Purgatory: An unscriptural belief

THE DOGMA OF purgatory is distinctly a Catholic doctrine. Though it had received severe denouncements from the past, Catholic authorities as of late, have yet to waver in their insistence that such an intermediary state between heaven and hell exists. There are good reasons to question the authenticity of such a religious doctrine held by a church that claims universality and divine authority.

SCANTLY DEFINED

The word “purgatory” is derived from the Latin word “purgare” (“to make clean,” “to purify”), and is taken to mean as:

“… the state, place, or condition in the next world, which will continue until the last judgment, where the souls of those who die in the state of grace, but not yet free from all imperfection, make expiation for unforgiven venial sins or for the temporal punishment due to venial and mortal sins that have already been forgiven and, by so doing, are purified before they enter heaven.”

(Reference : New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 11, p. 1034, Emphasis Mine)

Catholic doctrine states that when a person dies, his soul is immediately brought to God’s judgment. One who dies holy goes to heaven; if he dies in mortal sin, he is sent at once to hell; and if he dies in the state of grace but has not fully atoned for his venial sins, he is sent to purgatory:

What are the rewards or punishments appointed for men after the particular judgment? ― The rewards or punishments appointed for men after the particular judgment are heaven, purgatory, or hell.

1. He who dies in his baptismal innocence, or after having fully satisfied for all the sins he committed, will be sent at once to heaven.

2. He who dies in the state of grace, but is in venial sin, or has not fully atoned for the temporal punishment due his forgiven sins, will be sent for a time to purgatory The souls in purgatory are saints, because they are sure of going to heaven. In purgatory they cannot commit any more sin, not even the slightest. They only long for God.

3. He who dies in mortal sin, even if only with one single mortal sin, will be sent at once to hell.

(Reference : My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion by Most Reverend Louis Laravoire Morrow, S.T.D. Bishop Pub. 1958, p.165, Emphasis Mine)

Consequently, as such a realm is believed to exist, Catholics are taught that prayers, good works, indulgences, and the Mass done by them on earth can help the souls in purgatory to be freed and admitted to heaven:

“Mr. Jackson. That’s so, Father. But you spoke of a common custom of praying for the dead. Do you mean that we can assist those in Purgatory by prayer?

“Father Smith. Yes; by prayers, good works, indulgences and especially by the Church’s divinely instituted sacrifice, called the Mass…”

(Reference : Father Smith Instructs Jackson by Archbishop John Francis Noll, D.D., LL.D., p. 107, Emphasis Mine)

More or less, such explanations state the basic parameters of the belief in purgatory. Simple as they may seem, nevertheless, these doctrinal definitions are quite limited. As to why purgatory came to be part of the Catholic faith, Church authorities point to the pronouncements made by the Councils on the purported existence of purgatory and the importance of the practices ostensibly involved, but also go on to admit that:

“I. Catholic Doctrine. — Purgatory…

Further than this the definitions of the Church do not go, but the tradition of the Fathers and the Schoolmen must be consulted to explain the teachings of the councils, and to make clear the belief and the practices of the faithful.”

(Reference : The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, Pub. 1913., p. 575, Emphasis Mine)

The last part of the statement, “to make clear the belief,” is a clear admission of doctrinal uncertainty. For, if such a realm as purgatory were clearly a scriptural doctrine, then why the need for the speculative explanations of the scholars and the clergy? Thus, it is no wonder that instead of providing sufficient answers, such premise has even raised a lot of questions. French Jesuit F. X. Shouppe confesses:

“On this subject the Church proposes two truths clearly defined as dogmas of faith: first, that there is a Purgatory; second, that the souls which are in Purgatory may be assisted by the suffrages of the faithful, especially by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

“Besides these two dogmatic points, there are several doctrinal questions which the Church has not decided, and which are more or less clearly solved by the Doctors. These questions relate (1) to the location of Purgatory; (2) to the nature of the sufferings; (3) to the number and condition of the souls which are in Purgatory; (4) to the certainty they have of their beatitude; (5) to the duration of their sufferings; (6) to the intervention of the living in their behalf, and the application of the suffrages of the Church.”

(Reference : Purgatory: Illustrated by The Lives and Legends of The Saints By Rev. F. X. Schouppe S.J., Nihil Obstat: H. M. Bayley Censor deputatus; Imprimatur: Herbertus Card. Vaughan, Pub. 1973, p. 5, Emphasis Mine)

SEVERELY EMBATTLED

Indeed, Catholicism has been criticized particularly for its stand on purgatory. History attests that the rampant abuse in the selling and buying of indulgences impelled the posting of the famous ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in 1517. By such initiative, Martin Luther was said to have:

“set in motion the forces that were to break up the universal [Catholic] church into warring sects.”

