where does it say anything about purgatory in the bible?!?

Question

i have a few problems with the catholics right now on lots of things...like the whole Mary thing and confession to the priests...It's just not in the bible which they claim to be their belief as well as mine...i'm a bible believing christian...please help me understand some of these things. thanks.

hey luke: i'm not fighting. i'm asking a question. maybe i'm trying to help myself with a problem i'm having. don't answer a question with a comment. just answer my question.

so it sounds like purgatory is our life here on earth...makes sense. so we should be praying for everyone who on earth now...that their souls should be saved from hell?!

Answer 1

It's not in the bible. This is a man made ritual (religious) Religion is not biblical it is ritual from the past which is no more.

Answer 2

in the old testament there are references to "Abraham's bosom" and what the Jews of the time called "Sheol" translated as "the place of the dead" or simply "the grave".
you see, 2500 years ago the Jews did not believe in the kind of heaven and hell that Christians now believe in. they simply believed in a place of resting between here and the hereafter for all people, until the final judgment at the end of time. The belief in purgatory reflects the much older roots that the Catholic Church has compared to any of the protestant denominations. Its simply the evolution of this originally Jewish idea of Sheol.

i am not a catholic but i am married to one. And, for the record, Catholics don't pray to Mary so don't repeat that, you will make others who know better think that you are ignorant. Confession, as i understand it, isn't biblical even by Catholic standards....think of it as free counseling or therapy, after all, don't protestants also go to their pastor or preacher with problems, concerns, and for guidance? same difference.

Answer 3

Hi and good morning....I read your question and like you, I had questions that needed answering also, so I did some research myself and I will try to help you but I'm not promising it's what you want to hear. Now to the Catholic Church there are two sins. One is the Venial sin which is not as severe as the Mortal sin. A Venial sin according to the Catholic Church is a sin that can be forgiven by God but one doesn't need a priest to confess. For instance it's a sin that is unintentional. For example: If one gossips about an issue or someone but doesn't hurt that person as to slander. Slandering a persons name or their integrity would be classified as a 'mortal sin'. A Venial sin can be forgiven but it does hurt the relationship that you have with God. A 'Mortal Sin' is the most severe of all sins. Such as murder, adultery, slandering, or stealing and so forth, breaking Gods Commandments. One must confess to a priest to ask for Gods forgiveness. If not, the individual will be condemned and punished by God. Which to me is understandable.I'm not a Catholic but some of their ideals are realistic in my way of thinking. Now the 'Holy Mary' the 'Mother' of Our Lord Jesus Christ to me sits on a pedestal. In my opinion The Virgin Mary is an icon of faith. Not only was she the 'mother' of Our Lord but she was chosen by God Himself to bare His son. What a great honor! Can you imagine the horrorfying turmoil this woman went through? Especially in those times. It was a mortal sin to be pregnant and unmarried to their way of life back then. One could be stoned to death or even worse. Then having your son crucified on the cross because what He believed in. This woman should be honored. Now in my opinion the 'nuns' in the Catholic Church represents 'Mary due to their 'habits' and what society would call their uniform. Now the 'nuns' have come along way in their clothing than what they use to wear but if you think on what 'Mary' wore back in her day then to me, the 'nuns' apparell looked simular in comparison. Now as to the Bible and what was written. The disciples had written the Scriptures according to Gods words and by His son Jesus Christ and what they were taught through the teachings of Christ. Now I'm primarily speaking of the New Testament. The Old Testament is what occured before Christs birth and the creation of the Heaven and Earth and man. Now who actually placed all these books and Scriptures together into one book called the 'Holy Bible'. Believe it or not it was the Roman Catholic Scholars that decided on what to place in the Bible and what to delete. So my question is to these Scholars is...How can one decide what to add or delete from a book that was entitled for all to read about God and His creation and His son JC? To my understanding and what I have researched on and what I have viewed on documentaries about this issue is, that a lot of Scriptures had been deleted/omitted from the Bible because of there contents. That some things that had been written from certain disciples were unheard of according to the Catholic Church. Archeaologists have discovered Scriptures from Judas and from Mary that weren't even considered by the Catholic scholars to place in the Holy Bible. So I have to question this myself as a firm believer of Christ. Why? or Why not? They had even found Scriptures that Jesus had written and wasn't placed in the Bible...hmmm? So some things that the Roman Catholic Church believes in has some purpose and I believe in some aspects, however I do question on how they decided on what Scriptures to place in the Holy Book and what not to place in our Holy Book. Hope this has helped in some small way. have a Blessed day!

Answer 4

No problem (BTW, I'm former RC but still Christian). It so happens that everything you mentioned is biblically-based. This is not the same as saying it is biblically *mandated*. It just means that there *are* bible verses which support these specific beliefs. Throughout I will be using the New American Standard Bible because it is generally considered the most literal and, therefore, usually is well-accepted for any cross-sect discussions.

1) Purgatory - although one of the more "iffy" bible-based beliefs, there are several verses which *support* (not *confirm*) this teaching:

2 Maccabees 12:45 (from New Jerusalem Bible)
whereas if he had in view the splendid recompense reserved for those who make a pious end, the thought was holy and devout. Hence, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.

(Notice the previous verse is confirmation of the use of indulgences - though not as applied in Martin Luther's time.)

