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Example research essay topic: Journey Through Hell Power Of God - 1,549 words

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Dantes Reconciliation of a Loving God and a Horrific Hell Dante Alighieri, a great Italian poet, is most noted for a journey, which he wrote of in his Divine Comedy series. In these works, Alighieri sends a fictional Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The Inferno is a detailed description of Dantes journey through Hell. While on this journey, Dante witnesses the scourge of the damned through the use of all senses. He smells the foul odors, sees the horrifying sights, feels the heat, as well as the cold, and hears the overwhelming cries of all sinners. Ironically, the purpose of this journey is to expose Dante to Hell so that he will spend eternity in Heaven.

Throughout this journey, we begin to realize that man is neither smart nor strong enough to face the hardships in life without the intervention of God. However, this divine intervention does not guarantee salvation. It is a choice made by man that does insure salvation. So, as seen in The Inferno, hell still exists and the chances of going there are real.

A reader might wonder how God can allow this kind of suffering and pain. Dante succeeds in justifying the coexistence of God, who is omnipotent, just, and loving with a hell that is treacherous, disgusting, and eternal. Dante alludes to the power of God as one of his recurring themes in The Inferno. Dante, the character, is a mere mortal. God placed him in the hands of Virgil, a great Roman poet who represents human reason within The Inferno. Although Dante has human reason as his guide, his mission cannot be completed without divine intervention.

The power of God is demonstrated in Canto nine when a heavenly messenger is sent to open a gate that no one else can. However, the question still remains; how can such an omnipotent God allow this punishment in hell? God, like any father is demonstrating the concept of operant conditioning. He is punishing those who sin and rewarding those who have excepted Gods grace and, therefore, are refraining from sin. The Inferno was written in accordance to orthodox Christianity, which is outlined in the Bible.

The Bible states many times that evildoers will be punished. Many characteristics of Dantes hell, such as weeping, pain, burning flames, and eternal punishment are mentioned in the Bible, as well. Just as God claims the power to save, He claims the power to damn. Although a detailed description of the hell God created is not provided, as it is for the hell Dante illustrated, the concept remains the same. When asking oneself how God could allow this kind of torture, a person should remember that The Inferno is a fictional work and Dante does not claim otherwise. Therefore, the extremities and gory detail described are merely creations of the author.

God, however, being omnipotent and knowledgeable, knows the shortcomings of man. The promise of eternal paradise is not always enough to convert a man to Christianity, which leads to salvation. Therefore, God uses His wrath to instill fear into a man who has fallen onto the wrong path, such as Dante. Dante, the writer, reconciles this action with Gods character in the plot of The Inferno.

God has sent Dante through hell to show the consequences of the path he is on. The objective is for Dante to fear hell so much that he chooses salvation. In fact, the words cut in to stone above the gate leading to the inferno read, I was raised here by divine omnipotence (42). This means that God, having created Hell, uses it for His purposes.

Examples of this are found throughout The Inferno as Dante begins to let his emotions take control of him and the reader sees the fear of hell, created by God, come out in him, as well. On some occasions he faints from astonishment. On separate occasions he weeps with sympathy, hides from fear, or becomes angry at certain situations. A particular instance is in Canto three. Dante is so overcome with terror that he faints.

Gods strategy is working because Dante states that even as he tells the story he breaks into a sweat and imagines the fear and amazement he felt (46). This is the advantage of such fear. Dante is determined not to return. Therefore, hell (something bad) is used for salvation (something good), which comes from God. Many readers may also wonder how a God who claims to be just can allow this kind of suffering. The concept of justice is that a person gets what a person deserves.

As discussed in The Inferno, as well as in the Bible, God has the final call in justice. This is the origin of such curses as, May the wrath of God be laid upon you. Dantes novel is based on this. God hates sin.

Therefore, He punishes it. A verse from 2 Thessalonians (1: 8 - 9) best describes the justification for this. This verse says that those who do not know Jesus and obey the gospel will be punished with everlasting destruction. A just God can do this because he forewarns man of the consequences of their actions. He then allows each man the choice of choosing hell or salvation. Dante justifies this by acknowledging that once a man dies, the choice is no longer his.

Up until that moment, however, it is. The inscription upon the entrance gate to hell states, Abandon all hope ye who enter here (42). Hope for salvation no longer exists for these souls. In the same manner that God carries out justice for the righteous man, He carries it out for the unrighteous. Dante paints the reader a picture of each sinner getting what he deserves. For example, the fortunetellers can no longer see in front of them (175) and the gluttons are fed upon just as they fed on things on earth (66).

The creation of hell is nothing but just and fair. Each man knows the consequences of his actions. If Dante wrote of unsaved sinners who were not punished, it would contradict Gods word. Love is the final characteristic of God that is not typical of someone who could allow the hell described in The Inferno.

However, Dante is able to justify this, as well. One of the ways God demonstrates His love is by allowing us the choice of salvation, rather than creating puppet-like figures who are forced to follow Him. The reasoning behind this is that man will gain a greater love for something if he chooses to love it and has a desire to pursue it than if he is made to love it and follow it. In The Inferno, Dante is sent through hell for this reason so that he will desire salvation. The reason he is allowed this chance is because God has already chosen him as His son. Therefore, out of love, God wants this eternal happiness for him.

The significance of this is that those souls that dwell in hell did not accept Gods love or desire a better life. For example, those who are in hell for sins that involved passion knowingly chose personal pleasure over godly pleasure. Dante shows the pursuit of such a relationship with God in Canto one. Dante is awakened in a dark wood, standing before a hill he is unable to climb, faced with three ferocious beasts.

It is here that he begins to ponder on his gradual straying from the path towards salvation. Out of fear and realization of the low point he has reached in his life, Dante agrees to go on the journey through hell. Out of love, God sent Dante towards salvation. Just as God has a plan for each man, He had one for Dante. Part of His plan included this rude awakening which began Dantes journey. Therefore the hell Dante has described plays an important part in the act of salvation which is committed out of the love of God.

It is justified because hell is what leads Dante to salvation. In conclusion, the impression that a God who is omnipotent, just and loving would not create a hell such as the one Dante described is false. God loves man enough to allow him to build a meaningful relationship with Him by exposing man to trials such as Dantes journey. These trials enable man to form a desire for salvation, rather than having a relationship forced upon him.

Although God is all-powerful, He allowed each man the choice of following His will or giving in to earthly pleasures and desires. Before man makes his decision, he is made aware of the consequences of both choices. Therefore, it is not unfair for God to allow everlasting destruction in hell. While the actuality of hell may be different from the one Dante described, the concept of punishing sinners remains the same, for humans were created free.

The opportunity to sin was given to man, as was the opportunity to except grace and forgiveness. The only requirement for obtaining grace is recognition of sin followed by repentance. Those who reject grace are those who end up in hell. Given these arguments, Dante is successful in reconciling the God described above with the hell he describes in The Inferno.


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Research essay sample on Journey Through Hell Power Of God

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