About this episode

Deacon Harrison Garlick explores the spiritual implications of lying as depicted in Dante’s Inferno.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Deacon Harrison Garlick

Topics covered

• spiritual harm of lying
• Dante's Inferno
• truth and speech
• fraud and treachery
• theology of Christ
• consequences of lying

Keywords

• lying
• Dante
• Inferno
• truth
• spiritual harm
• fraud
• theology
• Logos

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Dante’s Inferno, Odyssey

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• Purgatorio: Beatrice (Cantos 32-33) with Joshua Charles and Dr. Frank Grabowski · March 31, 2026 · 1h 30m
• Purgatorio: The Earthly Paradise (Cantos 28-31) with Dr. Michael West · March 24, 2026 · 1h 38m
• Purgatorio: Gluttony and Lust (Cantos 23-27) with Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP · March 17, 2026 · 1h 36m
• Purgatorio: Acedia and Avarice (Cantos 18-22) with Dr. Sarah Berry · March 10, 2026 · 1h 56m

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