Devil's Dominion -Will Brady
"Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven!" Satan's ultimate declaration, according to Milton, is one of power. That's a theme I've noticed running over three of the four classes in the Honors cycle: Satan reigns supreme in Hell. It's his corrupt domain--a place of torment for him, but also a place where he has all authority without God lording over him. ...But is that true?
I mentioned this briefly at the end of my last blog, but demons are playing a bigger and bigger role as the book goes on that deserves a second look. In Cantos 21-23ish, we see the Evilclaws (one of whom is named Eviltail the Evilclaw, and I find that wildly entertaining) doing their fun job of tormenting damned souls. We've moved from a demon judging sinners and determining what ring they fall into all the way into demons inflicting pain and suffering on the lost, presumably under the authority of their ruler Satan. ...BUT THAT'S NOT IN THE BIBLE! Scripture says Hell is a place of punishment and torment made specifically for demons (Matt. 25:41) and that Satan will be suffering forever when he's imprisoned there at the end of time (Rev. 20:10). Saying there's a place where traitors against God have their own autonomous kingdom and have the right to torment humans no less guilty than they are isn't anywhere in Scripture. Yet as I've seen over the course of Honors, writers throughout time--oftentimes Christian writers with a lot of sound theology--continuously promote this unbiblical concept. Inserting a variety of creative, poetically just torments into Hell is one thing. Giving the demons a job instead of sticking them in the boiling tar with the souls they're stabbing? Why do we have that idea?
Several obvious possibilities for this come to my mind straight away. Romanticizing Hell by adding a tangible antagonistic force aside from just fire is a probably a big one. The simple association of Satan with Hell and his blatant attempts to drag believers into it is another. Then there's the primal fear of spiritual powers ini general... Honestly, the establishment of Hell as a dominion of Satan subtracts from the characters of both God and Satan. Under the view of Hell as a place of torment where God is the ultimate authority, we get a view of Satan not as a torture master trying to get enough souls to spend eternity in entertainment, but as a depraved beast who knows full well that he's lost and doomed but is still trying to drag as many humans as possible into damnation with him to spite God. We also get a reinforcement of the fact that God is all-powerful, all-present, inescapable--there is no kingdom, no ruler, that isn't under His ultimate authority, even in Hell. But would presenting Him in such a light make Dante too hopeful and subtract from the agonies of Hell in The Inferno? Or would getting a firsthand view of the almighty God's unlimited wrath be even more effective at instilling terror?
I commented on AnnaKate and Owen's* posts
*Disclaimer: Will Brady does not condone or concur with any heretical statements found to be included in the content of Owen’s blog. Acknowledgement of his religious stances does not equate to agreement with them. Side effects of exposure to heretical statements may include doctrinal error, Biblical misconceptions, accusations of Satanism, and/or hellfire via eternal damnation. Protective measures of genuine Biblical teaching highly recommended in all circumstances, particularly encounters with heresy.
I mentioned this briefly at the end of my last blog, but demons are playing a bigger and bigger role as the book goes on that deserves a second look. In Cantos 21-23ish, we see the Evilclaws (one of whom is named Eviltail the Evilclaw, and I find that wildly entertaining) doing their fun job of tormenting damned souls. We've moved from a demon judging sinners and determining what ring they fall into all the way into demons inflicting pain and suffering on the lost, presumably under the authority of their ruler Satan. ...BUT THAT'S NOT IN THE BIBLE! Scripture says Hell is a place of punishment and torment made specifically for demons (Matt. 25:41) and that Satan will be suffering forever when he's imprisoned there at the end of time (Rev. 20:10). Saying there's a place where traitors against God have their own autonomous kingdom and have the right to torment humans no less guilty than they are isn't anywhere in Scripture. Yet as I've seen over the course of Honors, writers throughout time--oftentimes Christian writers with a lot of sound theology--continuously promote this unbiblical concept. Inserting a variety of creative, poetically just torments into Hell is one thing. Giving the demons a job instead of sticking them in the boiling tar with the souls they're stabbing? Why do we have that idea?
Several obvious possibilities for this come to my mind straight away. Romanticizing Hell by adding a tangible antagonistic force aside from just fire is a probably a big one. The simple association of Satan with Hell and his blatant attempts to drag believers into it is another. Then there's the primal fear of spiritual powers ini general... Honestly, the establishment of Hell as a dominion of Satan subtracts from the characters of both God and Satan. Under the view of Hell as a place of torment where God is the ultimate authority, we get a view of Satan not as a torture master trying to get enough souls to spend eternity in entertainment, but as a depraved beast who knows full well that he's lost and doomed but is still trying to drag as many humans as possible into damnation with him to spite God. We also get a reinforcement of the fact that God is all-powerful, all-present, inescapable--there is no kingdom, no ruler, that isn't under His ultimate authority, even in Hell. But would presenting Him in such a light make Dante too hopeful and subtract from the agonies of Hell in The Inferno? Or would getting a firsthand view of the almighty God's unlimited wrath be even more effective at instilling terror?
I commented on AnnaKate and Owen's* posts
*Disclaimer: Will Brady does not condone or concur with any heretical statements found to be included in the content of Owen’s blog. Acknowledgement of his religious stances does not equate to agreement with them. Side effects of exposure to heretical statements may include doctrinal error, Biblical misconceptions, accusations of Satanism, and/or hellfire via eternal damnation. Protective measures of genuine Biblical teaching highly recommended in all circumstances, particularly encounters with heresy.
I like what you pointed out about how the demons are in a sort of job. At first seeing a demon working a grueling 9 to 5 as a desk jockey rating souls that come to meet him. And others having fun torturing people that try to escape their torture. This just doesn't seem right. Hell was made to torture demons and because humans were never meant to be there i'm sure the experience is much worse for them. So then was Dante as brushed up on his bible as we are or was he more trying to make a metaphor than an accurate depiction? Perhaps that metaphor was trying to explain how incorrect and silly the common ideas of hell were.
ReplyDeleteSay it louder for the people in the back! Really though...I had very similar thoughts as I read these cantos and honestly was kind of annoyed. While spiritual warfare is very real, I don't believe a demon can claim a soul after they have died just as a saint comes to "collect" them. That theology in general is just so skewed. I really think seeing God's full wrath on the display would be more terrifying than anything described by Dante.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, that has been annoying me throughout the book. Demons are not like wardens given authority over an eternal prison. They are quite literally guilty of rebellion to a holy God and thus must suffer God's just wrath. Making the demons an authoritative power is basically awarding them for being the first to sin. Hell is where God righteously carries out judgement on those who rebelled against Him and must pay for their sins. I believe Dante, like many others in history, was caught up in some skewed traditional beliefs while also exercising his personal imagination. As you mentioned, Satan is a doomed beast that is attempting to drag whatever he can into eternal torment.
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