Here’s a biblical reference that hits on the same spiritual attitude described by Dante in the Ante-Inferno: from Revelation 3:16, NLT: "But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"
Haha waking up to the sound of Italian accent ! So you have the next couple of weeks covered. I’m uploading canto 16 today, then I’ll keep trying to do about 2 videos per week, and we should finish Inferno around mid-April.
Here is my confession and I hope I won't be referred in future canto : I'm an atheist but only learns about every religion because it's lore entertains me . But i fully understand and agrees on many of the morals these spiritual and ancient books teaches us
Thank you for sharing that. You can be sure that I won't refer to this in future cantos. We all try to do our very best to understand this strange world where we live, and while truth by definition is only one, it has many different flavors. I appreciate your perspective.
As what has been mentioned in a previous comment, the analysis n these videos are very impressive--and in is not just information pulled from other common sites. I have to watch every one two or three times before getting all that is being said. I am following along with a translation by John Ciardi, but I think I will pick up the translation you have, I think I like it better. Though I am Italian, I do not speak the language, so your comments on the translation is very helpful. At 10.30, Ciardi translates it to Dante asking "What souls are these who run through this black haze?" Virgil answers, (Ciardi translated) "Theses are the nearly soulless whose lives conclude neither blame nor praise."
Oh you’re Italian! Excellent, one more reason for you to love Dante : ) It’s interesting to read these quotes from Ciardi’s translation: it sounds a little “creative” to me. Pinsky tries to be much more literal. He translated these lines as follows: “What people are these, whom pain has overcome? / He: “This is the sorrowful state of souls unsure, whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame.” And this is quite literally what Dante writes. “Nearly soulless” strikes me as especially loose, because it’s not a concept that Dante ever expressed. Thanks so much for your interest and kind words. I hope you’ll join me all the way down - and then all the way up.
@@tomlabooks3263 That is what I was thinking when hearing you translate it. I will have to pick up the Pinsky translation next time I am out! Thanks! And yes! I will definitely be tuning in until the end of The Paradiso. There is so much I do not know about the text, and probably should. =)
@@tomlabooks3263 well, Pinsky on audio, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow illustrated and a newish translation by Clive James. I'm half way through Purgatorio but I'm starting from scratch and reading along with your comments. I have to thank you again for your explanations 😃
You’re very welcome. In addition, I am doing each video in Italian as well (under my Playlists tab), with English subtitles, in case you might have an interest. Yes, Dante is obviously an obsession of mine!
What you are doing for us is so impressive Tom. Lovely to hear you speak the line in Italiano too. Funny - it was that line "this is the sorrowful state of souls unsure" that jumped out to me as the essence. But seeing the original, I get your point.
Everything I say in these videos is 25% right and 75% "boh!" : ) The real experts can prove a bit more sometimes... but not much more! I do agree with you that the state of souls unsure is a crucial verse, and perhaps THE crucial verse.
I'm gradually catching up on your videos. Thanks very much for doing this wonderful labor of love. I've read the Comedy three times in various English translations, I've studied several commentaries in English, and I am drawn to it more and more strongly. But I don't speak Italian, I can only read it a little, if I've got a dictionary handy and I already know what it says. I feel like some Japanese guy who says he likes Shakespeare, has read all the plays and poems in Japanese translation and has read criticism all in Japanese but who doesn't read or speak English: I think his understanding of Shakespeare might be a little weird. So I really appreciate your remarks on the way the Italian feels, and some of the multiple meanings of key words and phrases. Again, thanks very much for this great introduction.
Hi Jon - thanks for your comment, glad to connect here. No matter how many times I re-read the Commedia, every time realize there’s something I had missed and that is a humbling experience in itself! I am trying to make as many references to the Italian version as I can without making the videos become too heavy.
Tom, it sounds like you're doing a lot of serious straight textual analysis in these reviews, and seemingly with little to no help from any critical sources. Doing a 20-25 minute video on a single canto shows just how closely you've read it and how much you take it seriously, which is SUCH a joy. In the faint chance that you ever need or want anything critical to look at, I recommend Eric Auerbach's two books: "Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature" (which I remember has a chapter on Dante), and specifically his "Dante: Poet of the Secular World". I figured you might already be familiar with Auerbach because of your deep dive into Dante, but I know that sometimes when I talk about books I like to get a bit a critical grounding to make sure I'm not going too far afield. Please keep up the superior job!
