O my beloved son, O Jesus Christ,
I view the world beneath me with contempt,
Man runs rampant, violent, filled with hate,
My likeness has been tainted by evil.
Adam could not fulfill his condition,
Brought forth by the Archangel Michael.
The time for judgment yet again draws near,
Thus Eden weeps for my resurfaced wrath.
How shall I handle such uncontained sin?
To grant pard’n I must myself consider,
Did man fall of his own prideful accord?
Or Satan subtly tempted from fiery Hell,
Instilling doubt in me that he played part?
If man fell tempted, then I owe them grace,
But if their lusty nature failed them, I
Cannot be the sov’reign that I proclaim;
I must acknowledge Satan as my own,
Could I, the all-loving, be unjust?
Could I, God, an intrinsic evil have?
Analysis:
My poem is based on God’s statement concerning the condition of grace in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Referring to the differences between the falls of his former angels and the fall of man, Milton’s God claims that “The [Angels] by their own suggestion fell / Self-tempted, self-depraved. Man falls deceived by th’ other first: Man therefore shall find grace, the other none” (3.129-32). In the context of “From the Father to the Son”, God attempts to apply this rationale to a second salvation of man in the current world. The Lord, essentially, condemns the world He oversees, denouncing the hatred and conflict that drives the violent, blatant disobedience of His will. However, as the judgment of man draws near for a second time, God finds himself contemplating the nature of his creation’s infractions, for Satan never blatantly tempted. He is unsure whether man is simply intrinsically disobedient and therefore prone to evil, or rather if Satan has subtly corrupted mankind without His knowing. Assuming the latter is true, God is content with a second salvation. When He considers the idea that humanity, made in His likeness, is innately evil, God questions His very self, wondering if He has a capacity for evil.
“From the Father to the Son” stems from some of my own fears and doubts as a Christian. I often wonder how I can be sure that my God is a just one, and can only pray that I meet whatever standard there may be for salvation after life. In other words, the work is a contemplation of whom I imagine God to truly be. An element of decisiveness, ironically from the lines which inspired me in Paradise Lost, has been taken away from God in the new poem. God exhibits doubt in His own righteous nature when conjuring the idea that His likeness is inherently wicked. This particular doubt likely harkens back to Milton’s God’s refusal to grant the angels forgiveness. That is, in hindsight analysis, Milton’s original God was frightened of the fact that the angels were created in his likeness to the point where he banished them from His sight, in an attempt to hide what He believed was the manifestation of any evil within Himself. The idea that God can self-doubt is incredibly interesting; while the concept may discourage some, for an all-knowing, loving God is one in which to seek comfort and be confident, this concept can also be incredibly rewarding and comforting. The nature of humans is to doubt and exhibit anxiety; knowing that God suffers from these same tendencies allows His creation to relate, perhaps establishing an even deeper connection between the God and the creation. Along the same lines, God in “From the Father to the Son” lacks omniscience to know how man has become corrupt; both the doubt and the omission of God’s omniscience allow readers to empathize with God, to make Him more human.