43 He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind;
So Judas here collects a bunch of cash to send to the temple in Jerusalem so he can buy some atonement for these people who God killed because of 'mortal sin'...Now that's a good one
You might notice that there's no suggestion that such a thing could be accomplished...Perhaps Judas had no idea what the scriptures said about the issue but he heard about the resurrection and had good intentions, as the verse says...
45But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
And that's all it was, a holy and pious thought...No one else in the real scriptures prayed for dead idol worhipers...
46 Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin.
Judas made atonement in his mind...So that big pile of cash and prayers for people who didn't even follow God was the required atonement??? Like the book of Maccabees says, it was a noble intention but no where in these unscriptural or in any of the scriptural books does it indicate that Judas' intentions could have been successful...
According to the real bible, those dead, unrepentant sinners were in hell, NOT Abraham's Bosom...
45But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
And there's no suggestion that these godly people waiting for their reward required any prayer or cash atonement for anyone...
Your religion has taken a verse, completely out of context, demanded it says something that it clearly doesn't say and claims it is proof of purgatory and praying for the dead...What a farce...
Good post. So the conclusion is purgatory is a ‘good’ way for a church to get a pile of cash.
I think it is telling that this passage (from a book that was NEVER seen as divinely inspired scripture by the Jews - unto whom was given the oracles of God) is the primary proof text Catholics have to support the doctrine of Purgatory. Careful examination of that passage as you have just done DISPROVES and contradicts the very shallow foundation layer of that doctrine. Dig a little deeper and the thin veneer crumbles. Purgatory was not something the Apostles believed in or taught to the believers. It was one of many later doctrines brought in as the truth of the gospel was being perverted by false teachers. Fortunately, God has always preserved a remnant that remained faithful and the Word of God which will never pass away.