( Burnett , 165 ). This emphasises Faustus ’ s thirst for knowledge which drives him to dismiss scientific and religiously motivated literature in favour of more liberating reaches of understanding . Through this , the science books and religious manuscripts are positioned as a form of ‘ entrapment ’ as the contents limit knowledge to what their belief suggests . Exclamations such as “ Physics , farewell !” ( Marlowe , 8 ) and “ Divinity , adieu !” ( Marlowe , 9 ) express Faustus ’ s dissatisfaction with the reaches of science and religion .
This suggests that his desire of true ‘ freedom ’ will come when he is able to surpass human knowledge , which exemplifies that his human limitations are what he aims to be ‘ free ’ of . Moreover , this dismissal of disciplines suggests a ‘ rejection of compartmentalized knowledge ’ ( Duxfield , 101 ) which foreshadows Faustus ’ s quest for further understanding . Furthermore , Faustus ’ s ‘ freedom ’ from religion is illustrated through his warped view of sin and eternal damnation . His rejection of the Church enables him to approach concepts of sin and reprimands in unconventional ways , as he is not a devout Christian . Therefore , Faustus syllogises from the first book of John , within the Bible , “ The reward of sin is death ” ( Marlowe , 8 ) and “ If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves ” ( Marlowe , 8 ). Here , Faustus ignores any idea of redemption and , by extension , refutes the idea that there is any ‘ freedom ’ within religion . Marlowe ’ s conscious authorial choice to withhold the following line of John ’ s first book , “ If we confess our sins , [ God ] is faithful and just to forgive us ” ( The Bible , 1984 ), is significantly impactful . It could be argued that the contemporary audience would have experienced frustration at this as they would have been aware that this conclusion offers redemption from sinful acts . Additionally , Faustus ’ s anti-religious beliefs convince him that forgiveness of sins is not plausible - therefore compelling him to see religion as ‘ entrapment ’. It could be argued that Faustus acts as Marlowe ’ s mouthpiece , echoing his secular views , which could suggest why the concept of secularism as ‘ freedom ’ is brought to the forefront . Faustus concludes that “ we must sin and so consequently die ” ( Marlowe , 9 ) which is ironic as his detached consideration of sin presages his inability to avoid sinning whilst it also reveals he does not recognise how significant the nature of sin is to his own life – as he believes his rejection of Christianity provides him ‘ freedom ’ from the consequences of sin .
Moreover , Marlowe ’ s intellectual ‘ freedom ’ allows him to be liberated from his social realm to write ‘ freely ’ which is exemplified through Faustus ’ s curiosity . This furthers his thirst for expanding his knowledge . This is explored through his desire to explore the setting of “ hell ” ( Marlowe , 33 ) which is epitomised through his dialogue with Lucifer . His voracious desire to know is foregrounded through his indirect interrogative “ might I see hell ” ( Marlowe , 33 ) which portrays him as hungry for knowledge of the unknown . While the idea of this would seem atrocious to a contemporary audience , due to the profoundly Christian belief system , it is clear that Marlowe can see ‘ freedom ’ in any transgressive ideas that he presents . This can be exemplified through his protagonist ’ s ‘ deal ’ with the devil – for ‘ freedom ’ is extended to Faustus through allowing him to learn necromancy . This , by extension , allows him to travel and gain new knowledge , further emphasising the concept of intellectual ‘ freedom ’. Saliently , there is a suggestion that through Faustus ’ s desire to explore “ hell ” ( Marlowe , 33 ) offers ‘ freedom ’ within itself due to the extent of knowledge that could be obtained from visualising this setting . Marlowe ’ s ‘ intellectual atheism ’ ( White , 2004 ) allows the creation of ‘ freedom ’ through the transgressive act when Faustus “ cut [ s ]” ( Marlowe , 22 ) himself to sign the deal . Not only would this be visually shocking and powerful in performance but has
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