Dante's Inferno, Episode 5: Can Pagans Be Saved?

<p>Hell is murky. Today we enter limbo, which is technically the <em>least</em> painful section of hell but actually leaves me with some of the toughest questions in the poem. What does Dante make--what do Christians in general make--of all the noble, wise, and humane people who apparently lived outside the reach of Christ? <em>Were</em> they outside His reach? Are human virtues enough to save us? If so, why aren't we doing better?? Dante, in his characteristic way, rachets these questions up to 11 and then moves through them subtly, confoundingly, and above all, beautifully. His poetry leads us to contemplate what it might look like for God's justice and God's mercy to become one.</p> <p>Sign up for Hebrew, Greek, or Latin courses at the Ancient Language Institute: <a href="https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics/">https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics/</a></p> <p>Check out my book, <em>Light of the Mind, Light of the World</em>: <a href="https://amzn.to/4tKWACP">https://amzn.to/4tKWACP</a></p> <p>Read my review of <em>Backrooms</em>: <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/the-kids-who-grew-up-online-are-coming-for-hollywood-backrooms"> https://www.thefp.com/p/the-kids-who-grew-up-online-are-coming-for-hollywood-backrooms</a></p> <p>Get the Anthony Esolen translation: <a href="https://amzn.to/4sgKLTj">https://amzn.to/4sgKLTj</a></p> <p>Get the Dorothy L. Sayers translation: <a href="https://amzn.to/4djdh2s">https://amzn.to/4djdh2s</a></p> <p>Read the Allen Mandelbaum translation: <a href="https://amzn.to/4dG6izR">https://amzn.to/4dG6izR</a></p> <p>00:00 Introduction<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>01:05 Canto 3: Hell's Vestibule<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>24:25 Appetites and Inhabitants of Hell<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>44:22 Tragedies of Futility and Fate<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>56:28 Mailbag: Meditations on Suffering<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>1:09:56 Closing Remarks<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>