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Originally Posted by Lalwendë
There is an interesting point to consider - if Eru drew a distinction between good/evil then who or what framed these concepts to Eru? Obviously the answer is nobody as Eru is The One, the beginning and end of creation in this world. In that case, there are simply an infinite number of possibilities of thought, behaviour etc and can Eru decide which ones he wants his creations to do? Which ones he wants to reward and which to punish? Can Eru change the rules? He clearly can exercise which rules he likes, as shown by his intervention in Numenor, at the pleading of the earth-bound Valar. Scary.
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I still have not been convinced by these people's arguments that Eru does make such a distinguishment. They define "evil" as going against Eru's Will (Indómë). But to me Eru's statements to Melkor show that no one
can "get outside" Indómë, no matter how hard they try! It will just evolve and continue right along with their changing choices. It's laughable to think of a creation actually having any success in defying its creator, and that is what Eru is trying to show. His creatures have freedom of choice, yes, but they will never truly interfere with the Will of Eru. Rebellion is thus an
illusion, and this is what is bad about it; it constitutes lying to oneself by thinking that one can escape Indómë even though one can't really possibly imagine a situation outside of Eru's influence.
This is why I say the mythology is not about Good and Evil, but about learning. Each creature has to learn how bound up it is with Indómë, and stop lying to itself about its ability to defy it. "The lies of Melkor thou shalt unlearn in bitterness," Mandos sternly tells Fëanor. It's not about defeating Melkor, it's about escaping falsehoods. This is why I can't believe that Eru really would prefer "good" over "evil", because he has not been shown to be bound to a specific morality, since morality is a constructed notion. Eru prefers it when people can see through lies, and he knows that everyone will eventually, so why hurry?
This is probably also the reason that Eru does not try at all to destroy evil and suffering, but merely waits on people to come to enlightenment. This inevitably takes time and experience, and generally a good deal of suffering, too. But Eru has all the "time" he needs, and more: he can outwait their stubborn smallmindedness.
As for Melkor, it was when he went into the Void outside the Timeless Halls that he first got his "strange thoughts". This is, I think, because it was then that he began lying to himself, because he thought he could imagine a place without Eru, this empty Void. (Eru's creatures have the ability to perceive difference; this is what allows them to lie to themselves. Melkor could perceive what made the Void different from the Halls, mainly its apparent featurelessness.) It was for this reason that he wanted the Flame Imperishable, so that he could rule in the Void. As with every other instance of what we call evil, this idea originally came from a lie, from a self-deception, from seeing something as different from what it actually was. Melkor viewed the Void as an empty place without Eru, so he came to view himself as a possible ruler of that Void, without Eru's influence. But Melkor could only contrast the Void with the Timeless Halls because he thought Eru wasn't in the former, which again shows that Eru is the ultimate source of all his ideas (namely because Eru created Melkor, and knew all the possible ranges of his thoughts).