The Ainur and the Children

[Lhunardawen]

A) Evil is a force inherent to Arda and/or its inhabitants and will always be there. If Arda really was the product of the Music of the Ainu, then it was Marred at the moment of its creation and has always had evil in it. Can there ever be an Arda Unmarred if it was evil at the moment of its birth?

symestreem, I doubt that Arda was evil in its birth, since it was only in the middle of the First Theme of the Ainulindalë when Melkor wove his own designs into the song.

But now Iluvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good to him, for in the music there were no flaws.

So evil was not inherent to Arda.

I think that the Unmarring of Arda will require the ultimate destruction of Melkor and his works, not necessarily stripping the Children of Iluvatar of their free will.