Dante's Moral Beliefs Of Christianity And Islam

Often, we cannot see the good until we have experienced the bad. Dante Alighieri, a poet who makes himself the main character in his Divine Comedy, finds himself lost in a dark wood at the start of The Inferno. Though he sees a safe path out of the wood towards an alluring light, he is forced to take an alternate route through an even darker place. As the ending of the pilgrim Dante’s voyage is bright and hopeful, Alighieri the poet aims to encourage even the most sinful Christians to hope for a successful end. Thus, Dante the pilgrim goes to hell in The Inferno to better understand the nature of sin and its consequences in order to move closer to salvation; his journey an allegory representing that of the repenting Christian soul.

On the surface, Islam and Christianity appear to have very little in common, however, as you get deeper into areas such as rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and sacred objects, the two show strong mutual similarities, particularly in the fundamental areas, while being totally different. In this essay I will compare and contrast many of the facets that make up the worlds largest and most recognized religions, Christianity and Islam.

Finally, Islam disagrees with Christianity on the Doctrine of Redemption. The Doctrine of Redemption is based on the Doctrine of the Original Sin: God had condemned mankind because of the sin of Adam and Eve, which was consequently inherited by their children. Islam denies the whole Doctrine of the Original Sin, believing God did not condemn mankind because a sin was committed by a couple at the beginning of time.

Dante’s divine comedy focuses on the journey of a Pilgrim by the name of Dante from Italy in which he travels through the circles of Hell, the terraces of Purgatory and the spheres of Paradise. Dante the Pilgrim has lived his life the wrong way, in a way that goes against how God would live life and through this journey the pilgrim hopes to find a way to return to the path he was once on: the right path. Throughout his journey he encounters numerous souls who have either been placed in Hell, in Purgatory or in Paradise. At first the Pilgrim felt sympathy and compassion towards the souls for the punishments they had to endure but those feelings soon went away as he continued on. He no longer felt sympathy or compassion but instead felt merciless and hatred towards the souls. It then becomes apparent that Dante the Pilgrim changed as a human being because the way he saw others changed, as well as how he saw life.

Christians believe in prayer, worship in church, bible study, acts of charity and communion will is following the teachings of the Holy Bible. Muslims follow the belief of the five pillars of Islam; Allah is God and Muhammad is the prophet, prayer, charity, pilgrimage and fasting during Ramadan (Hadith on Belief, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 7). The two religions also affirm that God sends angels and prophets to convey messages to his people and through inspired scriptures reveals his divine will. They also believe in the judgement day when God will intervene in the history of mankind and determine their eternal lives depending on personal beliefs and actions. Both religions believe in the power of prayer and fasting as taught by their earlier prophets.

Dante Alighieri went on a journey that was motivated by acrimony, revenge and retribution. The Divine Comedy is a story of Dante’s expedition through the afterlife with the help from a Roman poet, Virgil. In the Divine Comedy living in Hell is the same as living on earth in poverty today. Today, there are many politicians who are trying to help with the welfare of poverty, but they never follow through with their goals. Throughout Dante’s life on earth he witnesses the corruption of the church and power given to higher authorities because of their image. Many of the journeys that Dante has experienced in his journey through Hell are just like what we have experienced on earth whether you are rich or poor. However, there are significant differences between the two through symbolic signs and other non-religious meanings.

Dante’s descent into Hell in Inferno, the first part of his Divine Comedy, tells of the author’s experiences in Hades as he is guided through the abyss by the Roman author, Virgil. The text is broken into cantos that coincide with the different circles and sub-circles of Hell that Dante and Virgil witness and experience. Inferno is heavily influenced by classic Greek and Roman texts and Dante makes references to a myriad of characters, myths, and legends that take place in Virgil’s Aeneid, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Some of the most important references, however, are the most obvious ones that are easily overlooked simply because of the fact that they are so blatant. Dante is being escorted through Hell by the

It is also believed in both religions that God will judge humans when the world has ended. Their dwelling will be based upon their actions in fulfillment with a moral code which is addressed in the Covenant, or agreement, which God made with his people. Angels are believed to exist and are sometimes believed to be messengers of God. Muslims and Christians both believe that Satan, called Shaitan by Muslims, and the evil spirits who follow him exist. They are known as enemies of humanity. Muslims and Christians alike have faith that Jesus Christ was born to the virgin Mary through immaculate conception and will return at the end of the world. The two religions have many similarities in their moral code and practices as well. Intoxication, homosexuality, and suicide are strictly forbidden and are considered morally unacceptable. Likewise, the two practice fasting, charity, and good works.

