[hider=My last few words]-shrug- I'm not even sure how correct most of those statements are (esp. that the Church actively portrayed Dante's poem as biblical canon, which I am [i]nearly[/i] sure is a complete falsehood, and that the Divine Comedy changed how the public viewed religion, which is rather preposterous), but whatever. The point is, it's a work of art, and if you don't like it, you don't like it, and I can accept that. 

Two very definitely final points: 

1. It's an allegory, it isn't meant to be canonically correct. If he limited himself only to what was detailed in the scripture, well, the whole Comedy wouldn't have worked, as there wouldn't be enough material to work [i]with[/i]. He took what he had read, and heard, and what he believed, and used them in an allegorical interpretation of the soul's journey to God (among a ton of other things... it's really, [i]really[/i] complex).

2. I'm sorry for starting an argument, but your blatant dismissal of Dante (along with the whole paladin thing) irked me quite a bit... I have a feeling KirinLemon might want us to delete all this, as it was rather pointless and got neither of us anywhere.

EDIT: OH! A third point, about the Inferno not being horrific enough: the Divine Comedy is just as much about Paradiso and Purgatorio as Inferno, even if most people stop reading after the latter. It isn't meant to be horrific. It's meant to [i]make sense[/i], in the context of Dante's beliefs and the ideals described in the second and third sections of the story. So, the whole "karmic punishments" thing... It was just supposed to make sense, and I believe, given the context, that it does.

EDIT 2: Yeah, Thor? A total dick. Ever read the Sandman? :) The whole "key to Hell" thing? It's good stuff.[/hider]