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haunting heaven Report | 03/17/2012 7:38 am

Yep, yep, I've heard the same thing about the Divine Comedy (though, sadly, I've never read it). xD In some ways, I think Christian literature has such an influence because some people are more apt to be familiar with it than they are with more obscure parts of the Bible. I know I personally never read the Bible all the way through until I was starting to doubt it. I'm not sure why this is when the Bible is such an important influence in our culture.

Interesting that you bring up Job because that's another thing about the character of Satan--he holds a very different role in the OT than he does in the NT, and thus though he's the villain in Christianity, he's still considered one of God's angels in Judaism, one who only does what God asks of him. And you make a good point about the temptation of Jesus--I remember reading that and thinking it felt very similar to what happened to Job, and it has the same end result and everything. The person being tested doesn't turn from God and thus proves his faith and loyalty.

And that question about your own faith is fine and totally understandable. I think a lot of people go through that. I am personally not a believer myself, but I know it says in the Bible that while God does not tempt people, he does test them. What the difference is, I'm not sure. If Satan is a being who ultimately works for God like he is in Judaism, I suppose it all gets traced back to God in the end. Though personally I feel that would be true even if Satan is the villain since he can only do what God allows him to do--at least under traditional Christian thought. There are some Christians who believe God isn't all powerful, and thus Satan actually poses a legitimate threat to him and his plan. So it all kind of comes down to what you personally believe, I think. xD

I'm glad to give you a confidence boost. C: You deserve it. And your encouragement is helping me, as well. In fact, it's just nice to be able to talk about some of the ideas I have as it helps me iron out the details. whee

Yeah, I like dashes. xD I kinda let myself go wild with them when I'm just chatting, but when I'm writing fiction or an essay or something, I try to pay more attention. Because other people don't share my love unfortunately. emo

haunting heaven Report | 03/16/2012 4:28 pm

Well, one of the influences it has had is that so many Christians believe things are found in the Bible--such as Satan being the serpent in the Garden, a third of the angels falling from heaven--but often they're ideas popularized by Milton and aren't really stated within biblical text at all. For example, the concept the serpent is not once said to be Satan, and the only reference to a third falling from heaven is a verse in Revelation that says that the dragon swept a third of the stars from the sky. But ask someone if the Bible says Satan was the serpent or that the war in heaven is described in detail, and they'll often say yes. Even the way in which Satan is perceived by Christians has been affected by Paradise Lost. Before Milton, he was mostly just monstrous, a completely terrifying being, but Milton gave him a sense of nobility and made him--whether accidentally or on purpose--the hero of the story, so Christians and pop-culture often cast Satan as being a charming, beautiful but dangerous deceiver. But I agree--the Christian religion has so much potential for fascinating storytelling. And it's influenced so much in Western culture--it's hard to find work that doesn't reference Christianity in some way or another. xD I personally love Satan as a character, though my version of him is much different from both the Christian version and the pop-culture version--though I draw from both interpretations. And don't sell yourself short! I think what you're writing sounds awesome! :3

As a side note... I totally use waaaay too many dashes when I write to people, haha. xD

haunting heaven Report | 03/15/2012 9:24 am

No problem. Thank you very much for the request. c: I, too, am glad to meet an intelligent, thoughtful person. <3 And I'd be glad to talk to you about Paradise Lost and my own work--I just have to run and get to my class right now, but when I get back, I'm gonna reply to your comments in the TSF. But, yeah, I really do like Paradise Lost. It's amazing to me how influential it has been to the Christian religion. It's also influence my own writing. xD