Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic. He once described The Lord of the Rings to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, as a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. Many theological themes underlie the narrative, including the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, and the activity of grace, as seen with Frodo's pity toward Gollum. In addition the epic includes the themes of death and immortality, mercy and pity, resurrection, salvation, repentance, self-sacrifice, free will, justice, fellowship, authority and healing. Tolkien mentions the Lord's Prayer, especially the line And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil in connection with Frodo's struggles against the power of the One Ring. Tolkien said Of course God is in The Lord of the Rings. The period was pre-Christian, but it was a monotheistic world, and when questioned who was the One God of Middle-earth, Tolkien replied The one, of course! The book is about the world that God created - the actual world of this planet.