Things aren’t always as they appear to be. This is true in John Faustus’s case in terms of his relationship with Mephistopheles and in turn the devil himself. Poor Faustus believes it is he who has called upon the demon Mephistopheles and it is his tongue that orders the servant of hell, yet he could not be any more mistaken. In reality, Faustus is the one with strings attached to him and it is Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and the Evil Angel playing the role of the puppeteer. Nevertheless, Faustus remains a student to the ideology of Christianity throughout his adventures, even amongst the bleakest of hours. God never leaves the side of John Faustus, as He relentlessly tries to bring Faustus back onto the path of righteousness.
Though it was indeed Doctor Faustus that summed the evil form of Mephistopheles and bargained with the devil for control over him, it is really Faustus who is being controlled by the Evil Trinity. The Doctors free will, one of the distinguishing factors of humankind, one of Gods greatest gifts given to man, has been taken away from him. The Evil Trinity is subtly controlling his every move, poking and prodding him so that he stays on the path they have laid out for him, the path to Hell. Whenever Faustus begins to question his decision and seek repentance, either Mephistopheles distracts him with earthly pleasures or facts of hell, the Evil Angel whispers some doubt in his ear, or the Devil himself appears and threatens John that it is all over and far too late. Pitiable Faustus is being persistently brainwashed by evil, yet he is under the influence that he is still in control of his life and the decisions that he makes. The infernal powers are incessantly tugging on the strings of their marionette, Doctor Faustus, leading him to his impending doom.
God never gives up on John though, as His love is boundless and His mercy endless. God can be seen in Faustus’s life through the beauty of God’s creation, the Good Angel on his shoulder, and even in the pious man who urges John to repent as his end is drawing ever nearer. God never turns His back on the doctor, and continually tries to hail him, yet Faustus never truly turns around and acknowledges God’s calling until it is too late.
Doctor Faustus never completely turns his back on the ideology of Christianity. This is demonstrated by his never-ending struggle with himself to turn his back on all the earthly pleasures and knowledge and instead repent in his ways and fix his eyes on Christ Jesus. Faustus grew up under the shadow of the church and rigorously studied God and the bible. He enrolled himself in the school of Christianity and became a subject of God in doing so. The devil knew this and was thus so eager to take him away from Gods side. Faustus was man, and sinned like man, but like a subject of God he always turned toward repentance. The infernal powers did all that they could do to distract John and shadow his eyes and mold his mind, yet in the end they did not succeed. Before the last bell rang Faustus reached out for Gods hand in mercy and repented for his lust for power and earthly desires. He had seen Gods mercy first hand and had withheld the mighty powers that God possessed. The devil could not take that away from him, even in hell Faustus would know Christ as his savior and know the error of his ways.
John Faustus learned a very valuable lesson with his dealing with Mephistopheles, he learned, like Adam and Eve before him, that knowledge and power come at a price, and that sometimes ones place in creation is to not know all things. Adam and Eve were given perfection by Christ, they were subjects of God living in His garden free of sin and malice. Yet they, like Faustus, desired too much and wished to know things that need not trouble them. Consequently, they were thrown out of the world they knew and thrust into one full of sin and suffering. This mirrors Doctor Faustus’s situation very well. John lived his life in content being a subject of God, yet he too got restless and desired more. He sought after more knowledge, and just as Adam and Eve were thrown out of their world and into one of sin and death, Faustus was cast out of earth and doomed to an eternity of life in sin, life in hell. Faustus would have been better off knowing where he stood in relation to Gods plan and not trying to outreach himself. Faustus agreed with the views and opinions of Christianity, and followed those ideas most of his life, lust consumed him though and lead him to excess. Doctor Faustus should have learned from his studies of theology of the dangers brought on by overstepping ones boundaries in an attempt for an excess of earthly desires.
Evil is better in the moment, as goodness is better later on. This is the message given to us by Christopher Marlowe in his play Doctor Faustus. Faustus let the Evil Trinity persuade him into instant pleasures, such as money, women, humor, and knowledge in order to take away the everlasting pleasure that God could provide through Heaven. The infernal powers were blinders to him, limiting his view and perception of the bigger picture and what truly mattered. One should never lose sight of the bigger picture, of their end goal, in all that they do, whether it be in school, or in sports, or in life. Instant pleasures, as Doctor Faustus found out, often times lead toward empty victories.