Purgatory

Purgatory (from the Latin: purgare “to purify”) is the Roman Catholic doctrine of an intermediary state between physical death and heavenly salvation where souls must make retribution for their sins. In purgatory, it is said that a soul’s past negative actions are purified, which enables the individual to pass through the gates of Heaven. This doctrine was accepted by the Fathers of the Church and many early Christian writers prior to its being codified at both the councils of Florence and Trent. In contrast, the majority of Protestant denominations reject belief in purgatory, especially those who stress the sola scriptura principle (as the doctrine is not mentioned by name anywhere in the Bible).

In mainstream Christianity, the end of human life is characterized by a change of state, as spelled out in the “doctrine of the four last things”: death, judgment, heaven, or hell (see the Book of Revelations). These are states (or conditions) that all humans are destined to face, based upon their actions, beliefs, and attitudes in this lifetime. Though the doctrine of purgatory is not mentioned in this list (because it is not a permanent state), Catholics argue that the fact of its existence is intricately connected with them just the same. For them, the Reformation’s denial of a purgatorial stage in the movement from temporal to eternal life leaves a void that cannot be entirely ignored.

Jewish and Early Christian Antecedents

Though Jewish cosmology does not include an idea similar to the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, evidence from Second Temple period indicates that one important component was present, namely the idea of praying for expiation of the souls of the dead. A famous example is found in The Second Book of Maccabees. Though this book was rejected as being extracanonical by Luther and other Reformers, it does present a valid depiction of Jewish history and practice shortly before the birth of Jesus. One episode in this book describes the Jewish response to finding amulets of a pagan idol, Jamnia, under the tunics of slain Jewish warriors. This practice was understoof to render them ritually unclean, placing their salvation in grave jeopardy. The Jewish survivors, led by Judas Maccabeus, prayed to God to blot out this sin and to refrain from harsh judgement against these dead. The text justifies this practice, stating that “if he [Judas Maccabeus] were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from their sin” (2 Maccabes 12:44-46). In this way, we can see that it was a Jewish belief that intercession could/should be made for the departed. This was accomplished through prayers and meritorious actions as well as sacrificial offerings (rituals).

Likewise, the Roman catacombs of the early Christian era are replete with inscriptions and graffiti indicating a belief in a future life and a reunion with the departed. There are no scriptural admonitions by Jesus against any prayers of intercession for the dead and his teachings are clear that there will be a resurrection to a new life.

Catholic Conceptions

Biblical Basis and Theological Justification

The major theological impetus for the development of the doctrine of purgatory is the frequent Biblical description of the Divine as a God of Justice. Though the text also describes the Divine as a being of ultimate, many think that God would still require a penalty to be paid for disobedience. Supporting this claim, they draw upon various Biblical tales, including the story of Noah and the flood (where the sinfulness of humanity compels God to destroy the first creation), of the Tower of Babel (where God confounds the tongues of man as a punishment for their arrogance), and of the Original Sin (where God condemns Adam and Eve to a life of pain and toil due to their disobedience). In all of these cases, God is depicted as a Being who desires the administration of justice.

Likewise, the Gospel of Matthew discusses the need for Divine justice, using the concept of expiation as a model. In it, Jesus says:

I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and you are dragged into court, handed over to an officer, and thrown in jail. I assure you that you won't be free again until you have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:22-26).

In this example, Jesus stresses the necessity of purifying oneself of sins before death, as otherwise Satan (the accuser) will ensure that shortcomings are brought forward for judgment. A further example illustrating God's requirements of justice can be found in Luke’s story of the vigilant and faithful servants:

But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more (Luke 12:45-48).

Though the ostensible purpose of this story is to explore the relationship between sin and punishment among Christians and non-Christians, it also provides ample evidence of the Christian God's requirements concerning justice. Indeed, it implies that all actions will be post-humously examined and tested against the standard of Divine justice and that the analysis of one's actions will be a determinant of the final reward or punishment that is due. A scriptural reference for this testing can be found in 1 Corinthians:

According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

This purifying fire is seen as the means of addressing the paradoxical relationship between a loving God who provides a heavenly place for eternal life and a just God who bars the entrance because we have not achieved a state of sinlessness. Indeed, if Heaven is such that "nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies" (Psalm 51), it would be a decidely empty place.

Protestant Critiques

As mentioned above, many Protestant theologians completely deny the validity of the doctrine of purgatory. This is especially common among those who stress scripture as the sole source of legitimate Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

An additional reason that many Reformers felt a great impetus to reject this theory lies in the abhorrence they had for the (then common) Catholic practice of selling indulgences. Specifically, many ecclesiastical authorities in the Catholic Church were, at that time, raising large sums of money by encouraging living relatives to monetarily “ransom” their departed loved ones from the torments of purgatory. It was thought that these officials were callously preying upon the feelings of those who had lost family members. As a result, many Reformers equated this practice with the doctrine of purgatory, assuming that the two were intimately (and necessarily) related. Also, they noted that the term “purgatory” (or any related concept) is not explicitly used anywhere in scriptures.

Martin Luther eventually went beyond a total rejection of the doctrine of purgatory and rejected even the idea of prayers for those who have died. In his famous catechism, he teaches: “We should pray for ourselves and for all other people, even for our enemies, but not for the souls of the dead” (Luther, Expanded Small Catechism, Question # 211). Therefore, one can conclude that this representative of the Reformation came to reject any efficacy for the departed by those who remain in this temporal existence.

A second major objection that many Protestants voiced against the idea of purgatory concerned the idea that the salvific work of Jesus Christ on the cross paid the entire debt for the sins of humanity—past, present, and future. For them, nothing else is required of an individual after they come to accept Christ and are baptized. In fact, they would argue that any doctrine stating that there is more to be done to achieve salvation negates, rejects, or denies what Christ has achieved. It is seen to somehow demean Christ’s actions on our behalf, reducing them to something less than fully complete. It is tantamount to the idea that God is somehow unable to fully restore the separation caused by sin, that there is more that must be done.

Those who would say that the atonement for sins was completed at the cross would certainly reject any doctrine that says otherwise. Support for these positions is certainly to be found in scripture. For example, the anonymous author of the Epistle to the Hebrews states that “by [God’s] will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10 (emphasis added). See also 1 John 2:1-2). Clearly, the Biblical record argues for the completeness of salvation at the hands of Christ, a theme that echoes through much of the New Testament. However, Catholic theologians would argue that this affirmation does not inherently preclude the existence of purgatory and that it contradicts some of the Jewish and Early Christian beliefs discussed above.