Thanks so much John - so thrilled that you like this approach. By the way, I am usually not an impulse buyer, but I have a used copy of Mimesis on its way to my house! I am using some Italian critical studies as I go along, but the more the better, and Auerbach seems to be extremely interesting to listen to.
@@tomlabooks3263 Was it already on its way, or did I talk you into it? (Warning: your bank account might suffer in the future for having me as a frequent commenter...)
@@NicholasOfAutrecourt Ordered it about 5 seconds after I read your message. I heard that you might have this effect on people’s finances.... it’s all worth it!
@@tomlabooks3263 Definitely let me know if it helps with jogging any ideas while reading. I remember hearing somewhere that wrote it (I mean "Mimesis," not the Dante book) while he was in isolation during WWII when he had no access to any of his library. It was written entirely from what he had committed to memory. Quite a feat for any book, especially one 600 pages.
@@NicholasOfAutrecourt Wow, that’s impressive. Books written in those extreme circumstances have always an electricity in them. I was already (literally) sold, but now even more : )
Wonderful again Tom. The introductory material about the structure was helpful and the suggestion to pull out chapter six of the Aeneid. Also I would not have grasped the significance of the physical touching with Virgil. I am glad to have pulled a couple of the Paradise Lost gang here. Allen is sending me a copy of the Pinsky which is great as I think the translation I have lacks a degree of poetic grandeur I can hear in the lines you read aloud. Although it could partly be your reading.
Am wondering if there is a translation somewhere of that medieval work you mentioned describing Paul's experience in the upper realms, as the reference in Corinthians does not seem to have much detail
I love how you point out the physicality here. Also, I could spend years thinking about the concept of fear turning into desire to get the damned souls into the boat. I have the Robert Fitzgerald translation of the Aeneid. Do you have an opinion on which English translation is "best?"
Thanks for watching. I’m sorry I don’t have a valid recommendation for the Aeneid in English, but I found this list of the most popular translations, if it can be useful: Robert Fagles Robert Fitzgerald Stanley Lombardo Allen Mandelbaum David West
Thanks Michael! For some more personal videos, I’d suggest you watch a couple of my interviews, for example the one titled “A chat with Brandon about atheism, faith and everything in between”. Thank you for watching and for your interest.
Had to take a break after this canto. I had a horrible nightmare in which I was afraid the bodies I had buried in my backyard would be discovered. So I am going to take Beatrice’s advice from canto 2 and will continue reading …
Oh no that nightmare sounds really terrible! Hopefully it’s not Dante’s dark medieval imagination getting to your subconscious 😄 The beauty and delicacy of his visions in Paradiso are the polar opposite of that.
The people who are sent to the ante chamber due to inaction in life, i.e they never chose a side, are all desperately waiting at the river to cross over but can't because they were inactive in life their punishment is the unfulfilled desire to act. Its like standing in a line at an amusement park for all eternity.
Hi Helena. God’s justice spurs these damned souls so that they are eager to cross the river and find their perdition. In other words, at this point of the process they are already completely subjected to divine justice, therefore even if they are afraid and even if they feel pain, they desire whatever God’s will wants for them, because souls don’t have the same type of “will” that mortals do. I hope this clarifies.
Here are a few key points about how the existence of hell and the devil relates to divine justice in Christian theology: - In Christianity, hell is understood as the state of being eternally separated from God and the source of all goodness. The devil (Satan) is an evil spiritual entity who tempts people toward sin and rebellion against God. - The existence of hell and the devil implies that evil and wickedness exist in the world. If there was no hell or devil, it would seem unjust for evil acts to go unpunished. The existence of hell ensures that divine justice is ultimately served. - Sending unrepentant sinners to hell demonstrates God's justice and upholds the moral order. Christian theology sees it as just for those who reject God and embrace evil to be separated from God's presence in the afterlife. - The devil's punishment in hell shows that even powerful evil spirits are subject to God's judgment. The devil is not a rival to God but a creature under God's authority. His final defeat and punishment displays God's supreme power and justice. - Hell serves as a deterrent and motivation for people to repent and turn to God. The threat of eternal punishment encourages moral behavior and obedience to God's commands. This maintains divine justice and order. So in summary, the existence of hell and the devil provides for divine justice and accountability, affirming God's holiness and ensuring the wicked are punished, even as the righteous are rewarded with heaven. This upholds the perfect moral justice of God's character. I hope this clarifies.
