Paradise Lost And Free Will

5 Pages 1230 Words

It has been said many times over the history of religion that God’s greatest gift to man kind is that of free will. In Paradise Lost we hear the story of the beginning of man kind’s journey with free will. It can be said that all human beings have free will to choose what they want to. If there is free will yet no temptation, is that truley free will? In the story we see many examples of man, women, Satan, and god having to choose between options that lay before them. Satan chooses to fight God and to be banished, as well as his choice to act his revenge out on human kind. Human kind has many free will choices to make trough out the story. We can even go as far as to look at God as having free will to allow many of these events to happen. The choices that are made bring us to the root of the topic free will and temptation. The fact remains that if there is no choice of temptation, then the idea of free will does not exist.
Satan does have free will to choose what he wishes. He chooses to rage war against God because God did not choose him for a promotion of sorts “Lifted up so high I’sdeigned subjection and thought one step higher Would set me high’st and in a moment quit The debt immense of endless gratitude So burdensome---still paying! Still to owe!”(4.49-56.p.79). After being cast down to hell Satan and his fallen comrades choose to wreak havoc on human kind to get their revenge on God
“,this place may lie exposed,
The utmost border of His kingdom left
To their defense who hold it. Here perhaps
Some advantageous act may be achieved
By sudden onset, either with Hell fire
To waste His whole creation or possess
All as our own and drive, as we were driven,
The puny habitants, or if not drive
Seduce them to our party that their God
May prove their foe and with repenting hand
Abolish His own works. This would surpass
Common revenge and interrupt His joy” (2.362-371.P....