In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, those who are in hell are placed into different levels based on the severity of their sins. Each of these levels punishes sinners based on the sins they committed while on earth. It is Dante the poet who decides where each sin falls in his “nine circles” of hell, and he chooses this based on his morals. The observation of sinners made by Dante in the Inferno proves him to be a Christian man, as he places both the unbaptized and sodomites in hell, directly aligning with Christian beliefs as noted in the Bible.

Solely based on moral beliefs Dante's poem is obviously a deeply Christian standpoint. One might be surprised, then, to find that it is filled with allusions to pagan mythology and is populated not just by biblical figures, but also by characters of Greek and Roman myth and history. However taking place in hell on the evening of Good Friday through the morning of Easter Sunday in approximately the year 1300. The Inferno is an evil that is a contradiction to God's will; as most of the punishments of the sinners correspond symbolically to the sins they committed themselves. The walk through a dark and confusing world represents the life journey of men and women. Dante’s extensive literary treatment of death and afterlife aims to both comfort and warn; envisioning rewards for the

“The Christian church … conceived of hell as a place where the good were separate from the evil, and the deeds on earth were weighed and judges.”(Bondanella XXXIII) Hell is a place that was created as a punishment for those people who died with mortal sins and did not ask for forgiveness. In this case Dante’s hell in the Inferno is divided into three sections and nine circles. These circles within hell were based off of the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Along with the seven deadly sins Dante’s Catholic religion also influenced him in his choices about who to put and where to put people in Hell. According to his beliefs, if you were not a Christian, you automatically went to Hell. (Trotter) As well even though Dante's hell affected all people no matter their religion, the representation of how Hell

As of today, the world’s two largest religions Christianity and Islam share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population. On the surface, they appear to have almost nothing in common, however, as one goes beyond the surface and examines the other factors such as the rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and convictions, the two religions share many similarities. However, in order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.

Like many other religions, the Muslim faith has experienced many changes and branches. Like Christianity, the original faith is still practiced by some, but others have started new branches with their own unique interpretation being Muslim. Despite these differences within the Muslim religion, one set of rules for moral guidance is central to all. These rules are the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars act as a moral compass for Muslims and are universally accepted as they are mentioned specifically in the Qur’an, the sacred Muslim book of God’s words as they were recited to Muhammad (Molloy, 425).

Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet and writer of the 13th century, creates a fictional account of his visions of his journey through Hell. His background as a Catholic influences his life and his writings, including The Inferno. He uses the historical and political events of his lifetime to influence his writings as well. Dante is educated and very familiar with the history and literature of the classical world. In The Inferno, he expresses his admiration for Greco-Roman history, literature, mythology, and philosophy, but he also places limitations on the ability of the classical world to gain salvation as taught and believed in Christian doctrine.

Around 1314, Dante Alighieri completed the Inferno, the first section of what would make up The Divine Comedy, a collection of three poems reflecting Dante’s imaginative journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In these poems, Dante the poet describes the pilgrimage that Dante the pilgrim must complete to attain salvation. With the Roman poet Virgil as his guide, Dante the pilgrim must purge himself of his own sinful nature, which can only be achieved by observing and learning from those that have landed themselves in either Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven. Described in Inferno, his excursion begins in Hell where Dante learns about the stories and the sufferings of many sinners. As Dante the pilgrim progresses through Hell it is clear that he assumes different personas. In some instances, Dante the pilgrim is portrayed as an empathetic man who pities the sinners while on other occasions, Dante the pilgrim is portrayed as a callous and indignant being in regard to the sinners. While Dante the pilgrim is depicted in these two completely different ways, it is the insensitive portrayal that more precisely depicts Dante the pilgrim, as that is his true identity when he leaves Hell. His journey affected him so greatly that by the end of his pilgrimage, Dante the pilgrim has transformed from a compassionate man into an impervious and even cruel individual.