The word freedom is often associated with the idea of an unfettered liberty to select from a range of alternatives coupled with a sense that our actions will not affect our natural state.
Catholic doctrine teaches that our choice is one of rational deliberation and voluntary subjugation to a higher force. This is natural law. Milton envisions the same teaching.
Unfortunately, human nature only lends itself to the assumption of certain abstract concepts such as `natural law', an assumption Milton develops in Paradise Lost. Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton expands upon the teaching that human actions affect human freedom and that this is a consequence of the assumption of the natural law that the Creator owns the created. Moreover, the created freely subordinates itself to its Creator.
Free subordination implies that a being must be free to choose between right and wrong and that it will freely chose according to the will of its Creator. Hence, a creature of the all-good Christian God must chose the good whereas a creature of Satan, id est all evil, must chose evil. This is apparent in the following event in Paradise Lost: Sin, a creation of Satan, chooses evil agreeing to unlock the gates of Hell for Satan, letting him pass, and telling him "Thou art my father, thou my author, thou/ My being gav'st me; whom should I obey/ But thee, whom follow?" (PL II 864-5).
By agreeing to let Satan pass and permitting evil into the world Sin is subordinating herself to her creator. Complications arise when the creation being dealt with is a rational and free creature such as one of the angels or humankind. In such a case, the creature is to deliberate what will glorify his Creator and act according to that deliberation. If the acti...
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...428). When Eve chooses the contrary to God's will she loses her innocence and original pleasant state, Adam follows suit and suffers equal consequences. This is humankind's tragic loss, after that first fall there is no hope to obtain that first perfect union with God. In man's current state union is only achieved through death, Milton says "I now must change/ Those notes to tragic; foul distrust, and breach/ Disloyal on the part of man, revolt/ And disobedience." (PL IX 5-8).
Man has sinned thereby tragically changing his nature. He can only love God through the challenges of this world and hope in god's mercy. Humanity is destined to hopeful and lonesome waiting for that final hour when each person is judged: those that have obeyed will join God in perfect happiness; those that have disobeyed Him will join Satan and his followers in the fiery pits of Hell.
God has given us as human beings free will. Although if we make choices based on our own free will we must be willing to take the responsibility for the effects that our decisions have on ourselves, on the people around us, and on society itself. Freedom, I believe, is the way in which people live or behave without others annoying or interfering in his or her affairs. People should benefit from freedom, equality and justice. Absolute freedom is sometimes very dangerous and may destroy the basic principles of the society. A lot of people believe that freedom means doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
For me in Judaism by far the more impressive explanation is free will, God made Satan, he is not a rebellious angel. God created both good and evil. The Bible says so, in Isaiah 45:?God created the universe because God wanted to do good.? So there had to be people to receive that goodness. But God does not want to just give away good as a present. God wants people to appreciate it. Something you get for free you do not appreciate. And in fact, if you got something amazingly good for free, and you were allowed to enjoy it for all eternity, you would not appreciate it. If you didn't work for it, you don't deserve it. So G-d decided that people would have to work for it, and receive the ultimate goodness as a reward for hard work. People are tempted every day by their yetzer tov and yetzer horah, whether to do good or bad things, you need to overcome your yetzer horah to become a great person and receive reward in the afterlife. Say, for example, you have a desire to tell harmful gossip about someone.
Looking the word “freedom” up in the dictionary, I encounter with the following definition: the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.¹³ Then, we can assume when you are unable to say things you would like to say, or to think in a different way than the one that has been imposed to you, you are not wholly free.
The question of identity regarding God and the Devil has been an ongoing dilemma for religious philosophers. No true identity can be formed due to the lack of undeniable evidence surrounding the figures. In addition, it has always been difficult to relate either characters to tangible or worldly matter; seeing how both are non-perceivable and equivocal figments in our minds. A start is to relate these supernatural beings to each other. The abilities of each are in contrast; God can create but not control, whereas, the Devil can control but not create. Creation is the act of making new matter, whereas the act of controlling is forcing matter to act based on the wishes of the controller.
According to Dictionary.com freedom means “the state of being uncontrolled by another, or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.” Freedom. What does freedom mean to you? Even though freedom means the state of being uncontrolled by another, or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint, I believe that freedom means being able to accomplish what you desire and when you desire it without anyone saying anything, by reason of the comparison and contrast of our society and the society in the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, the negation of the word freedom, and synonyms of the word freedom. I believe that you should accept the consequences of the actions you take when you have your “freedom” as well.
