John Milton, Paradox, and the Atonement: Heresy, Orthodoxy, and the Son’s Whole-Life Obedience

This article demonstrates that Milton’s orthodox presentation of the Crucifixion and the substitutionary atonement is predicated on his orthodox presentation of Jesus’s whole-life obedience, a perfect obedience to God and his law that substitutes for the disobedience of those who put their faith in Jesus. This presentation, evident in Paradise Lost, “Upon the Circumcision,” Paradise Regained, and De Doctrina Christiana, is consistent with presentations in various orthodox sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed documents. Paradoxically, however, Milton’s presentational emphasis on the orthodox notion of Jesus’s whole-life obedience is likely predicated upon his heterodox views regarding the deity of the Son of God.