Books III-IV: Of Demons and Grace
Something that used to bother me as a kid was the idea that demons would not get a second chance. I wondered why humans, who are all horribly sinful creatures, could receive God's redeeming love and grace and forgiveness while demons, who are also horribly sinful creatures, could not. It bothered me that our loving Father in Heaven would forgive humans but not His fallen angels. In my mind, both groups equally sinned against God, so both groups should equally have a chance to repent. However, God does not give demons that chance. Why? Milton suggests the reason in Book III, lines 129-132. Milton argues that since humans were deceived by Satan, they will find grace, and since Satan and his lackeys did not have a deceiver, they will find no grace. This makes sense. It is like two siblings sneaking into the kitchen where the older sibling convinces the younger one to steal ice cream. Both siblings know fully well that the ice cream is off limits, and both eat the ice cream anyway. The older one will most likely receive a more severe consequence because he led on the younger sibling. While not a perfect analogy, this helped me understand why fallen angels will receive no redemption. They were, in Milton's words, "Self-tempted, self-deceived." Adam and Eve were deceived by an outside influence. Is it still their fault? Yes, because they were "sufficient to have stood, though free to fall" (book III line 99). They knew God's command, but they disobeyed when they thought they saw something better. Demons had the full picture, Adam and Eve were shown a false one. While both sinned, and both are without excuse, one group sinned of its own accord, the other because they were deceived. Though my imperfect reasoning sometimes doubts God's perfect justice and mercy, I am no longer bothered by His decisions concerning demons and grace.
P.S. I commented on Natalie's and Michael's posts.
P.S. I commented on Natalie's and Michael's posts.
Satan also reasons on his own how his redemption would be futile in Book IV, lines 93-103. Here he reasons that, since he was in Paradise with the Lord Most High and STILL sinned with rebellion once, there's really no reason to believe he wouldn't do it again. To add a thought of my own... Adam and Eve revolted against God, but not quite as directly as Satan did. They lived on earth and disobeyed God's command. Satan lived in Heaven and tried to dethrone the Almighty God. I'm not saying one sin is less severe than the other, but Adam and Eve's were driven by greed and lust whereas the demons' were driven by an outright abhorrence of God. A stay in Hell can't force the fallen angels to decide to love God, just as a human cast into Hell will never have time to change his mind, either.
ReplyDeleteSatan's pride is the whole reason his redemption could never occur. In Milton's prose writings as well as hints he throws into "Paradise Lost," he calls the Son a created being instead of the incarnation of God himself as we know Him. Satan could not stand the idea that another created being would supplant his high stature in Heaven. Rather than submit he chooses to rebel. When he contemplates the redemption, it is his extreme pride that drives him to continue on his chosen path.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great question, Sophia! The standards for humanity and fallen angels are clearly different in scripture, and are understood in Paradise Lost as different weights of sin. I think the conclusion that you brought out from Paradise Lost is very logical. My only question to further this one would be to observe the flipside and whether or not humans punishment/consequence is severe enough for even the deception caused by (ultimately) Satan. Truly, both fallen angels and humanity has been deceived- Satan is the only one who has chosen of his own the rebellion and rejection of Almighty God.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting argument. Personally, I haven't put much thought into that, but from what I can gather from multiple years of Bible class, I have learned that humans and divine beings are judged differently, as far as sin goes. In Paradise Lost, this argument can get a little fuzzy, as the humanity within Satan and the demons is brought to the forefront. Most of what caused the fallen angels to fall in the first place was following Satan's lead, much like humanity. There are tons of parallels one can draw from this, but ultimately the cause of all eternal death can be traced back to Satan and his pride, no matter if you are human or angel.
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