The Doctrine of Purgatory [Ecumenical]

The Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory makes God out to be an extortionist who delights in extorting money out of grieving friends and relatives of those supposedly in purgatory to the aggrandizement of the "church".

That is offensive and a completely unfair attack on the Catholic Church. MAJOR Straw Man argument. This is an ecumenical thread. Antagonistic statements are out of bounds. I hope you consider apologizing.

Sorry...HARDLY speaks for itself. The tradition is not supported by scripture, only in how your church's preconceived idea interprets it.

This entire thread has gone back and forth and back and forth and it really just boils down to these two concepts:

1. A person is redeemed, saved, cleansed, justified, made righteous, a child of God, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, in the presence of God in heaven immediately after death and all because that person has accepted the gift of eternal life by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

2. A person who accepts Jesus Christ as savior by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins will most times, but not all the time, (depending on how individually righteous he/she is), also have to spend time in an intermediate place between earthly life and eternal life in Heaven after said person dies because sins committed in this life, that were omitted in the sacrament of confession and therefore not covered by penance, must still be punished. Although this person is in a disembodied state, he/she will suffer pain commensurate with how good he/she was in their earthy life. The length of time spent in such state is not really known but can be shortened by the good works of others still alive on earth that are offered in the name of said person in the intermediate place. In essence admitting that faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ is insufficient to completely cleanse the person from all sin.

Can you see the difference between the two and do you understand why there has been contention over the idea of purgatory for millennia? I hardly think we mortals will ever settle the issue because it demands a choice: 1 or 2.

The doctrine of purgatory is offensive, to everything Jesus Christ has accomplished upon the cross through His ONE all-sufficient sacrifice for sin and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That said, what I posted is not offensive, it is the truth. I am a former Roman Catholic and this is exactly what happens. It has been practiced for centuries and I have seen priests extort money from my relatives and friends in the false promise, the LIE that the dead will be released from purgatory at some later date though their paying to have masses and prayers said in their behalf... for a price. BUT no matter how much they pay, the priest can never say WHEN OR IF those in purgatory are released from their torment! This ungodly practice is nothing but extortion that plays upon the fears of those who have lost loved ones in death and there is nothing in the Word of God that can be found to support it.

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