Saturday, January 12, 2008

Which ring of hell is this?

I found this bit from Brandweek funny:

BLASPHEME MUCH? You just know this marketing scheme isn’t going to end well. Two Seattle twenty-somethings have begun selling “Reservations in Heaven.” Although the pair claim the idea is a gag gift, much like naming a star in the cosmos after someone, their Web site, Reserve a Spot in Heaven.com, is drawing some fire. There are two levels available: the “Essential Travel Kit” for $12.79, and the “All Access Travel Kit” for $15.95. But at least one visitor to the site seems a tad peeved. They wrote: “I wish you the worst and hope you suffer, because that monetary pool of happiness that you swim in on mother earth will soon be fire and hot lava in the dungeons of hell. May Christ purge the devil from within you. May the devil be gone!” Man, that seems a bit harsh.
What's funny about this is that I just finished a favorite novel from my youth called Inferno about a guy who dies and finds Dante wasn't writing fiction. In Dante's hell is a ring or ditch reserved for those who sell Christian favors and offices. In the 70s-era book, the ring is nearly empty of people since this sin isn't as common as it was back in Dante's time, but I guess the folks who launched this site could find themselves in one of the lonelier parts of hell in the future.

For the record, I think the concept and site is hilarious, but I understand why some people might find it offensive.

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