Rejoice in Christ always!
My name is Chris.
I am reminded of two verses from the Holy Gospel that I wish to share with you as a preamble to my note.
“38 But Jesus said, Forbid him no more; no one who does a miracle in my name will lightly speak evil of me. 39 The man who is not against you is on your side.”
In all charity, Your recent article in Christian Post on the subject of Purgatory is Shallow, short sighted and uninformed. It reads very much like an attempt to be a relevant, edgy buzz piece.
I wish to offer you the sincere opportunity to talk to a moderately well informed Catholic on the subject to privately clarify your misconceptions. While the Catechism of The Catholic Church is indeed the common catechism of the faith, it is ti be understood in conjunction with the Catechism of Trent and the entire Deposit of Faith.
To begin:
A reasonably simple articulation of the dogmatic doctrine of purgatory can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia. (Link attached) https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm
Purgatory was first defined formally defined by the bishop of Rome, Gregory X, in Lyon France in 1274 and was supported most obviously scripturally in maccabees, until the book was eventually rejected by Luther some 250 years later.
If you were truly sincere in investigating the Doctrine of purgatory, I’m quite sure you would have also looked at other Councils that spoke on the matter The Council of Florence in 1431 and the Council of Trent in 1545 speak with greater nuance than the strawman presentation you gave it.
In fact, common faith in purgatory is held not only my the mother of St. Augustine, but is supported by scriptures you still hold to be inspired. (1 Cor 3:15 and Matt. 12:32)
As a brother in the Faith, I reminded you that as always you, and you must remember this, no prophecy in scripture is the subject of private interpretation. (loosely quoting 2 peter)
Feel free to hit me up If you wish to move beyond the the shallow waters christianity you appear to be pushing.
In Christ,
Chris.
I would refer you to post #175 above in which I refer to the Catholic Encyclopedia and the correct teachings of Purgatory. This isn’t a shallow argument nor is the article “shallow”. While you might quote from Mark 9:38-39, I would suggest that Paul was very stern with the Galatins whe were teaching that one needed to be circumcised in addition to the death of Christ.
It is very important that correct and sound doctrine be taught-and, while it is helpful to hear what others state, sound doctrine can only be taken from God’s Word. You will not find purgatory or any such idea in Scripture.
Go read - some - or - more - of - my - posts - here - so far on this thread then get back to me PUBLICLY as a moderately well informed Catholic on the subject.