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Praying for the dead [Purgatory]
CIN ^ | Father Brian Van Hove, SJ

Posted on 07/31/2002 12:36:33 PM PDT by JMJ333

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To: Tantumergo
Speak english!
181 posted on 08/01/2002 7:41:52 PM PDT by restornu
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To: RnMomof7
Psst... Padre Pio says he's praying for you!!! You never know, Our Lord may send him out on another one of those bilocation jaunts of his!!
182 posted on 08/01/2002 7:44:08 PM PDT by Tantumergo
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To: restornu
Well Becky all these years I thought you were a man! I wonder why?

You thought a man was named Becky:)

Actually my husband (Big Mack) started posting when we got a WebTV, when I started getting interested inposting we found out that the WebTV would not support two e-mails so we had to share the name.

For a long time we did not let on that two people were posting under the same name, but one morning I got jumped on for something he said the night before, so I cleared the problem up:) It was fun.

As far as the rest of you post I'm not sure I follow.

Becky

183 posted on 08/01/2002 7:44:31 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: Codie
"Religion teaches mankind that a better distribution of wealth should be had, not by violence or revolution, but by reasonable regulations, so that the proletarian classes which do not yet enjoy life's necessities or advantages may be raised to a more fitting status without social strife."

In contrast to "religion", Christianity doesn't teach forcibly taking (stealing) from each according to his means and giving it to each according to his needs. But totalitarian Marxist/Socialist/Commie/tyrannical religions DO teach a forced redistribution of wealth, that is for sure. And they use the political power of secular governments to do it if they get the chance.

The voluntary sharing of wealth within individual families, and within individual church organizations, are the only legitimate forms of Socialism in God's eyes.

"Forced giving" is an oxymoron, and is breaking the commandments ("Thou shalt not steal", and "Thou shalt not covet what belongs to another", "Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself", etc.).

184 posted on 08/01/2002 7:47:52 PM PDT by Matchett-PI
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To: restornu
Ah that's better - I must have got possessed by one of these German speaking spirits while I was necromancing!

Sorry - I meant to reply to you directly but must have hit the wrong button.

I'm not very quick round all the buttons and fancy italic typing that you see some guys do round here!
185 posted on 08/01/2002 7:48:24 PM PDT by Tantumergo
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To: Tantumergo
What if any do you think is the practical application of Duet. 18:10-11.

Becky

186 posted on 08/01/2002 7:55:29 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: restornu
Sorry must dash!

If the rector finds out I've been chatting with two ladies til 4.00a.m. he'll kick me out of the seminary!!
187 posted on 08/01/2002 7:56:49 PM PDT by Tantumergo
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To: Tantumergo
Are you trying to be funny with no direct answer from you on my question? The dead person I talked to came to me I did not seek this person out!
188 posted on 08/01/2002 7:59:06 PM PDT by restornu
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To: Matchett-PI
"This is documented by the Hefleys in their book, By Their Blood: Christian Martyrs Of The 20th Century, (Mott Media, 1979)"

The Catholics are coming, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! Hide your bible!! BOO!!!!!

Luther and Calvin had been indoctrinated by, and steeped in Roman catholicism all their lives. De-programming takes time."

ROFLOL!! Please!! This is such a lame excuse. They changed every other thing they could think of. THEY WERE NO BETTER. Both of them established STATE religions. That was the way things were done then. There was no penicillin either or novocaine or heart transplants. It was a different time.

"But God is patient, and as events unfolded, it is clear that he considered it more needful to reform his church back to the origional theological doctrines first."

Did you make this up in your head?

"As long as America's Constitution and Bill of Rights are upheld, we will have nothing to fear from tyrants who falsely teach their "faithful" that the infallible Word of God is a "dangerous" book, and refuses to retract its official denial of religious freedom and what it considers to be its right to use violence to force people to accept its doctrines, just has in the past."

Good because I would not want to live under Calvinism either or under the KKK.

"The only thing that prevents it from enforcing its religion on the world, is absolute political power."

All evil comes from the Catholic Church? Sneer. I am sorry but this deserves derision. It is such a shallow view of history.

"....just like they hate the true God and his infallible Word, the closed canon of Scripture."

Well that was so inspiring. Now let's all go out and burn a cross on someone's lawn. Oh wait, it was the Protestants of the KKK who did that and in America, land of the free! And against Blacks and Jews and Catholics. What was THAT all about? You know when my grandparents first moved to the south in the 20's they did not let it be known that they were Catholics. It was something you just did not broadcast around. They were worried about the KKK. And European Catholics and Jews were herded into shanty towns and ghettos to live in poverty. They were not received well by the WASPS that were there first. How many Catholic president's have we had? ONE! Prejudice? We know he had to assure the public that he would not let the pope run the country. (Such a stupid thing to even consider but that's the fear some backward people had.)

