dante's inferno

what are peoples thoughts on this book?

5-6 years since i read it but if there's a hell, i'd say it's a pretty good guidebook.

Kevin Bacon

To get the ball rolling on this thread....
(Ads By Google ya only brought this up 'cause I read it recently) :rolleyes:

Anyway, if the book is interpreted as it is as a description of hell its pretty apt as it is brutal in the truest meaning of the word particularly when he gets into the deeper bowels of hell. But the book is essentially 34 cantos worth of political sniping and worshiping of Greek and roman writings which was the fashion at the time.

But the main point which is most striking is his description of hell. Correct me if im wrong but particularly in the dark ages that the idea of hell was particularly emphasized through the use of imagery (ie physical pain) as the general population was ill educated and couldnt relate to the idea that absence of God's presence is the actual punishment of hell. Physical punishment is impossible on the soul. That's my theory and this approach to hell has proliferated to modern day with devils shoving red hot pokers up where you wouldn't want them (which is actually in there somewhere in that book & also Muhammad of the Islam faith funny enough gets a mention:eek:)

Finally what gets me about that book is the weighting of sins in that some sins are more punishable then others and serve worser penance then others. Im not overly familiar with the bible but a sin is a sin surely.

Anyway i would be interested to hear some comments on Dante's interpretation of hell particularly from a Christian perspective. And if you haven't read it,read it as its a great read not matter what your opinion on religion.

dvpower

We had a discussion on the nature of hell a while back and iirc the bible doesnt tell us much about it. In any case i'd settle for Dante's first circle; it sounds better than Heaven.

Kevin Bacon

dvpower wrote: »

We had a discussion on the nature of hell a while back and iirc the bible doesnt tell us much about it. In any case i'd settle for Dante's first circle; it sounds better than Heaven.

Yeah you are right there it did sound weirdly nice ( i thought hell was at the least not that great:D) Although ive yet to read Paradiso so its hard to compare.

However circle one did just seem like a loophole on dantes part to have all those philosophers not exactly punished as its obvious he was a great admirer of their work, and probably couldnt bring himself to write about them suffering.

One other thing about it is, is the part mentioned about Jesus entering hell and allowing people, who had faith in him but died before his coming, to enter heaven in the bible at all? Just sounds pretty crazy. I never heard about until reading inferno.

PDN

Kevin Bacon wrote: »

One other thing about it is, is the part mentioned about Jesus entering hell and allowing people, who had faith in him but died before his coming, to enter heaven in the bible at all? Just sounds pretty crazy. I never heard about until reading inferno.

It's a bit of a garbled misunderstanding and mistranslation between Hades (the place of the dead where) and Hell (a place of everlasting torment that no-one enters until after the second Coming and the Final Judgement).

wolfsbane

Kevin Bacon wrote: »

To get the ball rolling on this thread....
(Ads By Google ya only brought this up 'cause I read it recently) :rolleyes:

Anyway, if the book is interpreted as it is as a description of hell its pretty apt as it is brutal in the truest meaning of the word particularly when he gets into the deeper bowels of hell. But the book is essentially 34 cantos worth of political sniping and worshiping of Greek and roman writings which was the fashion at the time.

But the main point which is most striking is his description of hell. Correct me if im wrong but particularly in the dark ages that the idea of hell was particularly emphasized through the use of imagery (ie physical pain) as the general population was ill educated and couldnt relate to the idea that absence of God's presence is the actual punishment of hell. Physical punishment is impossible on the soul. That's my theory and this approach to hell has proliferated to modern day with devils shoving red hot pokers up where you wouldn't want them (which is actually in there somewhere in that book & also Muhammad of the Islam faith funny enough gets a mention:eek:)

Finally what gets me about that book is the weighting of sins in that some sins are more punishable then others and serve worser penance then others. Im not overly familiar with the bible but a sin is a sin surely.

