[Raynor]

Originally Posted by obloquy

Whether morality applies solely to physical creation in our universe (and whether there is such thing as immaterial creation) is certainly debatable elsewhere.

Well, I take the liberty to give it a try, should anyone feel interested.

Originally Posted by obloquy

All it amounts to is Melkor dabbling in everyone else's sauce, making it all more to his taste.

I find it really difficult to challenge that, since I can't rely on facts or evidence, seeing that all this happens before a "humanly" conceivable world. All I can put forward are my personal thoughts. Should we agree that moral judgment can be applied before Ea, doesn't his behavior require a stricter view? I believe the problem is two-pronged; I would say the valar did have rights, to express themselves peacefully, and Melkor interfered with that, with the intention to subvert what they were doing. And if it is intention that counts, then even in a child's play, or in arts, deeds can have moral consequences. I would further argue that what they were doing had nothing trivial about it; the making of music seemed to be their primary activity, the fundamental way in which they learned about each other and of the mind of Iluvatar; this would only aggravate Melkor's subversion. However, even greater than this, seems to be Melkor's intent to challenge directly even Iluvatar. In a theist world, isn't this a sin per se? Could it be amoral to go one-on-one with the Creator, in front of everyone else? No matter how little or much he knew, isn't it a prerequisite that you treat the ultimate being with utmost respect, in each and every aspect? I believe that Melkor having the ultimate proof of the existence of Eru can only put evil at the root of his disrespect. I think that Melkor had all it took for him to make realise what he was doing, so I see both his deed and his intent as evil - with his retribution coming either then (with the humiliation in front of others), or during Ea, or afterwards.

Originally Posted by obloquy

Additionally, to reiterate what I expressed a few posts ago, Arda's healing may be possible solely because of Melkor's vast vitality, which he poured into creation more than any other sub-creator.

I don't think that this action gives him credit, since the healing wouldn't be necessary should he not have erred; I see the healing as a negative point in his activity - it is the one thing that most likely requires the greatest "effort" from Iluvatar to counter. I do see that his marring brought greater glory to Iluvatar, it gave more valor to Men (& all the others who opposed him), and these are good in and of themselves, but they most likely occur due to the active intervention of Eru, without which most likely the opposite would happen.