Ilúvatar good & evil

[Ruinel]

I've been thinking lately about Ilúvatar/Eru. Most people like to think of him as being like the modern Christian god: all good, benevolent, loving.

However, a couple of things come to mind. In the story of the creation of Eá, Eru creates the Valar. Most of them are good and one is evil. He also creates the Maiar. Again, some good, some more prone to evil. In addition, many evil beings came from Melkor (the Orcs).

Something else I thought of also, Eru takes a back seat to his creation. Only the Valar have any hand in it at all, from the trees to the war with Melkor. When Christians pray, they pray to their god, not to any sub-gods. So, in this respect, Eru is different from the modern Christian god. (This is just a side note, you may discuss this if you wish.)

I pose a question: if all things were made by Eru, then doesn't evil also come from Eru?

If this is true, then Eru is more dimensional than just the picture of the modern Christian god.