I'm just curious because i went to a catholic church the other day and they prayed for like 20 dead people. Is it because of purgatory? Are they stuck there? if not because of purgatory, then why?
2007-03-03 06:11:55 · 12 answers · asked by bob888 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
haha wow there's some hate toward Catholics by protestant believers. I especially like the one that called Catholicism a cult even though there are more Catholics than Protestants.
I personally feel that the dead should be praying for us instead of us for them. But that's just me.
PS i was raised as a catholic.
2007-03-03 07:43:13 · update #1
People pray for the dead because it gives them some false hope of being able to control death. It offers security from the unknown.
I think that when we die, we die and we don't have any control over it...we just wish we did and are totally afraid of not having power over death (or knowing someone who does...like our invisable friend.)
Pray as much as you like, you can't raise people who are truly dead from the grave. Pray as much as you like and not matter how much faith you have, you can't make even one little finger grow back if it is cut off. Human body parts don't grow back...faith or no faith. Illusions sometimes happen and it can look as if people are floating in the air but it is an illusion and there is a scientific explanation on how the hand is quicker than the eye. Magic that operates against the laws of nature does not exist. Tricks exist but miracles and magic don't.
People pray for the dead to help their own feelings of insecurity about dying.
2007-03-03 06:20:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Protestants, and especially Evangelicals, consider that praying for the dead is not a Christian practice, but has more to do with paganism.
The Roman Catholic church, believing in purgatory (a temporary place for the purging of sins after death), believes that those souls in purgatory need to be prayed for.
The Bible does not talk about purgatory, and teaches that our sins were all purged by Jesus at the cross.
2007-03-03 06:25:48 · answer #2 · answered by Mr Ed 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do not pray for the deceased as a Christian. Once it's over, it's over, meaning when your spirit leaves your body and goes into eternity that's it. I believe what you are talking about is specific to the Catholic religion. Catholics are Christians as well but not all Christians believe in purgatory and pray for the dead.
2007-03-03 06:18:43 · answer #3 · answered by mrsfloridalady 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They are recently dead people and patrons of the church buy "mass cards". They actually pay to have the Priest pray for them and it's involved into the service.
2007-03-03 06:19:48 · answer #4 · answered by amylr620 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. Happy Sabbath. Plz know that many Christians do not pray for or 2 the dead. Take care. (I know I didn't answer ur question.)
2007-03-03 09:27:26 · answer #5 · answered by karaokecatlady 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Personally, I think they pray for themselves more then the dead.
Thinking about their own time. Course the dead don't care one way or the other.
2007-03-03 06:25:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You pray for your friends who are alive in the flesh, don't you? It's a thing we do because we love them and are thinking of them. If the are no longer here in body, we still love them none the less. We ask our friends to pray for us, too. Again, makes no difference if they're here in body or not. Our deceased friends are not cut off from us. We are still all together in Christ. We still pray for them, and ask them to pray for us. We are saved in community, as members of one body, not as disconnected individual cells. It's a friendly feeling, to remember that there is a whole invisible community of friends, centuries of them, all in connection with us. (The official name for this is "the communion of saints". In this case, "communion" has nothing to do with the eucharist; -- it means "community". And "saints" doesn't mean just people who are known to be saints; -- it means all those who are in the body of Christ, whether known or unknown. )
2007-03-03 06:25:55 · answer #7 · answered by Maria E. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is no purpose in praying for those mortals who have ended their mortal time... once we all cross that line it is already decided what our fate is... no prayer of any mortal is going to change it..... there aint no such place as purgatory.... and those of The Roman cult are not of The True Christian Faith any way.
2007-03-03 06:25:12 · answer #8 · answered by idahomike2 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Praying for the dead, is to give comfort for the living. It makes them feel less helpless.
Unable to do anything else but pray, they don't know what else to do
2007-03-03 06:18:31 · answer #9 · answered by steven m 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
ONLY CATHOLICS DO THAT.
not christians.
bible tells us nt to pray for the dead cos they are either in heaven or hell. no point praying for them becos its eternal
2007-03-03 06:16:25 · answer #10 · answered by sylll 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