Response Wednseday November 30th The Evolution of Religion

I found both Jake's and David's responses on "what happens to us after Death" to be very interesting. I agreed with David's point that he feels that it does not matter what religion you belong to and an allegiance to only one would not damn a person. Jake's statement:


"You can be the best professing “Christian” you can be and still spend eternity in hell.  Going to church every Sunday, helping the poor, and being a good neighbor will do nothing for you in light of eternity. The Bible says “all our righteousness's are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)  Any good work we can do, or any religion we follow will not be good enough to gain God’s favor.  Man tries to earn his way to heaven through, when all we have to do is trust Christ.  Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, and using religion or any other means to try to earn our way to heaven is an insult to God".

This statement has answered the many questions I get about Dante's version of Hell. I find Dante's Inferno to be moving, interesting, and amazing. It is one of the best stories I have read in a long time. I have told almost everybody I know along with anybody Else who would listen about the story of Dante's Inferno. I see the same patterns of questions appearing with each time I explain Dante's Inferno. My brother always asks me how people would be accepted into heaven when the for credentials of Hell and eternal Damnation seems to be so detailed. Dante's Inferno lists the 9 levels of Hell and proscribes the punishments for each sin which appears to be unforgivable. People say that with the list of sins and crimes that result in damnation it would appear as if everybody in the world would be going to hell as everybody has committed one of the 9 crimes listed and more. 

I am then asked what must a person do to get into heaven? What must they do to be absolved of all their sins and escape an eternity of torture, torment, and misery.? Jake's response has got me thinking and it seems that the answer has been provided through the evolution of religion. Our version of Heaven Hell compared to Dante's age of Hell have come to mean different things. The common desire of avoiding Hell has not changed. Jake's philosophy that it doesn't matter what you say, do, or not do the reality is that all people sin and there is nothing man can do to "work off" their negative marks that have been bestowed by sin. Jake explains that if man believes in God, trust in God, and believe in our hearts that we will be forgiven of the sins we've committed.

It seems so much easier to create scenarios and reasons of why people are to be damned but developing up a list of to dos on how to get into heaven is even even harder. Dante's Inferno is certainly an eye opener that makes people think twice about their actions and what happens after they die. Dante's Inferno opens up a lot of questions. I often wonder about how people would be labeled to go to any 1 of the 9 levels of hell. Would a person earn a one way ticket to hell for committing one of the 9 sins once, or must they have participated in a lifetime of that sin.