A violent storm consumes paradise as thunder roars and lightning flashes in the dark sky above Adam and Eve who are walking hand in hand, in tears. Crawling forward and terrified, they feel their way through the darkness, entering into their new world of chaos. The suffering of Adam and Eve in John Milton’s Paradise Lost is presented as a tragedy that ultimately becomes the foundation of God’s plan for helping sinful humanity, therefore setting up parallels with the portrayal of human suffering in the biblical Book of Job where a hint of God’s intended plan behind suffering is revealed. The insightful accounts of Satan, Adam, and Eve’s suffering in Paradise Lost represent concrete instances of when human suffering is framed as part of God’s plan for saving humanity, and the Book of Job deeply reflects on these ideas while disputing misconceptions regarding God’s intention behind human pain and suffering. The Book of Job therefore strongly influenced early Christianity as it molded the logic and philosophy of suffering, signifying that God has an ultimate plan, inconceivable to man. In the modern world, suffering remains a significant part of society as humans face issues such as social division, racial disparities, and environmental injustice; and the Book of Job and Paradise Lost demonstrate that there is divine logic and purpose behind everything in life, and through the pain and suffering, there is triumph.
As Satan rises from his chair, he looks up at the sky and shakes his clenched fists in the air, roaring the words “it’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” (Milton 9). In the book Paradise Lost, John Milton romanticizes Satan’s role as a powerful leader of suffering, ultimately introducing an interesting paradox between one’s vulnerability and perceived power when seeking autonomy from God; therefore, demonstrating that suffering without the presence of God is an extremely consuming and isolating experience. Stanley Fish’s Surprised by Sin provides an insightful analysis of the physical, physiological, and spiritual isolation during suffering and how that contributes to one’s disconnection from reality and with God. Fish believes that Satan’s words “the mind is its own place” (Milton 9) demonstrate the lack of awareness, perspective, and connection Satan experiences in his most isolating condition (Fish 97).
Even though Satan is provided with a palace and the head seat of his council, he simply does not live, he only suffers. Full of hatred, disobedience, arrogance, and pain, he drowns in his own existence. Through the use of characterization, diction, and tone, John Milton paints a clear image of severe suffering in the absence of God, and makes dramatic comparisons to a different place where God is present. For example, in hell where Satan resides, it is described as “a dungeon, horrible on all sides around, as one great furnace flamed, yet from those flames, no light but rather darkness visible” (Milton 4). In contrast, heaven with God is described as having celestial light and “happy fields” (Milton 9). Through this detailed imagery with contrasting descriptions of heaven and hell, John Milton begins to describe the vast differences between life in the presence and absence of God.
Satan is empowered by his own arrogance and resides in his accomplice Beezebulb to pursue a war with God in heaven (Milton 9). Fish finds the dialogue between Satan and his accomplice Beezebulb to be humorous as the “most powerful leaders of hell” attempt to estimate God’s power, and become doubtful in their own ability to overcome God. Fish believes that their hesitancy represents their fear to “sink even lower to a position of less territory of administrative authority” (Fish 95), serving as evidence that the anarchical angels are worried about the consequences of their actions inducing an even greater amount of suffering. Satan describes God as the “Torturer” and defends that even if they do not defeat God, it is justified revenge for their suffering (Milton 26-27). However, as they prepare for battle, the angels begin to believe that they are unequipped to overthrow God. The angels compromise, discussing that “the only way to win is to exacerbate God the Enemy, spend all of His rage, and that must end us, that must be our cure” (Milton 28). The language alludes to the idea that death is a better option than suffering, emphasizing the unbearable pain that these angels experience without awareness of God’s plan and purposeful intention behind suffering. In fact, the angels specifically admit that “hell is worse than dying” (Milton 44). Therefore, Paradise Lost is a clear example of the painful consequences of suffering without God’s help and grace, and how one’s awareness of God’s plan can greatly impact one’s experience with suffering.
Adam and Eve sleep innocently together in the beautiful garden of Eden blanketed by flowers and under the stars, awaiting their fate. The disobedience of Adam and Eve and their consequent suffering is the ultimate example of God fulfilling His plan to save humanity, therefore demonstrating that God permits suffering when there is a greater good or payoff that can result from it. Adam and Eve are made aware of God’s intricate plan as an angel appears to Eve and reveals the prophecy of the serpent and the Tree of Life. By sending the angel, God provides awareness for Adam and Eve and tries to protect them. This awareness ensures that their response to the serpent is of their own free will. God allows the serpent into the garden to test Adam and Eve, and Stanley Fish believes that Eve’s mistake is a true failure of the will, and that “Satan’s presence in the garden does not in any sense assure the outcome” (Fish 233). Therefore, Fish’s argument is that The Fall was not a premeditated act of God, but was allowed by God.
