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JRR Tolkien Book 'Beren and Luthien' Published After 100 Years (bbc.com)
seoras quotes a report from BBC: A new book by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien is going on sale -- 100 years after it was first conceived. Beren and Luthien has been described as a "very personal story" that the Oxford professor thought up after returning from the Battle of the Somme. It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and contains versions of a tale that became part of The Silmarillion. The book features illustrations by Alan Lee, who won an Academy Award for his work on Peter Jackson's film trilogy. It is being published on Thursday by HarperCollins on the 10th anniversary of the last Middle Earth book, The Children of Hurin.
You're already pegged at -1, so this won't help:
Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic; there is a difference, and this caused problems even in his early life. Read Carpenter's Biography for the _official_ version. Unofficially, Tolkien struggled with the Church his entire life, and pretty much broke away from it after Vatican II, including walking out of Services when English was spoken instead of Latin.
That is not to say that he became a Protestant Christian; he believed in the old Fairy Tales and the way that they were told. In other words, Tolkien was a nutter. There were those close to him that had serious doubts about his sanity at times, especially when he retreated into his own World, and neglected to do such things as paying Taxes. (Which is the very reason why Jackson was able to make his Films; Tolkien sold the Rights off for a pittance when it finally came to pay Inland Revenue.)
As a devout Atheist, I quite like the old fossil. I really appreciate the way that he viewed His Church. But it was still based on Fairy Tales, and believing in them does not make them true.