Lecture - Dennis Danielson - Milton’s Paradise Lost: Epic Lessons in How to Avoid Idolatry

Lecture by Dennis Danielson “Milton’s Paradise Lost: Epic Lessons in How to Avoid Idolatry” Given 7pm - 9pm on February 28, 2015 at The Lanier Theological Library Chapel in Houston, Texas. It is part of the Lanier Library Lecture Series. A series devoted to bringing world class lectures to benefit the community of all those who might be interested. I am indebted to the generosity of the library to allow me to share these videos of theirs. Please support them by visiting their website for more information and resources: http://www.laniertheologicallibrary.org/ Lecture - Dennis Danielson - Milton’s Paradise Lost: Epic Lessons in How to Avoid Idolatry There is no more fundamental biblical imperative than that of avoiding idolatry. St. Paul, recalling the first commandment—“Thou shalt have no other gods …” (Ex. 20:3)—centrally links human unrighteousness with our worshiping and serving “the creature more than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). Milton’s Paradise Lost offers powerful glimpses of idolatry’s operations and effects—psychological, theological, and cosmological. bio info: Dennis Danielson is a professor of English at the University of British Columbia (1986-present). He has a PhD in English from Stanford University and is known for his publications on Milton. Danielson is a life member of the Milton Society of America and an associate member of the American Astronomical Society. Danielson was raised in Victoria, on Vancouver Island and attributes his love and study of philosophy and literature to the beautiful landscape and natural wonders of his surroundings. His other sources of inspiration include his composer wife, Janet Henshaw Danielson, and the writings of Milton. After completing a BA in English from the University of Victoria and a MA in Intellectual History from the University of Sussex, Danielson completed a DPhil in English and Philosophy at Oxford University. He then went on to Stanford University for the PhD in English. Before obtaining his current position, Danielson taught at the University of Ottawa from 1979 to 1986. His career has been accentuated with visiting positions in Germany, Beijing and South Africa. Dennis Danielson is the author of Milton’s Good God: A Study in Literary Theodicy (1982), The First Copernican: Georg Joachim Rheticus and the Rise of the Copernican Revolution (2006) and the recently published Paradise Lost and the Cosmological Revolution (2014). He is editor of The Cambridge Companion to Milton (1999) and The Book of the Cosmos: Imagining the Universe from Heraclitus to Hawking (2000). Watch for his newest book, Paradise Lost and the Cosmological Revolution, which was released in early November 2014.