@@tomlabooks3263 thanks Tom. I guess I'm dubious about how all the corrupt politicians are dealt with as they see themselves doing no wrong! The thought of damnation or hell doesn't seem to deter them as they don't believe in it. I guess only believers in Satan and helll would change their ways.
@@kathleenbrady9916 That is a very intimate understanding, that has only to do with the space between ourselves and God, no one else can “convince” us. But reading the Divine Comedy in its entirety can inspire many people and help us understand what the truth of christianity really is about. Many years ago, it was Dante who helped me go back to my catholic roots.
Can't wait to get into all the Black & White political Pope Binofys VIII (sp!) Etc I think of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" in Revina: street fights, drunkenness, and murder.
Oh, it’s brutal! I read a biography of Dante and tried to follow every alliance, betrayal, and political fight in Florence at that time, and my head started to spin VERY quickly.
JOB 1:6 One day, when the son's of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." I Was told, the Devil does not do evil, people do evil. The devil can't make anyone do anything, he can only provide a temptation to do evil. If a person takes the bate, and does evil by one's own will to do so, then the Devil can judge that person accordingly. Punishment comes when the Devil comes for them after death. On that day every knee will bend every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord The devil is not a practitioner of evil. He is a judge of people who are a practitioner evil. When a person says, "The Devil made me do it!" as an excuse of doing something wrong, they can only be lying. And by that, compounding their sins with that lie. See, the Devil is said to be a servant of God. But he holds the sin of pride. Pride enough to question God's judgement of giving humanity both a soul and free will. Stating that humanity is not worthy of such gifts. God has in turn, given the Devil the task of finding those that may misuse the gifts God has given. And the freedom to punish them after. Nobody likes to be judged for any wrong doings. Humanity is imperfect, and easy to sway via our emotions. So humanity see the Devil as evil, due to being the enemy of those who do bad things. - All, or even none of this could be true. - But if it is true, and calling out the Devil as a scapegoat for the many Evils man makes, we may never truly get to the root of the problem, and in turn, never be able to fix it. Can we keep getting away with blaming the Devil for the many wrongs made by humanity? Will humans never own up to our own potential for doing evil via the free will to do so? Will we continue to learn nothing about the truth of human nature? The good and the bad sides of it? - To me, we are our own worst nightmare. Perhaps, someday, we may wake up and be enlightened to what we are doing to ourselves, and perhaps find a way to grow up as a people, and stop blaming dark shadows for what we do, and instead do better. Is that not what having free will is about? For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.. and how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, For your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD! He tests the good and the bad, He hates those who love violence For He loves the just and just deeds; the upright shall see his face. When God, in the beginning, created man, he made him subject to his own free choice. If you choose you can keep the commandment; it is loyalty to do his will. There is set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him. Immense is the wisdom of the LORD; he is mighty in power and all-seeing. The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man's every deed. No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies.. O Jesus I know not if your real come ... come live in me Save Me
Here’s a biblical reference that hits on the same spiritual attitude described by Dante in the Ante-Inferno: from Revelation 3:16, NLT: "But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"
Thank you.
A canto a day with my first cup of coffee, followed by your discussion video, is fast becoming part of my morning routine.
Haha waking up to the sound of Italian accent ! So you have the next couple of weeks covered. I’m uploading canto 16 today, then I’ll keep trying to do about 2 videos per week, and we should finish Inferno around mid-April.
Here is my confession and I hope I won't be referred in future canto :
I'm an atheist but only learns about every religion because it's lore entertains me .
But i fully understand and agrees on many of the morals these spiritual and ancient books teaches us
Thank you for sharing that. You can be sure that I won't refer to this in future cantos. We all try to do our very best to understand this strange world where we live, and while truth by definition is only one, it has many different flavors. I appreciate your perspective.
As what has been mentioned in a previous comment, the analysis n these videos are very impressive--and in is not just information pulled from other common sites. I have to watch every one two or three times before getting all that is being said. I am following along with a translation by John Ciardi, but I think I will pick up the translation you have, I think I like it better. Though I am Italian, I do not speak the language, so your comments on the translation is very helpful. At 10.30, Ciardi translates it to Dante asking "What souls are these who run through this black haze?" Virgil answers, (Ciardi translated) "Theses are the nearly soulless whose lives conclude neither blame nor praise."
