A Possible Interpretation of Mordor of the Lord of the Rings

lol, I thank ararmer for the graceful concession. =)Given that the formal debate is over, I will consider both of us released from the parameters in round #1. I am now going to expand upon my analysis with more details and sources.I have been reading Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is Within You" [1] and will incorporate it into my analysis.The Duality of ReligiosityBackgroundIMHO the conflict in Middle Earth represents a two-sided debate that was raging in Tolkien's time surrounding one question - what was valuable about religion?Philosophers like Nietzsche would have had Tolkien believe that religion was anachronistic - "God is Dead".Tolstoy framed the utility of the Christian religion as being specific only to Christ's message on the Sermon on the Mount - that of non-resistance to evil by force (turn the other cheek). He also eschewed all miracles [1, chapter 3], to include even Christ's resurrection and the Book of Revelation - such was his belief in the message:"The Book of Revelation, in reality reveals nothing" (http://tinyurl.com..., page 28-29) Tolstoy was Gandhi's spiritual inspiration for his resistance movement in India. Gandhi changed Tolstoy's vision to allow for non-violent resistance; Tolstoy, had he been alive to witness what Gandhi accomplished, would have objected even to this level of resistance.Tolkien was aware of India's culture and society, and so it would follow that given how much religiosity is found in the LotR and the Silmarillion, that Tolkien was more than likely keenly aware of Gandhi's religiously-thematic resistance movement in India, and thus Tolstoy's influence over him.Allow me to demonstrate how this all comes together:ThesisTolkien used the LotR to frame this debate by creating a sort of dualism of religion. Basically, Mordor may indeed be Israel, and Morgoth, Sauron, and the Eye of Sauron may represent an "Unholy Trinity" mirroring God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit...but indeed there is a mirror image of a "Holy Trinity" as well in Eru Iluvatar (the "Creator"), Gandalf (a militant, apocalyptic warrior-Christ found in Revelation), and Lady Galadriel (who was always with Frodo in spirit). Keep in mind that both Gandalf AND Sauron experienced a resurrection.The "Unholy Trinity" would represent any and all religious amalgamations of power - the real world-equivalent would be organized religions and the nations and governments it co-opted. Sauron's One Ring of Power and the lesser rings it bound to its service would represent the religious institutions that worshiped the evil manifestation of the one "true" god of power.1) This allegory manifests in Tolstoy's voluminous arguments against the Orthodox Church as actually perverting Christ's message of brotherly love and non-resistance to evil by force, and instead replacing it with rites and ceremonies designed to maintain the power of aristocrats like himself, utilizing conscription and force whenever necessary to do so [1, chapter 3].2) This allegory also manifests itself in several ways in regards to the modern state of Israel:a) As demonstrated, there are unmistakable allusions to Jerusalem in the geography of Mordor specifically.b) The dwarves in "The Hobbit" were an early allegory of the Jewish Zionist movement (http://tinyurl.com...) - their bid for power ended up in rapacious greed, a multinational war, and a Pyrrhic victory in the death of Thorin.c) In the LotR, Gollum/"Golem" is the linchpin of how Sauron is framed - with Gollum it becomes clear that Sauron is much more closely aligned with the Judeo-Christian tradition than Islam. Gollum would then supersede the dwarves in "The Hobbit" as representing Zionism. In Tolkien's vision, Zionism would lead to another cataclysmic world war in the future and the destruction of Israel.The "Holy Trinity" would represent religiosity devoid of any such corporeal power. It would be Tolstoy's message of non-resistance to evil by force in a pure form.Unlike Sauron and Saruman (Nietzsche => Hitler) who was corrupted by Sauron, Gandalf had no such proclivities to power. More than anything, Gandalf was a source of inspiration. Even when Gandalf took to the sword as Christ did in Revelations, he proved to be ineffective - it was Frodo's pity, and Bilbo's before him, that actually decided the fate of evil. Hence, Tolstoy's vision is manifested - it is through non-resistance to evil by force, through brotherly love, that evil is conquered forever.This would frame Gandalf and "Jewishness" as a universal trait, and not specific to Zionism or any group of people.Tolkien may also have been alluding to Gandhi's independence movement through Frodo in the LotR.ConclusionWhether or not you believe in my interpretation of Tolkien's message is your opinion. I now believe this interpretation is most likely what Tolkien was thinking, even if subconsciously. I am out of room. I hope this has been quite interesting, as it was for me.[1] http://www.gutenberg.org...