All I am saying is, there is plenty of blame to go around.

189 posted on 08/01/2002 7:59:46 PM PDT by Theresa
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To: Tantumergo; drstevej; RnMomof7; Mr. Thorne; restornu
It almost seems silly to give a Bible answer to the false teaching of purgatory, since the answer is so obvious. The answer is that purgatory is not taught in the Bible! Not only so, but it is contrary to the Bible's teaching about salvation. Purgatory is based on a gross misunderstanding and perversion of the Gospel. While it is true that no sin can enter into Heaven, the great Bible words defining the Gospel explain that the purgation necessary to bring the soul into Heaven has already been accomplished on the Cross.

Redemption means to be purchased from the slave market of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. Propitiation means that the sin debt has been satisfied by the blood of Christ. Justification means the believer is declared righteousness by Almighty God because of what Jesus Christ has done for his soul.

BigMack

190 posted on 08/01/2002 8:01:31 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: Tantumergo; drstevej; RnMomof7; Mr. Thorne; restornu
For your edification Propitiation means satisfaction; covering; the fulfillment of a demand. It refers to God's estimation of Christ's sacrifice. God is fully satisfied by what Jesus Christ did on the Cross. The penalty for His broken law and man's sin has been fully satisfied (Ro. 3:24,25; 1 Jn. 2:2; He. 2:17; Is. 5:11). The Greek word translated "propitiation" (Ro. 3:25) is also translated "mercy seat" in He. 9:5. The mercy seat perfectly covered the law which was contained in the Ark (Ex. 25:17,21). This symbolizes propitiation--Christ covering the demands of God's law. That it is the blood of Christ which put away our sins was depicted on the Day of Atonement when blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat by the high priest (Le. 16:11-17).

BigMack

191 posted on 08/01/2002 8:06:55 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
Amen Mack. You say it so well. It is Finished!

To be honest I do not believe that Tantumergo is on the up and up...That of course is just between us..

192 posted on 08/01/2002 8:21:10 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: Tantumergo; drstevej; RnMomof7; Mr. Thorne; restornu
More edification: Redemption means bought and released, describing the act of buying a slave from the market in order to give him freedom. There are three Greek words translated "redemption" which give a wonderful picture of our salvation in Christ: AGORAZO means to purchase in a market. This word is used in a general sense in Mt. 13:44,46; 27:7; Lk. 14:18,19. In reference to salvation, agorazo is used in 1 Co. 6:20; 7:23; 2 Pe. 2:1; Re. 5:9 and 14:2,3. Agorazo pictures the Lord Jesus Christ paying the awful price required by our sin. Jesus Christ came into the slave market of this fallen world and paid the full price to redeem men by His blood and death. EXAGORAZO means to buy out of the market. This is the word agorazo compounded with the Greek preposition ex, meaning out from. Jesus not only paid the purchase price, He completely removed the believing sinner from the position of condemnation and from Satan's dominion. LUTROO means to loose, to set free. The emphasis of this word is that God gives to the believer day-to-day victory over sin, Satan, and the world. We are purchased, brought out, and released to a life of spiritual freedom in Christ. Lutroo is used in Tit. 2:14; 1 Pe. 1:18 and He. 9:12.

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION? We are redeemed through Christ's blood (Col. 1:14; He. 9:12; 1 Pe. 1:18,19). Those who say the blood of Christ is only symbolic for death are wrong. The blood of the O.T. animal sacrifices was symbolic, typifying the blood of Christ, but the blood was real and was required by the law of God (Le. 17:11; He. 9:22). To change the word "blood" to "death" as some modern versions do is wickedness and is a denial of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

HOW PERMANENT IS REDEMPTION? It is eternal! "...having obtained eternal redemption for us" (He. 9:12).

WHAT DOES REDEMPTION INVOLVE? The term "redemption" is used interchangeably with "salvation." It refers to the fullness of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Redemption involves forgiveness of sins (Ep. 1:7); justification (Ro. 3:24); eternal inheritance (He. 9:15); resurrection (Ro. 8:23).

THREE ASPECTS OF REDEMPTION. (1) Past (Ga. 3:13). We have been redeemed from the condemnation of sin and the dominion of Satan. (2) Present (Tit. 2:14). We are being redeemed from the power of sin and Satan in our daily lives. (3) Future (Ro. 8:23). We shall be redeemed from the very presence of sin when Christ returns and we receive resurrection bodies.

BigMack

193 posted on 08/01/2002 8:25:53 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: Rambler
"The claim you made "To this very day, in the 21st century, wherever the Church of Rome has political power, the Bible is still shunned as "dangerous". It still does all it can to keep the closed canon of Scripture away from the people." had to be your own original because the book you referenced is dated 1979."

