Loving God = Eternal Torture?

[yokomodoful]

This demonstrates one of the great failings of Christianity, its lack of internal logic. Although of little concern to the believer, it it's one of the huge hurdles to those on the outside looking to establish its worth.

God does not force people to love him and go to heaven. Hell is a separation from God because the person chooses to be separate. Since God is our creator and to know and love him through his creation is our purpose. It is logical that the absence of God is hell.

 

[lovemuffin]

So, I've been an ex-Christian for about 4 years now, and one thing still irks me even to this day. In evangelical Christianity (in which I was raised...and I suppose most denominations of Christianity in general,) it is believed that God is supposedly love (1 John 4:8), yet at the same time, it is believed that God tortures people for eternity in hell. It would be one thing if it were temporary and corrective, but it isn't... it is eternal

I just recently found this series of blogs on this subject and Christian universalism in general, in the context of a book review: Review: The Inescapable Love of God

I think it's worth a look, although it argues against the idea of eternal hell, rather than trying to reconcile it. I think the series is on-going.

 

[truthofscripture]

The concept of eternal hell is something which the hatred in people clings to. The more hatred in a person, the easier it is to believe in such a concept. The truth in the Bible is hidden from regular people, and revealed only to God's prophets. It is easy to hide things from people, by simply letting their hatred bring out misunderstandings.

Sometimes things are said to deliberately throw people off track, 'cause the survival of mankind is at stake. Usually though, things are true in a certain sense, but not the way people understand them.

Most people get their understanding from what other people say. It is largely mythology and legend, much of their believes in not even in the Bible.

Tony

That's absolutely true. The vast majority of people have very stong beliefs in this or that. They believe in the trinity, that Jesus died on a cross, that hell is a place of torment, that God is cruel and not loving. The only trouble with those beliefs lies in the fact that the Bible does not teach any of those things. In fact, it teaches quite the opposite. People believe those things because other people TELL them to believe it. Religions tell them to believe them. I haven't seen any religion claiming to be Christian actually teach their members the truth of what the Bible says. Not one. The scriptures tell us that God is indefinite. No beginning, no end. It tells us that Jesus is his only begotten son. It tells us that Jesus was killed on a torture stake and that hell is the common grave of mankind. It says God can be summed up on the word love.

 

[Maya Kaath]

Kolibri is correct, the Bible does not teach eternal and fiery physical torment. The metaphors that Jesus uses to describe the losses sustained by the unwise, the sinful, and people who just aren't paying attention vary, but they have certain meaningful commonalities. To illustrate the fate of errant souls He uses such images as

• Gehenna, the eternally burning trash heap outside of Jerusalem
• Being cut off from the True Vine (Him) and, like all withered, dead branches, thrown in to the fire.
• Being left out in the dark while the Bridegroom and His friends are admitted to the wedding celebration.

On the shallowest, physical level, these seem to be completely different, possibly conflicting images. Until you look at what they have in common.

• Gehenna is outside the walls of the Holy City, Jerusalem, which is itself a symbol of the body of God's teachings. The soul is outcast, cut off from the sacred.
• The souls are cut off from God and are withered and dead, fit for the fire.
• The souls are left out, cut off from the light and life inside the Bridegroom's house.

These are all illustrative of a state of remoteness from God. In fact, Bahá'u'lláh, Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith expresses the idea of "hell" not as a place but as simply remoteness from God.

What are the things that can cause this state? Failing to hear God's word and practice it. In the case of the dead branches that are fit for the fire in John 15, the thing that causes this remoteness from God is failing to obey Christ's commandment. The commandment is, He says, explicitly no less than three times in the complete set of passages, is "that you love one another."

Seems pretty simple, right? But when Christ gives us the Golden Rule in Matthew chapter 7, He makes it pretty clear that this seemingly simply commandment to love our fellow humans and treat them as we would like to be treated is not as simple as it sounds. Here's the passage in context:

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him? Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:11-14)

The logic is simple: since God is even a better and more loving Parent than any human, we should therefore emulate him by treating others as we would be treated (which is the Law AND the purpose of the prophets). It is a narrow gate and it leads to life ... and few find it.

