And Eru Smiled

[davem]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

So, you see where I'm going? Although Eru can/should stand on His own in Arda, and should not need a translation for readers without a Christian background, it should be permissible for a reader who IS familiar with the Christian God, whom Eru is intended to be a "book translation" of, to assume that he will have all the personality, power, and style of the "real" God.

And while this understanding/belief is not necessary for understanding Eru and His role in the story, it should clarify for the curious reader how Tolkien (the "real" final arbiter of Arda) viewed Eru, and what powers Eru had.

As I recall, my original point was that Eru had the same powers (exercised or no) in Arda as God does in our world (according to Christian religion).

This is applicability, & is an individual choice/reacction to the text. I do feel (personal opinion expresed here) that applicability can only happen when the enchantment has been broken or left behind - because I think that while one is caught up in the secondary world one would be experiencing the characters & their world in their own right.

My understanding of the process of 'applicability' is that having been in the secondary world we may bring out our memories of it & apply them to things in the primary world, which process may actually give the primary world an air or 'echo' of the enchantment we experienced in the secondary world. But, it doesn't work the other way - if we apply our 'memories'/knowledge of the primary world to the secondary world while we are 'in' there, the enchantment will not work. This is because the primary world, by its nature is not enchanted, but mundane. Experience of the secondary world may 'enchant' our vision so that when we look on the primary world again it will seem to have an enchanted air, but if we carry things from the primary world into the secondary they will make it seem mundane by association.