Description
No other writer is so grudgingly admired as Milton. He wrote great poetry, goes the received wisdom, but his creed was narrow, chilling, and inhuman. His reputation is that of a stereotypical Puritan and authoritarian. Yet Theo Hobson maintains that no one opposed religious authoritarianism with such vehemence. Indeed, he argues that no one was so adamant that political freedom is built into the Christian gospel.
Milton insisted that Protestantism was compatible with political liberty—that the two ideas are complementary. By treating all ecclesiastical authority with suspicion, he helped to establish the modern ideal of secularism. He was a Christian libertarian who wanted every form of church to wither away, so that the Gospel might be completely free of coercion. Milton’s Vision is thus a vital contribution to the contemporary debate about the place of religion in public life. There has never been a study of Milton that highlights his relevance to the core issues of our day: how religion gives rise to and interacts with secular ideals.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Broken Revolution
2. A Literary Calling
3. Taking Sides
4. The Idea of a Free Christian Society
5. The Epics
6. The Purloined Legacy
Author(s)
Theo Hobson,
Mr. Theo Hobson has published a number of books and also writes regularly for The Times, The Tablet and The Spectator.
Reviews
"Theo Hobson takes no prisoners in his enthusiasm for Milton. This is a vigorous pen-portrait of one of Protestantism’s greatest writers which has the great virtues of taking his Protestantism seriously, and of saying without any hesitation that Milton’s Protestantism speaks to the modern Western world as much as it did to the tyrants and tidy-minded ideologues of his own day." Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, Theology Faculty, University of Oxford.
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"A worthy addition to the literature on Milton" - Catholic Herald
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"The author's passion communicates itself to the reader, and he gives a stirring, lucid account of this extraordinary writer." - The Tablet
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'Milton never published a systematic account of Christian liberty; Hobson duly compensates.' Church Times, February 2009
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'A study written with a racy style and wit [...] but with a very serious point at its heart.' Baptist Times, March 2009
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"The author is well-known as an indepenent-minded critic of positions and people not often questioned in his particularly creative way ... His current topic, Milton, challenges those religious souls who embrace the subject as 'their type of Protestant' to juggle another thesis from the same man, namely that Protestantism per se equates with political liberty ... it is well written, worth reading."
The Church of Ireland Gazette, April 2009
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"Hobson is a lively writer and Milton's work, especially the prose, is dealt with swiftly and vigorously."
Methodist Recorder, 9 April 2009
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"The main value of the book is that Hobson is a fan, a true believer, and this is a rollicking read for those who reckon that liberal Protestantism, freedom and a due agnostisicm towards doctrinal orthodoxy hold the secret of the world's salvation... The analysis of the ways in which Milton in Paradise Lost and Nabokov in Lolita intertwine the themes of sex, goodness and evil is almost worth the price of the book in itself." - David Cornick, Reform, April 2009
D. Cornick,
Author's answer, (letters and emails section), 25 October 2008
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"Hobson demonstrates why lietrary Miltonism cannot, and should not, separate critical assessment of Milton's writing from examination of his innate religious motivation"
17 July 2009
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