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Hi Benny,
Here is my
web page of Catholic Scripture verses that defend
Catholic doctrines.
Below are some verses that support Purgatory.
You said:
My Protestant friends and some
Catholic friends and relatives do not believe in
Purgatory.
My humorous reply: They will when they get there
: )
Here is a posting
on Limbo that may help clarify the issue. I have
appended what is on my Catholic Scripture web page
for Purgatory below.
Hope this helps,
Mike
The Afterlife:
Purgatory
Catholic Note:
Purgatory refers to a temporary state of purification
for those who have died in the state of grace but
still need to get rid of any lingering imperfections
(venial sins, earthly attachments, self-will, etc.)
before entering the perfection of heaven. It's similar
to a spiritual hospital where all men get healed
of their sinful wounds.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Purgatory has NOTHING to
do with ones justification or salvation. Those in
purgatory are justified; they are saved. Think of
Purgatory like THE Spiritual Hospital of Heaven.
Purgatory has to do with ones personal HOLINESS
and the burning away of remaining self-love. Revelation
21:27— Nothing
unclean will be allowed to enter into heaven.
It's true that the word "purgatory" doesn't
appear in the Bible (but neither do the words "Trinity", "Incarnation" or
even "Bible"). However, what's important
is not the word, but the doctrine and the doctrine
of the final purification of the elect, apart from
heaven or hell, is clearly taught in both the Old
Testament and the New Testament."
Old Testament passages:
2 Samuel 12:13-14 - David, though forgiven,
is still punished for sin
2 Maccabees 12:39-46 - Next day, they came
to find Judas (since the necessity was by now urgent)
to have the bodies of the fallen taken up and laid
to rest among their relatives in their ancestral
tombs. But when they found on each of the dead men,
under their tunics, objects dedicated to the idols
of Jamnia, which the Law prohibits to Jews, it became
clear to everyone that this was why these men had
lost their lives. All then blessed the ways of the
Lord, the upright judge who brings hidden things
to light, and gave themselves to prayer, begging
that the sin committed might be completely forgiven.
Next, the valiant Judas urged the soldiers to keep
themselves free from all sin, having seen with their
own eyes the effects of the sin of those who had
fallen; after this he took a collection from them
individually, amounting to nearly two thousand drachmas,
and sent it to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice for
sin offered, an action altogether fine and noble,
prompted by his belief in the resurrection. For
had he not expected the fallen to rise again, it
would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for
the dead, 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.
Side note: Though the book of Maccabees was
rejected by the Protestant reformers and therefore
is NOT in Protestant Bibles, one can not ignore
the historical reality of this event and the
reality of the words which were said.
New Testament passages:
- Matthew 5:25-26 - "you will be thrown into
prison and not be released until you have paid
the last penny."
- Matthew 5:48 - be perfect as your heavenly Father
is perfect (perfection is to be strived for on
earth)
- Matthew 12:32 - sin against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven, in this age, or the next
- Matthew 12:36 - you will have to account for
every idle word on judgment day
- 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 - "if someone's work
is burned ... the person will be saved, but only
as through fire"
- 1 Corinthians 15:29-30 - Paul mentions people
baptizing for the dead
- 2 Timothy 1:16-18 - St. Paul prays - asks that
God have mercy on his dead friend, Onesiphorus.
- Hebrews 12:14 - strive for that holiness without
which one cannot see God
- Hebrews 12:29 - For our God is a consuming fire
- James 1:14-15 - when sin reaches maturity it
reaches death
- James 3:2 - we all fall short in many respects
- 1 Peter 3:18-20 to 4:6 - Jesus preached to the
spirits in prison.
- 1 John 5:16-17 - Distinction made between deadly
sins and one that are not deadly.
- Revelation 21:27 - Nothing unclean will be allowed
to enter into heaven.
- See also: - Leviticus 26:41, 43; Isaiah 4:4,
Isaiah 6:5-7, Isaiah 33:11-14, Micah 7 8-9:, Zechariah
9:11, Malachi 3:2-4, Matthew 18:34ff, Luke 12:58ff,
Luke 16:19-31, 2 Corinthians 5:10, 2 Corinthians
7:1, Ephesians 4:8-10, Philippians 2:10-11, 1 Peter
4:6, Revelation 5:3, 13
On discussion topics like Purgatory and Limbo
it also common for the subject of indulgences to
come up. For that reason I've included a Catholic
Answers Primer below.
The scandal of selling indulgences is thought to
be the precipitating cause of the Protestant Revolt.
The Catholic Church forbade the sale of indulgences
at the Council of Trent (abuses of the practice were
previously condemned in Council in 1215, 1245, 1274
and 1312). But Martin Luther went beyond a critique
of the abuse of indulgences, and declared the entire
practice null and void and contrary to the Bible.
This is not correct:
Many saints suffer more than enough to satisfy God's
justice. Jesus Christ (and Mary in Catholic theology)
didn't have any sin and yet suffered greatly. The
Catholic Church gives credit for this suffering to
persons who have repented. Thus it "indulges" these
persons, not in their sin, but in taking away punishment
for the sins. This act is called an indulgence. The
Catholic Church will not do away with this beautiful
concept and practice (rightly understood) because
of the occasional criminal misuse of it in the past.
The doctrine of indulgences is closely connected
with the Communion of Saints. The transfer of merit
through an indulgence is a profound act of "community" and
a taking seriously of the communal and unified nature
of the Mystical Body of Christ.
In a papal decree given in 1968 by Pope Paul VI,
it was made abundantly clear that the pious disposition
of the seeker of an indulgence was of paramount importance.
In other words, an indulgence was not a piece of
magic which existed apart from the spiritual state
of its user. It is inconsistent for Protestants to
find fault with the Catholic Church for mitigating
the austerities of penance in granting an indulgence
since their own fundamental principle is the notion
of faith alone without good works (as pertaining
to the nature of salvation). Thus, indulgences are
merely a limited application of a concept which Protestantism
raises to universality.
All the main ideas upon which an indulgence is based
are found in the Bible: the Church's power to bind
and loose, vicarious atonement among members of the
Church, and penance. Although the doctrine has developed,
like all others, it is not unbiblical in the least.
In fact,
St. Paul himself issued an indulgence by
lessening the temporal penance for sin of a straying
brother (2 Corinthians 2:6-11), which
he had previously imposed on him (1 Corinthians
5:3-5).
The Catholic Church adds no more in essence to the
practices and theological presuppositions of these
two passages.
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