A plea to the Catholics on my flist

Or, you know, anyone familiar with Catholic doctrine and dogma.

As you may or may not know, my thesis topic is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It posits that one of the ways in which the novel is "fundamentally Catholic" is in the way Tolkien depicts the relationship between master and servant. I argue (well, I will) that the various master/servant relationships illustrate the many ways in which men interact with God, and sometimes also how God's servants interact with each other.

Now, no one has written on this topic before-- at least, not that I've been able to find. This in not necessarily a bad thing, as it makes it easier to write the two chapters in which I analyze the books themselves. I'm basically going to be doing a close reading. But it does make it harder for me to base my arguments in context. And I desperately want to make sure I'm understanding where Tolkien would have been coming from with this.

My second chapter, then, explores the precedent that Tolkien might be playing with. I'm looking at the historical feudal relationship (as it was understood at the time; newer research has changed our understanding, apparently), and the way that such relationships were depicted in the literature Tolkien loved and was familiar with, like Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and other medieval literature. And then I want to look at the religious precedent.

The problem is, my knowledge of Catholic doctrine and dogma on this subject is practically nonexistent, and I'm unsure how to research it. I know, though, that there are quite a few Catholics on my flist, and so I'm asking for your help.

What English translation of the Bible do Catholics usually read? Has it changed since the early 20th century? I know Tolkien knew Latin and could therefore rely on the Vulgate (which is the official Latin Bible, right?) but I can't read Latin, and therefore need to rely on an English translation. But the only one I've ever used is the King James Version, which I know Catholics decidedly don't use.

Beyond that, I'm trying to find anywhere in Catholic thought that might describe the relationship between God and Man using the master/servant metaphor. Does the Catholic church have an official catechism? And again, is it the same as it was in Tolkien's day? What about early church fathers, or official edicts, or some such thing? If Tolkien were a Mormon, I'd know exactly where to go to find such things, but since he was a Catholic, I'm stumped. I really don't even know where to start.

And I'm sure I just showed my complete and utter ignorance concerning Catholicism. I knew I should have taken that Comparative Religion class as an undergrad. . .

A plea to the Catholics on my flist

Or, you know, anyone familiar with Catholic doctrine and dogma.

As you may or may not know, my thesis topic is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It posits that one of the ways in which the novel is "fundamentally Catholic" is in the way Tolkien depicts the relationship between master and servant. I argue (well, I will) that the various master/servant relationships illustrate the many ways in which men interact with God, and sometimes also how God's servants interact with each other.

Now, no one has written on this topic before-- at least, not that I've been able to find. This in not necessarily a bad thing, as it makes it easier to write the two chapters in which I analyze the books themselves. I'm basically going to be doing a close reading. But it does make it harder for me to base my arguments in context. And I desperately want to make sure I'm understanding where Tolkien would have been coming from with this.

My second chapter, then, explores the precedent that Tolkien might be playing with. I'm looking at the historical feudal relationship (as it was understood at the time; newer research has changed our understanding, apparently), and the way that such relationships were depicted in the literature Tolkien loved and was familiar with, like Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and other medieval literature. And then I want to look at the religious precedent.

The problem is, my knowledge of Catholic doctrine and dogma on this subject is practically nonexistent, and I'm unsure how to research it. I know, though, that there are quite a few Catholics on my flist, and so I'm asking for your help.

What English translation of the Bible do Catholics usually read? Has it changed since the early 20th century? I know Tolkien knew Latin and could therefore rely on the Vulgate (which is the official Latin Bible, right?) but I can't read Latin, and therefore need to rely on an English translation. But the only one I've ever used is the King James Version, which I know Catholics decidedly don't use.

Beyond that, I'm trying to find anywhere in Catholic thought that might describe the relationship between God and Man using the master/servant metaphor. Does the Catholic church have an official catechism? And again, is it the same as it was in Tolkien's day? What about early church fathers, or official edicts, or some such thing? If Tolkien were a Mormon, I'd know exactly where to go to find such things, but since he was a Catholic, I'm stumped. I really don't even know where to start.

And I'm sure I just showed my complete and utter ignorance concerning Catholicism. I knew I should have taken that Comparative Religion class as an undergrad. . .