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Originally Posted by Child of the Seventh Age
Simply it is impossible to have an absolutely good act, even by Eru, in a world where evil is woven into the fabric of existence.
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It would be more accurate to say that it is
seemingly impossible. Evil is not woven into the fabric of
existence, but of
Arda. The Valar, not Eru, are bound by Arda. If Eru is good, as I have demonstrated from the text, and all that Eru does is morally upright because morality itself stems from the nature of Eru, then nothing that Eru does can be tainted by evil. Therefore, Eru's permission of evil (necessitated by the freedom designed into his creatures to do other than his will), and use of evil as a tool for his ultimate purpose, is necessarily a morally upright act. That the characters in the story cannot perceive this to be so, underscores the fact that they are not equal to Eru and cannot stand as his judge.
That death is a gift of Eru to Men, actually makes the goodness of Eru easier for Men of Middle Earth to perceive than is the case of their counterparts in the real world, for if death is good, then the death of all those who died in the sinking of Numenor, is not an evil deed at all. This is a separate matter from the mysterious afterlife fate of Men who did evil on Arda.
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Originally Posted by Child
Eru is in a different position and could possibly have made such a choice with clear understanding of its consequences. This is essentially a no-win situation. Whatever Eru does, there will be evil consequences. He is trapped by his own creation and the latitude he has given to his children.
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This is a rather dire picture of the situation as compared to the text:
"it has been said that a {Music} greater still shall be made before Ilúvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Ilúvatar after the end of days. Then the themes of Ilúvatar shall be played aright, and take Being in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the comprehension of each, and Ilúvatar shall give to their thoughts the secret fire, being well pleased.: This seems far from no-win. The end consequences, once all is said and done, will not be evil, for all evil deeds will have been Eru's "instrument in the devising of things more wonderful" than anything his creatures could imagine.