[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

What did Eru do? He merely responded to the request of the Valar to do something, because by laying down their guardianship of the world, they showed that they weren't going to do anything. To the extent that it is possible for one of his creations to do so, they "forced" Eru to make a move.

First, thank you for adding valuable information and perspective to this thread that, until you first posted to it, was lacking.

That death is a gift from Eru to Men is a critical fact that certainly alters the discussion in terms of "innocents being killed".

It is a little much to say that the Valar forced Eru to make a move. By laying down their guardianship they submitted to the authority of their Master. He acted as He had planned from the beginning, as the Ainulindalë shows: "Ilúvatar called together the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Ilúvatar and were silent." This indicates that Eru's will was at work throughout the whole Theme, which is to say that his will was at work throughout the entire history of Arda, including the events of the Akallabêth as well as the War of the Ring.

It must be remembered that Eru is the one who introduced the 2nd theme: the Valar that remained faithful (and their deeds for good in battling against Melkor), and the 3rd theme: the Children of Ilúvatar. "For the Children of Ilúvatar were conceived by him along; and they came with the third theme, and were not in the theme which Ilúvatar propounded at the beginning, and none of hte Ainur had part in their making. Therefore when they beheld them, the more did they love them, being things other than themselves, strange and free, wherein they saw the mind of Ilúvatar reflected anew, and learned yet a little more of his wisdom, which otherwise had been hidden even from the Ainur." So Elves and Men are free and not controlled by the Valar; they are only governed by them. Eru remains the power behind Elves and Men.

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

{Eru} completely neglected {the Numenoreans}, because they had done the same.

Eru propounded the themes and the Ainur listened - thus, Eru was from the beginning the only active agent in Elves and Men; he gave their governance to the Valar, but not control of their lives. Every Child of Ilúvatar has a fëa (spirit in the form of fire/light), something the Valar have not the power to bestow: a fëa comes from Eru. Therefore, Eru's hand and will are present in the making of every Elf and Man. Bodies and mind and will may come through lineage, but a fëa is fire and light, and as such cannot pass through lineage; it can only be created in each Elf or Man by Eru.

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

Now, a word about Eru: I really can't see him as a moral figure. He can't really be bound to morality himself.

Eru is not bound by morality, or it would be his master; rather, he is the creator of it, and as such, morality comes from him.

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

Furthermore, he did not "punish" Melkor for being "immoral", he simply let him be and do as he wished, though he did warn Melkor of the consequences of his actions (namely, that his plans would not ultimately be successful).

As to Punishment: what, if Eru "did not 'punish' Melkor for being 'immoral', is being cast into the Void? Furthermore, "But Manwë was the brother of Melkor in the mind of Ilúvatar, and he was the chief instrument of the second theme that Ilúvatar had raised up against the discord of Melkor; and he called unto himself many spirits both greater and less, and they came down into the fields of Arda and aided Manwë, lest Meklor should hinder the fulfillment of their labour for ever, and Earth should wither ere it flowered. And Manwë said unto Melkor: 'This kingdom thou shalt not take for thine own, wrongfully, for many others have laboured here no less than thou.' And there was strife between Melkor and the other Valar; and for that time Melkor withdrew and departed to other regions and did there what he would; but he did not put the desire of the Kingdom of Arda from his heart."

Manwë, "dearest to Ilúvatar", names Melkor's deeds, drawn from his discordant theme in the Music, as wrongful; that is, full-wrong: a moral judgement.

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

If Eru made the quintessential "moral" and "immoral" figures of Arda, namely Manwë and Melkor, but is neither beholden to them nor gives any of his creatures any moral code to follow (this is the way in which he perhaps differs most from any Primary World deity), then how are we to assume he is moral?

The moral code is at first presented in the form of Music: that which is presented as pleasing to Ilúvatar are: harmony, flawlessness, unity, beauty; that which is presented as not pleasing to Ilúvatar are: discord, despondency, disturbance, faltering, turbulent sound, wrath, dismay, violence, singing no more, confusion. Only a few of these adjectives, which Tolkien sprinkles through the account of the Music, has to do with music, per sé; the remainder have strong moral connotations and implications.

As to "how are we to assume {Eru} is moral", it is not an assumption we make; rather, it is a necessary logical conclusion. If Eru is creator of all things, and not moral, then morality cannot be part of his creation. If it is not part of his creation, then it can only have preceded him. If it preceded him, it necessarily has to have created him, for if he is not first, then something had to create him; and morality would therefore be superior to him; and this is of course an impossibility, since it is at odds with what Tolkien wrote. Therefore, Eru must be the creator of morality; and since this must be so, morality necessarily exists according to the nature of Eru.

Originally Posted by Tar Telperien

Eru simply creates. Morality is a product of the fact that his creatures were designed in a certain way, and have limitations (namely, the ability to be hurt by others of his creatures). Morality rises from design and the practical facts of life in Arda, not by divine command.

If design is not divine command, what is it? In fact, it cannot be anything other than part of divine command; therefore, if morality is a product of design, then it must be a product of Eru's command. Your distinction is erroneous.