A Treatise On Christian Doctrine: Compiled From the Holy Scriptures Alone

by John Milton

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Genres: Religion

506 pages, Hardcover

First published July 18, 2009

About the author

People best know John Milton, English scholar, for Paradise Lost , the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.

Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.

Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.


John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.

Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.

William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."

Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Christian Doctrine is a book attributed to John Milton, which was not published until a century and a half after his death. For various reasons -- philosophical and biographical -- it is uncertain how much of the work (which the author claims is his "best and richest possession") Milton actually wrote himself.

In it Milton lays out his views on theology, relying exclusively on Scripture (whereas in other works he draws almost equally on Scripture and Greek and Roman history). Whereas earlier in his life Milton wrote extensively on political matters, near the end of his life -- perhaps as he became evermore aware of his own mortality -- he focused almost exclusively on religion.

Throughout Milton dissects the nature of God, of Christ (as separate and distinct from God), of the Holy Spirit, of Angels, of Man, of Law, of Creation and of Free Will and Predestination, entertaining us with justifications for divorce (a topic dear to Milton, as he argued for divorce in earlier writings in response to his own strained relations with his first wife) and polygamy along the way, while concluding the work with a lot of finger-wagging at the sinners of his day: "this is right, that is wrong."

One might feel in reading this a bit like Stephen Dedalus as he listens to the long-winded sermons in James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist. While Milton doubtlessly makes some interesting points throughout, the book comes across -- especially near the end -- a bit sententious. This is a work that would likely be of greater interest to Milton scholars and students of theology than to the average reader.

[Peter J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Milton was such a genius. It astounds me how his fluff work like Paradise Lost is well known, but this powerful writing of his true beliefs is relatively forgotten.