The Use of Evil for Reasoning /// Emily Thullesen
There are many important takeaways from the debate section in Paradise Lost Book 2, but one of the speakers in particular behaves in a way that could be deeply analyzed. When Belial speaks, he uses sophisticated rhetoric in his appeal, using arguments that seem reasonable and well-rounded. However, Belial's power of influence on others through his words greatly overshadows his "false and hollow" character (Milton 112).
This characteristic of Belial can be commonly found in life. In simple words, things are not always the same on the inside as they appear to be on the outside. Belial's speech was passionate and influential, but evil still remained at the core. Not only does this show how deceiving appearances can be, but it shows the power of rhetoric itself.
While considering this topic for my post, I thought of the Pharisees from the Bible. The Pharisees were well-known for being hypocritical in that they appeared to be Christ-like on the outside, but they were empty on the inside despite their teachings. It is crucial to keep a reasonable, but Christ-focused, mindset when in situations in which we might be fooled because there are consequences, as Belial had experienced for his sin. Ephesians 5:6 says, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these thigs the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
I commented on Brooke Bradley and Ashlyn Scism’s posts.
One concept I found particularly interesting in these first two books was the fact that each of the fallen angles had particular attributes they controlled, much like the Greek and Roman gods supposedly controlled certain aspects of life in their respective areas. Belial appears to be the 'god' of false speech and lies, which would make him a very prominent god in today's time as you mentioned in your post. I liked how these gods control concepts and actions rather than tangible items (such as weather or animals), as it is an interesting way to explain why people would act the way they do.
ReplyDeleteThe connection with Pharisees is a really good one. Often we see in religious settings that knowledge and experience are often taken as wisdom and godliness, yet often it is not so. The pharisees knew the law better than any other jews of their time, literally being able to recite the whole thing by heart, yet as we all know they had with that knowledge deluded themselves into thinking they were right with God while in reality they rejected his very son. These demons too theoretically would have known God and the truth better and more intimately than we do, considering they had spent the majority of their existence in their presence, yet they chose the ultimate rejection of his will via open war and rebellion in envy of his throne. Even in relatively recent history we see that it's often those in religious power who get the biggest ego about their own religious experience and see some of the farthest falls from grace we see on this Earth (a few Popes come to mind)
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