Oh you’re Italian! Excellent, one more reason for you to love Dante : ) It’s interesting to read these quotes from Ciardi’s translation: it sounds a little “creative” to me. Pinsky tries to be much more literal. He translated these lines as follows: “What people are these, whom pain has overcome? / He: “This is the sorrowful state of souls unsure, whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame.” And this is quite literally what Dante writes. “Nearly soulless” strikes me as especially loose, because it’s not a concept that Dante ever expressed. Thanks so much for your interest and kind words. I hope you’ll join me all the way down - and then all the way up.
@@tomlabooks3263 That is what I was thinking when hearing you translate it. I will have to pick up the Pinsky translation next time I am out! Thanks! And yes! I will definitely be tuning in until the end of The Paradiso. There is so much I do not know about the text, and probably should. =)
Beautiful🎉
Thank you 🙏🏻
I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this series. Thank you so so much 😀👍
I’m so glad you are!! Have you already read the Comedy? (and if so, translated by whom?)
@@tomlabooks3263 well, Pinsky on audio, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow illustrated and a newish translation by Clive James. I'm half way through Purgatorio but I'm starting from scratch and reading along with your comments. I have to thank you again for your explanations 😃
@@thefont4345 Ahh that’s wonderful. Purgatory is probably my personal favorite. Great to have your company along this journey!
these explanations are incredible. thank you so much for these.
You’re very welcome. In addition, I am doing each video in Italian as well (under my Playlists tab), with English subtitles, in case you might have an interest. Yes, Dante is obviously an obsession of mine!
@@tomlabooks3263 i'll definitely check those out as well!
this is the BEST analysis THANK YOU SO MUCHH SIR
Oh, thank YOU for your kind message. I am now at canto 32 of Paradiso… almost finished this crazy series about the best book in history!
What you are doing for us is so impressive Tom. Lovely to hear you speak the line in Italiano too. Funny - it was that line "this is the sorrowful state of souls unsure" that jumped out to me as the essence. But seeing the original, I get your point.
Everything I say in these videos is 25% right and 75% "boh!" : ) The real experts can prove a bit more sometimes... but not much more! I do agree with you that the state of souls unsure is a crucial verse, and perhaps THE crucial verse.
@@tomlabooks3263 haha All Dante's beautiful words but nothing bets an Italian 'boh'!
I enjoyed the video series so so much. Thank you for helping me to understand better.
My pleasure, Helena!!
I'm gradually catching up on your videos. Thanks very much for doing this wonderful labor of love. I've read the Comedy three times in various English translations, I've studied several commentaries in English, and I am drawn to it more and more strongly. But I don't speak Italian, I can only read it a little, if I've got a dictionary handy and I already know what it says. I feel like some Japanese guy who says he likes Shakespeare, has read all the plays and poems in Japanese translation and has read criticism all in Japanese but who doesn't read or speak English: I think his understanding of Shakespeare might be a little weird. So I really appreciate your remarks on the way the Italian feels, and some of the multiple meanings of key words and phrases. Again, thanks very much for this great introduction.
Hi Jon - thanks for your comment, glad to connect here. No matter how many times I re-read the Commedia, every time realize there’s something I had missed and that is a humbling experience in itself! I am trying to make as many references to the Italian version as I can without making the videos become too heavy.
Thanks for the mention! Another great video. I took nearly a page of notes.
Thanks John. Hope you’re well. This was a bit longer, counting on keeping the next ones at around 15 min.
Tom, it sounds like you're doing a lot of serious straight textual analysis in these reviews, and seemingly with little to no help from any critical sources. Doing a 20-25 minute video on a single canto shows just how closely you've read it and how much you take it seriously, which is SUCH a joy. In the faint chance that you ever need or want anything critical to look at, I recommend Eric Auerbach's two books: "Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature" (which I remember has a chapter on Dante), and specifically his "Dante: Poet of the Secular World". I figured you might already be familiar with Auerbach because of your deep dive into Dante, but I know that sometimes when I talk about books I like to get a bit a critical grounding to make sure I'm not going too far afield. Please keep up the superior job!
Thanks so much John - so thrilled that you like this approach. By the way, I am usually not an impulse buyer, but I have a used copy of Mimesis on its way to my house! I am using some Italian critical studies as I go along, but the more the better, and Auerbach seems to be extremely interesting to listen to.
@@tomlabooks3263 Was it already on its way, or did I talk you into it? (Warning: your bank account might suffer in the future for having me as a frequent commenter...)
@@NicholasOfAutrecourt Ordered it about 5 seconds after I read your message. I heard that you might have this effect on people’s finances.... it’s all worth it!
