• God and Godzilla
    Nov 25 2023

    With Godzilla Minus One coming out I have been catching up on all things Godzilla! In this special episode we take a quick break from the divine comedy to reflect on certain plot threads of Godzilla King of Monsters. Is nature greater than Man? Will "Life [or nature] find a way" if we may briefly quote Jurassic Park? Does Nature have a King?

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    10 mins
  • Canto IV: Pagan Myths and Modern Fiction
    Nov 19 2023

    In our culture numerous works of literature use magic and other pagan tropes as storytelling devices. This includes cultural Titans like Harry Potter and Christian works like the Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia.

    As Dante in the Divine Comedy meets his favorite pagan Poets, we will explore the role pagan ideas play in fiction today.

    Along the way we will meet biblical magicians, demonic babies, and other myths and legends! So come, grab some marshmallows, come by the hellfire and join us for this weeks journey in the Divine Comedy!

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    34 mins
  • Dante Heads to Hell
    Nov 5 2023

    Today on MARSHMALLOWS BY THE HELLFIRE we get this journey to hell started! Today I reflect on Cantos 1, 2 and 3 of Dante's Inferno and compare Dante's spiritual journey to spiritual journeys we have in the Bible. Along the way we will talk about Jacob wrestling with God, the famous epithet on Hell's Gateway, and how Grace is like God jumping us! So come, grab a marshmallow, come by the Hellfire (cover art by Blanca) and lets talk about the Divine Comedy!Brief quotations are from Esolen's translation (highly recommend)

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    17 mins
  • Hopeful Universalism
    Oct 29 2023
    Welcome to Marshmallows by the Hellfire where we believe that "feel good" Christianity isn't making anyone feel good and the best way to find peace is by tackling difficult topics head on. We will be exploring difficult theological topics and Dante's Divine Comedy over the episodes of this podcast. First off we are exploring "Hopeful Universalism" or "Should we hope that all people be saved?" Along the way we will discuss grace, a bit of predestination, one of my favorite video games and even the origins of Halloween! Some come, grab some marshmallows come by the hellfire and lets wrestle with some difficult topics!
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    24 mins