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
Disobedience causes disaster, not only for those involved but for all of humanity in Paradise Lost. While Adam and Eve are cast out of The Garden of Eden, their penalty extends to subsequent generations. In book 10, line 274, Milton employs an epic simile to convey this to the reader.
Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In America there is numerous of choices that someone may make on a daily basis. If someone were allowed to make their own choices and were being told what to do; then they would not be free. When someone is allowed to speak when they want to, and say what they want; such as their opinion or view of something. Being allowed to have a right to speak is one of the most important characteristics of being an American. Thinking and stating your opinion in any predicament it a strong part in being a citizen because people in the United States are known for being able to think in their own ways. Freedom can stretch too many things such as being able to do as they please, they are not forced into doing anything that someone may want. The citizens of the United States are not made to do anything that one may not want to do; like
Paradise Lost is an epic poem portraying John Milton’s theological standpoints. The theme is knowledge and the fall of man. Milton uses his poem to state some of his theological beliefs and his personal reflections. Milton wrote Paradise Lost in the 17th century but uses influence from classic poets. Milton’s epic is an extremely important piece of literature. The excerpt used in this commentary takes on the subjects of sin and the punishment with regards to the atonement from God’s point of view. Milton’s states many of his own theological opinions but wants the reader to know that God is justified in everything that he does, and also wants them to know that man has free will.
Lucifer was God’s most perfect angel until he turned evil, earning him the name of Satan. Lucifer was condemned to Hell because he refused to repent his sins. (Mark the Beast) In his book The Lucifer Effect, Phillip Zimbardo explains how good people are capable of doing evil by five psychological processes. Hannah Arendt’s statement of the “banality of evil” concurs with Zimbardo’s philosophical ideas. Even perfect angels can turn into the epitome of evil. “What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph,” (Zimbardo, 2007).
It’s the act of doing something not good. Evil entered this world because of Satan and him not doing anything good. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they weren’t supposed to, it brought sin, fear, embarrassment, and other feelings we normally don’t like to feel into the world. “And the woman said. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Kings James Version, Genesis 1:4). This shows that Satan tricked them to do bad by eating the fruit, but Adam and Eve still could have listened to God. Satan betrayed God and went against him. Satan used to be an angel, but went against God and was sent to Hell, where he vowed to never do any good. “To do ought good never will be our task” (Paradise Lost, l. 159). This shows that the bad things in the world are because of Satan. God gave humans free will to wither do good or
The theme of free will is highlighted at various points throughout Paradise Lost through different characters. Through each characters actions and the element of choice displayed, Milton conveys his view point that while God is omniscient and there is an eternal providence, free will his not hindered. Milton also conveys through Eve that she choose to disobey God, she does so knowing there will consequences, signifying that she does not have the full capacity to reason clearly. Despite his being aware of the paradox that free will and eternal providence present the reader, Milton did not believe that this constrained one’s understanding of Paradise Lost.
When referring to freedom these words are often associated with freedom: Liberty, independence, sovereignty, autonomy, privilege, immunity, and indulgence. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and justice. Independence is granted by freedom in the sense that an outside party does not control you. To gratify ones desires by whichever ways they choose is freedom through indulgence. Privileges are g ranted through freedom. In some countries the dictator or ruler makes choices for their people on regards to what profession they shall have or to what religion they shall worship. In the United States we have special privileges that let the people of the country decide on their own religion and professions.
Teresa, 23). This natural sway toward evil and frivolity reveals that indifference toward our relationship with God is directly an indifference toward the free, good will of your soul. Indifference and inaction cannot truly free you. It only corrupts. Soughers supports the idea that “the type of friendship that the culture advocated, based as it was on ideals of kinship and honor, was not only inadequate, it could actually interfere with a person’s relationship with God.” (Soughers, 173). This relies on the assumption that culturally we do not view our free will and our relationship with god as a single entity. This helps us to understand where the unassuming evil is allowed in. It reveals that it is not enough that we simply do not mean to enslave ourselves. We become so distracted by frivolities that we do not recognize the interference that has grown in between what surrounds us and our relationship with our internal divinity. Even relationships involved with external forms of worship could cause an interference if they lack any form of consideration toward a contemplative, personal relationship with God. Soughers claims
Milton, John. ‘Paradise Lost.’ 1674. Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000, 1: 1817-2044.