Unlike Father, Unlike Son

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Unlike Father, Unlike Son In the year 313 A.C, Arius, a presbyterian priest from Alexandria, Egypt, developed a doctrine that challenged the fundamental teachings of the incipient Catholic Church. In this doctrine Arius makes the scandalous statement that the Father and the Son are not of the same nature. In Paradise Lost, John Milton corroborates with the Arian doctrine and this is seen through the points of view of the Father, the Son, both the angels and Satan, and Milton himself, who give substantial evidence that point towards the inequality of the Father and the Son. The inequality of the Son and the father can be detected through the character of the Father and His attitude towards the Son. The Father by fervently exalting the Son, shows that there is a need to bring Him to a higher position in the mind of others. There would be no need for exaltation if the Son was equal to the father. These exaltations are then followed by the war in Heaven. God allows this war to happen so “That his great purpose he might so fulfill, / To honor his anointed Son avenged / Upon his enemies, and to declare / All power on him transferred: Whence to his Son, / The Assessor of his throne” (6.657-61). God uses the war as a set up so the Son can prove Himself worthy of being God’s right hand and assessor to the throne. The need for a set up indicates that the Son does cannot prove Himself without the help of the Father, which means the Son is not equally powerful. After the Son easily defeats the rebel army, the Father anoints the Son “vice-gerent,” which means He is second in command under Him, attesting to the inequality of the Son (5.609). The Father bestows all His power on the Son -- “Anointed universal King; all power / I give thee; reign for ever, and assume / Thy merits; under thee, as head supreme,” which suggests that before all the powers were

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