Does your dependency on being spoon fed by your supposedly infallible guru extend even to this?

1979 was only the first printing. The second edition was printed in March 1996.

194 posted on 08/01/2002 8:47:06 PM PDT by Matchett-PI
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
It is entirely correct to say that Christ accomplished all of our salvation for us on the cross. But that does not settle the question of how this redemption is applied to us. Scripture reveals that it is applied to us over the course of time through, among other things, the process of sanctification through which the Christian is made holy. Sanctification involves suffering (Rom. 5:3-5), and purgatory is the final stage of sanctification that some of us need to undergo before we enter heaven. Purgatory is the final phase of Christ's applying to us the purifying redemption that he accomplished for us by his death on the cross.

The resistance to the biblical doctrine of purgatory presumes there is a contradiction between Christ's redeeming us on the cross and the process by which we are sanctified. There isn't. And a Fundamentalist cannot say that suffering in the final stage of sanctification conflicts with the sufficiency of Christ's atonement without saying that suffering in the early stages of sanctification also presents a similar conflict. Quite the reverse: Our suffering in sanctification does not take away from the cross. Rather, the cross produces our sanctification, which results in our suffering, because "[f]or the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb. 12:11).

1 Cor. 3:10-15 - works are judged after death and tested by fire. Some works are lost, but the person is still saved. This is the purgation of purgatory.

1 Cor. 3:15 - though he will be saved, "but only" (houtos-in same manner) through fire. Man is both rewarded and saved by fire.

1 Cor. 3:15 - suffer loss = "zemiothesetai" = root word "zemioo" = also refers to punishment. This means expiation of temporal punishment.

1 Cor. 3:13 - revealing the quality of each man's work by fire and purifying him relates to his sins (not just his good works).

1 Cor. 3:17 - proves this purgation deals with punishing sin (destroying God's temple = bad works = mortal sin = death).

1 Cor. 3:14,15,17 - purgatory thus reveals the state of righteousness (v.14), state of venial sin (v.15) and state of mortal sin (v.17).

1 Peter 1:6-7 - Peter refers to this purgatorial fire to test the fruits of our faith.

Jude 1:23 - people saved being snatched out of fire. People are already saved if in heaven, and there is no possibility of salvation if in hell.

Rev. 3:18-19 - Jesus refers to this fire as what refines into gold those He loves if they repent.

Dan 12:10 - Daniel refers to this refining by saying many shall purify themselves, make themselves white and be refined.

Wis. 3:5-6 - the dead are disciplined and tested by fire to receive their heavenly reward.

Sirach 2:5 - for gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.

Zech. 13:8-9 - God says 2/3 shall perish, and 1/3 shall be left alive, put into the fire, and refined like silver and tested like gold.

Mal. 3:2-3 - also refers to God's purification of the righteous at their death.
195 posted on 08/01/2002 8:49:00 PM PDT by Mr. Thorne
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To: Theresa
"Snort, snort, snort, snort! Good because I would not want to live under Calvinism either or under ..."

You must have been so distracted by your snorting that you missed some very important points I made earlier. It is only because the Calvinists respect Sola Scriptura so much that they drew up America's founding documents to guarantee that you wouldn't have to live under "Calvinism".

196 posted on 08/01/2002 9:03:54 PM PDT by Matchett-PI
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To: Mr. Thorne; Tantumergo; drstevej; RnMomof7; restornu
More edification: Justification means "to declare righteous." Justification is God's declaration that those who trust Jesus Christ are perfectly righteous before Him. It is a legal concept, as when a judge gives a verdict. God is the great Judge. It is His law we have broken. Before I am saved, God declares that I am a condemned sinner. After I come to Christ, God declares that I am righteous because of what Christ did for me on Calvary. Justification is being brought into a new spiritual position before God (Ro. 5:1-2). The believer is no longer a part of the cursed household of Adam, but has entered the blessed household of Christ.

How is a person justified? (1) Justification is free (Ro. 3:24). We do not become righteous before God through good works, religious rituals, morality, law-keeping. It is a free gift. (2) Justification is because of Christ's redemption (Ro. 3:24). Justification is free because Jesus Christ paid the price with His own blood and death. (3) Justification is through faith in Christ (Ro. 3:25-28; 4:3-6; 5:1). Man's part in justification is to repent of his sin and to trust Jesus Christ.

