Replies

Catholics err believing in purgatory. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. St. Paul never said such a thing. He said for him he would prefer to be with the Lord than be in the body. You need to read your Bible more carefully and not rely on anti-Catholics for your interpretations.

Rather, your attempted rebuttal here evidences that it is you who need to read your Bible more carefully (and check your reasoning) and not rely on anti-Catholics for your interpretations. For contextually, what Paul "preferred" on one hand was that of martyrdom, in which case, to be absent from the body would mean being present with the Lord, and there is no way to spin this to mean absent from the body being present someplace else. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philp 1:21)

Likewise, to abide meant to be present with his flock.

Likewise, the apostle also states:

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (2 Corinthians 5:5-6)

For wherever Scripture clearly speak of the next conscious reality for believers then it is with the Lord, (Lk. 23:43 [cf. 2Cor. 12:4; Rv. 2:7]; Phil 1:23; 2Cor. 5:8 [“we”]; 1Cor. 15:51ff'; 1Thess. 4:17) Note in the latter case all believers were assured that if the Lord returned, which they expected in their lifetime, so would they “ever be with the Lord,” though they were still undergoing growth in grace, as was Paul. (Phil. 3:7f)