@@tomlabooks3263 Definitely let me know if it helps with jogging any ideas while reading. I remember hearing somewhere that wrote it (I mean "Mimesis," not the Dante book) while he was in isolation during WWII when he had no access to any of his library. It was written entirely from what he had committed to memory. Quite a feat for any book, especially one 600 pages.
@@NicholasOfAutrecourt Wow, that’s impressive. Books written in those extreme circumstances have always an electricity in them. I was already (literally) sold, but now even more : )
this video helped me so much
Wonderful again Tom. The introductory material about the structure was helpful and the suggestion to pull out chapter six of the Aeneid. Also I would not have grasped the significance of the physical touching with Virgil.
I am glad to have pulled a couple of the Paradise Lost gang here. Allen is sending me a copy of the Pinsky which is great as I think the translation I have lacks a degree of poetic grandeur I can hear in the lines you read aloud. Although it could partly be your reading.
Thanks Ros, and in particular for the compliment about my reading, which I’m really not feeling that confident about : ) 3 down, only 97 to go!
Am wondering if there is a translation somewhere of that medieval work you mentioned describing Paul's experience in the upper realms, as the reference in Corinthians does not seem to have much detail
Yes, of course: you can find it under the title “The Apocalypse of Paul”. Latin: “Visio sancti Pauli”.
Excellence.... Thank you.
Thank you so much for explaining the cantos to me one by one. This is a required subject for me at uni and it was driving me insane HAHAHA.
😂 Good luck! Glad these can be useful.
I love how you point out the physicality here. Also, I could spend years thinking about the concept of fear turning into desire to get the damned souls into the boat. I have the Robert Fitzgerald translation of the Aeneid. Do you have an opinion on which English translation is "best?"
Thanks for watching. I’m sorry I don’t have a valid recommendation for the Aeneid in English, but I found this list of the most popular translations, if it can be useful:
Robert Fagles
Robert Fitzgerald
Stanley Lombardo
Allen Mandelbaum
David West
I’m loving these videos, but I’d love to know who Tom LA Books is.
Thanks Michael! For some more personal videos, I’d suggest you watch a couple of my interviews, for example the one titled “A chat with Brandon about atheism, faith and everything in between”. Thank you for watching and for your interest.
Thanks, Tom. Awating my Pinski trans ... Cantos 3 & 5 when the pilgrim swoons! Also: Let's read Pynchon's _Against the Day_ for #MarchingMammoths
I’m in. Can’t wait to get into Pynchon after having heard so much about his work !
Can you put a link to the edition you are using please...I think you said Kinski but I can't find anything with this name. Thanks.
Robert Pinsky is the translator.
@@tomlabooks3263 thanks..I have them now on Amazon...you're inspiring me to read this work.
Had to take a break after this canto. I had a horrible nightmare in which I was afraid the bodies I had buried in my backyard would be discovered. So I am going to take Beatrice’s advice from canto 2 and will continue reading …
Oh no that nightmare sounds really terrible! Hopefully it’s not Dante’s dark medieval imagination getting to your subconscious 😄 The beauty and delicacy of his visions in Paradiso are the polar opposite of that.
Perhaps for me it is better to read inferno in the light of day and not right before bedtime
@@judithhorwitz8671 😄😄 good idea
The people who are sent to the ante chamber due to inaction in life, i.e they never chose a side, are all desperately waiting at the river to cross over but can't because they were inactive in life their punishment is the unfulfilled desire to act.
Its like standing in a line at an amusement park for all eternity.
😅 That’s a perfect image. Yes, they are. They don’t even get to have any of the “fun” of Inferno. Nothing at all for them.
@@tomlabooks3263 hahahah
What is the meaning of “they yearn for what they fear”?
Hi Helena. God’s justice spurs these damned souls so that they are eager to cross the river and find their perdition. In other words, at this point of the process they are already completely subjected to divine justice, therefore even if they are afraid and even if they feel pain, they desire whatever God’s will wants for them, because souls don’t have the same type of “will” that mortals do. I hope this clarifies.
👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
Not sure I understand the devil/justice connection....could you clarify again... slowly!
Here are a few key points about how the existence of hell and the devil relates to divine justice in Christian theology:
- In Christianity, hell is understood as the state of being eternally separated from God and the source of all goodness. The devil (Satan) is an evil spiritual entity who tempts people toward sin and rebellion against God.
