Reading the excerpts of Dante's work was gruesome. This is a side of hell that people do not talk about. And what do we do with this picture, having never been there ourselves? Through the dialogue and narrative, he makes many theological and philosophical statements about fear, death, angelic realms, and forces at work in the world. Do we merely appreciate his poetic nuances or cautiously weigh the hard truth he shows us? Does it matter to our theology if there are levels of hell or if people's souls can be in hell while their bodies are still alive?
It is fascinating that Dante ends his journey with "We came out to see once more the stars". Even though it is night, the relief and brightness of the stars is glorious compared to what he experienced in the under world.
I like where you're going! It's true. Where does the nature of Hell, the mechanics of the destiny of the damned, where does it all start interacting and influencing my theology and my worldview?
ReplyDeleteYour title captured me, because I just blogged on a similar topic, but I did not think about that quote. It is interesting, "the relief and brightness of the stars..." I honestly don't know where my mind wants to go with that, but it is interesting the wording of that sentence.
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