[Guinevere]

Davem wrote

It is nothing less than an attempt to justify God's creation of an imperfect world filled with suffering, grief & loss

I suppose that Tolkien is saying we can't judge the world from within it, that only an 'eternal' perspective can make sense of the world. For those who believe this world is all there is, then it will seem that evil, pain & suffering is the norm, & if there is a creator, & we judge Him only by events in this world, He will probably seem cruel & possibly sadistic, but if we make our judgement based on a transcendent view, then our judgement will inevitably be different.

I agree very much!! I've always felt something like this, but am not able to find the words to express such things....

In the Ainulindale , Eru says

"...nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined."

And after the flight of the Noldor it is told

... Manwë wept and bowed his head. But at the last word of Fëanor : that at the least the Noldor should do deeds to live in song for ever, he raised his head, as one that hears a voice far off, and he said: "So shall it be! Dear-bought these songs shall be accounted, and yet shall be well-bought. For the price could be no other. Thus even as Eru spoke to us shall beauty not before conceived be brought into Ea, and evil yet be good to have been." But Mandos said: "And yet remain evil. To me Fëanor shall come soon."

In the LotR, Haldir expresses a similar feeling:

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

It is somehow an attempt to explain the presence of evil and suffering...that they are even somehow necessary.

When reading LotR, I get a comforting feeling, that there is a merciful providence behind it all that will somehow turn things out for the best. There is a balance of sadness and joy. Good is usually rewarded and evil punished.

But when reading the Silmarillion which is much more tragic and sad, I often felt a bit like Bombadil who started this thread. Well, I didn't exactly assume that Eru was a sadist, but I kept asking myself constantly "why?" Why all this suffering and this injustice? (Well, actually, when looking around in the world or at history, I feel just the same!) Especially Húrin and Túrin's fate moved me (and reminded me somehow of Job, too!) and I wondered what made Tolkien write it this way, so differently from LotR ?

Eventually (after much pndering and reading Tolkien's letters) I've come to think just about that which Davem wrote and I quoted above.

Hope this made sense, I'm not good at expressing myself.