Milton's Pauline Universalism

Milton's Pauline Universalism clarifies, and argues for, John Milton's universalism while acknowledging limitations that often apply in the England of this Protestant author and political figure. Milton denied ancient Christian universalism, the heretical belief that all people regardless of belief, deeds, or qualities will be saved from any negative consequences after death, including divine punishment. Yet Milton emphasized a universal offer of salvation, an Arminian approach that follows (certain texts of) Paul, leaving some aspects of Christian universalism intact in a definite and lasting sense for him. This book analyzes Pauline conceptions of universalism at work in Milton's era, based on Paul's statement that "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Its focus on the larger context of Paul's argument and on interpretations by Milton and other early modern thinkers reveals that Milton, by writing his major epic about the original human beings, suggests how equality might have worked, and why it degenerated after the Fall. Universal lineage from Adam and Eve entails universal guilt but points toward a shared human offer of salvation. Ultimately, this book argues that Milton maintains a robust conception of universalism, especially in his most substantive poetic work Paradise Lost, that this universalism combines theological aspects with attendant socio-political ones including race, and that important aspects of his universalism derive from the first-century Christian leader Paul.

Joshua R. Held is Associate Professor of English at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. His Bold Conscience: Luther to Shakespeare to Milton (2023) shows the importance of political conscience in early modernity. He has published articles in Milton Studies, Milton Quarterly, and ELH English Literary History, among other venues.