Is Dante Authority?

[Cynic of Mammon]

Reading La Divina Comedia for the second time, it struck me that a tenet of Catholicism: Purgatorio, is essentially an invention of a 13th/14th century Italian politician and poet, who, as far as I can tell, wrote the thing to attack his enemies and reward those in his favour.
Ergo, I was wondering, those Xians of all denominations (or knowledgeable non-theists) : How authoritative is Dante considered both by the RC church and your own dednomination (if applicable)? Also, how did his teaching become so firmly embedded in the Catholic Dogma?:huh:

[angela2]

Reading La Divina Comedia for the second time, it struck me that a tenet of Catholicism: Purgatorio, is essentially an invention of a 13th/14th century Italian politician and poet, who, as far as I can tell, wrote the thing to attack his enemies and reward those in his favour.
Ergo, I was wondering, those Xians of all denominations (or knowledgeable non-theists) : How authoritative is Dante considered both by the RC church and your own dednomination (if applicable)? Also, how did his teaching become so firmly embedded in the Catholic Dogma?:huh:
Actually, I'd choose Milton over Dante any day. :)

[Doug Shaver]

How authoritative is Dante considered both by the RC church and your own dednomination (if applicable)?
I have never seen Dante referred to by anybody of any religious persuasion as an authority of any sort on Christian teaching. The Divine Comedy was never intended to be a work of theology or scriptural exegesis. It was a work of literary art, nothing more.

You might as well ask, after reading Julius Caesar, how authoritative Shakespeare is thought to be on the history of the Roman Empire.

[Laura D.]

I have never seen Dante referred to by anybody of any religious persuasion as an authority of any sort on Christian teaching. The Divine Comedy was never intended to be a work of theology or scriptural exegesis. It was a work of literary art, nothing more.

You might as well ask, after reading Julius Caesar, how authoritative Shakespeare is thought to be on the history of the Roman Empire.

We would never refer to Dante in my own protestant tradition. I found a web site that has a little background, though, it may not be what you seek:

Dante's vehement denunciation of the ecclesiastical corruption of his times, and his condemnation of most of the contemporary popes (including the canonized Celestine V) to hell have led to some questioning as to the poet's attitude towards the Church. Even in the fourteenth century attempts were made to find heresy in the "Divina Commedia", and the "De Monarchiâ" was burned at Bologna by order of a papal legate. In more recent times Dante has been hailed as a precursor of the Reformation. His theological position as an orthodox Catholic has been amply and repeatedly vindicated, recently and most notably by Dr. Moore, who declares that "there is no trace in his writings of doubt or dissatisfaction respecting any part of the teaching of the Church in matters of doctrine authoritatively laid down". A strenuous opponent of the political aims of the popes of his own day, the beautiful episodes of Casella and Manfred in the "Purgatorio", no less than the closing chapter of the "De Monarchiâ" itself, bear witness to Dante's reverence for the spiritual power of the papacy, which he accepts as of Divine origin. Not the least striking testimony to his orthodoxy is the part played by the Blessed Virgin in the sacred poem from the beginning to the end. It is, as it were, the working out in inspired poetry of the sentence of Richard of St. Victor: "Through Mary not only is the light of grace given to man on earth but even the vision of God vouchsafed to souls in Heaven." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04628a.htm .

God bless,


Laura

[Godless Dave]

You guys are answering the wrong question. Of course no church refers to Dante as an authority. The question is, does any church include Dante's concepts in their theology as if they were in the Bible?

You could ask the same question about Milton.

[Malachi151]

Reading La Divina Comedia for the second time, it struck me that a tenet of Catholicism: Purgatorio, is essentially an invention of a 13th/14th century Italian politician and poet, who, as far as I can tell, wrote the thing to attack his enemies and reward those in his favour.
Ergo, I was wondering, those Xians of all denominations (or knowledgeable non-theists) : How authoritative is Dante considered both by the RC church and your own dednomination (if applicable)? Also, how did his teaching become so firmly embedded in the Catholic Dogma?:huh:

Actually, the idea of purgatory came from the Greeks, and had been a part of Greek religion for hundreds of years prior to Christianity. There was a lot of variety in Greek religion, but Platonic philosophy held that there was a heaven, which was literally above earth, beyond the clouds, that there was Hades, which was a place where the dead went to be judged and there they may reside for a time if they had been mostly good but had things they needed to "fix" before going to heaven, and then there was Tartarus, which had 9 levels, and was where the really bad people went to be tormented in the manner that they had sinned. Some people could get out of Tartarus according to Plato, but most could not, they were there to be tormented forever.

These were pervasive concepts in Greek culture around the time Christianity arose.

The work of Dante, like many Renaissances works and those around that time, was based on his reading of pre-Christian Greek mythology and philosophy, and a merger of this with Christian concepts. This is a pervasive theme in European culture between the 12th century and 17th century.

The Divine Comedy is really a Christianized version of Greek mythology.

Catholicism itself is a very Roman/Greek system with a lot of pagan imagery. All Christian images are 100% based on Greek and Roman images, they were indeed created by Greeks and Romans at first, in their tradition of creating humanistic representations of gods. Every Christian image you can name has a root in Greek and Roman mythology.

[drewjmore]

I was just about to dispute that Dante's (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04628a.htm)works preceded church dogma on purgatory, but the Catholics (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm)confirm your timeline. Interesting.

[Magus55]

You guys are answering the wrong question. Of course no church refers to Dante as an authority. The question is, does any church include Dante's concepts in their theology as if they were in the Bible?

You could ask the same question about Milton.Yes. The story of Lucifer is based on Greek and Jewish mythological figures later translated to Lucifer by Jerome and embellished by Dante and Milton.

[angela2]

Magus55,

Just out of curiosity, are you Roman Catholic? Cause this bb could use an RC.

[Loki]

I don't believe any denomination considers Dante a theologian, however, it's interesting how much his Divine Comedy, especially Inferno, has informed Western/popular culture in its interpretation of the afterlife.

[show_no_mercy]

Magus55,

Just out of curiosity, are you Roman Catholic? Cause this bb could use an RC.

I'm pretty sure Rev. Muse is a RC... but I could be wrong.

[Magus55]

Magus55,

Just out of curiosity, are you Roman Catholic? Cause this bb could use an RC.Nope, I'm a Messianic Jew. I get criticized endlessly on this board about it, but it's the title I prefer.

[someotherguy]

I'm pretty sure Rev. Muse is a RC... but I could be wrong.

I thought he was a Calvinist, but maybe I'm confusing him with somebody else.

[Doug Shaver]

it may not be what you seek:
I was offering an opinion, not asking for one, but I'm always receptive to evidence that my opinions are in error.

I see no such evidence in your quotation. It shows that some people accused Dante of questioning Catholic dogma, and that Catholic authorities have concluded that the accusations were false. That does not make him an authority Catholic dogma, though. One might argue that he was a reliable source for anyone wishing to learn some Catholic dogma, but not that he was an authoritative source.