Love and the Reasons Why

  Even those who haven’t read the book have a general idea of what Dante’s Inferno is about. Arguably one of the most well-known books of all time, Inferno has implanted a very intense image of hell in society’s collective mind. People will often think of fire, violence, and circles of punishment whenever Inferno is mentioned. In reality, many of the circles do not include “fire and brimstone,” as it were. The ninth and deepest circle of hell is actually filled with ice . The final circle of hell is so far from warmth and light that there’s no warmth left for the sinners there. At the very bottom of hell, Satan lies buried halfway in ice, gnawing with his three heads on three of our world’s most well-known betrayers—Brutus, Cassius, and Judas (34.55-67). Judas, however, could have easily ended up in other circles. He could have been in the fourth circle with the avaricious, attacking his fellow condemned men with stones (7.25-35), and he could have been in the seventh circle, wi...

“To leap between years is a great undertaking; there is much that must be done and much that must be avoided. Many things change between one year and the next. Dangers both known and unknown prevail, and the confusion that controls the unknown may darken the path and awaken old fears. He who watches over us, help us remember what was before so that we may conquer what is today. Protect our journey, and place Time on our side so that we may succeed in our aim.” Skepsi would say the same words before every journey we took. We were preparing for our next leap into the future, and we knew very little about the journey ahead. Usually we were more prepared. “Ready to leave, Syna?” Skepsi asked me. “No more ready than usual,” I responded. Skepsi smiled, and we leaped out of our year. We came to the year 2020 intentionally but without any knowledge of what we might find. We had been given this task by whatever Being watches over the world (we often call him Lord). He foresaw many problems in f...

One of the first things that any child learns about God is that he created the universe, that he is the most powerful being in the world, and that he loves us very much. He put the world together in seven days, and He created humans to live in it, take care of it, and glorify Him. Ever since the fall of mankind, however, the goal for humans has been slightly different. At first, humans are commanded to follow God as he leads them through trials and prepares them for the coming Messiah, who is to save them from the mistakes they made in the beginning. Once that Messiah, Jesus, comes, he gives humans a new mission: seek and save the lost. He gives them the two greatest commandments, love God and love one another, and they are expected to follow those commandments in all that they do. God is the truest and highest form of love, so to love in any way is to be like God. We often find that we are happiest when we show love to one another in our actions and our words. Boethius, in his book Co...