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WHAT IS THE DANTE CONNECTION?  Washington, DC’s Meridien Park |
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As you can tell from its subtitle, “A Divine Comedy of Dice, Deception, and Deliverance,” GOD DOESN’T SHOOT CRAPS is based in part on Dante Alighieri’s epic three-part poem, The Divine Comedy. Don’t worry. You don’t have to know a darn thing about The Divine Comedy in order to enjoy the novel. I can vouch for that because I scarcely know a darn thing about it myself! I take that back. I’ve read it ... well, er, parts of it, but I certainly don’t portray myself as a Dante scholar. I’ve listened to a few lectures about it in college and, more recently, a magnificent three-part lecture series presented by Dr. M. Craig Barnes at the National Presbyterian Church. (For information about receiving a recording of this lecture series on CD, click here. Dr. Barnes has also written a superb book on the subject called Searching for Home, which is available from Amazon.) All you really need to know about The Divine Comedy in order to enjoy GOD DOESN’T SHOOT CRAPS is that it’s the story of a middle-aged man who has lost his way in life. He encounters the “ghost” of the ancient Roman poet, Virgil, who gives him a guided tour of the afterlife – Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. But The Divine Comedy is not about the afterlife so much as it is about our lives here on earth. What is the purpose of life? What is the “right” way to live? What is the nature of “sin” and how can we avoid it? These are the themes of The Divine Comedy, and these are the themes of GOD DOESN’T SHOOT CRAPS as well. LINKS INFORMATION ABOUT DR. BARNES' LECTURE CD’S: “SEARCHING FOR HOME” ON AMAZON: ON THE ROMAN POET, VIRGIL: GOD DOESN’T SHOOT CRAPS: |
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