Faith in Book V

"Who saw/When this creation was? Remember'st thou/Thy making while the Maker gave thee being.....ethereal sons" (V,856-863).

This quotation is from Satan speaking to Abdiel when he is questioning the creation of everything by God. Satan says that we are "self begot" and "self raised," which is a rather strong statement to say. What actually interests me in this passage between Abdiel and Satan discussing creation and God's power is the difference in perspective between the two. While Abdiel undoubtedly believes in God and has no questions regarding his creation, Satan truly believes that he had the power to create himself, and chooses not to believe God.
Is this, in a sense, the definition between believers and non believers? Truly religious/spiritual individuals have complete faith in things they cannot actually see. They just believe and trust in things because they want to believe in something that's bigger than themselves. Others who may not be as religious often question God or things associated with them, and also tend to be skeptical. In this scene, Satan seems to represent the skeptic, whereas Abdiel represents a true believer.
Faith is a truly difficult thing to grasp at times, but ultimately, isn't that what believing is sort of about? Taking a "leap of Faith," even when one is unsure or insecure?
I also noticed that Satan seems to be fitting into his usual role once again as well. In his speech, it seems like Satan is trying to make Abdiel doubt what he believes in, which is something that Satan would try to do to humanity to under mime God. Once again, Satan is molding into his evil role in order to possibly turn others to "the dark side" (sorry, I'm a star wars fan and I just couldn't resist, at least I didn't discuss the Force) by making them doubt their faith in God. Satan not only tempts mankind into siding with him by promising them wealth and glory, but he also tries to pry open weak areas of one's faith and beliefs. This manipulation by Satan is seen many times throughout Paradise Lost and I think this scene really brings out Satan's pride and personality. Overall, If Satan is making someone doubt God, then he is already one step closer to getting some revenge. However, if he fails, the individual who had enough faith to conquer Satan may become even stronger in their beliefs and seen as a "hero." This time though, Satan chose to mess with the wrong angel because he clearly gets his butt kicked later on.
Anyway, this is somewhat of a shorter blog because there's not tons and tons to say, and I just wanted to touch on this point briefly. Out!

Lauren