Doctor Faustus is a tragic play written by Christopher Marlowe and published in 1604. The full name of the play is "The Tragic Story of the Life and Death of the Doctor Faustus.” He is a German writer and scholar who was extremely ambitious in his quest for knowledge. Dr. Faustus is a highly respected German scholar, a brilliant theologian from the University of Vintonburg, Germany, who has studied medicine, law, logic, philosophy and theology on religion, but he is still not not satisfied with the limits of human knowledge. . Dr. Faustus believes he knows everything about philosophy, so he won't read it anymore because it's not something new. In physics, he believes that physics cannot allow humans to live for eternity or bring the dead back to life, therefore physics is not necessary. He also thinks the law is void and ridiculous whose purpose is nothing but trash to serve him. He also rejects divinity because "the reward for sin is death and all humans are sinners, if we say we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and there". There is no truth in us". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Throughout Marlowe's play, Doctor Faustus, the themes of sin, damnation and redemption are presented in a somewhat ambiguous manner. The central point of this ambiguity is the identification of Faustus' point of no return with regard to the damnation of his soul. It can be argued that the play, in the spirit of the Protestant Reformation, shows Faustus' soul damned from the beginning either his existence is tainted by original sin or his fate is already predetermined by higher powers. , it can also be argued that Faustus is actually a free agent and follows his own path to damnation, without the influence of predestination or original sin. It is tempting to argue that Faustus is not moved by free will. , but is rather swept away, helpless. by his predetermined destiny. From this perspective, the play has a strong sense of Calvinist influence, reflecting the religious unrest of the Protestant Reformation. Indeed, the conclusion drawn by Faustus himself while reading the Bible has much in common with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. Faustus exclaims: “What will be, will it be? Divinity Farewell! ”[1], expressing his belief that no matter how much the Bible is studied or followed, nothing we do can change the predetermined destiny of our souls. This recalls John Calvin’s belief that “all are not created equal; on the contrary, eternal life is predetermined for some, eternal damnation for others. »[2] In other words, earthly actions are irrelevant because the fate of our souls is set in stone from conception. From a Calvinist perspective, the moment when Faustus's soul is irrevocably damned occurs long before the play, as soon as Faustus is born. Lisa Hopkins highlights the Calvinist priority of predestination over free will by stating: “From a Calvinist perspective, Faustus. , if he is damned at the end, he must automatically have been damned from the beginning of the play and never had a meaningful choice”[3]. This could be interpreted to mean that Faustus was forced into his sinful choices by a predetermined choice. fate, or to mean that his actions were completely obsolete because he would have burned in hell regardless of what he did or did not do. Faustus wonders if he truly controls, or even owns, his soul when he surrenders it to. the devil. He said: “Faustus gives you hissoul. Oh, it stayed there! Why wouldn't you? Isn't your soul yours? »[4]. From a Calvinist perspective, the answer to his question is essentially no. His soul belongs to God, as does control of his destiny. From a similar point of view, the damnation of Faustus' soul, as well as that of all damned men, can be seen as the result of humanity's original sin. In other words, his soul is born damned and with an inevitable inclination towards sin, and can only be saved by trusting in Jesus Christ himself. This is consistent with Lutheran theology and more reflective of the Protestant Reformation of the time. Martin Luther himself said: “We are sinners because we are the sons of a sinner. A sinner can only beget a sinner who resembles him”[5]. In this light, Faustus is once again damned before the play begins, not because he is predestined, but because all men are born tainted by Adam's betrayal. Sin is considered hereditary and not the product of voluntary bad choices. Therefore, only faith can save man from a state of sin, regardless of his good or bad deeds. The main difference between seeing the play from a Lutheran perspective and seeing it from a Calvinist perspective is that even though Faustus' soul is technically damned from birth, he is not au- beyond salvation to the very end, because he can find salvation by opening his soul to divine grace. Unfortunately for Faustus, he does not do this and therefore remains damned. Faustus' consistent choice of the devil over God and adherence to the words of the bad angel over those of the good angel support the idea that human nature is inherently sinful. Indeed, even when Faustus considers seeking salvation, he is easily drawn into the devil's pact by a distracting demonstration of the seven deadly sins. He said that the spectacle would be “pleasant to him, as paradise