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Originally Posted by davem
But as 'creator' he seems more of an artist - his great concern seems not to be that what is produced be good in any moral sense, but rather that it be 'beautiful'. To the extent that morality comes into it at all it seems to be Eru's annoyance with Morgoth's attempted spoiling of his 'opera'. Eru doesn't seem at all concerned with the suffering that will result on the human/Elven level from allowing Morgoth's dissonances into the creation, only with making sure its impressive, & redounds to his glory. It must be impressive, however much blood is shed. When he pops into Arda to sort out the Numenoreans its the same thing - do something impressive.
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I often view Eru this way as well. I find him a rather disturbing character; not like "God" at all (though he is a lot more honest than God in that he doesn't claim to be all-loving and yet still allows suffering of the innocent). I completely fail how anyone (including Tolkien) can make such a comparison between Eru and God even though Eru gives out the Gift of Men and does not throw Melkor out of the Timeless Halls for attempting to defy him. Giving Death as punishment and throwing Satan out of Heaven are two of the acts that define our understanding of the Christian God, after all. So I don't see the similarity between them. Eru may be Almighty, but he is not omniscient, omnipotent, or omnibenevolent, and neither gives out a moral system for his creatures to follow nor follows one himself.
But even though he plays such a small part in the events (I tend to think it's so that he won't be anthropomorphized by his creatures who see him act), I still find Eru to be a very compelling character just for his inexorability, which is one of the few things he does promise. You can't attempt to rebel against his Will forever; you'll find your place in the end. (This idea also goes directly against the Christian God's statements about eternal damnation and whatnot.) I can definitely see your viewpoint that Eru is hardly necessary to the story and the it's the Valar who "really" run things,
de facto. But I would be disappointed in the story if the Valar were the highest powers; they're even more foolish and negligent than Eru seems (or pretends) to be. I have little liking for them. Plus, "Melkor vs. the Valar" is annoyingly dualistic to me. Having Eru, the One, in the picture allows the story to be viewed more monistically.
I also agree with you in that Tolkien felt a conflict between his beliefs and the story he wanted to write. But I don't see why this is a bad thing. To me, Nordic values and Christian vision (Eru is not like the Christian God, but his "feel" is Abrahamic, I will definitely admit that) put together make for a stronger metaphysical background than either would alone. However, that's simply the way I see things.
And I
still don't think that the Downfall of Númenor was a direct punishment. It actually got Men away from the arbitrary rule of the Valar.