So, what torment would be greater, I wonder, than living with hatred, selfishness, miserliness, prejudice, etc. and therefore—by our own lack of ability to follow a central commandment to love—and therefore being cut off from the love of God. And cut off not because He refused to give it, but because we refused to accept it.

Yes, I too, grew up with in churches that taught eternal physical torment. But since our reality is spiritual what sense does that make? Christ certainly doesn't teach it. I encourage you study not just the Gospels, but the writings of "other" faiths (which I have come to believe are the same faith for different times and different peoples) as if you expected them to make sense. Ask yourself what the metaphors and symbols the Prophets used suggest. When I withdrew from the churches I'd been attending and read the Gospel to extract meaning from Christ's words and ministry, I got a whole new view of His purpose. And when I compared what He said to what Krishna, or Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh said, I got a whole new view of life, the universe and everything.

In other words, investigate truth for yourself. Jesus, Himself, warns "Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that Day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

 

[TJohnson]

Does the fact that God is love diminish the fact that he is just? I don't think the issue is how can God actually "torture" someone for eternity, but on how humans perceive and understand what a loving and just God must do to unrepentant sinners who he has provided the avenue for to recieve mercy.

 

[Kolibri]

God doesn't punish Bad people he punishes people who don't believe in his son. So do whatever you want, have fun, do drug, punch people in the face and just be am *** but as long as you believe in Jesus your OK. Now what I want to know is how can 2 Billion people believe that?

If they do believe that, they are in for a shock.

Look! The hand of Jehovah is not too short to save,
Nor is his ear too dull to hear.
No, your own errors have separated you from your God.
Your sins have made him hide his face from you,
And he refuses to hear you.
For your palms are polluted with blood
And your fingers with error.
Your lips speak lies, and your tongue mutters unrighteousness.
No one calls out for righteousness,
And no one goes to court in truthfulness.
They trust in unreality and speak what is worthless.
They conceive trouble and give birth to what is harmful.
- Isaiah 59:1-4

But they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit.
He then turned into their enemy,
And he fought against them.
- Isaiah 63:10

 

[Joshua Ray]

Why get hung up on the old-fashioned eternal torture myth. Most people have more sophisticated beliefs than that nowadays.

God created Adam from the dirt. His suffering for eating the forbidden fruit was to take place on earth. And he was to return to the dirt when he died. His crime was discovering the knowledge of good and evil and taking judgment from God...being like God. His hell was on earth. Christianity encourages people to preach about good vs evil which is what gor man kicked out of eden in the first place.

 

[truthofscripture]

Does the fact that God is love diminish the fact that he is just? I don't think the issue is how can God actually "torture" someone for eternity, but on how humans perceive and understand what a loving and just God must do to unrepentant sinners who he has provided the avenue for to recieve mercy.

You have hit a gold mine. The fact that God provided an avenue for humans to receive forgiveness is what prevents religion from teaching just that. They want the members of their church to seek forgiveness from them, and that is why they teach hell fire and immortality of the soul.

 

[evenpath]

So, I've been an ex-Christian for about 4 years now, and one thing still irks me even to this day. In evangelical Christianity (in which I was raised...and I suppose most denominations of Christianity in general,) it is believed that God is supposedly love (1 John 4:8), yet at the same time, it is believed that God tortures people for eternity in hell. It would be one thing if it were temporary and corrective, but it isn't... it is eternal. What purpose does an eternal hell serve, exactly? Can someone who is willing to torture his own "children" for eternity be seen as "loving?" That just sort of sounds like an episode of Criminal Minds. Even if God cannot "allow sin into heaven," why not just annihilate the person, both body and soul? Why is torture necessary?

I understand your concerns. As a former christian myself, I have struggled with the absolute violence with regards to the abrahamic religions. Scholars (some) have estimated that from 13 to 28 million people were murdered in biblical the narratives. Read the minor profits. It's a terrifying scenario.