- The existence of hell and the devil implies that evil and wickedness exist in the world. If there was no hell or devil, it would seem unjust for evil acts to go unpunished. The existence of hell ensures that divine justice is ultimately served.
- Sending unrepentant sinners to hell demonstrates God's justice and upholds the moral order. Christian theology sees it as just for those who reject God and embrace evil to be separated from God's presence in the afterlife.
- The devil's punishment in hell shows that even powerful evil spirits are subject to God's judgment. The devil is not a rival to God but a creature under God's authority. His final defeat and punishment displays God's supreme power and justice.
- Hell serves as a deterrent and motivation for people to repent and turn to God. The threat of eternal punishment encourages moral behavior and obedience to God's commands. This maintains divine justice and order.
So in summary, the existence of hell and the devil provides for divine justice and accountability, affirming God's holiness and ensuring the wicked are punished, even as the righteous are rewarded with heaven. This upholds the perfect moral justice of God's character. I hope this clarifies.
@@tomlabooks3263 thanks Tom. I guess I'm dubious about how all the corrupt politicians are dealt with as they see themselves doing no wrong! The thought of damnation or hell doesn't seem to deter them as they don't believe in it. I guess only believers in Satan and helll would change their ways.
@@kathleenbrady9916 That is a very intimate understanding, that has only to do with the space between ourselves and God, no one else can “convince” us. But reading the Divine Comedy in its entirety can inspire many people and help us understand what the truth of christianity really is about. Many years ago, it was Dante who helped me go back to my catholic roots.
In the beginning of the video he thanks Rose from …?
That’s Rose from the books channel “Scallydandling about the books”. Eclectic and very smart reader.
Can't wait to get into all the Black & White political Pope Binofys VIII (sp!) Etc I think of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" in Revina: street fights, drunkenness, and murder.
Oh, it’s brutal! I read a biography of Dante and tried to follow every alliance, betrayal, and political fight in Florence at that time, and my head started to spin VERY quickly.
JOB 1:6
One day, when the son's of God came to present themselves
before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the
Lord said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan
answered the Lord and said, "From roaming the earth
and patrolling it."
I Was told, the Devil does not do evil, people do evil.
The devil can't make anyone do anything, he can only
provide a temptation to do evil. If a person takes the
bate, and does evil by one's own will to do so, then
the Devil can judge that person accordingly. Punishment
comes when the Devil comes for them after death.
On that day
every knee will bend
every tongue confess
Jesus Christ is Lord
The devil is not a practitioner of evil. He is a judge
of people who are a practitioner evil.
When a person says, "The Devil made me do it!" as an excuse
of doing something wrong, they can only be lying. And by
that, compounding their sins with that lie.
See, the Devil is said to be a servant of God. But he holds
the sin of pride. Pride enough to question God's judgement
of giving humanity both a soul and free will. Stating that
humanity is not worthy of such gifts. God has in turn, given
the Devil the task of finding those that may misuse the gifts
God has given. And the freedom to punish them after.
Nobody likes to be judged for any wrong doings. Humanity is
imperfect, and easy to sway via our emotions. So humanity
see the Devil as evil, due to being the enemy of those who
do bad things.
-
All, or even none of this could be true.
-
But if it is true, and calling out the Devil as a scapegoat for
the many Evils man makes, we may never truly get to the root of
the problem, and in turn, never be able to fix it.
Can we keep getting away with blaming the Devil for the many
wrongs made by humanity? Will humans never own up to our own
potential for doing evil via the free will to do so? Will we
continue to learn nothing about the truth of human nature?
The good and the bad sides of it?
-
To me, we are our own worst nightmare. Perhaps, someday, we
may wake up and be enlightened to what we are doing to ourselves,
and perhaps find a way to grow up as a people, and stop blaming
dark shadows for what we do, and instead do better.
Is that not what having free will is about?
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned..
and how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O Lord and lover of souls,
For your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness
and believe in you, O LORD!
He tests the good and the bad,
He hates those who love violence
For He loves the just and just deeds;
the upright shall see his face.
When God, in the beginning, created man,
he made him subject to his own free choice.
If you choose you can keep the commandment;
it is loyalty to do his will.
There is set before you fire and water;
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the LORD;
he is mighty in power and all-seeing.
The eyes of God see all he has made;
he understands man's every deed.
No man does he command to sin,
to none does he give strength for lies..
O Jesus
I know not if your real
come ... come
live in me
Save Me