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Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man
I have to disagree with you there. Orcs are a part of Arda and are therefore relevant to any discussion concerning the nature of its ultimate Creator and His realtionship with good and evil. One might seek to explain them, but one cannot dismiss them.
The explanation most consistent with the theological and moral tone of the Legendarium, I suppose, is that Orcs were mere beasts or automatons, rather than a sentient and free-willed race of beings. But I have never been able to accept this proposition as it is wholly at odds with my conception of Orcs, particularly those whom we meet as individuals, as derived from Tolkien's published works.
And yet they do seem only to have limited free-will. There is no suggestion that Orcs were able to choose between good and evil, and indeed the clear indication is that they were unable to act in any way other than evilly.
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What I was saying is that the orks cannot be presented as strong evidence in this argument one way or another, with regards to a forgiving/condemning Eru, because we do not know their origins and their degree of free will.
If they do not have free will, then how is it wrong/unjust to condemn them? And as you note, there is conflicting evidence about how free the orks wills are exactly. Even Tolkien couldn't make his mind up.