Week 13

Dante’s Inferno: What is the greatest sin?

According to Dante’s Inferno, the greatest sin is self-division. However, according to the Bible the greatest sin is to negate Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Being that DI is supposed to be based off of the Bible, this surprises me but it also doesn’t. 

In DI, there are levels of hell and although the bible suggests that there different degrees of punishment in hell, it says nothing about circles or there being varying degrees in hell. 

In DI, there are also many different kinds of punishment. Some soul are tormented but biting insects, wallowing in mire, immersed in boiling blood or have their heads on backwards. But the bible speaks of hell as a place of “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and mashing of teeth.” Although Dante makes an attempt to imagine hell, the punishment there is actually unimaginable. 

Furthermore, the sins in DI are also ranked from least to greatest with Fraud being the worse sin (8th circle) and with murder being in the 6th circle, apparently because it “destroys the coveted bond that love creates.” 

I disagree with self-division equating to the negation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and therefore being reason to end up in hell. I think self-division is independence and the choice to be choose for oneself. I don’t believe that your are negating Christ as your Lord and Savior when you think and act independently. 

 

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