For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2: 8-9). In these verses, it is shown that God saved man with faith. God did these deeds, not man, so one person shall not act as God and boast about having more power. Acting as God is heavily frowned upon in religion, as one of the Ten Commandments is to not idolize anything other than God. Despite these religious ideals, characters in literature are shown to break this code and play the role of God. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character Victor Frankenstien creates a living creature using science. After Dr. Frankenstein creates this beast, he is seemingly punished throughout the rest of the novel, as his family and friends are killed by the lonely monster. This view on religion, however, contrasts with that in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, in which Owen Meany is seen as the second coming of Christ, and plays the role of God which he is portrayed as a hero. The conflicting perspectives of religion in the two works show vast differences in playing the role of God and how it can impact a person’s life.
Religious ideas are all throughout Frankenstein despite it being a science fiction book. From the beginning of the novel, the professors see Victor as a disciple of science, alluding to the Bible and the disciples, who are the followers of Christ. Victor is seen to be a follower of science which leads him to disaster when he plays the role of God and creates a living organism out of dead matter. Other religious ideas are seen before Justine dies after being accused of killing William. She accepts the fact that she is going to die and says that she will see William in heaven. While doing this, Victor first realizes that he has done a huge mistake and that he is the murderer of William for creating the demon. Victor blames himself, and in doing so, keeps the monster to himself so that no one thinks him crazy. This secret throughout the novel gives Victor a sense of insecurity and loneliness, which is paralleled by the monsters loneliness. By playing the role of God, Victor seems to be punished. His family and close friends are all killed by the fiend, and after they are killed, Victor becomes so filled with revenge that he goes on a manhunt to kill the creature that he created. This view on playing the role of God is flipped in A Prayer for Owen Meany.
The religious ideas in A Prayer for Owen Meany contrast greatly with those in Frankenstein. Owen Meany is portrayed as the second coming of Christ throughout the novel. Owen Meany sees himself as very powerful, and thinks that he is an instrument of God. He thinks that he has foresight in that he sees the angel of death before killing Teresa with the baseball and he says that he sees his own death in dreams. This foresight gives Owen Meany power, for he is an incredibly controlling man, as shown in the Christmas Pageant, town play, and news editorial, however, he is portrayed as a hero when he sacrifices himself to save the children, and is seen as a supernatural kid throughout the novel. Owen’s portrayal of God is seen as good, despite going against the basic laws of religion.
While Victor Frankenstein shows the negatives of playing the role of God with his creature killing his family and his vengeful hunt for the creature, Owen Meany shows a more positive side of playing the role of God, for his sacrifice leads to him becoming a hero. Victor Frankenstein is punished for creating life, as Owen Meany is seen as a savior for using his foresight to sacrifice himself to save the children. Although Frankenstein’s role is directly creating life and Owen’s role is sacrificing himself and being able to see his death, both play an important role which they gain power by being like a God. The role of playing God gives the person power, but the power eventually will end the person’s life, whether it is a righteous ending that involves saving people or a vengeful death after chasing a man-made demon. Either way, taking on this role is frowned upon by religion, and although they lead to power, the power eventually ends the person’s life.
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