Lesson learned

I am still studying but have run across some parts of John Milton that are making me crazy! Yesterday I understood but today I had no idea which was up!  I had to enlist some help from different perspectives. Not research for a paper but for an understanding. I listened and learned.

For those of you who know nothing about John Milton well let me give you a little insight. He was a very devout Christian being educated at Corpus Christi College in England. This is the same college where the authorized version of KJV took place. He traveled and studied Catholic religious materials as well. His intellect is like WOW—over the top! His greatest work is the epic “Paradise Lost” about creationism with Adam and Eve and the original sin – their life in the garden. The time period he lived was during 1608-1674, a very turbulent time in England—the period of England’s social, political, and religious reformation.  He is aligned with the Puritans of the period, but is not over zealous like a Puritan would have been considering Oliver Cromwell.

Milton uses mythology, history, current events, the Bible, mysticism, philosophy, theology, personal experiences and you name it in his work.  He became blind in 1652. He had employed scribes. Some of his work wasn’t published because it would have been heresy of that time. He very much believed in Christianity, God, and the free liberties to study the Bible to incite a personal relationship between God and the individual.

His work can be very difficult. I am a “queen of research” so I have been told; but, putting that research into an academic paper is hard for me—it is my weakness. Our professor prefers that I do not research for opinions when writing a paper on him. She wants me to use my intuition which is at times very stressing, because I read every little detail. In taking this class I have never had to access a dictionary so much. I am not talking about Merriam Webster. I am referring to Oxford English Dictionary.

I had to ask from help from some very devout Christians and theological learned people today. Then after thinking about it, I sort of felt dumb. It was not a question with an answer that I was seeking but a lesson to be had. The topic was the Holy Trinity—God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

They three are separate essences, combined into one, for the soul of the individual. The lesson learned; I opened up my Bible again. I studied more, I read more, and then I rested. Beware of educated religious commentaries.  The only mediator we should have between us and God is Jesus and not modern man. That is what Milton was getting at the whole time. We are to build a relationship of our own; a personal relationship with God, the only heavenly Father. Jesus washed away our transgressions and the Holy Spirit keeps us straight.

“Christine Doctrine” is Milton’s soul-filled thoughts. They are not my thoughts or your thoughts. Building a relationship with God takes effort—emotionally and physically. You may be washed clean by the blood of the lamb; but, there is some work in building that relationship.

Keep in prayer Brandon Ingram (Brandon’s Warriors): keep in prayer Tracy J Smith for a speedy recovery; keep in prayer Malaysia Airline 370 – passengers--their families and friends; keep in prayer each other.

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One (Jesus) who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are the children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5: 18-20.

God the father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit rest in us who have the faith to believe without doubt.  

God bless you all and keep you safely in His arms.