The evident relationship between humans and God, according to Dante, is the concept of sin and punishment. Dante states that God created humans and passes His justice on the sinful man by burning them in hell when they die. Dante asserts that hellfire is real, and God’s judgment determines man's fate. Sins separate man from the divine perfection of God’s love for humans. Dante further states that there is no degree of sin- no major and minor sin.
Dante borrows much of the insights in his book from Greek mythology. Dante meets Charon; the ferryman who escorts souls across to Acheron underworld. In their journey, souls speak curses to God, parents and ancestors, and the human race for their punishment in hell. Dante says:
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“ All those who perish in the wrath of God Here meet together out of every land; And ready are they to pass o’er the river, because celestial Justice spurs them on, so that their fear is turned into desire” ( Franke, 2013).
Humans need to establish a good relationship with God by doing His will to avoid futile curses like the souls in the Inferno. Dante relates the incidence to the biblical Adam and Eve when Adam is found guilty of sinning against God he blames on Eve. It’s hard for humans to believe and accept deep down them, that they deserve punishment for the wrongs they do ( Puchner et al., 2012) . It is evident for humans to think that they deserve love, peace, prosperity, but this does not mean that humans will accept to be fully alienated from God. Dante says that the souls fail to take responsibility for the actions they perpetrate, and they sound immature and absurd.
In conclusion, Dante establishes that the relationship between God and man is the fear of judgment on man’s sinful nature. Humans go through sufferings that they accept that sinful nature and lastly accept hell but not so easy. The most striking thing about the Inferno is that the souls eventually agree to go hell because the divine judgment says they belong to hell for breaking God’s commandments.
References
Puchner, M. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume 1.
WILLIAM FRANKE. (2013). Paradoxical Prophecy: Dante’s Strategy of Self-Subversion in the “Inferno.” Italica, 90(3), 343.
