To what extent is 'Dr Faustus' a modern play?

‘Dr Faustus’ depends in its entirety upon a medieval belief in heaven and hell. So, when such an old play has lived on and is still relished in our modern, fast-paced and secular society, one can only wonder how it can be so. It is a universal morality play, which goes beyond its religious context. Despite the particularly Christian ideas, such as good and bad angels and the prospect of damnation, the play lends itself to the eternal challenge of retaining one’s integrity in the face of the material wealth, scientific knowledge and sexual fantasy. Thus, it seems that Faustus becomes a play for the modern age; modern in relation to the both the period contemporary to that of the playwright and the period in which we live in now. The ultimate fascination of the play is that it seems to acquire a different meaning for each age and each new generation. The contrast between Marlowe’s references to a medieval morality play and the Renaissance-led idea of the great potential and possibility of humanity has caused many a viewer of the play to be in two minds; either that ‘Dr Faustus’ and its archaic language and no-secular ideas should have remained in the time in which it was written or opposingly, that this play takes its stance in the modern age with Marlowe’s use of internalisation and independence of thought. One might therefore suggest that it’s modernity ultimately depends upon the director, who make pick and choose as to which dimensions are to be brought out in a particular way.