# Of the worship of Iluvatar.......



## redline2200 (Jan 15, 2003)

Does any one know why the men of Numenor are the only people in Arda that have ever worshipped Eru? I mean he is the most powerful being in the whole universe by far, why not worship him? Why does no one else ever even achknoldge the existence of Iluvatar?


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## Gothmog (Jan 15, 2003)

I have found this in Tolkien Letter 156


> Men have 'fallen' – any legends put in the form of supposed ancient history of this actual world of ours must accept that – but the peoples of the West, the good side are Re-formed. That is they are the descendants of Men that tried to repent and fled Westward from the domination of the Prime Dark Lord, and his false worship, and by contrast with the Elves renewed (and enlarged) their knowledge of the truth and the nature of the World. They thus escaped from 'religion' in a pagan sense, into a pure monotheist world, in which all things and beings and powers that might seem worshipful were not to be worshipped, not even the gods (the Valar), being only creatures of the One. And He was immensely remote.
> The High Elves were exiles from the Blessed Realm of the Gods (after their own particular Elvish fall) and they had no 'religion' (or religious practices, rather) for those had been in the hands of the gods, praising and adoring Eru 'the One', Ilúvatar the Father of All on the Mt. of Aman.


I hope that it is of some help


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## Thorondor_ (Sep 12, 2005)

I think that the following quote from the same letter makes things even clearer (emphasis added):


> The Numenoreans thus began a great new good, and as monotheists; but like the Jews (only more so) with only one physical centre of 'worship': the summit of the mountain Meneltarma 'Pillar of Heaven' - literally, for they did not conceive of the sky as a divine residence - in the centre of Numenor; _but it had no building and no temple, as all such things had evil associations_


Perhaps the last part of the quote implies that all relating to Eru was done individually/privately.
[In the Gospel of Thomas,] Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you"


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## Ithrynluin (Sep 13, 2005)

redline2200 said:


> Does any one know why the men of Numenor are the only people in Arda that have ever worshipped Eru? I mean he is the most powerful being in the whole universe by far, why not worship him? Why does no one else ever even achknoldge the existence of Iluvatar?



We don't know that everyone else does not acknowledge his existence. Some people perhaps did not even know of the existence of such a being. Tribes of men perhaps passed down some faint knowledge of him through generations, though this may have been tainted by the lies of Melkor. The ancestors of the Numenoreans obtained their image of Eru from their allies, the elves of Beleriand, who in turn learned about Eru from the Valar. It is interesting to note how it was the Valar who went to find and guide the first elves that awoke by Cuivienen, but it was allegedly Eru himself that spoke to the first men.


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## Grond (Sep 14, 2005)

The Eldar had _Eru manifest_ before them in Manwe. Manwe was "the mind of Eru" on Arda and as such... the Eldar were able to commune with God on a daily basis (at least while they remained in Aman). 

It also seems to me that the Valar would likely not have accepted worship. They seemed to delight in the mere association with the Eldar. 

Cheers,

grond


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