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Originally Posted by Macalaure
However, I think it leads to another question: Is Eru omnipotent or not?
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So far as I know, he is nowhere stated to be, and this is a
very good thing. It's the only thing that lets his character (that of a deity) make any sense. To me, certain religions in the Primary World make a major error in trying to declare their deity is omnipotent.
Because if Eru is not omnipotent, it may be that there are certain consequences of his creatures attempting to rebel against him that he cannot change
qua being their creator (in other words, the idea would be that in the "Tale of Adanel", the story of the Fall of Man in Middle-earth, Eru did not "punish" Men, but merely described what would inevitably happen to them because of their attempt to rebel. He could not stop the changes that would occur in them (shortened life, weakness, etc.), because he is not omnipotent. Eru is called
Sanavaldo, the Almighty, but being Almighty is different than being omnipotent.)