Thanks RC. I don’t see baptism by proxy in this passage. It seems to be mostly making the point that the dead here are neither in Heaven nor Hell, so there must be somewhere else.
If we infer a second baptism or baptism OF the dead, this is not Catholic practice. If we believe it implies that those in Purgatory are not of the elect bound for heaven, this is incorrect Catholic teaching:
“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.”
It’s making the point that baptism of the dead is in vain and the result of false teaching, just as believing that the dead will not be resurrected is false teaching. Both are being rebuked by Paul as being nothing he ever taught or preached, to the church at Corinth or any other.
You do bring up an interesting point, though. So, under the beliefs of your church, people die, some die unforgiven and go to punishment and Hell, a small number of others are deemed righteous and in no need of refinement and go straight to heaven, but everyone else goes to purgatory, to be refined by fire for varying lengths of time depending upon the severity of their sins and transgressions while alive. Is this a fair assessment?
Then, upon resurrection, these people, those not condemned to Hell at least, are then put back into fleshly bodies at the resurrection after being in Heaven? And, these bodies are not like unto the body of Jesus Christ after resurrection, glorified, they are something less than that?
Pardon if there are errors in the above and pardon the casual, laymans language, but it’s the impression I’ve gained of Catholic belief over the course of years of reading, both here and elsewhere.