Dante's Inferno

Amazing vivid imagery - kudos to Dante's overactive imagination!  I confess that this book read like a fantastic horror flick to me in many ways.  I understand that this text is about confronting the 'evils' in life.  I am struck by the horrors and lack of compassion of this God.  Like Enchiridion, the God in this text appears to be to be very, very cruel.  I never understood why anyone would want to subscribe to such a cruel god..  vengeful and hateful!  Dante the Pilgrim torturing and relishing in sinners' pain (e.g. refusing to remove ice from eyes thus breaking his promise, pulling chunks of hair out) - what kind of sick <bleep> is this?!  I have always thought this about this portrayal of Christian God.  I can understand the compassionate God and Jesus in a more mystical Christianity (find the Jesus/God in you philosophy, similar to find the Buddha within you) but not this cruel, cruel God.

I am also struck by a powerless Lucifer in this text.  Lucifer seems static, frozen, unable to do much which then means that all the eternal suffering is caused by God, a very, very cruel one.  I suppose one can read this text as a cautionary tale.  I am reminded of the violence, suffering and deaths in some children's fairy tales.  Perhaps this text is in tune with that genre, generally speaking.

On suicides - I am extremely appalled by the lack of compassion from God for those who led a miserable life and then who takes their own lives.  They will be punished eternally in hell - WTF?!  Seriously, what kind of sick God is this..  where is the mercy and compassion that Julian of Norwich talks about?

It is interesting how God/heaven/hell/ have been interpreted by various peoples...

I didn't give much thought to the difference levels of hell but as Steve points out, being a traitor is one of the worst sins one can commit and the 'sin' pertains to the maintenance of early capitalist system.  Very interesting - this had to be pointed out to me given my lack of knowledge of this time period. Interesting how capitalist propaganda has evolved over the years.