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Dante's Inferno And The Bible

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Dante describes the Inferno in great detail, vividly describing the torments and agonies of hell; these descriptions, however, do not come from the Bible. Some come from Islamic tradition. “The Qur'anic basis for this account is Qur'an 17:1, and Muslims commemorate annually ‘the night of ascension’ (lailat al-miraj) on the 26th of Rajab—the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. It is assumed that the general plot as well as the many small details of Dante's Divine Comedy reflect a fanciful treatment of this Islamic theme” (op. cit., p128). Some have speculated that perhaps the terrible images of the Inferno spring from Dante’s doubt about his own salvation. In any case, the major differences between the Inferno and the Bible’s depiction of hell are these: …show more content…

Levels of hell. Dante describes nine concentric circles, representing an increase of wickedness, where sinners are punished in a fashion befitting their crimes. The Bible says nothing of varying levels of punishment in hell, nor of different levels of severity of sin. The universal punishment for all who reject Jesus Christ as Savior is to be “cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). As far as sin is concerned, the Bible declares that failing to keep God’s law in even the smallest aspect makes us guilty of all of it and therefore worthy of eternal punishment (James 2:10). The murderer, the liar and the proud man are all equally guilty in God’s eyes, and all earn the same basic punishment—the lake of

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