Iluvatar(Eru)

[?The Creator?]

What were Iluvatar's plans before Melkor went evil? I mean after the songs of the Ainur and the creation of Ea.

 

[Celebthôl]

I believe that Ilúvatar already knew then that Melkor would be evil/was evil.

 

[Feanorian]

Well...lets take a look at what the professor has to say about it:

From the Published Silmarillion

and therefore in a while he was given leave to go freely about the land, and it seemed to Manwë that the evil of Melkor was cured. For Manwë was free from evil and could not comprehend it, and he knew that in the beginning, in the thought of Ilúvatar, Melkor had been even as he

 

[Eriol]

That means only that Manwë knew (or thought he knew, of course; Manwë's knowledge is not perfect, as the quote itself shows) that Melkor and himself were equal in Ilúvatar's mind at the beginning. It says nothing about what Eru himself thought, right?

My own opinion is that Eru knew that Melkor would turn to evil; which is NOT the same as saying that Eru created Melkor as an evil being.

 

[Lhunithiliel]

Could Eru even think that a new world would be perfect by just being ONLY good?
I doubt it!
I think that the Creator had introduced the ever-present "good-evil" pattern at the very early initial stage when creating the Ainur.
I think Melkor was meant to be evil.... In fact not only he!

Because... there can be no understanding of good if it is not contrasted against "evil"... Right?