[davem]

You genuinely expect that from a religious person? To put God in a frame? May I ask if you are theist?

I think you lose sight of spiritual meaning the myth has for Tolkien, that of returning us to an un-fallen state, of a more special communion. I hardly see how this can be achieved by rationalising God. Of course, that may not suit some critics. They way Eru is presented is not a literary flaw, but a religious necessity; I would venture so far as to say even a philosophical one - who can put transcendence into words?

I expect it from an author.

LotR is not a religious work. It is, first & foremost, as Tolkien stated in the Foreword to LotR, an 'entertainment'. The point is that Eru is both transcendent (in which aspect he cannot be judged) & immanent (in which aspect he can).

You mean Manwe would have made more sense if he would have kept Melkor indefinitely, despite the initial judgement? What sort of justice is that?? What could have justified such an arbitrary change of thought? Please explain.

'Arbitrary'? He knew Melkor was still dangerous, he was not certain that he wouldn't go back to his old ways. If he was smart he wouldn't have set any limit on Melkor's terms of imprisonment at all.

If you really believe that God here is reffered to by Tolkien only as Eru, I really don't know how to convince you; you seem to disregard again the spiritual underlying of his myth making.

I choose to believe that Tolkien was only referring to Eru - because if he really believed that it would only confirm to me that he was failing to seperate the primary & secondary worlds in his own mind - something I think it would be wise for us all to do. Eru is a character invented by Tolkien, & plays the role of creator within the secondary world. To think of Eru as in anyway equivalent to the creator of the primary world is, in my opinion, crossing a very dangerous line. Where do you stop - is it only the creator of M-e that you consider as equivalent to God, or do you consider the creator figures in other fantasies as also equivalent. Of course, to my mind, once you start thinking of LotR as a Christian work that line is too easy to cross, & its an area I will not stray into, caonsidering my sanity, such as it is, too precious.

Eru may, or may not, reflect Tolkien's own thoughts on the nature of God, but it is a step too far for the reader to consider them as equivalent in any way. If God is a transcendent mystery then Tolkien would have inevitably had a limited perception of him, & one can question the extent to which he was correct, but that is a very different thing to considering them 'the same thing'.