John Milton's religion

The religious views of John Milton were important to his life. He wrote many of his works focusing on the nature of religion and of the divine.

After the start of the Bishops’ Wars, a movement was started calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England and the religious hierarchy. Milton joined in on a pamphlet war that soon followed and produced his antiprelatical tracts. These pamphlets emphasize the need for an individual to be exposed to scripture without any interference from a church government or from a fixed liturgy that could possibly corrupt the individual.

Milton married in Spring 1642 but his wife soon left him. The legal statutes of England did not allow for Milton to apply for a divorce and he began examining the legitimacy of divorce. Milton was motivated towards writing on the topic after reading a work of Martin Bucer that emphasized the scriptural legitimacy of divorce. After publishing his divorce pamphlets, especially after Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, Milton developed a reputation as both a divorcer and a polygamist. Eventually, Milton believed that a translation of Bucer's work, published as Judgement of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce, would convince Parliament of the truth behind his previous tract on divorce, but this did not happen. He continued to pursue the topic until his wife returned to him and their marriage was reconciled.

Paradise Lost is Milton's epic depiction of the Fall of Man. In the story, Adam and Eve are warned against the evils of Satan and are told of the war in Heaven in which Satan challenged God's throne and was cast down in punishment. Satan, in order to get revenge against God, tempts Eve into indulging in the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Adam, in turn, joins with her in the disobedience so she will not be blamed alone. God punishes them by casting them out of Eden and exposing them to the pain of the world, but he promises them that his Son will descend and bring about their salvation.

Paradise Regained is a follow up epic based on Temptation of Christ. It is not as long as Paradise Lost and the poem places the Son, incarnated as Christ, against Satan. Through the work, Satan constantly tries to tempt Christ and to discover who he is, but he is unable to before he finally gives up and Christ defeats him.

Samson Agonistes is based on the format of Greek Tragedy and describes the Biblical story of Samson. When Samson is betrayed, he calls upon God to use him to effect his will and exact revenge upon God's enemies. God gives Samson the power to bring about this end, but the play does not depict the moment on stage and does not describe how God granted the power.

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