Anyway i would be interested to hear some comments on Dante's interpretation of hell particularly from a Christian perspective. And if you haven't read it,read it as its a great read not matter what your opinion on religion.

I haven't read it yet, so I'll comment only on the general picture I get from those who have.

Seems to me to be a mixture of pagan and Christian concepts:
The Christian: there is a place of eternal punishment; there are different levels of punishment to meet the different levels of wickedness.

The pagan: Satan and the demons ruling there and inflicting punishment on the lost. And the various modes of that punishment.

The present hell is Hades, where the wicked death are held under punishment awaiting the final Judgement and the final hell (Gehenna). There is no indication that any social order exists in Hades - no rulers. And in Gehenna the demons and their leader (Satan) suffer the same fate as the wicked dead - so again, no rulers.

Joe1919

If your really into 'hell', Ch 3 of James Joyce 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man' may be worth reading.
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/concord/texts/paym/files/paym3.html
e.g.
-They lie in exterior darkness. For, remember, the fire of hell gives
[4585] forth no light. As, at the command of God, the fire of the Babylonian
[4586] furnace lost its heat but not its light, so, at the command of God, the
[4587] fire of hell, while retaining the intensity of its heat, burns
[4588] eternally in darkness. It is a never ending storm of darkness, dark
[4589] flames and dark smoke of burning brimstone, amid which the bodies are
[4590] heaped one upon another without even a glimpse of air.........

Soul Winner

dvpower wrote: »

In any case i'd settle for Dante's first circle; it sounds better than Heaven.

Why what did you hear about heaven?

kelly1

PDN wrote: »

It's a bit of a garbled misunderstanding and mistranslation between Hades (the place of the dead where) and Hell (a place of everlasting torment that no-one enters until after the second Coming and the Final Judgement).

Hello PDN, why do you believe that the damned don't go immediately to Hell? Are we judged immediately when we die? If the just go straight to Heaven, who don't the damned to straight to Hell?

God bless,
Noel.

dvpower

Soul Winner wrote: »

Why what did you hear about heaven?

Isn't it an eternity of thanking God just for letting you in (my research is limited)?

But if it can beat a beer volcano and a stripper factory, I'll give it more consideration. :pac:

PDN

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello PDN, why do you believe that the damned don't go immediately to Hell? Are we judged immediately when we die? If the just go straight to Heaven, who don't the damned to straight to Hell?

God bless,
Noel.

Hi Noel,
My belief is based on a careful reading and comparison of the various Scriptural passages that speak of Sheol, Hades and the Lake of Fire.

As far as I understand it, Jesus took the righteous from Hades at some stage between his death and Ascension and took them to heaven. After that the Scripture appears to indicate that the righteous go straight to heaven upon death where they will remain until the general resurrection from the dead.

However, we don't read of anyone going to hell, as a place of eternal punishment until Rev 20:11-15:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Having said that, Hades does not appear to be much fun for the unsaved either.

Soul Winner

dvpower wrote: »

Isn't it an eternity of thanking God just for letting you in (my research is limited)?

But if it can beat a beer volcano and a stripper factory, I'll give it more consideration.

Oh my Lord. If beer volcanoes and stripper factories are what you're after then I supposed an eternity thanking and praising the One who forsook heaven's throne in order to provide a way for your salvation might as well be construed as limited research. It just proves that you have not yet put away your childish ways and become a man. Has this forum reduced me to simply chiding children? Alas I am but a worm

dvpower

Soul Winner wrote: »

Oh my Lord. If beer volcanoes and stripper factories are what you're after then I supposed an eternity thanking and praising the One who forsook heaven's throne in order to provide a way for your salvation might as well be construed as limited research. It just proves that you have not yet put away your childish ways and become a man. Has this forum reduced me to simply chiding children? Alas I am but a worm

Jeez. It was just my (poor) attempt at humour (the clue was in the Pacman emoticon).

Whatever you do, don't read PDNs heart transplant joke - I'm not sure you'd be up to it.