Religion-Purgatory

Outline

This study purely deals with the concept of Purgatory. In this study I will discuss history and some major facts related to it. At the beginning of the Reformation there was some hesitation, especially on the part of Martin Luther, as to whether the doctrine of Purgatory should be retained. As the breach widened, the denial by the reformers became universal. Modern Protestants, though avoiding the name 'Purgatory', frequently teach the doctrine of the intermediate state, or what is described as the realm of progressive development in which souls are prepared for the final judgment. Though the Catholic Church, in ancient and modern times, has insisted on the reality and reliability of Purgatory, many a Christian has argued that the teaching is unbiblical, and therefore unacceptable.

This study shall therefore attempt nothing new. It is intended to be a reminder to what has already being laid down by the Church, especially under the following major heads:

The Catholic Church and the Teaching on Purgatory

Scriptural Evidence in Favour of Purgatory

The Evidence of Sacred Tradition

The Nature and Duration of Purgatory

The Joys of Purgatory

Summary and Conclusion

The Catholic Church and the Teaching on Purgatory

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Purgatory, derived from the Latin “Purgatore”, is defined as the “final purification of the elect, which is different from the punishment of the damned”. This was formulated at the Councils of Florence (1439) and Trent (1563), with reference to certain scriptural texts, speaking of a cleansing fire (1Cor. 3:15; 1Pt.1: 7). It is the purification, which occurs at the end of life. Because we still sin in this life, but will not be sinning when we are in glory, between death and glorification must come purification. Purgatory is therefore the final rush of our sanctification. It is our transition into glory.

That temporal punishment is due to sin, even after God has pardoned the sin itself, is a clear teaching of Scripture (Calvin, 676). For instance, God indeed brought man out of his first disobedience and gave him power over all things, but still condemned him “to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow, until he returned to dust.” God forgave the incredulity of Moses and Aaron, but in punishment kept them from the “land of promise” (Num.20: 12). The Lord took away the sin of David, but the life of the child was forfeited because David made the enemies blaspheme God's holy name. God requires satisfaction, and will punish sin, and this doctrine involves as its necessary consequence a belief that the sinner failing to do penance in this life may be punished in another world, and so not be cast off from God. (Tanner, 85)

The Church also teaches that all sins are not equal before God, and that whosoever comes into God's presence must be perfectly pure, for in the strictest sense, God's “eyes are too pure to behold evil” (Hab. 1:13). So deep is this belief that right from the early times, the Jews and even the pagans, long before the ...