Faith

One of the questions raised by the play "Faust" concerns how one defines faith and how one determines how much faith one has. Both Gretchen and Faust have faith, but they have faith of differing levels. In the opening prologue, the Lord refers to Faust as His servant. Even the Lord admits that Faust serves Him in confusion. This indicates Faust has faith, but a confused faith. The first scene of the play does not seem to show Faust as a man who has any faith at all. Even before his encounter with Mephistopheles, Faust contemplates, and almost commits, suicide. Faust's faith is restored, however, when he hears the singing of the Easter hymns. Faust's small amount of faith is again shaken when he is disturbed by the poodle as he attempts to study God's Word. It is at this point that Mephistopheles takes over and attempts to...