Wednesday It’s so strange watching Mitch McConnell crafting a healthcare bill under a cloud of secrecy at the same time that everybody pretty much knows about the consequent disasters, beginning with the 20+ million who will lose healthcare. I feel like I’m in the position of the God and Jesus in Paradise Lost as they […]
Tag Archives: John Milton
A Comforter to Guide Us in All Truth
Jesus’s promise to his disciples, to send them “another advocate with the father,” is picked up by a disheartened Milton as he seeks to justify the ways of God to man–and to himself.
Milton’s Jesus vs. Trump’s Bombs
Unfortunately centrists and liberals have been endorsing Trump’s bellicosity abroad. Milton’s Jesus in “Paradise Regained” would not approve.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Afghanistan, bombing, Donald Trump, North Korea, Paradise Regained, politics, Syria bombing, war fever Comments closed
Masters of Spite: Satan and Trump
Many wonder whether spite drives many of Donald Trump’s policy decisions. If so, he has good company in Milton’s Satan, who is defined by spite.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Paradise Lost, politics, revenge, spite Comments closed
Milton Understood Ambitious Con Men
A recent “Atlantic” article argues that Milton’s Satan is quintessentially American, with the archangel as both rugged individualist and honey-tongued con man. Sounds a lot like our current president.
Fantasy, a Portal to the Numinous
People are often drawn to fantasy in our post-Enlightenment world because they hunger for the numinous.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Crystal Forest", alienation, angels, Beauty and the Beast, Charles Taylor, disenchantment, Enlightenment, fantasy, Georg Lukacs, Harmut Rosa, His Dark Materials, Homer, Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Philip Pullman, re-enchantment, resonance, Theory of the Novel, Willam Sharp Comments closed
Finding a Paradise Within Happier Far
Milton’s “Paradise Lost” provides a powerful account of how we lose sight of God and how then have we can reconnect with the divine.
Bannon: Deconstructionist or Con Man?
When Steve Bannon said that he plans to “deconstruct” the administrative state, it sounds vaguely impressive but maybe just be a pretentious way of saying that he’s planning on gumming up the works. A discussion of deconstruction is in order.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged deconstruction, Donald Trump, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jane Austen, Paradise Lost, Pride and Prejudice, Satan, Steve Bannon Comments closed
2016’s Top Story–Trump, Trump, Trump
Looking back of 2016, I choose three posts that stood out to me, all dealing with Trump. One compares him to Satan inspiring the invasion of Earth by Sin and Death in “Paradise Lost.” The other two compare him to Herman Melville’s “Confidence Man” and to the narrator’s son in the Raymond Carver short story “Why, Honey?”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Confidence Man, Donald Trump, Herman Melville, Hillary Clinton, Raymond Carver, Why Honey? Paradise Lost Comments closed
