Theology In Milton's "Paradise Lost"

Author

• Ernest J. Wilderson, Xavier University of Louisiana

Date of Award

1943

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Keywords

Paradise Lost, John Milton, Theology, Free Will, Predestination, Trinity, Creation, Satan, Fall of Man, Redemption, Church Fathers, Comparative Religion, Protestant Reformation, HBCU Thesis

Abstract

This thesis, submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Xavier University in partial fulfillment of requirements for a Master of Arts degree in 1943, examines the theological content of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost through systematic comparison with the accepted doctrines of Christian and non-Christian religious traditions. The study analyzes six major theological themes in the poem: the Trinity, Creation, Free Will, Satan, the Fall of Man, and the Redemption. For each theme, the author compares Milton's poetic elaborations against the teachings of Catholic Church Fathers including Augustine, Aquinas, Hilary of Poitiers, and Chrysostom, as well as Protestant reformers including Calvin, Luther, and Wyclif, and non-Christian sources including the Talmud, the Koran, the Zohar, and Zoroastrian texts. The study finds that while Milton's theology broadly follows the historic Catholic system as modified by the Reformation, his treatment of the Trinity reflects Arian and Unitarian tendencies, his cosmology draws on theories of eternal matter incompatible with orthodox creation doctrine, and his doctrine of free will stands in deliberate opposition to Calvinist predestination. The author concludes that Paradise Lost represents Milton's sustained effort to justify the ways of God to man through a synthesis of Christian and non-Christian theological traditions shaped by his commitment to moral and religious freedom.

Recommended Citation

Wilderson, Ernest J., "Theology In Milton's "Paradise Lost"" (1943). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 148.
https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/etd/148