[Cvengr]

I agree with your comments SaltyJoe. Those who have studied Scripture or theology or at least have a relationship with God, probably also find interest in the Lord of the Rings trilogy because of these issues.

Those who don't and haven't are fairly well voiced here,..ranging from those who find the issue irrelevant to those who become occultic.

It's funny how even a presentation of these issues, as though it were fiction, to be as un-imposing as possible, is still met with dismissal by those who are arrogant and have already begun their slide.

[Squeako]

Well, if you're referring to me, I'm just pointing out that there are simple physical deficiencies that cause the kind of emotional and physical issues that very much resemble Gollum's behavior, in real people. I know because I have been there and it's not pretty. Taking a B-vitamin made a world of difference.

To simply say "It's sin" as did my family and pastor, and dismiss the obvious physical contributing factors (again, as did my family and pastor) doesn't end up solving the physical problem. If your stomach is growling because you're hungry, you need to eat. If you're deficient in a particular vitamin because of a poor diet, you need to modify your diet or supplement it. It's one of those things we can figure out with the brains God gave us.

It's not arrogant to recognize your body requires certain things and denying it the sustenance causes problems.