(Reference : A Survey of European Civilization By Wallace K Ferguson & Geofrey Bruun, Pub. 1947, p. 401, Emphasis Mine)

Thus triggering the dawn of the Protestant revolution.

Since then, purgatory has always been in the target list of Catholic detractors who have taken it upon themselves to assail its unbiblical doctrines. In his book I Was A Priest, former priest Lucien Vinet discloses:

“Purgatory, like Mass, has no foundation in Holy Scripture. Christ and the first Christians never talked about it and never knew of its supposed existence.”

(Reference : I Was A Priest By Lucien Vinet Pub. 1949., p. 41)

Even practicing priests confirm the lack of scriptural proof to support the belief. In Purgatory: Doctrine of Comfort and Hope, author Joseph Kenney admits that:

“Nowhere in the Scripture does the word, “Purgatory”, occur.”

(Reference : Purgatory: Doctrine of Comfort and Hope by Joseph A. Kenney, C.SS.R., p. 2)

He also admits that scriptural references to purgatory are but few. What is available, he says, are “inklings” from the New Testament, but only because they are brusquely twisted and exaggerated to establish anything closely related to the concept of purgatory. But for the most part, the purgatory doctrine does not have anything much to rely on but a passage from II Maccabees, which is an apocryphal Jewish writing and is not a part of the inspired word of God. Thus, “In the last analysis,” Kenney says:

“the Catholic doctrine does not rest on any direct Scriptural proof but on tradition.”

(Reference : Purgatory: Doctrine of Comfort and Hope by Joseph A. Kenney, C.SS.R., p. 3)

Such disclosure makes it understandable why many ask the same question posed by author Loraine Boettner, who wrote:

“The doctrine was proclaimed an article of faith in 1439 by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent in 1548. But does any intelligent person believe that if such a place as purgatory is described in the Bible it would have taken the church fathers 600 years to discover it and another 1,000 years to confirm it?”

(Reference : Roman Catholicism By Lorraine Boettner, Pub. 1962 p. 197)

In addition, Boettner goes on to quote several other authors who are equally disgusted with the Catholic teaching on purgatory, calling it nothing more than a “gigantic fraud,” and a “colossal racket” meant to extort large sums of money from the bereaved at a time when their hearts are sore and are least able to think logically about such matters:

“the practice of saying mass for souls in purgatory is a gigantic hoax and fraud, a taking of money under false pretenses, because it purports to get people out of purgatory when actually no such place exists.”

“Purgatory has been called ‘a gigantic fraud,’ and ‘a colossal racket’; for it deprives the poor of their last pennies and extorts large funds from the rich in exchange for nothing.

(Reference : Roman Catholicism By Lorraine Boettner, Pub. 1962 pp. 192-193, Emphasis Mine)

In fairness, conscious efforts have been undertaken by the Catholic Church to somewhat appease its detractors as what is evident in most recent writings of Catholic defenders. An example of this is Joseph Kenney’s work that we have previously quoted. In its closing part, less emphasis was laid on indulgences and the Mass as a means of helping the souls in purgatory. Instead, the stress was on the supposed significance of prayers for the dead (Purgatory: Doctrine of Comfort and Hope, p. 7).

GROSSLY UNFOUNDED

However, the absence of biblical pronouncements supporting the doctrine of purgatory remains an issue that the Catholic Church has to contend with. Not only is the word “purgatory” not found in Scripture, the entire foundation of such belief is against the teaching of the Bible:

“After a person is dead, he can no longer show love or hate or jealousy. And he will never again share in the things that happen here on earth.

(Reference: Eccl. 9:6 New Century Version)

When a person passes away, he ceases to have any share in whatever his living loved ones do on his behalf. Neither would the prayers and sacrifices offered for the dead change their final destiny because God, through His Son Jesus Christ, will judge everyone according to his own works, and not the works of others:

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

(Reference: Mt. 16:27 New King James Version, Emphasis Mine)

Contrary to the Catholic belief that each person receives the judgment of God immediately after he dies, the Bible teaches that the great day of reckoning is on the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. On that day, each soul will go to either one of two destinations: heavenly kingdom for Christ’s sheep or everlasting fire for those whom Christ calls “goats” (Mt. 25:31-34, 41).

The Catholic Church’s perpetuation of the belief in purgatory may stand to reason. But the undeniable fact remains that purgatory is a dogma taken from tradition and not from the Bible. True Christians can only dismiss such an unfounded belief, as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself instructs those who follow human traditions in place of God’s commandments:

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to traditions of men.”

(Reference: Mk. 7:8 New International Version)

IN CONCLUSION

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