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If, on the other hand, we were to determine from Tom's behaviour that he is not marred, then neither burra's embodiment of Eä theory nor any Bombadil as Arda inhabitant theory can explain his existence.
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I put forward, tentatively, that we look at Arda in a in a similar way to the planet Zonama Sekot, in the SW books Rouge Planet and New JEdi ORder: Force Heretic: Reunion [that really is the title].
In it the planet Zonama has a sentient soul, 'Sekot'. It is able to materialize in human form, converse with sentients, guide the re/actions of the planet etc.
If we have a similar thing in Bombadil, then it does beg the questions:
- Could not Tom/spirit of Ea then manifest orudruin in his palm for a moment?
- and as already posited, 'what of the Marring'.
Fot the first question, we could answer that Tom inutively or otherwise felt it was not his job to destroy the ring even if he could.
For the second, I will propose a sort of Aquinasish dualism of Ea having a Hroa and Fea, and that TOm is the Fea, and that it is the Hroa that has fallen.
Tom's 'body' i.e. the world, has developed a viral sickness due to Melkor's dissemination of his fallen will into the fabric of Ea, but Tom has remained more or less resistant to it.
HE can not overcome it in his body [Ea] but he being the spirit of Ea is not harmed by ti either.
As a final analogy, does a man's soul become ill if the man does?
In some cases perhaps, but it certainly not be considered a given.
BTW - I do not personally ascribe to the 'the body is fallen, but the mind and soul and spirit are not' theology [it is specifically contradicted in Orthodox Christian theology] which I have seen [correctly or not I can not say] ascribed to Dr. Aquinas. But if it is true, JRRT may well have agreed.
As for the a creature being able to 'fully know itself'. I think that this is all extremely relative, with near self-oblivioousness and near perfect self-knowledge [being a gift of grace] being possible for sentient creatures.
To support this would require quite alot of background citations from Hagiographical and metaphysical sourcetexts, and it is in any case, as a discussable theory{ not in reality} dependant on one's belief system, so I will not elaborate.