Today, I’m thankful that for those who preach tolerance.
The epic poem, Paradise Lost, recounts the biblical story of the Fall of Man from grace. Within this classic twelve-book, ten thousand-line tale, John Milton recounts how Satan and his demonic rebel angels fall out of favor with God after the Angelic War, ultimately being cast into Hell. Within the capital city, known fittingly as Pandemonium, Satan conjures up a plan to take revenge on God by temping his greatest creation – humankind – to commit a sin. After Adam and Eve are duped by Lucifer to partake of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the messenger archangel, Michael, castigates them for their decision and informs them that they can no longer remain as residents of Eden. This ‘original sin’ not only causes them to lose sight of God, who is now invisible and more distant to them, but starts a cascade of events that will pit humanity in a perpetual fight of good vs. evil. Yet, as God’s most prized creations are expelled from the luscious garden, the archangel Michael notes that how they might still “find a paradise within thee, happier far.” In other words, humanity might still revel in the joys of life outside of Eden.
Paradise Lost would become John Milton’s magnum opus and is still regarded as of one of foremost works of English literature. Born on this day (Dec 9) in 1608 to relatively wealthy parents in London, Milton was well educated, eventually earning a Bachelors and Masters of Art degree from Christ’s College at Cambridge. While there, he became well versed in numerous languages (including Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew) and political thought. At that time, he befriended a theologian named Roger Williams, 5 years his elder, who tutored Milton in the intricacies of the Dutch language in exchange for lessons in Hebrew. Although Williams would soon depart for the Massachusetts Colony, which had been established with the landing of the Puritans at Plymouth in 1620, Milton opted to stay in England. There, he turned to writing, where he often espoused viewpoints he had gleaned from his days at Cambridge and his interactions with colleagues such as Williams – religious tolerance, freedom of speech and conscience, and the concept of disestablishment (the separation of church and state). His views were influential at a time that Oliver Cromwell rose to prominence following the English Civil War and the beheading of Charles I.
Amazingly, Milton began conceiving of Paradise Lost later in life, only after imprisonment by King Charles II, who had usurped the power from Cromwell. By that point, he had lost something valuable of his own - his eyesight. In fact, the now-blind Milton would recite the story verbally, and one of his three daughters or a devoted scribe would then transcribe the tale onto paper. The poem, originally written in ten books, was formally published in 1667, after Milton sold the rights for only 5 pounds. The tale would quickly be recognized as a literary masterpiece for its elegant prose, unusual blank verse style, and captivating detail. How fascinating is it to consider that the most famous poem to recount the story of Original Sin (excepting the Bible) was authored by a man who held firm beliefs that religion should not play a role in the political state.
Meanwhile, Milton’s friend, the theologian Roger Williams, would follow a different track in life, yet he would maintain many of the same principles championed by Milton across the Atlantic Ocean. After graduating from Cambridge, Williams set sail to the New World with his wife, Mary Bernard, in 1630. He initially settled in Massachusetts Colony, but his anti-establishment views – namely, his tolerance of multiple religious views and his desire for separation of Church and State – would ultimately lead to his banishment for the crimes of heresy and sedition. Basically, his ‘diverse, new, and dangerous opinions’ could no longer be tolerated in Massachusetts. In 1636, at the age of 32, he headed south, choosing to form his own colony – the Providence Plantations – in what is modern-day Rhode Island. He made friends with the local Native American tribes with whom he would maintain peaceful relations for nearly half a century. More importantly, he practiced what he preached, holding firm to the belief that all individuals should maintain ‘a liberty of conscience’ when it came to religious or political philosophy. He spoke of a ‘wall of separation’ between what the Bible teaches and what governments enact. And, though he remained a very devout theologian, even starting the First Baptist Church of America, he welcomed individuals of all faiths to join him in his colony of tolerance.
In fact, on this exact day (Dec 9) in 1640, a pilgrim named Hugh Bewitt was kicked out of the Massachusetts colony. Apparently, Mr. Bewitt held a slightly different belief system than all the other pilgrims that had settled in Massachusetts. That is, he maintained that he was born, ironically enough, without any Original Sin. Bewitt claimed that any and all sins he committed were nothing more than imitations of other people’s wrongdoings. Well, the Puritans in Massachusetts were not interested in Bewitt’s creative, if not smart-alecky, viewpoints, and he was escorted out of the Puritan ‘Paradise.’ With few options to turn to, Mr. Bewitt proceeded south towards Providence Plantations, where Roger Williams welcomed him with open arms. Mr. Williams staunchly believed that progressive viewpoints & diversity of thought were good things. He would open up his colony to individuals with different religious beliefs, including folks like Bewitt, Baptist supporters, Jewish settlers, and many others. After his death in 1683, Williams became a bit of a colonial hero. His legacy of tolerance, disestablishment, and abolitionism influenced the thinking of many American forefathers, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln.
Today, I’m grateful that stalwarts like Milton and Williams provided a path towards diversity of thought. The United States was built on a ‘melting pot’ mentality that individuals of different creeds, ethnicities, and cultures could co-exist under a single government without a specific religious affiliation. Perhaps this is what Archangel Michael meant that humans might one day ‘find a paradise within thee, happier far.” It’s now our job, as Americans, to ensure we aren’t tempted by demons seeking to wreak havoc on what we’ve created in our own Garden of Eden.
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