Episode
The Spiritual Harm of Lying
- Published
- Apr 14, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2149
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Summary
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick explores one of the most striking features of Dante’s Inferno : why the poet places liars, flatterers, and the treacherous in the lowest circles of Hell — deeper than murderers, tyrants, suicides, and even blasphemers. Check out our new INSTAGRAM page! Visit THE ASCENT , our sister publication on Substack. We are reading the Odyssey over 12 weeks ! Why does Dante rank fraud and treachery as worse sins than violence? What is the spiritual harm of lying? And how is lying profoundly anti-Christ? Deacon Garlick takes listeners on a deep but accessible journey through: The architecture and purpose of Dante’s Inferno The nature of truth and the teleology (purpose) of speech Why sins against the soul are worse than sins against the body The corruption of the intellect as the worst perversion of human nature The profound theology of Christ as the Logos — the divine ordering principle of all reality This episode will challenge you to take lying far more seriously and to see how every lie moves both ourselves and others farther away from Jesus Christ, who declares “I am the Truth.” Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Ascend The Great Books Podcast 04:13 Exploring Dante's Inferno: The Spiritual Harm of Lying 06:07 Understanding the Architecture of Hell 15:05 The Nature of Truth and Speech 20:26 The Consequences of Lying vs. Murder 24:24 The Nature of Lying and Its Consequences 30:52 Understanding Logos and Its Significance Key Topics Discussed Dante’s moral purpose in writing the Divine Comedy The structure of Hell: sins of incontinence vs. sins of malice Upper Hell vs. Lower Hell and the City of Dis Why flattery appears lower in Hell than murder St. Thomas Aquinas on truth: “the conformity of the mind to reality” The p…