You might enjoy a recent pose of mine "Christian baggage," which clarifies my position in more detail.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[DragonHawk1959]

So, I've been an ex-Christian for about 4 years now, and one thing still irks me even to this day. In evangelical Christianity (in which I was raised...and I suppose most denominations of Christianity in general,) it is believed that God is supposedly love (1 John 4:8), yet at the same time, it is believed that God tortures people for eternity in hell. It would be one thing if it were temporary and corrective, but it isn't... it is eternal. What purpose does an eternal hell serve, exactly? Can someone who is willing to torture his own "children" for eternity be seen as "loving?" That just sort of sounds like an episode of Criminal Minds. Even if God cannot "allow sin into heaven," why not just annihilate the person, both body and soul? Why is torture necessary?

The Christian hell derives from the Judaic Sheol. Only the Judaic concept of sheol is a little hazy. The word is etymologically similar to the Judaic word for the garbage pits dug outside of cities. Hence, as much as it can be nailed down, sheol was a cold dark place outside of the light and warmth of the city of Yahweh. Some Christian at some point apparently decided that this image was insufficient to deter people from sining, and added fire and brimstone, demons and eternal torment. The Jewish people are too concerned with this world to have put that amount of imagination into visualizing hell so completely.

 

[Kolibri]

The Christian hell derives from the Judaic Sheol. Only the Judaic concept of sheol is a little hazy. The word is etymologically similar to the Judaic word for the garbage pits dug outside of cities. Hence, as much as it can be nailed down, sheol was a cold dark place outside of the light and warmth of the city of Yahweh. Some Christian at some point apparently decided that this image was insufficient to deter people from sining, and added fire and brimstone, demons and eternal torment. The Jewish people are too concerned with this world to have put that amount of imagination into visualizing hell so completely.

I ran across the last verse of the book of Isaiah today. It reminds me of the symbology used for the lake of fire.

"And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men who rebelled against me;
For the worms on them will not die,
And their fire will not be extinguished,
And they will become something repulsive to all people."
- Isaiah 66:24

Note it was not live people in the fire, but dead bodies.
The men did not live forever, the worms and the fire did.

Iirc, it was an adopted belief in an immortal soul that led the Jews to adjust their view of sheol over time. Instead of the common grave, it became a place of an afterlife of some sort.

 

[truthofscripture]

I understand your concerns. As a former christian myself, I have struggled with the absolute violence with regards to the abrahamic religions. Scholars (some) have estimated that from 13 to 28 million people were murdered in biblical the narratives. Read the minor profits. It's a terrifying scenario.

You might enjoy a recent pose of mine "Christian baggage," which clarifies my position in more detail.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Well to be sure, there were pagans and opposers of God's Law covenant who were killed, but absolutely nowhere near the estimates you posted as per some scholars. The Abrahamic religions? There were none. The Mosaic Law, or Law Covenant wasn't a religion, it was a set of laws to govern how Israel behaved amongst themselves and among pagans. They involved interpersonal relations, marriage, health, mental health, food and nourishment, and many other things that were for their own good as worshipers of the One True God. The people killed weren't killed off hand and for no reason either. They were admonished and warned repeatedly and failed to behave themselves. Prior to the Law Covenant, Israel was considerably worse and mostly pagan. No governance existed, with the exception of Rome and Egypt's potentates. To be honest, what the scholars call the minor prophets weren't minor at all either. All of the prophets of Jehovah were equally important. Some had larger roles than others, but all were equally valued by Jehovah. I agree that the death of anyone isn't a pleasant thing, but they died mostly at their own choosing and the prophets were merely messengers to Israel from God. Bear in mind that God created all, and is the sovereign of the universe. The ultimate ruler of everyone and everything. Most people don't acknowledge that fact, but are given many chances to see the truth. When the final judgement of the world happens at the Great Day of God the Almighty, it too will happen as a result of constant and repeated warnings from God, so say the scriptures. The current state of the world is in the same position. They have had two thousand years of warnings from God and have chosen to ignore those warnings as can clearly be read about in Revelation. I for one, believe implicitly in what the scriptures tell us as there is ample evidence manifested in my life to prove it to me, as a result of my obedience to Jehovah God. Before I was obedient, no such evidence existed in my personal life, and I didn't recognize any of the other evidence. I made a choice to be one of the ones who isn't destroyed, so I've spent close to 5 decades learning, searching, researching, and being taught. I can, as a result of those five decades of work, sympathize with what you call Christian Baggage. It comes from the religions of man, not from the scriptures.

