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if 'evil' simply means 'against the purposes of Illuvatar'
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A more accurate quote of myself should read TO CHOOSE against the purposes of Eru. My point is the evil is in the choice, not the hroa or the fea. Hroa are just molocules and cannot be evil. Fea are from Eru, and cannot be evil. It is Eru's allowance of free will that can permit evil into the world. Evil hinges on that moment when a being makes a decision. Again, I agree that the creation of the orcs was enacted by a choice made against the will of Eru, but that evil is Melkor's. Not the orcs.
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we're all agreed that Orcs have fëar, so were they redeemable?
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Based on what JRRT implied, I agree that orcs are redeemable. The mechanism of that redemption seems to be the question. You would think it would require some kind of repentance on their part, some kind of intentional choice. Otherwise, what is the difference in choosing good or bad in the end if all are redeemed? I don't know enough about what JRRT intended to do more than speculate.
Nils, I am confused about where you got an idea about punishment from what I have written. Perhaps I mispoke somewhere, but punishment wasn't on my mind. I do not recall any kind of specific punishment being described for doing evil either, other than Melkor's banishment. I looked at that as permanent separation from all things, including Eru. Kind of mirrors how the Bible describes hell: permanent and complete separation from God. Or, since Eru has the power to make fea, perhaps in the end judgement he might choose to unmake the fea of orcs.