Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Hell

       In the midway of this our mortal life,

       I found me in a gloomy wood, astray

       Gone from the path direct: and eén to tell

       It were no easy task, how savage wild

       That forest, how robust and rough its growth,

       Which to remember only, my dismay

       Renews, in bitterness not far from death. ……

      We all search

      In our many ways

      For reason and meaning in our lives

      And

      For you, life has been like wandering

      Lost in a gloomy wood

      Unable to find the path direct.

      So turning your back

      On this earlier life

      You leave your home

      Behind you and

      Begin your search.

      You have found a car park

      And you walk with the crowds of shoppers through the department store

      Packed with things you don’t really need

      To the mall.

      Past the sharp, tight, painted ladies grimacing with charm

      Selling the latest personal self-decoration fads

      At ridiculous prices.

      In the mall, you pause,

      Where do you look in this place for meaning?

      The cinema complex (or dream factory)?

      The food court?

      The fashion clothing shops?

      The key cutter, the phone case vendor, the person sweeping the floors?

      The supermarket, the bookshop (a possibility), the handbag shop?

      Surrounded by the noisy, bustling, intent throng

      In the muzaked space

      You see that the whole place is about creating expectations

      And offering the dream of satisfaction.

      The only meaning here is unrestrained desire

      For the next and the new.

      You turn

      Walk through the department store

      Past the painted ladies

      To the crowded, desperate car park

      And away.

      In the church,

      Under the high arched ceiling,

      The coloured light

      Streaming through the stained glass

      Of saints images

      Lights up in chiaroscuro

      The man nailed to the timber cross.

      The practicing organ music fills the space.

      Subtle impressions of your youth

      Surround you

      With rote dogma and the possibility of hope.

      Space shivers and blurs.

      The nailed man is looking at you.

      So you ask him

      I am on a quest to know, so

      Who are you?

      I am a Jewish man from a Jewish world

      Who lived a long time ago

      Adopting an inner attitude of surrender and openness

      To address the chaos of man and his world

      Teaching respect and compassion

      Killed by men

      And then made God by man

      And, mysteriously,

      God’s son also

      You then ask

      If we made you God,

      What or who is God?

      God is one of man’s greatest creations.

      God is the ultimate being.

      God is all powerful and all knowing.

      God created all things

      Visible and invisible.

      God is active.

      God is love.

      God is whatever you don’t know or don’t understand.

      You pause,

      Contemplating your next question.

      How do we come to know this God and his love?

      And the nailed man replies

      There are many paths to God

      And the best path is through me.

      Why is that so when there are many paths?

      Well, I am instructed to say,

      With our path we promise the good man

      Eternal life, with life after death in heaven

      A wonderful place of goodness and light

      And whatever you enjoy most

      Along with all the other good, believing people.

      Whereas unbelieving, bad people face eternal

       damnation and pain

      In hell

      Along with all the other bad people

      Suffering in the worst way they can possibly imagine.

      You are sure you are a good man so you ask

      But how can I be certain?

      You will need faith

      Blind faith and trust

      In this, our message.

      The music stops

      The light streams down

      You