Did Gollum deserve death?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Beth

We could also consider if this gift to Man represents Eru's form of revision of his creation.

However, the Silmarillion, the letters and the Athrabeth all show that Men were designed from the beginning to die

Originally Posted by Athrabeth

[Finrod] remains, nonetheless, in the opinion that the condition of Men before the disaster (or as we might say, of unfallen Man) cannot have been the same as that of the Elves. That is, their 'immortality' cannot have been the longevity within Arda of the Elves; otherwise they would have been simply Elves, and their separate introduction later into the Drama by Eru would have no function.

Originally Posted by Letter #208

I said, or meant to say, that the 'message' was the hideous peril of confusing true 'immortality' with limitless serial longevity. Freedom from Time, and clinging to Time. The confusion is the work of the Enemy, and one of the chief causes of human disaster.