Creation as a series of emanation from Highest Good (It's a bit complicated, since Plato had a vision of a triune God as well - but didn't think of Him as a Person, and assigned attributes of Goodness, Righteousness [at times translated Justice], and Beauty as facets of the trinity, but they're, of course, interdependent and together form the Highest Good), with each further emanation becoming more and more degenerate due to growing distance from the actual God, is a view of Platonic metaphysics. Gnostics essentially followed that, but in more Christian terms, and, of course, viewed God (and lesser sub-creators, such as Sophia and Demiurge) as Person(s).
Tolkien, of course, doesn't follow it straight away and instead writes of the reverse, that by sub-creating we can instead approach closer to God. Still, given just how painstakingly he followed Catholic doctrine in his, to put in his own terms, sub-creation, I must imagine he had really good reasons for 'suddenly' embracing pre-Christian enlightened philosophy instead.
Sources: The Republic; The Symposium; my ass
P.S Mods, this captcha is of the Devil. You've essentially banned TOR. And there's no reason for your ISP and Feds to know you like to visit zzzchan. This place is a gigantic red flag for them, even if /christian/ isn't shooting up mosques or planning to assassinate state dignitaries.