The Christian Perspective in An Essay on Man -- Alexander Pope Essay o

The Christian Perspective in An try on on Man Some might argue that Alexander Popes An Essay on Man presents the viewpoint of a deist. Others might acquire that the poem fails to exhibit Christian concepts of good and evil, especially since the poet concludes his first epistle with the seemingly unchristian claim that whatever IS, is Right (I. 1. 294). Yet Popes arguments actually reflect a traditional Christian perspective, which can be verified by comparing his poem with impudent Testament teachings. In his attempt to vindicate God in the face of suffering, he does not, like the pantheist, rule out the world of evil. Pope knows that men atomic number 18 capable of vice and that suffering is real. Pope does not argue that evil does not exist rather he argues that its existence does not preclude the evaluator of God. Like the writers of the New Testament, particularly the apostle Paul, Pope claims that pride and envy leads humanity to question the justice of God, and he ins ists that men submit to God, remaining content with their lot in life. Although Pope claims that one truth is clear, Whatever IS, is RIGHT (I. 1.294), he recognizes suffering But errs not nature from this gracious end,From burning suns when livid deaths descend,When earthquakes swallow, or when tempest adoptTowns to one grave, whole nations to the deep? (I. ll. 140-143) Pope does not only acknowledge the existence of evil. He describes it in vivid detail. In the above passage, he paints a horrid picture of plagues caused by excessive heat, of destructive earthquakes, and of storms that decimate entire towns and nations. He writes too of Ammon, who was turned loose to scourge mankind (I. l. 160). He may argue that nature does not err t... ...realizes this himself for a moment at the end of the second epistle. For he does not conclude by attempting to explain the existence of evil. Rather, he says only that one comfort still must rise, / Tis this, Tho Mans a fool, yet GOD IS WIS E (II. ll. 292-293). In the end, it is better to believe that every man (including Pope) is a fool for failing to explain evil than to believe that God is not wise for allowing it. This couplet is one further proof of the Christian operate in Popes An Essay on Man. In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes Let God be true, but every man a liar (Romans 34). plant life Cited Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Man. Ed. Gordon N. Ray. Boston Houghton Miflin Company, 1969. The New American Bible. Nashville Catholic Publishers, Inc., 1971. The King James Bible. Cleveland The World Publishing Company, 1967.