Rocks, Hard Places, etc....

[daeron]

How does one decide? But yes, I would agree there is free will. Elven rebellion in Aman , men turing to the dark side corrupted by Morgoth, Numenorean rebellion etc. have convinced me.

I remember a passage from the Silmarillion where Aule is reprimanded by Eru for creating creatures without free will, which have to sit idle when Aule is busy with other issues. He sets off to strike them down when they bow and shrink, bending in fear of the hammer. Eru tells Aule that this response of the dwarfs is that they have been taken over by Eru and have a free will which Aule was not able to give them.

But another interesting thing I want to discuss. Is everything good attributed to presence of God ( or his will) and every bad to his (or its) absence? ( There was one stupid statistics study in which catastrophies were proofs of God's absence and times of harmony and prosperity as proof of his existence which concluded with a 67% chance of his existance.)

But if Eru's will was present why would he create evil and mar his own creations. Does he wish to see his own creations destroyed just so he could have a good time in his "theatre". No, I think free will was present but Eru did give a nudge now and then to set things right again. Like he let Earendil cross the seas or gave Gollum a push down.

Is a vow made to Eru an act of free will. That was what started the events of the first age. So are all those free will? My answer is yes.

Another doubt. Are the creatures of the dark side under free will or under Morgoth's( or Sauron's) will. Aule, a valar couldn't give free will, so can Morgoth, or Sauron, the Maia? Or are they too under Eru's will?