Question about Purgatory?

Question

i never beleived in this but in looking at the catholic explanattion it is so rooted in the bible it is scary.

Its like you die and go to heaven because of christs death but just like you are made perfect to be with christ that happens between, its just the process.

So I think the only difference between catholics and proestants is that catholics think it could be a longer time frame.

an ideas

Answer 1

Purgatory is never mentioned in the Bible once... Heaven and Hell are mentioned many times. What does that tell you?

Answer 2

Purgatory is not Hell minus a few torments and degrees Fahrenheit; it's not Heaven minus joy. It's not a "Third Final Destination" of souls. Purgatory is simply the place where already saved souls are cleansed of the temporal effects of sin before they are allowed to see the holy face of Almighty God. Revelation 21:27 tells us that "...nothing unclean will enter ".


Daniel 12:2, Matthew 12:32, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, 2 Timothy 1:16-18, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:22-23, 1 Peter 4:6 and Revelation 21:10, 27 all speak of Purgatory in their telling of the need for purification, prayers for the dead, Christ's preaching to the dead, or how nothing unclean will see God.


Even the The Talmud speaks of Purgatory:

Sabbath 33b:
"The judgment of the wicked in purgatory is twelve months."
Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a:
"It has been taught that the school of Shammai says: "There will be three groups on Judgment Day (yom haDin):
(1) one that is completely righteous,
(2) one that is completely wicked,
(3) and one that is in between."


And may I also add:


The idea that all revealed truth is to be found in "66 books" is not only not in Scripture, it is contradicted by Scripture (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:16). It is a concept unheard of in the Old Testament, where the authority of those who sat on the Chair of Moses (Matthew 23:2-3) existed. In addition to this, for 400 years, there was no defined canon of "Sacred Scripture" aside from the Old Testament; there was no "New Testament"; there was only Tradition and non-canonical books and letters.

Answer 3

Imacatholic wrote:
The Catholic Church does not only use Holy Scripture for the basis of doctrine. The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics).

Catholics also believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like
- The Holy Trinity (which is also only hinted at in the Bible)
- Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the ten commandments)

This is the main reason why many other Christians and I have a problem with the Roman Catholic Church...according to the Bible, we are only to use the Bible for doctrine etc.
"The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics)." The Catholic Church was started over 300 years after the Apostolic Age of Christianity, after the final Apostle passed away from old age--the Apostle John. No Catholic existed before the marriage of Roman Paganism to their newest adopted religion--the perverted Way of Christ which claims to be Christianity.

"Catholics also believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like...
- Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the ten commandments)"
Since God is a triune Deity, why would the Holy Spirit go against the Godhead? Don't the scriptures teach that God does not change? Why would God end His Creation with the first Holiday (HOLY DAY), the Sabbath and reinforce it with His Chosen people...then do away with it when He invited the Gentiles to join through the adoption process that Paul taught about in Romans 11:16-24...grafted into the family of spiritual Israel.
The early Christians were Jews who had accepted their Messiah, and the Gentiles who received this Grace were adopted as His children as well. The Catholic Church, in the early days, did not practice the Love of Jesus to the extent of Mother Theresa. There is a bad history there...they killed heretics...and anyone who they called a heretic. Did Jesus teach us to kill heretics? I remember reading that He forgave the Sinner and invited the perfected ones to be the first to throw stones at the whore who later was one of Jesus most fervent disciples--Mary Magdalene.
A heretic would be killed for keeping the Sabbath holy as the Law of God Commands us to Remember it.... In John 16:2-3, Jesus warns that people will persecute and kill those who follow His Way in the name of God, but they really don't know anything about God.

Purgatory is a myth, just as the Hell of unquenchable torture for sinners who won't repent. The destruction of the 'damned' has not happened yet, but when it does, I am hoping to be one of the few who was on the right path...the one which leads to the narrow gate where few there be who find it.

I know that in heaven, it is written that we will have fruit from the trees to eat--if we're only spirits or whisps, why would the Bible describe a paradise with food to eat?

Answer 4

purgatory is also based on the scripture that tells us nothing unclean shall enter the kingdom. for more on purgatory read a catechism and try www.scripturecatholic.com

i think if purgatory was not a catholic doctrine more protestants would embrace the concept more, protestants are usually weary about catholic teachings due to the widespread anti catholic propaganda and bias in society and the media. believing in purgatory i assume also goes against the protestant theory of once saved always saved and therefore isn't acceptable, purgatory includes also prayer for the "dead" which protestants can't comprehend or approve of. check out the website it will define purgatory more articulately than i could. hope this helps and god bless.

Answer 5

Here is what the Bible says about Purgatory (and yes, there IS Biblical references and NO it wasn't done away with):

Lk 12:58-59; 1 Cor 3:15; Mt 5:25-26 ... temporary agony.
Heb 12:6-11 ... God’s painful discipline.
Mt 12:32 ... no forgiveness ... nor in the age to come.
1 Pet 3:18-20 ... might be purgatory (limbo?).
1 Pet 4:6 ... preached to the dead.
Rev 21:27 ... nothing unclean shall enter heaven.
Heb 12:23 ... souls in heaven are perfect.
Col 1:24; 2 Sam 12:13-14 ... “extra” suffering.
2 Mac 12:43-46 ... sacrifice for the dead.
2 Tim 1:15-18 ... prayer for Onesiphorus for “that Day.”
1 Jn 5:14-17 ... mortal/venial sins

Now, we Catholics say prayers for the dead - if a soul is in Heaven, they aren't in need of our prayers, and if they are in Hell, prayers will be of no benefit for them, therefore there must be a purgatory.

