“참되게 예배하고, 그의 하신 일을 아는 것”: 실낙원의 자연과 예배
“To worship God aright, and know his works”: Nature and Worship in Milton’s Paradise Lost
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This study proposes to see Adam and Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost as worshipers of God in nature. Nature is given to them as a revelation through which for them to come to the knowledge of God. This is what natural theology defines itself as its basic and useful notion: God has created the world and the world points to Him as Creator. As sovereigns of creation, the perfect example of the mixture of spirit and matter, Adam and Eve stand before God to play the roles of mediators and priests between God and nature, worshipping Him on behalf of the whole creation in their daily practices of prayer and devotion. Their roles are sacramental in the sense that everything they do before the Fall is a rite accompanied by a spontaneous prayer of praise in the form of worship. A good example is their morning prayer ahead of their daily gardening, in which they call up all the elements of creation and turn their meaningless sounds into singing voices to praise their Creator. It becomes a worship service in which nature becomes a choir with Adam and Eve doing their priestly function. Our First Parents’ prelapsarian sex is also ritualistic in that it is preceded by heavenly choir’s marriage song in celebration of their nuptial bed and then by their evening prayer in praise of God again for their perfect and mutual love. Then, all things begin to change with the Fall, which distorts true worship of God into idolatry. The tree of knowledge of good and evil turns out to be an idol for Eve; and then, interestingly enough, Eve becomes both the God of Adam and a sexual object to be enjoyed at the same time. It seems that innocence in the Garden of Eden is not good enough to lead them to where God has promised, where their bodies may turn to spirits, and heaven and earth become “One Kingdom.” Milton seems to indicate the limitations of natural theology when it comes to the matter of who God really is. It is only after Adam and Eve face and experience evil that they come to realize their need of God revealed in salvation history. True worship is restored when they repent and the true mediator intercedes for them. Therefore, Milton shows in Paradise Lost the transformation of Adam and Eve from innocent worshipers of God in nature to forgiven saints in salvation history.
Abstract
This study proposes to see Adam and Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost as worshipers of God in nature. Nature is given to them as a revelation through which for them to come to the knowledge of God. This is what natural theology defines itself as its basic and useful notion: God has created the world and the world points to Him as Creator. As sovereigns of creation, the perfect example of the mixture of spirit and matter, Adam and Eve stand before God to play the roles of mediators and priests between God and nature, worshipping Him on behalf of the whole creation in their daily practices of prayer and devotion. Their roles are sacramental in the sense that everything they do before the Fall is a rite accompanied by a spontaneous prayer of praise in the form of worship. A good example is their morning prayer ahead of their daily gardening, in which they call up all the elements of creation and turn their meaningless sounds into singing voices to praise their Creator. It becomes a worship service in which nature becomes a choir with Adam and Eve doing their priestly function. Our First Parents’ prelapsarian sex is also ritualistic in that it is preceded by heavenly choir’s marriage song in celebration of their nuptial bed and then by their evening prayer in praise of God again for their perfect and mutual love. Then, all things begin to change with the Fall, which distorts true worship of God into idolatry. The tree of knowledge of good and evil turns out to be an idol for Eve; and then, interestingly enough, Eve becomes both the God of Adam and a sexual object to be enjoyed at the same time. It seems that innocence in the Garden of Eden is not good enough to lead them to where God has promised, where their bodies may turn to spirits, and heaven and earth become “One Kingdom.” Milton seems to indicate the limitations of natural theology when it comes to the matter of who God really is. It is only after Adam and Eve face and experience evil that they come to realize their need of God revealed in salvation history. True worship is restored when they repent and the true mediator intercedes for them. Therefore, Milton shows in Paradise Lost the transformation of Adam and Eve from innocent worshipers of God in nature to forgiven saints in salvation history.
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