Belief Versus Reason

In grade school, children are taught to memorize facts, then spit them out word-for-word when tested. As children grow older, they are slowly encouraged to think outside of the box, and draw their own connections and theories from the facts they are taught. This idea of memorization is also applicable to religion. However, most people remain "children" in terms of religion for much longer a period of time than they do in school. Through Paradise Lost, John Milton retells the age-old tale of man's fall through a different perspective. He alters each of the characters just enough to make each reader question his/her preconceived notions concerning the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.

In our world today, nothing is purely good or evil. Instead, there is a balance between good and evil, for if there were solely good in the world, we would not know it to be good. There must be evil in the world as well, so that good could be appreciated that much more. Each act, person, and word must be taken in context, for perfection does not exist. Perfection is merely a goal toward which most reach. The Bible makes perfection seem possible, however. After all, "God created man, in the likeness of God made he him, male and female he created them, and blessed them"(Genesis 5:1-5:2). This excerpt, when carefully analyzed, reveals several very interesting ideas. Firstly, God created man in his likeness. God is considered perfect, omniscient, and omnipresent. If man were created in His likeness, then he, too, must be nearly perfect. Additionally, God made man, both male and female, in His likeness. Therefore, both men and women are close to perfect. However, in both the Bible's story as well as in Milton's rendition, Adam and Eve broke the one rule God instructed them to obey. The Devil in both works was the enticer of evil, as he lured Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. In his work, Milton makes it difficult to concretely label any of these three characters as chiefly good or evil.