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Thank you, Hair. My main beef is with the next to last paragraph or so, though the whole article is stupid, badly written, and just wrong.

And at its core, The Lord of the Rings isn't a story about frilly shirts and talking frogs; it's a tale about temptation. Frodo isn't a knight in shining armor; he's not even a wizard in a pointy hat. His only claim to fame, his sole superpower, is his uncommon ability to resist the seductive, corrupting temptation of the all-powerful Ring he carries. And as hard as he fights against that temptation, in the end he fails.

Well, let's ignore the SPOILER for the ENTIRE TRILOGY that they throw in and see that they're completely wrong. LotR is not primarily about temptation. It's about power. Tempation figures in as resisting - or not - power. And Frodo did give in but Tolkien is quite clear that Frodo could not have done otherwise; only a perfect being could have. It's a very Christian idea, that even our best is not good enough, but that God will make it work.

The other issue in this article, that fantasy is more popular than SF, is also wrong. They are two sides of the same coin. We look back and forward in order to better understand today. And what do they expect to get if they interview the SCA, anyway?

I'll get flamed for saying this, but here goes. Tolkein was a devout Roman Catholic, and while one may love the book, I believe that one cannot really understand the book unless one understands and - dare I say - embraces Roman Catholic doctrine regarding sin, temptation, evil, and in the end, Supernatural Grace.

And what do they expect to get if they interview the SCA, anyway?

Good home brewed ale and mead? Dancing until 2am? Fighting in armor, fencing, archery? Parties, camping, and campfires? Fun?

Don't blame the SCA just because the media is overrun by elitist, left-wing doofuses.