God Out of Touch

Critics disagree on whether Christopher Marlowe was an atheist or a Christian of unconvential beliefs for his period, and since Doctor Faustus is sated with religious implications, we may turn to it to back either argument. However, I think it is fair to accept that Marlowe was a questioner, regardless of his personal convictions. He stirred up doubt, but he did not necessarily offer solutions to the problems he posed. I wonder if Doctor Faustus is less a sermon than a conundrum, if it may represent Marlowe's own uncertainty, for Faustus is the quintessential Renaissance man but pathetic in his ignorance, knowing too much to believe in anything.

This becomes clear within moments of his signing of the contract with Mephastophilis. "Come," says Faustus, "I think hell's a fable." Even when Mephastophilis assures him of the reality of damnation, he passes it off as an old wives' tale. After all, the demon's curse is separation from God, and Faustus' God is cold and judgmental, of no interest to him.

The God of Faustus, however, is not likely the God of Marlowe. Surely Marlowe did not expect his audiences not to recognize the skewed nature of those scriptures Faustus quotes, and would that be more likely to lower their opinion of the scriptures or of the character of Faustus? Besides, the text brings to mind other verses that remain unspoken. James 2:19, for instance: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" (NKJV). Indeed, the demons of Marlowe's writing seem to present the truest assurance of the existence of God. In another example, shortly after his agreement, Faustus requests a book to show him all the heavens, then laments, "When I behold the heavens, then I repent..." This brings to mind a second scripture from Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (NKJV). Subtle references such as these may show a greater reverence for the Bible in Marlowe's writing than in Faustus' speech.

On the other hand, the omnipotent God offers decidely little actual interaction with his creation. When Faustus calls upon devils, devils appear. When Faustus calls upon Christ, devils appear. Of course, it is to devils that he has sold himself, so perhaps this is not a comment on the power of God but on the will of man, yet it also reaffirms a judgmental image of God.

If Marlowe shows more fear of God than his main character, still he does not portray a deity of joy and lush rewards. There is a sense of man's entrapment in his writing. Lucifer cares nothing for Faustus, yet he will grant him a few years of imagined worth. God, supposedly loving and willing to forgive, is distant and unreachable. Man is left to flounder between the two, his quest for knowledge a hopeless game. Was this Marlowe's quandary? I do not know, and that may be the point.