Dr Faustus
Tales of Faustian-like episodes are not limited to the past couple of centuries. Accounts of men signing deals with the devil have been recounted since before the Reformation. Most of the time, the party accused of associating with the devil was forgiven by God and not sentenced to fulfill his contract. It was believed by some, that to conjure up a demon that could be controlled through Jesus was an act of faith- and as such could be used for noble purposes. The first Christian era account of a man courting the help of Satan occurred during the 4th century. According to legend, Senator Proterius of Caesarea needed Satan's help to gain his master's daughter's hand in marriage. Fortunately for him, his soul was saved by the prayers of St. Basil. Another account of a deal with the devil occurred in1200's. Theophilus worked in the Episcopal Church. When the bishop of the church died, the new bishop fired Theophilus. In order to get revenge, Theophilus entered a pact with the devil,
In 1527 Faust moved to Wittenberg, but was expelled for his bad reputation. In 1528 he was kicked out of Ingolstadt and in 1532 he was refused safe conduct in Nuremburg. Although many references were made to his extraordinary gifts, his rejection and alienation increased, as he was labeled a Satanist, blasphemer and heretic by Catholics and Lutherans. During the early part of the 16th century, Johann Sabellicus, also known as George Faust, was a noted magician throughout the German lands. The earliest record we have of him can be traced to a letter written by Johannes Trithemius of Sponheim in 1507, in which he was accused of molesting several boys while teaching at Kreuznach. He was described as a blasphemous, con man who should be whipped. The Faust legend of the sixteenth century took place during an era of exploding scientific knowledge; polarization of good and evil; the fragmentation of Christian unity; the dying of the medieval world, and geometrically escalating uncertainty. After studying the magica
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Approximate Word count = 690
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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