was to Adam”[6]. This reference to Adam, the supposed catalyst for humanity's original sin, suggests that he is drawn to forbidden acts just as his first ancestor was drawn to the forbidden apple. Additionally, Faustus and Adam are ultimately seduced by the devil's promises, suggesting that sin is indeed in the nature of all men. However, although Faustus clearly believes himself to be a victim of either his own inherent sinful nature or the predetermined damnation of his soul, it is less clear whether his belief is correct or not. Overall, Faustus seems to seal his own fate since he refuses to repent despite the good angel's urging. Just as the evil angel can be seen as a symbol of original corruption and tendency toward sin, the good angel can be seen as a chance for redemption or for man to reject sin in favor of good deeds. The two angels show man not as an intrinsically corrupt being, but as a being with free choice of the kind of person he wants to be. Faustus, of course, chooses to turn to a life of sin, showing himself to be potentially corruptible, but not necessarily corruptible. It is his own choices that ultimately lead him to damnation. Jamey Heit points this out by stating that the play is a “classic literary depiction of free will in the face of temptation from the devil… [Faustus] chooses evil over good and literally sells [his] soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and riches”[7]. Of course, this could also support the argument that the play is influenced by Adamic original sin since, like Adam before him whose "freedom of choice led to original sin"[8], Faustus gives in to his inner human corruption . Overall, however, the argumentthat Faustus is motivated by original sin is weaker than the idea that he simply makes bad choices as an individual. When considering the play from the perspective of Faustus' own actions that led to his downfall, one may wonder which of these actions in particular serves as the point of no return. The notable point of his resignation to sin is when he sells his soul to the devil at the beginning of the play. Indeed, this sin can be seen as a complete rejection and betrayal of God and the moment his fate is sealed. The action of literally yielding one's soul to the devil can be seen as a metaphor for Faustus resigning his soul to hell because of his sinful thirst for knowledge, money and power. Near the beginning of the play, as scholars discuss Faustus' decision to sell his soul, the first effects scholar supports the idea that his soul is damned by his decision to make a pact with the devil. He pessimistically states “I fear nothing can recover him now”[9], thereby undermining the chances of redemption from sin. David Bevington emphasizes that Faustus freely chooses this life of sin, since he affirms that “Faustus is, like Adam, fully informed of the consequences of his choice”[10]. In this light, Faustus is entirely responsible for his own damnation because he is fully aware of what he is doing and what it means for his soul, but he does it anyway. He is not being tricked or forced into doing something he does not want to do, he is simply being willingly seduced by materialistic promises. David K. Anderson supports this idea by pointing out that "Mephistopheles cannot be accused of watering down the truth or tricking when he answers Faustus's questions about hell in the first act" [11]. Indeed, the demon makes it clear that Faustus will pay with great suffering when he dies, for when asked why the devil wants Faustus' soul, he responds by saying "Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris"[12]. This Latin phase can be translated by the English expression “misery loves company”. In other words, if the devil is going to burn in hell for eternity, he wants as many souls as possible to burn with him. Therefore, it is quite possible that this is Faustus' point of no return, as his fully informed and completely blasphemous choice of Satan over God leaves his soul without a chance of redemption. Additionally, the imagery of a contract signed with blood can be seen as symbolizing Faustus' entry into damnation from which he cannot escape. Contracts are, by their nature, legally binding, even if one party later changes their mind. On this basis, it can be argued that this one should not be considered any different. Another notable possibility of Faustus' point of no return is when he kisses the she-devil Helen. Here he not only commits lust, he also allows evil to defile not only his soul, but also his body. The imagery of his "lips sucking [his] soul"[13] suggests that this affair with a demon is a breaking point for Faustus' chance to save his soul. Alternatively, it can be argued that Faustus' true point of no return occurs until he despairs of salvation. From this perspective, redemption is always within reach, until his final monologue as Mephistopheles and the other devils come for his soul. From this perspective, the power of God prevails over the power of evil, because Christian salvation can break even the most restrictive demonic covenants. Bruce E. Brandt points out that "those who see Faustus as free to repent rely on the claims of the good angel and the old man that grace is available if Faustus repents"[14]. Indeed, Faustus is assured, 2005.