Ben Stout

Gaming theology history

[History Nerd @_HistoryNerd]

J.R.R. Tolkien explains why he spent years building Middle-earth before writing The Lord of the Rings.

In a rare interview, Tolkien is asked why he devoted more than a decade to creating the world behind his stories before writing them.

He rejects the idea that Middle-earth emerged purely from his unconscious, describing himself instead as “a meticulous sort of bloke” who spent years working out timelines, languages, histories, customs, and genealogies until everything fit together.

For Tolkien, the world existed before the story.

He even says The Hobbit began almost by accident, explaining that the larger mythology was already in place and that the novel simply became absorbed into it.

When asked why anyone would build an entire fictional world before telling a story, Tolkien points to what he calls “subcreation.”

As creations of a Creator, he argues, humans naturally desire to create. Since we cannot create something from nothing, we instead reshape existing reality into new forms that are both imaginative and aesthetically satisfying.

Tolkien also rejects the idea that art should be driven solely by moral purpose, insisting that beauty and aesthetics are just as fundamental to human creativity.

Discussing good and evil, he explains that Sauron was not evil from the beginning but fell from grace, much like Lucifer. The One Ring, he says, symbolizes a power so absolute that even someone with good intentions would inevitably be corrupted by wielding it.

He adds that this idea long predates the atomic age, noting that the foundations of his mythology were developed while he was still an undergraduate, not as an allegory for modern events.

At the end of the interview, Tolkien is asked whether he would rather be remembered for what he said or for what he made. He dismisses the distinction, arguing that lasting creations endure precisely because they have something meaningful to say.

Source: The Tolkien Professor interview with J.R.R. Tolkien (BBC, 1968), “J.R.R. Tolkien Interview (1968).

[Michelle Maxwell ™ @MichelleMaxwell]

The insanity of the Left on full display. How do we co-exist with people like this?

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@RobotsWon @Davidstout @BernieSanders Great question “reality”

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@RobotsWon @Davidstout @BernieSanders Correction involves having a point. Do you understand Ad Hominem attack fallacy? ✌️

[David Stout @Davidstout]

If @BernieSanders detests artificial intelligence, we can be certain that we are making progress.

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@RobotsWon @Davidstout @BernieSanders Progress never comes from socialism. It only degrades through division of society and rots morals and innovation birthing only communism.

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@Mappy6984 I have hoped for the future generation in this video. They were way more mature than the adult they were interacting with.

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@ImMeme0 @itsdeaann So easy to rebottle this is crazy easy layups this kid is giving him, but he isn’t taking him. I guess he’s being an interviewer a proper one, but definitely some pushback could’ve been a little clearer

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@chaotichermes He backtracked so hard, never answered her question or backed his claim. The Democrats are more patriotic, pivot, pivot, pivot, wonderful signs of bad argumentation sadly, she wasn’t that good at going for the jugular either though.

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@chaotichermes Islam is not protected by the US Constitution

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@chaotichermes He failed so bad at being patriotic he calls our constitutional republic of democracy

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@7signxx Drop some names who are these organizations go ahead what are all these organizations that categorize the conflict in Gaza as genocide?

[Ben Stout @benstout48]

@7signxx That’s disgusting, horrible conflicting and somehow making less of the holocaust is supposed to bring better or Claire elect genocide. This is a horrible excuse for an intelligent conversation.

[FreedomToons @Freedom_Toons]

If Black Mirror Was Written in 1750

[Talk Church @churchtalkative]

The Author & Perfecter of our FAITH 🥶💪🏼

[GodlyVibez Studios @GVStudios_TV]

🚨Angry family crashes out on preacher in Stockyards Texas🤯

[Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @DrewPavlou]

Billie Eilish reported me to ICE and got me deported cause I joked about flying to the US and moving into her mansion

She literally said “no one is illegal on stolen land” but called ICE on me

Honestly amazing performance art, I somehow managed to get Billie Eilish and American liberals to endorse border control and deportations

The pain was worth it for the meme

[Olivia Sorbo ✞ @oliviasorbo_]

WHAT

Woke "pastor" kicks out people who were wearing "Jesus loves you shirts"