The course examines fallen nature, the problem of evil, and the goodness of God through John Milton’s 17th-century epic poem.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College has launched a new online course, “Paradise Lost,” taught by Professor of English Stephen Smith. The course, released November 12, examines fallen nature, the problem of evil, and the goodness of God through John Milton’s 17th-century epic poem.
“John Milton provides those of us seeking to labor with courage and purpose a guide to understanding and resisting the lies of Satan,” said Jeremiah Regan, executive director of online learning. “In ‘Paradise Lost,’ he encourages us to find true liberty in obedience to God and, with His help, to repair the ruin wrought by the Fall.”
Through Milton’s poem, this course explores love, grace and sin, eternal providence, and the ways of God. It considers Milton’s exploration of the fallen mind in Satan and his imagination of unfallen nature in Adam and Eve: sufficient to stand but free to fall.
“We’re not just encountering paper. We’re encountering the living intellect of a master spirit,” Smith said. “In this course we’ll join John Milton on a great poetic flight dedicated to exploring the question of why God permits evil. This is an invitation to the full feast, to experience and enjoy the greatest long poem written in the English language.”
The course includes nine video lectures covering the twelve books of “Paradise Lost:”
- Hell
- The Infernal Council
- Christ
- Eden
- Raphael’s Warning
- The War in Heaven
- The Fall
- Punishment and Repentance
- The Beginning
To watch the trailer and register for the course, click here.
For photos from the course, click here.
For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.
About Hillsdale College Online Courses
Hillsdale College’s free, not-for-credit online courses feature lectures from the College’s faculty members across various disciplines, including politics, history, economics, religion, and literature. More than 3 million students have enrolled in an online course with Hillsdale College. For more information on Hillsdale College’s online courses, visit online.hillsdale.edu.