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Man's logic vs God's logic // Braylan Stringfellow

    It goes without saying that hell in the Bible is nothing like hell in The Inferno. In the Bible, hell is the same for everyone there no matter what someone did on earth. But in The Inferno, hell is divided up in what I look as different punishments for different things, similar to how there is different punishments for crimes in today's judicial system. The one I find most interesting is circle I. 

    Circle I is where the virtuous pagans go along with those who were not baptized. Circle I is the least severe level of hell. What I find interesting is the reason as to why virtuous pagans get the least severe punishment. Dante said, "The signature of honor they left on earth is recognized in Heaven and wins them ease in Hell out of God's favor" (Dante 29). It is almost like works-based salvation, but instead of heaven you get "easy hell." Also, the reason they get to go here is because they did not know about God. So now its like a "you didn't know any better so we will go easy on you" kind of logic. 

    This shows me the huge difference between the way man thinks and God thinks. Man likes to give the benefit of the doubt and to show a lot of mercy and grace to a fault. Man likes to justify his own doings by saying like "I didn't know any better." Whereas God has all sin on an even playing field, and says in Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen...so that they are without excuse."


I commented on Abigale Bell's and Haley Riddle's post

Comments

  1. Emmett BryantMarch 15, 2021 at 5:38 PM

    Hey Braylan,
    I really like how you described Circle I as "easy hell." Going off of what you said, not only does mankind like giving the benefit of the doubt, but we also forget the seriousness of sin. We think of sin in comparison to ourselves (sinful creatures) rather than God (magnificent, holy, righteous, blameless, without error) and that distorts how we view sin. We tend not to view sin as the vile, filthy thing that it is.

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  2. Abigale BellMarch 15, 2021 at 6:42 PM

    Hi Braylan! Interesting post! I think you made a good point when you spoke of the difference between man's thoughts and God's thoughts. The hell of Dante's 'Inferno' is a watered down, humanized adaptation of the real thing. Not only is this a humanized version of hell, but a humanized version of God. To teach that God will give you a lesser punishment in hell, is to teach that God is not as severe in dealing with sin as He says and that He is, in essence, a liar.

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