 

[truthofscripture]

I ran across the last verse of the book of Isaiah today. It reminds me of the symbology used for the lake of fire.

"And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men who rebelled against me;
For the worms on them will not die,
And their fire will not be extinguished,
And they will become something repulsive to all people."
- Isaiah 66:24

Note it was not live people in the fire, but dead bodies.
The men did not live forever, the worms and the fire did.

Iirc, it was an adopted belief in an immortal soul that led the Jews to adjust their view of sheol over time. Instead of the common grave, it became a place of an afterlife of some sort.

Those are all metaphors and figures of speech, not literally immortal worms and fire.

 

[Kolibri]

Those are all metaphors and figures of speech, not literally immortal worms and fire.

of course. but what I was remember was how it mirrors the symbolism of repeated in Jesus' words at Mark 9:48, as well as description of the lake of fire being a place where the Devil and the symbolic wild beast and false prophet was said to be "tormented day and night forever and ever." (Re 20:10)

These are not immortal worms, or fire. But the results would be everlasting. If they were literal, nothing could be retrieved. Thus we know the lives of these ones will never be restored.

 

[Eileen]

God created Adam from the dirt. His suffering for eating the forbidden fruit was to take place on earth. And he was to return to the dirt when he died. His crime was discovering the knowledge of good and evil and taking judgment from God...being like God. His hell was on earth. Christianity encourages people to preach about good vs evil which is what gor man kicked out of eden in the first place.

Interesting thought.

 

[truthofscripture]

of course. but what I was remember was how it mirrors the symbolism of repeated in Jesus' words at Mark 9:48, as well as description of the lake of fire being a place where the Devil and the symbolic wild beast and false prophet was said to be "tormented day and night forever and ever." (Re 20:10)

These are not immortal worms, or fire. But the results would be everlasting. If they were literal, nothing could be retrieved. Thus we know the lives of these ones will never be restored.

Yes, that's true.

 

[Midget01]

First of all one can't use Old testament to describe a more modern idea that didn't exist to them in the same way it does for us now. Man's learning and understanding evolved over time. Some of the Jews believed in body mind and soul as one unit and others made reference to them separating on death.. civilization was coming to terms with their understanding of it as the book of the bible was being written and later put together. The bible is like a set of encyclopedia's. Each book is a part of the set and each has different style written by many different authors; yet, not meant to make sense between them. In other words one was not written to explain the other book but rather had opinions and purposes all it's own. Together all the books tell part of the story as many journey's from it's creation until the last Prophet statement by St. John who is not projecting the end of the world but rather what is happening to the Christians during his time. The fact that these things seem to apply to us shows how man has not change much over the thousands of years. Every person who has thought it was predicting the end of time and proclaimed the date the world would end has since cease to exist and the earth continues to revolve around the sun as it did in the beginning. Genesis was written as a book which contained the oral tradition of creation of humankind ( in particular the Hebrews) and the world. The book speaks of the connection with God over their time showing that they had a purpose in God's plan. This is not meant to be a factual history book but a work of divine knowledge. It has genealogy as part of the book to show the connection of Adam and Eve to Jacob and it also speaks of the Covenant between God and Abraham. This book was not written down until the Israelites reached the promise land and in order to maintain their story all tradition was gathered and then recorded. This is very much like writing a book of your family history. You start with yourself and then move backwards in time writing what you yourself know and then writing about what you have heard other family members say. While this is the records of the Early Jews it is also showing a recording of Humanity. We are the descendants of When you speak of God being here before the world began we refer to him as our creator because everything evolved after he spoke it into being. The book of Genesis of itself is also a collection of 3 different writers often referred to as the Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly sources. These writers appear to get much of their information from an Oral source because these sources appear to agree when they are compared. Scripture though not intended to be a historical book does find itself paralleling to make historic books that have been coming out and seem to verify much of the Scriptural Documentation. With in the covers of this wonderful book we find that there is evidence that the early Hebrews did believe in a body and soul; the spirit was often referred to as Ruah or pneuma. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection ( which meant that the soul separated from the body and later rejoined the body) but the Pharisees did. Like today the world back then had differing groups with differing opinions. Those who taught in the temple would be the Pharisees and because of this the tradition was passed down religiously to all Jews. Jesus Himself was a Jew and spoke often about the resurrection of the body and soul but when Jesus entered the scene we are now talking New Testament and things have changed. John the Baptist is preaching resurrection, Jesus is preaching resurrection and now many others are connecting this concept to their faith. So the whole concept of Spirit ( Pneuma) is very obvious. Pnuema is almost seen as an inner life source. So when the body dies the life source is raised to heaven and because Jesus has promised a resurrection when He returns then the body will rejoin our spirit. The early Aposltes viewed this when jesus revealed himself in body and spirit. At first they did not believe then Thomas had to touch in order to believe. You make a statement that if God can't allow sin into heaven why not annihilate the body and soul when you die. First of all that body and soul is a creation of God's. He loves His creation. He meticulously made us read Psalm 139. He is not about to destroy us when He gave us a certain amount of time on earth and He abides by His promises.. (In every season there is a reason.) God is not a 10 year old boy that delights in destroying everything in His path. An eternal Hell is not a place but rather a decision on our part. If we chose not to follow Him then we separate ourselves from Him. Once we have died and placed ourselves in that position and we are dead we cannot reverse the order. When God gave us free choice He did not say I give it to you for 45,619,200 minutes which comes out to 88 years. He loves us unconditionally and He just gave it to us. So after we die He doesn't take it back. He allows us to continue in our own decision. Yet because we enter into a different state when we die we become aware of the choices we made and are therefore not allowed to change our minds. We had a lifetime to make changes. We had choices and what we get is what we choose. It is not Him punishing us but allows us to do this to ourselves. He knows what is in our hearts and our brains every moment of everyday. So one cannot say one thing and do another. We are judged by our words and actions and these are what condemnn us or save us.

