[davem]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

For me, the quotes I cited above preclude this possibility. I don't believe that Eru was accessible in any manner (for Aiwendil: at least not yet).

Ok. because we've strayed into the metaphysics (if not the theology) of Middle earth, I'll throw out a few of my own speculations - for what they're worth...

The Secret Fire is not Eru Himself, it is the Middle-earth equivalent of the Holy Spirit. It procedes from Eru Illuvatar & burns at the heart of the created World. I see no problem with the idea that it is, in that sense, equivalent to the 'fea' of Arda.

What the Athrabeth refers to is Eru entering physically as well as spiritually into Arda, & becoming a full part of it. The Secret Fire is what animates all things in Arda & is, in essence, what constitutes the individual's fea - like the breath of God which He breathed into Adam.

I don't have a problem with the Ring being destroyed by physical force. It has to do with the way I view "magic" in Middle earth. I view it as being a built in part of the system, and it can be affected by other things in that system. Volcanoes are so incredibly hot that I find it credible that the heat alone could overcome the power of Sauron's spell and destroy the Ring. (Citation: Gandalf says that the door to the Chamber of Mazarbul still being breakable by strength even after he put a spell on it.)

Indeed. The physical door could be destroyed by physical force. The physical aspect of the Ring - its 'hroa' - could be destroyed by the intense physical heat of the Fires. But how could the evil which it embodies - its 'fea' - be destroyed? On entering the Fire it is 'unmade' ie it is totally destroyed. The Ring has this 'dual' aspect - it exists as a physical object & as a locus of spiritual evil. The physical fires destroy the gold, the spiritual fires unmake the evil. I would also speculate that this would be why only those Fires could shatter (unmake) the Palantiri - also physical objects imbued with a 'magical/'spiritual' aspect.