The pain and despair caused by the grave disobedience of Adam and Eve resulted in extreme punishment from God, but in the end, God saved both Adam and Eve. By removing Adam and Eve from the despair of the sinful garden, God proves that He allowed The Fall to occur because He has the power to bring salvation to His people. This ultimately demonstrates that God does not allow suffering and painful experiences without the underlying investment of the greater good, which is growing closer to God.
After an honorable day of work, a man walks back to his home where he discovers that his dearly loved children and livestock were killed in a fire, and his house is completely destroyed. His worst fear becomes a reality as he frantically digs through the debris and rubble, questioning why such an ungodly event has occurred. In the biblical Book of Job, a righteous man named Job struggles to find truth from God about his extreme suffering; therefore, providing insight about God’s logic and intention behind human suffering, and reflecting on spiritual ways to approach suffering and bring oneself closer to God. Job isolates himself during the initial stages of his grief, and after days of silence, he begins to curse his own existence. He cries “let the day perish when I was born, let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it” (Job 3:3-4). Moralia in Job written by Gregory the Great elaborates on this idea of darkness and compares it to human ignorance (Book V, VII). Specifically, Gregory the Great comments that a man “who is encompassed by darkness is closed in the clouds of his own ignorance” and a man “who most often neither remembers the past, nor finds out the future, and scarce knows the present” (Book V, VII). Therefore, Gregory the Great believes that Job’s demand for an explanation from God displays Job’s ignorance of God’s complex nature. Moralia in Job also makes an interesting connection to the Book of Wisdom stating that a wise man knows that “with labor do we find things that are before us: but the things that are in heaven who hath searched out?” (Wisdom 9:16) (Book V, VII). This comment alludes to the idea that a man as righteous and wise as Job should be aware of the fact that there is an incredible amount of things that humans do not know, simply because they are too complex and unexplainable by mankind. This idea emphasizes the idea of God’s ultimate plan, inconceivable to man. As Job continues in his search for truth, God begins to reveal His divine wisdom and complexity.
Job’s friend Elihu offers some comforting perspective as Job spirals in despair. Elihu tells Job, “behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom” (Job 36:5). Elihu describes God’s power saying “God thunders marvelously with His voice; great things doth he, which we cannot understand” (Job 37:5). As Job begins to realize his ignorance, God responds directly to him and says “who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge” (Job 38:2) and exposes him to several natural phenomena. God describes the timing of when wild goats calve, the range of the tallest mountains, the amount of feathers on an ostrich, and the amount of eggs a peacock lays (Job 39:1-15). Through this demonstration of great knowledge and wisdom, God emphasizes that human knowledge is only a small fraction of God’s knowledge. God digs deeper asking Job extremely complex questions such as “where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who hath laid the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Who shut up the sea with doors when it brake forth? Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all” (Job 38:4-18). Gregory the Great beautifully reflects on this knowledge gap between God and mankind by focusing on the verse “hast thou walked in the search of the depth” (Job 38-16). Gregory the Great compares this depth to the human mind, expressing that “while unable to comprehend itself, it is like an obscure abyss, hid from itself, in every thing that it is” (Book XXIX, XV). Gregory the Great advises that because of this, “the human mind does not dive into itself, but it praises more humbly, by comparison with itself, the power of the Divine nature, which it is unable to comprehend” (Book XXIX, XV). These ideas of Gregory the Great therefore align with the wise words of Elihu that underline God’s all-knowing power and superiority, and how there is an incredibly complex plan behind every human experience.
From a biblical perspective, human suffering is portrayed as an investment for the greater good as Job, Adam, and Eve experienced great triumph and salvation following their suffering. As Gregory the Great expresses beautifully, “gold that passeth through the fire’ the souls of the righteous are tried, which by the burning of tribulation through and through, both have their defects removed, and their good points increased” (Gregory XVI, XXXII), human suffering can be viewed as an avenue to grow closer to God and feel spiritually empowered to make positive change in one’s life. The accounts of Adam, Eve, and Job demonstrate that awareness of God’s higher plan significantly influences one’s suffering and helps minimize how consuming suffering can be in one’s life. In a society where mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are so common, it is critical for people to understand that there is divine logic and purpose behind everything in life, and through the pain and suffering, there is triumph.
Work Cited:
Fish, Stanley. Surprised by sin: The reader in Paradise lost. Macmillan Press Ltd., 1998.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Penguin Group, 2000.
Parker, John H., Rivington, J. St. Gregory the Great Morals on the Book of Job. Oxford, London, 1844.
The Bible: Authorized King James Version with Apocrypha. Oxford University Press Inc. 1997
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