 

[truthofscripture]

First of all one can't use Old testament to describe a more modern idea that didn't exist to them in the same way it does for us now. Man's learning and understanding evolved over time. Some of the Jews believed in body mind and soul as one unit and others made reference to them separating on death.. civilization was coming to terms with their understanding of it as the book of the bible was being written and later put together. The bible is like a set of encyclopedia's. Each book is a part of the set and each has different style written by many different authors; yet, not meant to make sense between them. In other words one was not written to explain the other book but rather had opinions and purposes all it's own. Together all the books tell part of the story as many journey's from it's creation until the last Prophet statement by St. John who is not projecting the end of the world but rather what is happening to the Christians during his time. The fact that these things seem to apply to us shows how man has not change much over the thousands of years. Every person who has thought it was predicting the end of time and proclaimed the date the world would end has since cease to exist and the earth continues to revolve around the sun as it did in the beginning. Genesis was written as a book which contained the oral tradition of creation of humankind ( in particular the Hebrews) and the world. The book speaks of the connection with God over their time showing that they had a purpose in God's plan. This is not meant to be a factual history book but a work of divine knowledge. It has genealogy as part of the book to show the connection of Adam and Eve to Jacob and it also speaks of the Covenant between God and Abraham. This book was not written down until the Israelites reached the promise land and in order to maintain their story all tradition was gathered and then recorded. This is very much like writing a book of your family history. You start with yourself and then move backwards in time writing what you yourself know and then writing about what you have heard other family members say. While this is the records of the Early Jews it is also showing a recording of Humanity. We are the descendants of When you speak of God being here before the world began we refer to him as our creator because everything evolved after he spoke it into being. The book of Genesis of itself is also a collection of 3 different writers often referred to as the Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly sources. These writers appear to get much of their information from an Oral source because these sources appear to agree when they are compared. Scripture though not intended to be a historical book does find itself paralleling to make historic books that have been coming out and seem to verify much of the Scriptural Documentation. With in the covers of this wonderful book we find that there is evidence that the early Hebrews did believe in a body and soul; the spirit was often referred to as Ruah or pneuma. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection ( which meant that the soul separated from the body and later rejoined the body) but the Pharisees did. Like today the world back then had differing groups with differing opinions. Those who taught in the temple would be the Pharisees and because of this the tradition was passed down religiously to all Jews. Jesus Himself was a Jew and spoke often about the resurrection of the body and soul but when Jesus entered the scene we are now talking New Testament and things have changed. John the Baptist is preaching resurrection, Jesus is preaching resurrection and now many others are connecting this concept to their faith. So the whole concept of Spirit ( Pneuma) is very obvious. Pnuema is almost seen as an inner life source. So when the body dies the life source is raised to heaven and because Jesus has promised a resurrection when He returns then the body will rejoin our spirit. The early Aposltes viewed this when jesus revealed himself in body and spirit. At first they did not believe then Thomas had to touch in order to believe. You make a statement that if God can't allow sin into heaven why not annihilate the body and soul when you die. First of all that body and soul is a creation of God's. He loves His creation. He meticulously made us read Psalm 139. He is not about to destroy us when He gave us a certain amount of time on earth and He abides by His promises.. (In every season there is a reason.) God is not a 10 year old boy that delights in destroying everything in His path. An eternal Hell is not a place but rather a decision on our part. If we chose not to follow Him then we separate ourselves from Him. Once we have died and placed ourselves in that position and we are dead we cannot reverse the order. When God gave us free choice He did not say I give it to you for 45,619,200 minutes which comes out to 88 years. He loves us unconditionally and He just gave it to us. So after we die He doesn't take it back. He allows us to continue in our own decision. Yet because we enter into a different state when we die we become aware of the choices we made and are therefore not allowed to change our minds. We had a lifetime to make changes. We had choices and what we get is what we choose. It is not Him punishing us but allows us to do this to ourselves. He knows what is in our hearts and our brains every moment of everyday. So one cannot say one thing and do another. We are judged by our words and actions and these are what condemnn us or save us.

