What's on your mind?

[Saucy]

Hello peeps!

 

[Plenipotent]

On posts where it has info about the user, there should be info on whether they're male or female. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

I'm not sure what this means 'posts where it has info about the user', but the majority of people I meet online seem to think I'm a guy, and I can't figure out why for the life of me. I don't think I come across as masculine in any sense, so whatever this is would probably be helpful for me.

It isn't all that bad. My point, which I could have been a lot clearer about, was that my flesh is not naturally the type to help people. But with the Spirit, God has really helped me. And some of the people in the Bible study are really blessed by it. They have told me time and time again that I am really helping them. Most of the problems are that these people have never seriously been in a church environment so they don't really even know the basics of Christianity and I am happy to do the Lord's work in that regard.

Perhaps it's not so much that you're not naturally inclined to assist others, as it is that the way you naturally assist others isn't the typical to what most are accustomed to? It sounds like you're offering a significant amount of help simply by being there and maintaining your determination despite the challenges you're facing. That kind of mental strength is truly admirable and a wonderful asset. Maybe your strength in helping others lies in your own personal accountability. The way you show up and persist, regardless of the outcome. Even if people don't show it outwardly, your presence and dedication can be a remarkable source of encouragement. You might never realize how many individuals you inspire just by showing up. Someone else could be grappling with entirely different struggles and think to themselves, "You know, that person keeps going despite all odds. I should work on being more consistent." Actions indeed hold tremendous power, so I want to commend you for your unwavering perseverance.

Hello peeps!

What-up, Saucy!

 

[RileyG]

I'll be praying for your success and good sleep!

Thank you so much!

 

[RileyG]

Hello peeps!

Good evening! How are you today?

 

[All Becomes New]

Perhaps it's not so much that you're not naturally inclined to assist others, as it is that the way you naturally assist others isn't the typical to what most are accustomed to? It sounds like you're offering a significant amount of help simply by being there and maintaining your determination despite the challenges you're facing. That kind of mental strength is truly admirable and a wonderful asset. Maybe your strength in helping others lies in your own personal accountability. The way you show up and persist, regardless of the outcome. Even if people don't show it outwardly, your presence and dedication can be a remarkable source of encouragement. You might never realize how many individuals you inspire just by showing up. Someone else could be grappling with entirely different struggles and think to themselves, "You know, that person keeps going despite all odds. I should work on being more consistent." Actions indeed hold tremendous power, so I want to commend you for your unwavering perseverance.

Hey, thanks for the kind words. I think, from what I have gathered, it is that I am willing to listen without being judgmental. I'm not always trying to "correct their problems," in other words. I still try and be truthful, but I do try very strongly to not be offensive. And sometimes I just let things go and I think people appreciate that.

 

[Plenipotent]

Hey, thanks for the kind words. I think, from what I have gathered, it is that I am willing to listen without being judgmental. I'm not always trying to "correct their problems," in other words. I still try and be truthful, but I do try very strongly to not be offensive. And sometimes I just let things go and I think people appreciate that.

That's honestly amazing in and of itself!

 

[All Becomes New]

That's honestly amazing in and of itself!

I recommend it. You (people in general) would be surprised how much just being a listening ear actually helps people. I've literally solved no one's problem, but I have people telling me I have helped them a ton.

 

[Plenipotent]

I recommend it. You (people in general) would be surprised how much just being a listening ear actually helps people. I've literally solved no one's problem, but I have people telling me I have helped them a ton.

I completely agree!

 

[GodDoesListen55]

As someone with a serious mental health diagnosis myself, I can understand this. I just keep plugging away even though it can be stressful at times.

Me, too; I'm just trying to do the best that I can.

 

[revybub]

I don't post often. But just had to day today was quite a remarkable Sunday. Big confirmation from the Lord today in todays service in what I have been meditating on and learning. And thankful my father had the best day today since his surgery.

