This is probably the fastest I have ever read and written any single entry in my book review series. I am sitting here in the clinic with nothing to do besides kill time. These two Cantos comprised about 15 pages or so in my book. That means about an hour read and I might as well get started while it is fresh in my mind.

Sometimes, so much time has passed that I actually have to read summaries to refresh my memory of what actually happened. Some books I keep some notes about what I want to talk about as Friday rolls along. My day to day situation varies so widely that it has been hard to keep up with a consistent schedule or routine.

This level of heaven is Saturn, the seventh level of Paradise and the land of the contemplatives. For those of you that don’t equate such fancy words, it is the level of the thinker. In church terms, the thinkers are the monks. Maybe not all of them are monks but all monks are supposed to be thinkers (I think).

Remember too that the higher we climb, the more that the souls are supposed to be closer to God. Dante has two interactions in this Canto. One with a soul called Peter Damiano and the other with the Pope Benedict. They both kind of interplay together so let’s talk about Peter first.

In the Devine Comedy, there has been a battle between free will and predestination. For the most part, the talk has been about free will. It is that freedom that has allowed sin to grab hold of the characters we met in the Inferno and Purgatory. But now, we are starting to run into preordination. What Peter is saying is that it is God’s plan for what level of heaven you will remain eternally. There is not much that a person can do to change that.

When Dante meets Benedict, he is confirmed what Dante already knows and that is there is much wretchedness within the church at all levels. He says that God will eventually punish them when the time is right. Once again we have a theological dichotomy. If everything is preordained, how can God be displeased with the rampant sin and corruption within the church?

I guess that I believe in both as well. I am a believer that everything happens for a reason but I also believe that it matters what we do in that time. As a bible believer, the second the second coming (Revelations) will be the final reconciliation. It seems that I finally agree with Dante on something. But, I am also a Protestant Christian and the ideal of a vengeful or angry God is very Old Testament.

This is the new covenant. If you haven’t heard this language, Christianity differs from Judaism in that there is no intermediary between God and worshipper. No longer are sacrifices required to absolve sin. We can achieve eternal salvation by accepting Christ. So while God may have a final plan for our lives, We can surely help ourselves along. Otherwise, what would be the point?

To put a fine point on it, I think a loving god as I subscribe to has an intricate web of events. Each one effecting the other. I am primarily speaking about the duration on life and eventual death. What we choose to do in that time greatly influences our eternity. We never really comprehend how we affect other people as we move through life. To me, that is the predestination part.

End Your Programming Routine: Since I do not really subscribe Purgatory or levels in Heaven, this is just another week in a long line of things that don’t completely jive with me. But it is at least closer than some. Next week will be the longest remaining group of Cantos XXIII – XXVII and the eighth level. This is the level of the stars.