Milton on Reason for Church-Govt.

His concepts for Church Governance stem from a very thin line between what is God’s commands and our obedience to that, and how free we are to run our lives by human reason. I still wonder what kind of boundaries Milton had for himself, beyond his theological words and writing. He won’t engage himself with set prescriptions because that would be forced, but only if there is also persuasion, which makes it voluntary and virtuous. He seems to have found a balance, where he subconsciously knows religion so well that his life just abides to it, and he is comfortable in that manner. Although, I find that he really is able to have these beliefs because he is closest to his human beliefs, non religiously. I might be rambling here, but his abilities, his talents as a writer, as a critic, as a thinker, as a political activist, as a grand poet, these are the things that motivate his life, that give him a persuasion beyond set prescriptions. I don’t believe his beliefs in God formed his ability to think and write and study, but rather that his genius and ability as an artist and theorist who might search for ever-changing definition shaped his religious beliefs. Also, looking at the disheveled shape that England was in, how it was falling, Milton had to find something beyond the government to maintain his faith and adhere to a belief system. I think he turned to himself. Just a thought…either way, I think I’ve just become a believer in, if I may, Miltonism.