Recognize same-sex marriage denying equal rights

by | Mar 10, 2023 | social work

 

Is refusing to recognize same-sex marriage denying equal rights to homosexuals? Or is it simply refraining from extending a further and publicly divisive privilege to them?

 

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

The question of whether or not refusing to recognize same-sex marriage is denying equal rights to homosexuals depends on one’s definition of what constitutes “equal rights.” On the one hand, some would argue that by not allowing them to marry, homosexuals are being denied a right which heterosexual couples enjoy – and thus this constitutes an inequality in rights. On the other hand however, many opponents of same-sex marriage would say that they are simply refraining from extending a further privilege—one which involves publicly recognizing relationships between two people which may be considered “divisive” due to certain religious/cultural views—to homosexuals.(If we take the latter perspective then it follows that these opponents do not think that denying same-sex marriage denies homosexual couples any fundamental human rights).

Sample Solution

The question of whether or not refusing to recognize same-sex marriage is denying equal rights to homosexuals depends on one’s definition of what constitutes “equal rights.” On the one hand, some would argue that by not allowing them to marry, homosexuals are being denied a right which heterosexual couples enjoy – and thus this constitutes an inequality in rights. On the other hand however, many opponents of same-sex marriage would say that they are simply refraining from extending a further privilege—one which involves publicly recognizing relationships between two people which may be considered “divisive” due to certain religious/cultural views—to homosexuals.(If we take the latter perspective then it follows that these opponents do not think that denying same-sex marriage denies homosexual couples any fundamental human rights).

Ultimately then, when answering this question it is important to consider both sides: for example—while there can be no doubt that refusing to recognize same-sex marriages limits certain opportunities available only to those who are allowed such recognition —it should also be recognized that those who oppose such unions may have valid reasons for doing so; after all freedom of religion has been enshrined in many constitutions as a basic human right. Thus while there can be disagreement over whether or not banning same-sex marriage actually denies equal rights as defined by law—there can still be agreement amongst individuals with differing views regarding their own personal definitions of equality and what is best for society as a whole.

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