And Eru Smiled

[Formendacil]

Okay, I'm going to go back to explaining WHAT I was saying...

Let's imagine that I decide to write a political thriller, set in Washington D.C. of the present day. It will be based around my fictional hero, but because this is a politics-related story, there will be quite a few real life people in there. Naturally, there will be the President of the United States (Reagen, Bush, Clinton, Bush II, whoever...). He will have, in the book, as much of the "real" President's personality, power, and style as I am capable of putting into the book.

So someone comes along, reads my book, and makes an assumption about a plot thread based on what is known about the "real" President.

Is this assumption justified or not?



So, you see where I'm going? Although Eru can/should stand on His own in Arda, and should not need a translation for readers without a Christian background, it should be permissible for a reader who IS familiar with the Christian God, whom Eru is intended to be a "book translation" of, to assume that he will have all the personality, power, and style of the "real" God.

And while this understanding/belief is not necessary for understanding Eru and His role in the story, it should clarify for the curious reader how Tolkien (the "real" final arbiter of Arda) viewed Eru, and what powers Eru had.

As I recall, my original point was that Eru had the same powers (exercised or no) in Arda as God does in our world (according to Christian religion).