> Lord of the Rings is a Catholic Christian morality tale set in the third age of our world. We are now in the year 2024 of the seventh age. It is our world and

> Lord of the Rings is a Catholic Christian morality tale set in the third age of our world. We are now in the year 2024 of the seventh age. It is our world and it is no more or less fiction than the Song of Roland is. This is contradictory. The Catholic Church has its own history of the world, which is set down in the Bible, and they would consider any alternative history -- such as the one Tolkien wrote about, if you've interpreted it correctly -- to be a heresy. Simple as that. St. Augustine wrote of Six Ages: The First "is from the beginning of the human race, that is, from Adam, who was the first man that was made, down to Noah, who constructed the ark at the time of the flood". The Second "extends from that period on to Abraham, who was called the father indeed of all nations". The Third "extends from Abraham on to David the king". The Fourth is "from David on to that captivity whereby the people of God passed over into Babylonia". The Fifth is "from that transmigration down to the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ" The Sixth: "With His coming the sixth age has entered on its process."