Dante's Hell.

I really like the way Dante portrays hell. While readin I almost invision the underworld in Hercules with all the different demons and the river Styx. When he's going through these different layers of hell it is not all hot and fiery, but the punishment is fit to the sin. Like with the philosophers they are in constant discussion knowing they will never find the truth, which for them is worse than burnin in hell. The characters in each layer are also interesting... And where is Aneas? It's kind of funny that we have not come across him, and Virgil is Dante's your guide. Anyways Dante's version of hell is much cooler than the version that I have always pictured...get it cooler like as in not on fire... Ha. Ha. Ha.



Ps I commented on Tyler cofeilds

Abraham's Bosom vs Limbo

     Let me start off by saying that I have absolutely loved the Inferno so far and I think I will continue to to enjoy it. In class today as we were talking about Limbo, Abraham's Bosom came up and I started to think of the similarities and differences between them. In Dante's Limbo you have everybody who lived a moral life but didn't get baptised and if they were alive before the time of Jesus then they must not have worshiped God in the right way. Abraham's Bosom as presented in the bible, is a place where the believers of God in the old testament go when they die and then are raised to heaven when Jesus dies on the cross. Other than the difference of the moral unbelievers in Limbo it seems as though that Abraham's Bosom and Limbo are exactly the same and I just thought the connection between these two was very interesting.    

PS: I commented on Rebekah's post "Oh Dante"

Pink Mythos

My first ten cantos of The Inferno are full of pink. I circled every name I recognized, mainly so that I could easily spot who was where, and I underlined passages that I found important or intriguing. I really loved Dante. The language, even translated to English, is beautiful and flowing. I found the presence of characters from Greek and Roman mythology especially interesting. Dante was as Christian, so why did he feel the need to insert Charon, the River Styx, Aeneas, Dido, Achilles, Paris, Helen, and so many others?  It’s not like Dante didn’t have other real historical figures that he could have inserted into the circles of Hell, in fact, he did insert many historical figures into Hell. This both intrigues and frustrates me as I don’t know that there’s any way to truly answer this question without going back in time and asking Dante himself. And, since I don’t speak Italian, that would be slightly difficult to do.

Until next time,

Tantum e tenebris receptum constabit,

Meghan

PS I commented on Tinsley’s “Honor’s Papers: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here”

Oh Dante...

Oh Dante...

Beginning the readings of Dante was such an experience for me... I have never read Dante before, so it is all new. I will not lie to you all and pretend like I am fully understanding everything about Dante, but the more I read, the more I looked up, and the more we talked in class, the more I grasped. The more I was able to grasp, the more I like it. Dante was such an insightful man, who looked at life much like the rest of us. Searching for God, yet stumbling along the way. This is the life of a follower of Christ. We seek, and yet we fall. When reading such powerful works of literature, I find it refreshing to realize that the authors really are more like me then I think. 

P.s. I commented on TinsleyG's post- Honor's Papers: Abandon Hope, all Ye who enter here ;)

Honor's Papers: Abandon Hope, all Ye who enter here ;)

Reading the Inferno is incredible.  I really love seeing the coronations with the ancient Greek and Roman epics, particularly in the details we read from last semester.  I mentioned this briefly in class today, but it's funny how attached I get to characters in books, even within the ancient epics, and seeing these characters in Hell is pretty disturbing.  I know it's only going to get darker from here, but while it is very frightening and sad, it's amazing as well.  The creativity and detail of Dante amazes me, and the depth of his work is incredible.  I can't wait to continue reading, and make the correlations to the ancient works, and to the characters!!

P.S. If you can't tell by my title, this Honor's paper is going to be... interesting ;) can't wait for tomorrow night!!  Commented on Mallory's "Aquinas."

Well isn't that just lovely...

Today we discussed how Dante's Inferno suggests that Hell was created out of Primal Love. While I am not entirely certain of my research, I do want to present my findings in the form of a theory. So feel free to offer differing theories!

The first thing to consider is the definition of Primal Love. Since there are various forms of love (especially in the older languages of the Bible) it is important to know how Primal Love is different. It is a very basic form of love that exists among everything in existence. This means that it is apparent to everything in existence because it is constantly being exercised. When the Bible discusses that God is apparent through nature, this is what it is referring to. Primal Love is essentially the foundation of all kinds of love because it states that since God is love, then love exists in the things that he has created. The world was created for a specific purpose through this love, and when this purpose is not achieved, then the very foundation of all forms of love is non-existent. As a result, Primal Love is essential to life as we know it because it helps to define our purpose for existence.

In order to understand how Primal Love produced Hell, we must look to Satan's fall from heaven. Satan was considered to be a "high-class" angel in heaven, but his selfishness drove him to the point of rebellion against God. Instead of simply destroying Satan and the angels who followed him, God chose to create a place for him to dwell in his miserable state of existence (the destruction comes later! aka: Revelation). Hell was created for this reason alone, but when humans chose to follow in Satan's footsteps (meaning, they chose selfishness over God) they had to be punished accordingly. For those who choose to say "yes" to God, they are able to exist with Him for eternity in heaven. For those who choose to say "no" to God, the punishment is that they are given what they truly desire: to be separated from God for eternity in Hell.

Therefore, Primal Love is the proof of God's existence through His creation. If you are not able to see this love, deny yourself, and seek after God with all of your heart, then you are practicing selfish behavior. At the core of all sin lies a seed of selfish intention that seeks to corrupt what is ultimately good and true. God never intended for us to live on our own, and He still desires to be everything that we need in life (since He is love and everything good comes from Him.) So...out of Primal Love, Hell was born.

Ready. Set. Debate!

P.S. I commented on Mallory Searcy's "Aquinas"

Aquinas

In class we discussed the mary/martha dilemma. Or really, we discussed whether or not someone could be called to just sit in a corner and pray all day for the glory of God.
Dr. Brekke talks a lot about the fact that we see the individual as  needing to be balanced, but the medieval mind saw that society had to be balanced. I think both are flawed views, but i love the idea of a community functioning as one thing.
I think that's a concept completely lost on us. The idea that alike and equal aren't the same concepts. That the hand is not the same thing as a foot but neither is better. I doubt medieval's struggled much with gender roles, or relationship roles. It's fascinating to me. I don't know if it ends up looking more like a caste system or the body of Christ. I know it's supposed to look like the body, but can this practically play out?  What do you guys think? Would you rather return to a communal understanding or do you like individualist isolationist America? We certainly bathe more.


I commented on Meghan's post.