I just had this thought while reading about 'Inferno' in the Divine Comedy: as Dante descends the rings of hell and sees more of God's increasingly cruel punishments to those who have sinned, he begins to understand that there is justice in God's violent acts. However, I can't help wondering:
What if I were to bury a man upside-down in the soil? What if I were to make the hypocrites in my life wear gilded coats of lead? What if I were to burn heretics alive in their tombs? I'm clearly not being merciful in all these cases, I'm being vengeful - or maybe I'm just being another 'God'.
Maybe God isn't setting a very good example for all of us.
What is the difference between justice and revenge?Is it justice only because God does it? If God thinks we should be merciful and compassionate, then how come he doesn't treat the sinned with mercy? Isn't that hypocritical of God? Now, since God considers hypocrisy to be a sin too, then shouldn't God be punished in the nine rings of hell too?
What if I were to bury a man upside-down in the soil? What if I were to make the hypocrites in my life wear gilded coats of lead? What if I were to burn heretics alive in their tombs? I'm clearly not being merciful in all these cases, I'm being vengeful - or maybe I'm just being another 'God'.
Maybe God isn't setting a very good example for all of us.
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