It isn't that it takes longer, exactly, but we believe that one must pay for the venial sins before we are to enter that which is most pure, namely Heaven.

Answer 6

Does common sense demand a purgatory? Does the purgatory teaching make sense? Let us see. In the first place note that, according to Catholic teaching, it is not the human body, but an intangible, nonmaterial entity known as the “soul” that goes to purgatory to experience its “sense pains”. But how can that which is not temporal, since the soul at death is supposedly divested of all its temporal properties, suffer temporal punishment? Does common sense demand that?

And does common sense demand that we suffer, who knows how long, more severely than it is possible for man to suffer in his human organism, for sins that are recognized as only “venial sins”? Think of all the possible kinds of suffering, being burnt at the stake, slow death by cancer, the kinds inflicted on heretics during the reign of the inquisition, and know that the least suffering in purgatory is still worse than that. Does that make sense?

And does common sense demand that the length of stay in purgatory largely depend upon the prayers, or suffrages, of the loved ones they left behind? If one has non-Catholic friends and relatives who do not believe in purgatory and therefore do not pray for him nor have masses said on his behalf, he of course will get no assistance from them, and so must he stay in purgatory until he has paid the last penny, as it were?—Matt. 5:26,

Answer 7

I really don't like/believe the idea of purgatory, or hell for that matter. There is so much suffering in the world today and people go through so many hardships in their life it is almost like we are already in some sort of purgatory state.

Those who need to learn and have done bad deeds are reborn into this world to learn the lesson of life, whereas the rest of us go on to a better place with our deity (I call it summerland, call it whatever you like), and there we can stay or have the choice to be reborn.

Answer 8

because there are different and often conflicting interpretations of Scripture, if often does no good to provide a scriptural basis for Purgatory.

Let's look at it logically. Someone could have committed the crime of robbery, which obviously violates one of the Ten Commandments. It is a sin. The victim of the robbery could forgive the robber, and the robber could ask God forgiveness in Jesus' name. Nevertheless, the robber could still be arrested, imprisoned and ordered to pay restitution.

In other words, we can be forgiven of our sins, but there are still consequences to our souls of which we are not even aware.

Answer 9

Actually, Purgatory is an act of God’s great mercy.

Nothing sinful can enter heaven, yet people die everyday in a state of sin (sudden heart attack, car wreck, slip and fall, etc.). If there was no purgatory, then that leaves on two places – heaven or hell.

You see, if you make purgatory, then you salvation is guaranteed. It’s not like you’re still being tested and under threat of hell, not even. If you make purgatory, it means you’re on your way to heaven but you have to be cleaned first. It means that once you’re purified, you enter the glory and reward of eternity with God. Do you see the blessing? Isn’t God great?!

Answer 10

Paul said that for a Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When Christ died and was resurrected, His sacrifice was enough to pay for our sins.
He took our sins (to die for them) and He gave us His righteousness. Its the great exchange.
We still have our sinful nature, but we also have a new nature and that is the struggle we face on earth. When a Christian dies, he will go straight to heaven because he has put his faith in Christ's sacrifice ALONE to take away his sins. When he stands before God, only Christ's righteousness will be seen.
Christ's sacrifice is full payment. The Bible does not teach Purgatory to be made perfect.

Answer 11

I'm not Catholic, so keep that in mind; but I was raised Lutheran, and went to pariochial Lutheran schools all my life. Please also realize that Martin Luther (The founder of the Lutheran church) started as a Catholic Priest.
Martin diligently studied the scriptures and found no basis in scripture for a NUMBER of Catholic church teachings, so he made out a list of things UNBIBLICAL about the Catholic church and nailed his list to the church door. This caused enough of a stir that Martin Luther was excommunicated. His response was to marry a NUN and start his own church; which was the first Protestant church. This was a MAJOR EVENT in the Reformation.
Martin Luther was a very socially popular man, because he preached the Bible and told common folk that they DIDN'T NEED to pay "penance" for their sins. Of course this was popular among folk who didn't have a lot of money. (Most people). His list of UNBIBLICAL CATHOLIC teachings became known as Luther's 95 theses, and, of course, as a Lutheran, I was taught that list in High School.
PURGATORY is UNBIBLICAL. It is based on the word Sheol in Hebrew in the Old Testament, which simply means "place of the dead". When Jesus died on the cross, he took the keys to Hell away from Satan, and emptied Sheol:
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
When Jesus rose from the dead, this was a VERY POWERFUL EVENT SPIRITUALLY. He set the captives in Sheol free, and there were others also who were raised from the dead besides Jesus:
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

The Catholic Church is a Christian Church, but unfortunately, there remains to this day false church teachings and false doctrines. Please note above that Imacatholic2 states that the Catholic church does not use Holy Scripture as the basis for doctrine. This is the problem with the Catholic Church, and God has promised to deal with it:
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Salvation is IMMEDIATE upon Death. Is not Apostle Paul quoted above stating that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?"

If you are spiritually searching and wanting to grow in your relationship with God, I would strongly encourage you to buy a version of the Bible you are comfortable with reading, and read the Bible. The Gospel of John is a good start. Don't read "Doctrine" from Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutherans, Baptists, Unitarians, Presbyterian, Methodists, ANYBODY. God's Word is Supreme Teaching, and God's Word is THE BIBLE.

In His Service,
John the Baptist