Mat 16:27
"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.

Rom 2:5-6
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds:

1Co 3:15
If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.

(RCC believes this verse implies purgatory - even the saved must suffer "as through fire")

2Co 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

As you can see, the bible claims that *all* will be paid for their deeds, and in some versions it says "pay for all of their deeds". Remember, there is no sin in paradise, so *somehow* our sin must be removed from us before we arrive. We cannot be the same in paradise as we are now.

2) Mary - the major reverence to Mary comes straight from the bible itself.

Luk 1:26-45, including these portions of verses (which should sound familiar to you)
28 - Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.(spoken by Gabriel the angel)
42 - Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! (spoken by the Holy Spirit through Elizabeth)

This is pretty high praise, coming from an angel and the Holy Spirit. I know this is hardly a complete explanation, but remember also that she is the mother of Jesus. You can see why she gets top honors over any other woman. Personally, I believe that many RCs idolize Mary (in the literal sense), as well as other saints. Unfortunately, although the RC teaches that this is not appropriate, they do not teach it often enough to keep such practices from continuing.

3) Confession to priests - this one is easy.
Joh 20:22-23
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

These are the words Jesus gave the apostles when he baptized them with the Holy Spirit. According to the RCC, "apostolic succession" has given this authority to present-day priests as well. In addition

Jam 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Thus, 1) Jesus gave authority to the apostles to forgive sins 2) this authority has been passed on to priests by an unbroken line of laying-on-of-hands to instill the Holy Spirit 3) we are all commanded to confess our faults (or sins) to other Christians. The RCC figures the best thing is to confess them to someone with the authority to forgive them (priests), and also priests have the "vow of the confessional". This means that they are not allowed to speak of your confession to anyone, so that you may feel secure in confessing to a priest. I find this to be one of the more sensible (bible-founded) teachings of the RCC, even if you *don't* believe that priests have the authority to forgive sins.

I hope this helps.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 5

I know there are trials in life so to me that would be purgatory but there is indeed a hell where the fire is never quenched.

Answer 6

It doesn't. They get that doctrine from the Apocryphal book 2 or 3 Ecclesiastes. the funny thing is, that the author himself wishes that his book was inspired by God. So they take a doctrine from an uninspired book. Go figure.

Answer 7

I am a Christian but Orthodox.
I really believe the catholic church is using the religion or the bible to control people's lives.
My partner is catholic and we decided to get married in a catholic church.
But....the priest won't marry us if we don't go to the church every week.
What is that??????

Answer 8

u can search the bible as much as u like and u won't find it cuz it isn't there. only catholics and other pagan beliefs think it exists.

Answer 9

Catholics do not believe in Sola Scripture, so these beliefs come from man's traditions. You will find nothing that legitimately supports these practices in scripture.

Answer 10

"Reformers" decided to ignore the canon determined by the Christian Councils .


Luther removed those books from the canon.

Prayers for the dead (Tobit 12:12; 2 Maccabees 12:39-45)

Intercession of dead saints (2 Maccabees 15:14)

Intercession of angels as intermediaries (Tobit 12:12-15)


Purgatory (Wisdom 3:1-7)


James 5:16 tells us that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" -- and who is more righteous than Mary, the woman chosen by God to bring forth His very Son?

They object and say, 'Our Lord is enough for me. I have no need of her.'
But He needed her, whether we do or not. God, Who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. The Blessed Mother reflects her Divine Son; without Him, she is nothing. With Him, she is the Mother of Men."


She is more that some really cool, spiritual woman who acted as a surrogate mother for the Holy Spirit; she gave to Jesus His humanity in the same way that all mothers give to their children their humanity. He took from her His very Flesh and Blood! It was through her that our Lord "was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3)

God allowed Mary to act as the New Eve, playing a role in man's redemption as the First Eve played a role in Man's fall. He "needed" Mary in order for there to be a New Eve and in order to fulfill the words of the Prophets.

It was through Mary's obedience to God and by the blood of her Son that she was redeemed.

There is no one in all of History whose relationship with God is as complex, fulfilled, and achingly beautiful as Mary's. She is not only the greatest of Saints, she is our Mother, as Jesus is our Brother and Savior. In honoring her, we honor Him -- and imitate Him, as we are admonished to both honor our parents and imitate Christ, Who loved His Mother. Our relationship with Mary is that of a child to a blessed Mother who was given to us as Jesus gave her to John at the Cross.

Catholics take great care in pointing out that "worship" in the sense of latria 3 is GOD'S alone -- even to the point of having separate terms for the honor and adoration due to God as opposed to the honor and veneration of the Saints -- including His greatest Saint, Mary.


Love, is infinite! We can love and adore Jesus, love and venerate Mary, love the other Saints, and love each other without depriving anyone (or Anyone) of anything. How many children can you have without running out of love? How many friends? What we "spend" in love is replaced many times over; love for Christ can only bring the fruits of more love to give.

To love Mary takes nothing at all from Christ, but honors our Blessed Lord by Whose grace she is who she is: His greatest creation, the greatest of Saints, the Queen of Heaven, the Immaculate Conception, the spotless Virgin, the Ark of the Covenant, the New Eve, the mother of God, and the mother of Israel .


Her soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46-55)!



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