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

The Christian Perspective in An Essay on while Some might press that Alexander Popes An Essay on homo presents the viewpoint of a deist. Others might claim 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 any(prenominal) IS, is Right (I. 1. 294). Yet Popes argu manpowerts actually reflect a traditional Christian perspective, which can be verified by comparing his poem with spick-and-span Testament teachings. In his attempt to vindicate God in the saying of suffering, he does not, like the pantheist, rule out the institution of evil. Pope knows that men are capable of vice and that suffering is real. Pope does not suggest that evil does not exist rather he argues that its existence does not preclude the justice of God. Like the writers of the red-hot Testament, particularly the apostle capital of Minnesota, Pope claims that superciliousness and envy leads man to question the justice of God, and he insists that men fix to God, remaining content with their lot in life. Although Pope claims that one truth is clear, some(prenominal) IS, is RIGHT (I. 1.294), he recognizes suffering But errs not nature from this gracious force out,From zealous suns when livid deaths descend,When earthquakes swallow, or when tempest sweepTowns to one grave, whole nations to the stocky? (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 assure of plagues caused by excessive heat, of destructive earthquakes, and of storms that decimate entire towns and nations. He writes to a fault 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 com fort still must rise, / Tis this, Tho Mans a fool, yet GOD IS WISE (II. ll. 292-293). In the end, it is better to cerebrate that both 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 conclusion of the Christian influence 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). Works 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 publish Company, 1967.