The religious views of John Milton influenced many of his works focusing on the nature of religion and of the divine. He differed in important ways from the

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

with which he is associated, particularly concerning the doctrines of grace and predestination. The unusual nature of his own

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

has been characterized as both Puritan and Independent.

Theological political writings

Church government

After the start of the Bishops' Wars, a movement was started calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England and the religious hierarchy. Milton joined in on a pamphlet war that soon followed and produced his antiprelatical tracts. These pamphlets emphasize the need for an individual to be exposed to scripture without any interference from a church government or from a fixed liturgy that could possibly corrupt the individual.

Divorce laws

Milton married in Spring 1642 but his wife soon left him. The legal statutes of England did not allow for Milton to apply for a divorce and he began examining the legitimacy of divorce. Milton was motivated towards writing on the topic after reading a work of Martin Bucer that emphasized the scriptural legitimacy of divorce. After publishing his divorce pamphlets, especially after '' Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce'', Milton developed a reputation as both a divorcer and a polygamist. Eventually, Milton believed that a translation of Bucer's work, published as ''

Judgement of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce ''Judgement of Martin Bucer'' by John Milton was published on 15 July 1644. The work consists mostly of Milton's translations of pro-divorce arguments from Martin Bucer's ''De Regno Christi''. By finding support for his views among orthodox write ...

'', would convince Parliament of the truth behind his previous tract on divorce, but this did not happen. He continued to pursue the topic until his wife returned to him and their marriage was reconciled.

''Paradise Lost''

''Paradise Lost'' is Milton's epic depiction of the

Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...

. In the story, Adam and Eve are warned against the evils of Satan and are told of the war in Heaven in which Satan challenged God's throne and was cast down in punishment. Satan, in order to get revenge against God, tempts Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Adam, out of love, joins with her in the disobedience so she will not be blamed alone. God punishes them by casting them out of Eden and exposing them to the pain of the world, but he promises them that his Son will descend and bring about their salvation.

''Paradise Regained''

''Paradise Regained'' follows ''Paradise Lost''; also an epic, it retells the

Temptation of Christ The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the ti ...

. Much shorter than its predecessor, It places the Son, incarnated as Christ, against Satan who tries to tempt Christ and to discover who he is, but he is unable to before he finally gives up and Christ defeats him.

''Samson Agonistes''

Milton's last work, ''Samson Agonistes'' is a closet drama based on the format of Greek tragedy, and describes the Biblical story of Samson. When Samson is betrayed and blinded, he calls upon God to use him one more time to effect his will and exact revenge upon God's enemies.

Religious Views

On the soul

Milton believed in the idea of

soul sleep Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...

ing or mortalism, which determines that the soul, upon death, is in a sleep like state until the Last Judgment. Similarly, he believed that Christ, when incarnated, merged his divine and human identities, and that both of these identities died during his Crucifixion. With such views on the nature of the human body and the soul, there is no possibility of a state of existence between death and the resurrection, and concepts such as Purgatory are outright denied. However, these views are not standard Calvinistic interpretations, but his views on what happens after the resurrection are orthodox Calvinistic doctrine: Christ, during the resurrection, would raise man up higher than the state he was in before the fall.

Religious toleration

John Milton called in the ''

Areopagitica ''Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England'' is a 1644 prose polemic by the English poet, scholar, and polemical author John Milton opposing licensing and censorship. ''Are ...

'' for "the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties". "Milton argued for disestablishment as the only effective way of achieving broad

toleration Toleration is the allowing, permitting, or acceptance of an action, idea, object, or person which one dislikes or disagrees with. Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining "toleration" as ...

. Rather than force a man's conscience, government should recognize the persuasive force of the gospel."Hunter, William Bridges ''A Milton Encyclopedia, Volume 8''(East Brunswick, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1980) pp. 71, 72

Notes

References

* Barker, Arthur. ''Milton and the Puritan Dilemma 1641-1660''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1942. * Campbell, Gordon. "The Son of God in 'De Doctrina Christiana' and 'Paradise Lost'" ''The Modern Language Review'', Vol. 75, No. 3 (Jul., 1980), pp. 507–514 * Kelley, Maurice. ''This Great Argument''. Gloucester, Mass.: P. Smith, 1962. * Hill, Christopher. ''Milton and the English Revolution''. London. Faber and Faber, 1977. . * Lieb, Michael. ''Theological Milton: Deity, Discourse and Heresy in the Miltonic Canon.'' Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press. 2006. * McDill, Joseph. ''Milton and the Pattern of Calvinism''. Nashville: The Joint University Libraries, 1942. * Milton, John. ''Complete Prose Works of John Milton'' Vol II ed. Don Wolfe. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959. * Patterson, Annabel. "Milton, Marriage and Divorce" in ''A Companion to Milton''. Ed. Thomas Corns. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. * Reesing, John "The Materiality of God in Milton's De Doctrina Christiana" ''The Harvard Theological Review'', Vol. 50, No. 3 (Jul., 1957), pp. 159–173 * Rumrich, John. "Radical Heterodoxy and Heresy" in ''A Companion to Milton''. Ed. Thomas Corns. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. * Wheeler, Elizabeth. "Early Political Prose" in ''A Companion to Milton''. Ed. Thomas Corns. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.