediaries as this knowledge of

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<v Speaker 1>God flows down from the angel's closest to God's presence

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<v Speaker 1>down to those who are most involved with the affairs

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<v Speaker 1>of men. And so it's all part of the great dance,

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<v Speaker 1>as Lewis refers to it, or we could even refer

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<v Speaker 1>to this as the great chain of being. And so

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<v Speaker 1>this is a very traditional, very medieval Christian theology coming

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<v Speaker 1>out here. And by the way, for more on this topic,

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<v Speaker 1>I encourage you to pick up The Flame Imperishable Tolkien

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<v Speaker 1>Saint Thomas and the Metaphysics of Faery, in which Jonathan

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<v Speaker 1>McIntosh really does a good job of laying out the

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<v Speaker 1>connection between the theology and the philosophy of Saint Thomas,

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<v Speaker 1>Aquietness and j. R. Tolkien found especially in the idolind Delay.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is a great text if you want to

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<v Speaker 1>indelve more into this. Well, despite the majesty, the power,

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<v Speaker 1>the beauty of this great harmony, Melchor, the greatest of

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<v Speaker 1>the Ainore becomes discontent with his station and he attempts

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<v Speaker 1>to usurp the authority of Eru by turning the song

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<v Speaker 1>upon himself. Thus we have the primordial conflict in Tolkien's legendarium,

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<v Speaker 1>which proceeds from the very beginning of the Cimarillian although

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<v Speaker 1>at this point we're not actually in the Similarrillian proper,

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<v Speaker 1>but I guess that's not really relevant. So from the

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<v Speaker 1>very beginning of his legendarium all the way up to

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the Lord of the Rings, Melchor who's

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<v Speaker 1>later dubbed Morgoth, is the first villain, but his servant

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<v Speaker 1>Suron would follow in his footsteps, as would all who

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<v Speaker 1>chose the villain's path. Now, what exactly is this conflict

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<v Speaker 1>at the heart of it? Well, Tolkien tells us this

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<v Speaker 1>in his nineteen fifty six notes on W. H. Auden's

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<v Speaker 1>review of The Lord of the Rings. He writes, in

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<v Speaker 1>The Lord of the Rings, the conflict is not basically

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<v Speaker 1>about freedom, though that is naturally involved. It is about

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<v Speaker 1>God and his sole right to divine honor. The Eldar

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<v Speaker 1>and the Newmanorians believed in the One, the True God,

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<v Speaker 1>and held worship of any other person an abomination. Suran

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<v Speaker 1>desired to be a god king and was held to

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<v Speaker 1>be this by his servants. If he had been victorious,

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<v Speaker 1>he would have demanded divine honor from all rational creatures

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<v Speaker 1>in absolute temporal power over the whole world. And so

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<v Speaker 1>there it is. The Lord of the Rings is about

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<v Speaker 1>God and his soul right to divine honor. Melchor sought

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<v Speaker 1>this divine honor for himself. Sauron did the same. The

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<v Speaker 1>heroes of tolkien Legendarium, however, are those who recognize their station,

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<v Speaker 1>and they live for a reality that is above and

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<v Speaker 1>beyond them. This is a world that is set before

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<v Speaker 1>Christian revelation, and so such heroes may not always know

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what they're doing in clear dogmatic terms. Their spirits, however,

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<v Speaker 1>were rightly oriented in this God honoring direction, and in

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<v Speaker 1>the height of Numnorian spirituality, we actually get the closest

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<v Speaker 1>in the Legendarium to an organized religion centered around worship

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<v Speaker 1>of the One True God, and this is portrayed as

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<v Speaker 1>the height of human civilization, which in a significant way

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<v Speaker 1>is actually different than even the Glory of the elves,

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<v Speaker 1>who at their best tend to relate to the Valor

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<v Speaker 1>rather than directly with Eru. That's actually uniquely a human gift.

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<v Speaker 1>It's uniquely a human orientation. Now, this is an idea,

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<v Speaker 1>and really we've laid out a number of ideas that

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<v Speaker 1>we will return to and that we will expand throughout

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<v Speaker 1>and especially at the end of the course. But I

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<v Speaker 1>thought it was important at the beginning of our story

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<v Speaker 1>to begin at the foundation of Tolkien's world building and

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<v Speaker 1>some of the philosophy that lays at the bottom of

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<v Speaker 1>his legendary on But that's it for our short video today.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to getting into the next action and

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<v Speaker 1>reading with you until next time. God's been