Was Eru a Sadist?

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

"Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy na..."

ZAP!

"I AM YOUR MOTHER, YOU BLIND MORON!"

Yep, Eru/God/Budda/Allah is sadistic alright. He/She/It allows freedom of speech so that we mortals can murder each other at slight disagreements, all for His/Her/Its entertainment.

But let's get back to the question: Was Middle-Earth just a chess-board for Eru? You know, that allegory is actually leave room for another question: why isn't there any instances where Eru stepped in to pull out the source of his annoyance? We read the rebellion the Evil ones. We also read of the disobedience of the Children. But never we read of Eru lifting a finger against them, except in the case of Numenor. But in the case of Numenor, Manwe actually beaconed Eru to take control of the situation.

So are we not left with the image that the Valar are the actual players in the game of chess in Middle-Earth? Eru seemed to take more of a referee's place.