 

[DragonFox91]

@TheLastGeek
My buddy was telling me all the Christian allegories in The Hobbit yesterday.
We were discussing how CS Lewis felt the allegories should be obvious, & Tolkien thought they should be more subtle. I never really picked up on them in LotR other than the Ring (good things) corrupting, not giving into temptation, & the generic good ultimatle triumph over evil.

But there’s some more he told me about:

The Hobbit (the ordinary) being chosen (this seems like an obvious trope nowadays, but back then, heroes were always the strongest, smartest, etc.)
Gandalf (like God) showing up when you’re doubting most, in trouble most
3 of the characters being a metaphor for the Trinity (he said Elf Kings, I don’t remember 3 Elf Kings, maybe he meant something else, he’s not a big LotR fan, very casual)
12 of the dwarves being a symbol of the Apostles
Each of the rings being a symbol for the 7 deadly sins (in Catholocism) (not sure how this accurate is, there were way more than 7 Rings, I thought)

I was surprised when he told me all of these. I hadn’t picked up on them at all. I'm sure there's more, these are the ones he brought up.

Do you know more? Are you able to clarify the ones he was talking about, or expand? Could just look them up, but would rather discuss it.

 

[Citanul]

3 of the characters being a metaphor for the Trinity (he said Elf Kings, I don’t remember 3 Elf Kings, maybe he meant something else, he’s not a big LotR fan, very casual)

The elves did have three rings, and the final wearers were Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf. So if Gandalf = God then that kind of works as a metaphor for the Trinity, but Galadriel and the rings only show up in Lord of the Rings, not The Hobbit.

12 of the dwarves being a symbol of the Apostles

There were 13 dwarves, so he's got that wrong.

Each of the rings being a symbol for the 7 deadly sins (in Catholocism) (not sure how this accurate is, there were way more than 7 Rings, I thought)

The only way to count seven rings is just by looking at the dwarves' rings as there were seven of those, but those rings don't feature at all in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.

I hadn’t picked up on them at all.

I'm not surprised, as it seems like he's got some of them wrong and others are very much a stretch. Just having a certain number of items/characters which is the same number as a concept in Christianity doesn't mean that there's any connection between the two.

 

[DragonFox91]

The elves did have three rings, and the final wearers were Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf. So if Gandalf = God then that kind of works as a metaphor for the Trinity, but Galadriel and the rings only show up in Lord of the Rings, not The Hobbit.

That's fine, the metaphors can extend into the whole universe.

There were 13 dwarves, so he's got that wrong.

I think he has it right. There were 13, but there's one who's separate from the others.

The only way to count seven rings is just by looking at the dwarves' rings as there were seven of those, but those rings don't feature at all in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.

I agree he's got this wrong.

I'm not surprised, as it seems like he's got some of them wrong and others are very much a stretch. Just having a certain number of items/characters which is the same number as a concept in Christianity doesn't mean that there's any connection between the two.

I disagree. I think he's on the right track, just isn't well-versed in the lore enough to be able to explain them fully. I think you're being overly critical or not understanding the metaphors themselves or looking for them.

Authors pick numbers, items, etc. for reasons, they don't just pull them out of a hat.

 

[Plenipotent]

Not to veer off track from LotR, but I recall someone mentioning that The Matrix had some sort of religious undertones. I can't quite recall the details of what they said, though. Does anyone here have any insights on that?

 

[DragonFox91]

I do not, sorry Pleni. I've never seen The Matrix unfortunately!

 

[Citanul]

Authors pick numbers, items, etc. for reasons, they don't just pull them out of a hat.

They do have reasons, but in Tolkien's case those reasons weren't necessarily in order to be Christian metaphors/allegories. There may have been three elven rings, but was that really meant to be a reference to the Trinity? I did initially say it kind of works, but you need to be able to map Elrond and Galadriel to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and I don't see how. So it seems more plausible that there were other story-related reasons for picking three to be that number.

Not to veer off track from LotR, but I recall someone mentioning that The Matrix had some sort of religious undertones. I can't quite recall the details of what they said, though. Does anyone here have any insights on that?

