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The Dialectical Interaction between God and Satan –
Exploring Modern Western Humanism in Literature through Satanism
the central figure but does not involve worship of Satan” (Oxford Learner’s
Dictionaries, n.d. ). According to what is mentioned on the official website of the Church of
Satan, they declare that they don’t worship anyone.(The church of Satan, n.d. ). The Satanic
Temple also has similar declaration.

“No, nor do we believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. The
Satanic Temple believes that religion can, and should, be divorced from

superstition.”(The Satanic Temple, n.d.)

With the quotation above, we can infer that the two Satanism sects, the Church of
Satan and the Satanic Temple, belong to the latter group as defined by Oxford Learner’s
Dictionaries, which is called atheistic Satanism.

(III) Purpose

A. To know how Satan, the antagonist in Milton’s Paradise Lost, is characterized and
why he is characterized in this way.
B. To know how the image of this Satanic character is re-created and thus re-defined by
writers of later ages.
C. To understand what Satan, as worshipped by such modern-day religious sects as The

Satanic Temple, really represents in terms of the Christian and literary traditions of
the West.

II. Literature Review

(I) Paradise Lost

In John Milton's Paradise Lost (1991), Satan is depicted as a charismatic and eloquent

fallen angel, leading a rebellion against God. Milton’s portrayal of Satan challenges
conventional notions of good and evil, making him a compelling and even sympathetic
character. For example, in his speech to the fallen angels who are about to enter Hell as a

doomed consequence of their rebellion against God, Satan portrays God as one whom
“reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme/Above his equals.” (John Milton,
1991) In other words, if God is in reason the same as all the angels but rules the universe
with absolute force, he is nothing but a tyrant, and thus, according to the leader of the revolt
in Heaven, being “fardest from him is best.” (John Milton, 1991) In this way, Satan gives

his fellow rebellious angels the courage to face the fiery torments in Hell.

However, if we look (or read, for that matter) closely, we will find Satan is not fighting

against the “divine tyrant” for a new form of equality that is to be universally shared by all
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