Sunday morning ping
“... the nature of Purgatory is an admitted area of unsettled knowledge in the Catholic Church ..”
The Greek Orthodox church doesn’t have that doctrine (neither do protestants); so it’s indeed something that is ‘unsettled’ and may be dropped one day by the Roman Catholic Church.
Either the Blood of Christ cleanses us from our sin or it doesn't...
It's really that simple...
Believing in or not the idea of Purgatory has no relationship to one's ultimate salvation...
But it does put a huge burden on the "believers" to "work" for their place in heaven which is a free gift...
“... Scripture does not speak of Purgatory...”
For my fellow Catholics - this statement is false so don’t pay any attention to the article. (Matthew 7:15)
Scripture proof texts for purgatory: (for Catholics)
2 Maccabees 12:39-42; 44-45
This is not found in Luther’s bible since he used the Palestinian canon used by the apostate Jews who never became Christian after the destruction of Jerusalem (post temple Jerusalem = whore of Babylon because those Jews had destroyed Jesus). The Alexandrian canon used by Jesus (and Catholics) contains Maccabees.
Also 1 Peter 3:19, 20 This prison is where Christ went after his death to preach to the spirits who were not yet in heaven, but not damned either (the Patriarchs). St. Augustine’s 99th epistle corroborates this (correct) interpretation, as proof that the Church has always recognized the third place, not heaven, not hell; it is not new or unsettled.
There are others, but this enough for my fellow Catholics to remain steadfast in the midst of the untruths bandied about in this post.
1 Peter 3
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
The below verses might tell us what Jesus was doing in purgatory
Hosea 6
3 He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Romans 8
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
No, it cannot be shown from Scripture.
Jesus makes absolutely no mention of anything like purgatory in any of His teachings.
Since per Hebrews 10:10 a "purgatory" is not necessary, that's not exactly surprising news.
So purgatory is now up to the individual private interpretation of just anyone, eh?
Fancy that.
And then they tell us we’re wrong about whatever we say about purgatory and they can’t even decide what’s CORRECT about its teachings.
Ahem, may I suggest that they (the Church) merely borrowed the idea whole-cloth from Jewish tradition? (ahem, ahem??) In Judaism there is only purgatory of the soul, no permanent “hell.”