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Originally Posted by Tolkien
That Sauron was not himself destroyed in the anger of the One is not my fault: the problem of evil, & its apparent toleration, is a permanent one for all who concern themselves with our world. (Letter to Rhona Beare, 14th October 1958)
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In response to davem: I think Tolkien 'solved' this issue quite thoroughly in Iluvatar's response to Melkor's dissonant music. To inelegantly paraphrase: Do your worst, my theme will finally, entirely triumph by including your music in a way that you cannot imagine. He goes so far as to include men in the second music of the Ainur. Not only will Melkor's, and Sauron's, dissonance be resolved in the end, but mankind will witness it.
That LotR's intrinsic conclusions are not "final" is due to its timeframe, not to any confusion Tolkien had as to why God tolerates evil. His statement in the letter does not indicate to me that Tolkien had personal problems with how God deals with evil; his use of the word "apparent" underlines this. He is simply stating that every serious enquirer will ask the question.
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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
I'm not by any means an authority on The Silm (nor particularly a fan of it), but this passage does seem to show that Tolkien himself conflated Eru with the Christian God. What is also mildly interesting to me is Tolkien's use of 'One' here.
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"The One" is the english translation of the elvish "Eru".