No.
Oh. OK. You will be changed from a weak human with sinful impulses to a perfect creature but you don't think you'll be aware of this happening. OK
In any event, I think we have agreed that sometime after we die (unless we are "Raptured") we will be changed into something perfect, through the power of Christ's sacrifice. We will be transformed into a being worthy of standing in God's Presence.
*Why do I feel that I am walking into a trap?*
Because, leaving aside the baggage of helping each other out and indulgences, etc, we have agreed that there is a Purification process that occurs after death. This is the state of existence we Catholics call Purgatory.
SD
You are right about indulgences and praying for the dead in purgatory---it IS baggage, *empty* baggage. There is no such thing as a state of existence after death called "purgatory." When we lay aside this fleshly body in death, we go directly to heaven---the apostle Paul refers to this as "going Home." 2 Cor. 5:
We know that if our earthly dwelling [our bodies] were taken down, like a tent, we have a permanent house in Heaven, made, not by man, but by God. In this present frame we sigh with deep longing for the Heavenly House, for we do not want to face utter nakedness when death destroys our present dwelling--these bodies of ours. As long as we are clothed in the temporary dwelling we have a painful longing, not because we want just to get rid of these "clothes," but because we want to know the full cover of the permanent house that will be ours. We want our transitory life to be absorbed into the life that is eternal. Now the power that has planned this experience for us is God, and He has given us His Spirit as a guarantee of its truth. This makes us confident, whatever happens. We realize that being "at home"in the body means that to some extent we are "away" from the Lord, for we have to live by trusting Him without seeing Him. We are so sure of this that we would really rather be "away" from the body and be "at home" with the Lord. It is our aim, therefore, to please Him, whether we are "at home" or "away."
"Home" or "away"---no in between.
Why is it I've never seen that parallel drawn in Catholic Literature?
Why is it that the change is instantaneous in the Bible and glorifying while Catholicism paints purgatory as the next best thing to hell. Before you deny the latter, you'd do well to read some Catholic literature in which numerous Catholics throughout time, including the likes of Cyril, are quoted as saying they'd rather spend time in Hell than in purgatory. The Catholic purgatory is a spiritual pennitentiary. The Bible paints no such picture - nor does it even mention it. Yet, Catholicism has defined it to the point of telling such intricacies as how long one might expect, on average, to spend in purgatory. Being changed in an instant does not equate to years and years in prison being held captive for 'lesser sins.' To God there are no 'lesser sins' All sin is equal - one is just unforgiveable. No comparison between being changed in an instant and purgatory. And considering the Catholic church has never claimed this equivalance, I would suggest you are grasping at straws in order to make it seem feasable. It's a Crock, Dave... a lie of the devil. Say it with me, "Purgatory is a Lie of the Devil." See, I knew that you could..