Thank you for your comments.
If this author meant oral tradition, I wonder why did he simply not use that term. Oral tradition and legend are NOT the same. My dictionary defines the word legend as “a story that has been passed down for years and is unlikely to be true.” So much for that. There are a multitude of legends in all cultures - Atlantis, Narcissus, Pandora’s Box, and on and on - I’m confident that you do not believe these are on the level of the “legend” you are promulgating; yet I am pretty certain that for many years people believed them as real, just as they believed in all the stories of Medusa, Zeus, Hera, and so on.
Regarding the “I say to you today” as if Jesus had to clarify to the thief that what he was saying was actually being said today and not yesterday, this is EXACTLY what the Jehovah’s witnesses use for their evidence.
After all the stuff I have read on here about Purgatory from the Catholic contingent, and all the stuff I have read from the non-Catholic contingent, I came up with the concept that there is a Purgatory, where people must be purged of their hay, stubble and straw, but only Catholics have to suffer it. Did you ever even think that because you don’t believe Jesus died for ALL of your sins, that maybe you do need the extra cleansing and those of us who believe His precious blood covered all don’t?
Back to being serious, however, I do plan to check into this some more, as I am interested in what the early church fathers had to say. Another Freeper has given me some info and I am going to be reading that.
And what about Limbo? I haven’t heard a peep about that but my dear father, poor soul, believed it.
Paved Paradise,
perhaps these may also help:
Regarding St. Dismas, the Good Thief, and redemptive suffering
http://www.fisheaters.com/offeringitup.html
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=114
And a bit on Purgatory, courtesy of fisheaters:
http://www.fisheaters.com/purgatory.html
I sincerely hope that this aids you. God bless.