LotR -- Book 3 - Chapter 11 - The Palantír

[Kuruharan]

Lalwendë

The only problem with this definition is that if being holy also means being pure and without taint, then many of the Ainur fail, even the 'good'.

I didn't mean that they could not make errors of judgment. However, they are free of evil will. In his superlative creation of the Dwarves, Aule erred in judgment but he did not have an evil will in doing so. (Evil will seems to ultimately boil down to desiring domination for one's self).

That seems tangled to me. Or is it a case of 'God's will'? Even if what is done by God seems wrong or cruel to us?

I think it is considerably less tangled than trying to explain why Sauron was able to harness the Secret Fire...

If so, then there is a message in the creation of and the lust for the Silmarils, almost as if they are 'graven images'

I don't think this is an inappropriate comparison.

davem

I don't see the Light as being Eru Himself but as proceeding from Him. It is not His manifestation in Arda but rather his 'power' manifesting there. The Light is the Light which the Secret Fire produces. So, I don't have a problem with the Light being visible to the Eruhini, as it is not the Secret Fire itself which would be visible to them, only the 'effect' of it.

I believe this is closer to what Tolkien wrote regarding Eru's presence in Arda. I don't entirely agree with it, but it would be difficult to argue against on the basis of Tolkien's writing.

This would show that Saruman has misunderstood, or lost touch with, the truth. The Light may be broken, but not the Secret Fire itself. Saruman seems to have conflated the two. Hence, he has 'left the path of Wisdom'.

I think this could be compelling.

Formendacil

And while bringing this up does stray a bit from the topic (ie. the Chapter) at hand

psssst...we've abandoned the Chapter to fend for itself...

Perhaps the Melkor-element in Arda is not only stronger in certain elements, but also in certain places. My theory is that Orodruin was home to a very strong concentration of Melkor-element, which made it very destructive (hence the ability to destroy things otherwise close to unbreakable, eg. the Palantiri), as well as logical place for Sauron to seek out.

Well, that is an interesting theory...however, Mount Doom may not have existed at the time when Morgoth was rampaging freely about the lands. It was submerged under the Inland Sea of Helcar.