Paradise Lost 4: Turn for evil

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Christians always picture Satan as fully evil from the start. Milton paints a different picture. Yes, Lucifer rebelled against God. Teenagers do the same to their parents when they reach a certain point in life. We have seen Satan as the mighty leader of the fallen, corrupted by his journey through Chaos; but was he truly evil in those moments? I propose that he only embraced evil as a result of his lost hope at never entering Heaven again or tasting the life he once knew. Book 4, lines 108-13 are the statement of this lost hope, and in my opinion is the turning point of his part in the story.

I will be commenting on Will Brady and Sophia Colbert's posts.

Comments

  1. Will BradyAugust 28, 2017 at 7:43 AM

    There's never a point after his rebellion in which Satan is not corrupt… Just like a teenager, yes, only teenagers are open to forgiveness. That's the difference here: since there's no redemption for the devil, he could only stew in his own corruption. Maybe it doesn't show every waking second (according to Milton, at least), but Satan is never forgiven of that guilt and shame. He's not quite the same as an unruly teen in this regard.

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  2. Natalie SchulerAugust 28, 2017 at 11:37 AM

    I would say yes, he is "fully evil." The Bible states that to sin once is to be guilty of breaking the whole Law, and Satan has clearly shown that he is envious, greedy, full of malice, and that he thrives on chaos (not as the character but the actual definition). It doesn't matter that he eventually completely loses hope, he has already sinned and become evil.

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  3. UnknownAugust 28, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    Thought provoking observation! I definitely see the relation you are making to the passages in Paradise Lost where Satan's evilness is seemingly nonexistent, but what we must remember is that sinning against God is not just explicit wickedness always, but rather any act that is taken against and absent of God-Creator, Almighty, and Lord. Satan surely has some vulnerable passages in Paradise Lost, however looking at the root of these passages, they are wrought with pride and selfishness, which could be very well understood as the root of sinning against the Godhead.

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  4. Sophia ColbertAugust 28, 2017 at 4:30 PM

    Milton's depiction of Satan certainly is controversial. It might look like he gradually becomes more evil as the story goes on, but that could be because of his setting. For the most part, he has been in Hell. There is not much mischief he can do down there that would be harmful to God or humans. But while in Hell, he proclaims himself to be god, schemes harm against humans, and promises Sin and Death they can destroy earth. These are mostly passive actions. It is not until Satan enters the garden that we see him attempt to maul Adam and Eve with his own hands, which is pretty evil. I would say that Satan has been evil ever since he conceived sin in Heaven, but he has only had a few chances to actually show his nature to the audience of the book.

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  5. Trey NorthcuttAugust 28, 2017 at 4:58 PM

    The comparison between Satan and a teenager is very valid, but I would be careful. Satan chose his path long before he ever said, "Evil be thou my good." His pride, envy of God's power, and deceitfulness, all came into play in Paradise Lost and in real life when he tried to overthrow God. Everything that happened after that point just builds upon that one action, almost like a boiling pot. Sure, the turning point is very valid. Satan has lost all hope of returning to his former glory, but everything he's done has had an ulterior motive. He changed when he became Satan and was cast out of heaven, so the thought that he is waiting for forgiveness doesn't really apply. Truth be told, his pride and ego is probably so big that he thinks he doesn't need God's forgiveness in the long run.

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