IS THE TEACHINGS REAL ON PURGATORY?

Purgatory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Purgatory (disambiguation).
Purgatory commonly refers to a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church, which posits that those who die in a state of grace undergo a purification in order to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven.[1] This purification of the elect is entirely different from the punishment of the damned in hell.[2] The Catholic doctrine holds that the souls in purgatory undergo temporal punishment due to venial sins or as satisfaction due to their transgressions,[3] and that they can be aided by the prayer and sufferings of the faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass.[4] Hence central to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory is prayer for the dead.

In Roman Catholic teaching, every sin carries a punishment, and there are two punishments for sin: eternal punishment inflicted in Hell, and temporal punishment inflicted in this life or in purgatory if left uncompleted upon death. Forgiveness of sin, for example through the absolution granted by confession, remits the eternal punishment. Penance, such as almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and suffering remit temporal punishment. Thus temporal punishment is a satisfaction for sin.[27]

Catholics do not derive the concept of Purgatory from the Scriptures. Instead it comes from one of the Apocryphal books, 2 Maccabees. In 2 Maccabees 12:38-46, Judas Maccabee orders that sacrifices be offered in the Temple in Jerusalem for slain Jewish soldiers who had worn pagan amulets. Some people have seen this story as biblical justification for the teaching on purgatory, and it is the passage the Catholic Church uses to justify the doctrine and practice of praying for the dead.



The primary Scriptural passage Catholics typically point to for evidence of a purgatory is 1 Corinthians 3:15, which says, "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."? The passage (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) is using an illustration of things going through fire as a description of believers' works being judged. If our works are of good quality "gold, sliver, costly stones"? they will pass through the fire unharmed. If our works are of poor quality "wood, hay, and straw"? they will not pass through the fire and we will not be rewarded for them. The believer whose works are all burned up will still be saved, but all their works will be burned up and only the believer themselves will escape through the flames. This does not mean a believer literally GOES THROUGH THE FLAMES.. sTUDY IT YOURSELF AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

[MikMo]

If it's what they believe, more power to them.

[imported_ut1]

Where then does "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise"
come into play? Teachings on purgatory are contrary to any teachings of the KJV or NIV, as we are also reminded that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The rich man wasn't looking from purgatory to Heaven, he was looking from Hell into Heaven.

Revelation is pretty clear also on the judgment that both Christians and the lost shall face. The Great White Throne of judgment for the lost, and the Mercy Seat of Jesus Christ for believers.

[plantsman]

I don't see that purgatory has any basis in Scripture. It's basis is in Dante's Inferno. Catholicism has done much to thwart the growth of believers. Luther began the reformation, but there's much to be done to escape the erroneous catchings of Rome.

[RaiderWahoo0105]

What Protestants call the apocryphal books we have accepted as "Scripture".

[RaiderWahoo0105]

And no about the basis on Dante's inferno being Catholic's basis for purgatory.

It's well known by all that the Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio) are his own literary interpretation of what HE IMAGINED the three places could be like.

NEVER has the Church used this as fact.

Seriously I hate to say this to everyone but you are all very misinformed about Catholicism.

The same is going on now with Islam and how people just assume Islam is a religion of anger and hatred.

Protestant pastors, best friends who you go to Church with, etc... are NOT the best people to get your opinions about Catholicism from.

It's just like I can't say anything about Protestants because I haven't done my research in the way you worship, I wouldn't dare.

[plantsman]

Might want to read a little UNBIASED history, dude!

[RaiderWahoo0105]

the same goes for you

[plantsman]

Now, Doc, I've read and studied bunches on it...so much, in fact, it's persuaded me away from Catholicism. An open mind and open heart will do wonders for the soul!

[RaiderWahoo0105]

Haha thanks for the title, but no where close, I'm just an MS1, so I'll be the first to admit I'm the farthest thing from a Doc.

But, I'm glad for you that you've had the time and ability to study up on religion such that it's helped you find your own way to God that you feel whole heartedly devoted to.

My concern is that Protestants don't seem to respect the complexity of the way in which we choose to worship, and some Catholics reciprocate the same back at Protestants. What this does is it leads people (Christians) to pass judgment on others. You tell me to keep an open mind, yet you attack my beliefs keeping in mind a vast spread of literature which you chose. These unbiased sources you speak of I'm betting are from academic aetheists/non-Christians, Protestants, or disillusioned Catholics who from the very onset set out to put down our Faith. I find it hard to believe that any study on another religion can be unbiased when you try to break apart their Philosophy for academic study. If you did pick up say the Cathecism or any other books containing our Laws or traditions, keep in mind those books (including first and foremost the Bible) are only properly read knowing a lot of history, culture of the time period, and literary technique used by Jewish writers (the Bible is written like a Jewish text and its messages are not always transparent, at least so we believe). Protestants tend, if I'm not mistaken, to believe that the messages of the Bible can be understood with common sense - one of the keys of the Reformation. I'll say no more on this topic and you can have the last word.

I ask you to keep an open mind as to how possibly someone could follow the Catholic Faith.