The concept of a separate soul that left the body at death began with pagan religions. No prophet of God ever told His people about an immortal soul. No scripture teaches or speaks of an immortal soul. Jesus never taught it. Christian religions carried on the pagan belief begun before Jesus' time on Earth. You also said that hell is a decision. Hell means grave. How can grave be a decision, unless you commit suicide. You mentioned that what saves us are our actions and words. In an abstract way, maybe. If we adhere to God, Jesus, and their teachings, yes, our actions in that direction can effect our salvation.

 

[jeager106]

So, I've been an ex-Christian for about 4 years now, and one thing still irks me even to this day. In evangelical Christianity (in which I was raised...and I suppose most denominations of Christianity in general,) it is believed that God is supposedly love (1 John 4:8), yet at the same time, it is believed that God tortures people for eternity in hell. It would be one thing if it were temporary and corrective, but it isn't... it is eternal. What purpose does an eternal hell serve, exactly? Can someone who is willing to torture his own "children" for eternity be seen as "loving?" That just sort of sounds like an episode of Criminal Minds. Even if God cannot "allow sin into heaven," why not just annihilate the person, both body and soul? Why is torture necessary?

I don't understand why you are "irked". Anyone that has given the Christian Bible
any serious study knows the hell myth has no place in the Bible.
I thought it has been well established that "hell" is a series of mistranslation
errors, + deliberate misrepresentation by Christendom to mislead believers
with the pagan hell. People think of a place of eternal hellfire and torture
like Dantes Inferno. It's simply not true.
Dante was a playwright and artist. His painting of "hell" and his play
Dantes Inferno, A Devine COMEDY was just that.
A JOKE! A play, a comedy about hell.

 

[truthofscripture]

I don't understand why you are "irked". Anyone that has given the Christian Bible
any serious study knows the hell myth has no place in the Bible.
I thought it has been well established that "hell" is a series of mistranslation
errors, + deliberate misrepresentation by Christendom to mislead believers
with the pagan hell. People think of a place of eternal hellfire and torture
like Dantes Inferno. It's simply not true.
Dante was a playwright and artist. His painting of "hell" and his play
Dantes Inferno, A Devine COMEDY was just that.
A JOKE! A play, a comedy about hell.

And look at the effect it's had on Christendom, and for how long it's had that effect. Satan hit a home run with that one.