7. Empson hated what he called the "neo-Christian" mood of 20th century literary criticism, which he saw as a retreat from liberalism.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
8. Empson's 1961 book Milton's God was his full throttle attack on the neo-Christians, an attempt to liberate literature from theology.
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9. Thesis of Milton's God: "The Christian God...is the wickedest thing yet invented by the black heart of man."
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10. Further thesis: Milton tried to make Christian God more palatable to morality. Milton failed but his failure created fruitful tension.
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11. In sum, the reason Paradise Lost is so good is because the God in the poem is so bad. So poem works to undermine faith.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
12. The notable thing about Milton's God is not just argument but the tone: a deliberately insolent, school boy naughty nose-tweaking.
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13. Empson's tone and voice in Milton's God is very close to that of Hitchens in God Is Not Great -- talk of wickedness, torture, etc.
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14. As far as I know, Hitchens only referred to Empson in passing, but I think Milton's God must have been formative for Hitchens.
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15. Example of Empson's tone: "I think the traditional God of Christianity very wicked, and have done so since I was at school..."
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16. "....where nearly all my little playmates thought the same."
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17. I sort of picture Empson and his fellow 6-year olds, all in short pants, chatting in the playground about how wicked God is.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
18. But while Empson was a precursor to the New Atheists, he remains superior to them in many ways.
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19. For all his school-boy insolence, Empson had a genuine moral horror at theodicy as a justification for pain and torture.
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