This supports my point. I remember when it came out that people claimed that it was a powerful Christian movie, although I don't remember the details. It certainly has things in it which can be used to illustrate Christian concepts, but that doesn't mean that the intention was to create a Christian story.

I also once read an analysis of Stairway to Heaven which claimed that it was a Christian song, which also didn't really fly. Sometimes people end up looking too hard for something, and while I'm not saying that Tolkien's works didn't have references to Christianity in them, some of those examples do strike me as cases of looking too hard and making very tenuous (or even incorrect) connections.

 

[Saucy]

On posts where it has info about the user, there should be info on whether they're male or female. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

I'm a male. Just wanted you to know that.

 

[peaceful-forest]

I'm not sure what this means 'posts where it has info about the user', but the majority of people I meet online seem to think I'm a guy, and I can't figure out why for the life of me. I don't think I come across as masculine in any sense, so whatever this is would probably be helpful for me.

I took a screen shot of one of my posts to show what I'm talking about.

See on the side how it shows some info about each of us, but there's nothing about gender? That would help.

 

[Plenipotent]

I took a screen shot of one of my posts to show what I'm talking about.

See on the side how it shows some info about each of us, but there's nothing about gender? That would help.

View attachment 334885

Oh, I see I see. It would be nice to know how to refer to people, I agree.

 

[TheLastGeek]

@TheLastGeek
My buddy was telling me all the Christian allegories in The Hobbit yesterday.
We were discussing how CS Lewis felt the allegories should be obvious, & Tolkien thought they should be more subtle. I never really picked up on them in LotR other than the Ring (good things) corrupting, not giving into temptation, & the generic good ultimatle triumph over evil.

But there’s some more he told me about:

The Hobbit (the ordinary) being chosen (this seems like an obvious trope nowadays, but back then, heroes were always the strongest, smartest, etc.)
Gandalf (like God) showing up when you’re doubting most, in trouble most
3 of the characters being a metaphor for the Trinity (he said Elf Kings, I don’t remember 3 Elf Kings, maybe he meant something else, he’s not a big LotR fan, very casual)
12 of the dwarves being a symbol of the Apostles
Each of the rings being a symbol for the 7 deadly sins (in Catholocism) (not sure how this accurate is, there were way more than 7 Rings, I thought)

I was surprised when he told me all of these. I hadn’t picked up on them at all. I'm sure there's more, these are the ones he brought up.

Do you know more? Are you able to clarify the ones he was talking about, or expand? Could just look them up, but would rather discuss it.

Well. A few thoughts. First, while Tolkien is often quoted as saying he despised allegory, the parallels between his faith and the material that wound up in his legendarium, are glaringly obvious at times. Most notably the way the world (Arda) was created through word/song, the solitary rebellious angel-like figure who is cast out and takes a bunch of other angel-like beings with him, the "will" of Eru (the "god" of Tolkien's universe) being impossible to thwart even through rebellion and evil (akin to "all things work together for good").

The trope of the everyday person becoming the hero was certainly not originated by Tolkien. I think your friend is way off there. Countless other myths and legends had unlikely, humble heroes.

Gandalf doesn't show up when people are in trouble and doubt. If anything, he is more of a Christ-like figure, since he is resurrected from death and returns to his friends to aid them "until his task is done". Gandalf shows up when he shows up, he doesn't pop up whenever things look bleak. He does provide the main source of wisdom and guidance throughout LOTR, though.

As mentioned above, there were 3 rings given to 3 elf-kings, but that's not a metaphor for the Trinity at all, in my opinion. Three is a notable number in countless legends and cultures, sure. But in this case, there's no line to draw between these elves and their rings and the Trinity.

Also as mentioned above, if we're talking about the dwarf party in The Hobbit book, it was 13 dwarves and not 12.

Again, as mentioned above (lol), there were 20 "rings of power" in total (9 given to men, 7 to dwarves, 3 to elves, 1 retained by Sauron).

Your friend sounds like maybe he was just misinformed by someone else, or he may be one of those people who looks for meaning in random numbers.

I hope this helps