Other important truths about justification: (1) Justification is by imputation, not impartation. Justification is not God making a sinner righteous, but God declaring him righteous. It is true that God gives the believer a righteous nature, which remains in him and causes him to love and serve God, but this is not justification; this is regeneration (2 Co. 5:17). Justification is God imputing to the believing sinner the very righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Co. 5:21; Ro. 4:4-6). (2) Justification is in Jesus Christ. To have Christ is to have justification (1 Co. 1:30; 2 Co. 5:21). (3) Justification is a present possession, not a process and a possibility (Ro. 5:9). Justification is not a gradual thing whereby a person grows in righteousness. The believer is as fully justified the day he is converted as he is after forty years of spiritual growth. Believers do grow in obedience, but this is not justification; it is sanctification (1 Pe. 2:1-2). (4) Justification promises eternal safety from wrath (Ro. 5:9-11). Since the believer possesses justification through Christ's blood, he does not have to fear ever suffering God's wrath. It is God who declares the believer righteous; thus the danger of wrath and condemnation are forever past for those who are justified by Christ's blood.

Position and Practice. The Bible makes a plain distinction between the Christian's position and his practice. Other terms for this are standing and state, relationship and fellowship, union and communion. The believer's position in Christ is unchanging, secure, and eternal the moment he is born again into God's family. His practice, on the other hand, depends upon his day by day fellowship with Christ and is a fluid condition. Justification has to do with the believer's position before God.

The book of Ephesians lays out this distinction plainly. Chapters one through three present the believer's position and standing; chapters four through six deal with his practice and state, his walk. In Ep. 1-3 the believer is repeatedly said to be "in Christ" (1:1,3,4,6,7,10,11,12,13; 2:6,10,13,22; 3:6,12). This is the theme of this section of the epistle. The key word in Ep. 1-3 is "grace" (1:2,6; 2:5,7,8; 3:2,7). In Ep. 4-6 the subject changes to the believer's walk in this world. The key words in Ep. 4-6 are "walk" (4:1,17; 5:2,8,15), "conversation" (4:22), "put on" (4:24; 6:11), and "obey" (6:1). The pivotal verse is Ep. 4:1--"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Here we are told the believer is to bring his daily walk into line with his eternal calling. He does not live right in order TO BE called or in order to perfect his calling, but because he HAS BEEN called. There is a world of difference. To serve God because you have been saved is the Gospel; to serve God in an attempt to attain salvation or to perfect one's salvation is a perversion of the Gospel. Ep. 5:8 says, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but NOW are ye light in the Lord: WALK as children of light." The believer's position in Christ is that he is "light in the Lord." This is a present, eternal reality. He is instructed to live up to that position in his daily life.

The difference between position and practice is also seen in 1 John. Here the Lord makes a plain distinction between relationship and fellowship. The theme of 1 John is "... that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ." The theme is fellowship, not relationship. It is written to those who have already established a relationship with God as children through faith in Christ. The Scriptures teach that a person is placed positionally into the family of God the moment he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. God once for all imputes the righteousness of Christ to the sinner's account, and is forever satisfied (propitiated) in relation to that believer's sin because of the blood and death of Christ. This is where confession of sins enters into the Christian life. Obedience and confession of sins are essential in order to remain in fellowship with the Savior, but our walk in no way affects our position in Christ, or our relationship with God as our Father. If we sin He still remains our Father and Christ remains our Advocate (1 Jn. 2:1). How can this be? It is because He paid the full price demanded by God's law for sin (1 Jn. 2:2), and eternal life is a free gift, totally undeserved and unmerited by man, received by simple faith in Christ alone, and secure upon receipt.

The Gospel of John also shows this distinction plainly. In John 1-12 the focus is on the unsaved, and the message is "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Jn. 1:7,12; 3:15-16,18; 4:39; 5:24; 6:35,47; 7:38; 8:24; 9:35; 10:38; 11:26). When the unsaved asked about doing the works of God, Christ replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (Jn. 6:29). That is the only work God will accept from the unsaved. In chapter thirteen, though, Christ turns His attention to His own little flock and the theme changes from faith to obedience. "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (Jn. 14:23). This change in the theme of John's Gospel illustrates the difference between relationship and fellowship. Faith is the prerequisite for relationship; obedience is the requirement for fellowship. Faith is the way to become a child of God; obedience is the way to walk in fellowship with the Father.

BigMack

197 posted on 08/01/2002 9:07:09 PM PDT by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
Great post mack...I intend to steal it:>) (borrow:>)
198 posted on 08/01/2002 9:36:44 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: JMJ333
The Orthodox also pray for the dead, but have not any use for the invented notion of purgatory. I refer all interested to the excellent book The Soul After Death for an uncompromising exposition of the traditional Orthodox Christian teaching on the matter. The book includes an English translation of the "Refutation of the Latin Chapters Concerning Purgatorial Fire" by St. Mark of Ephesus.

O Holy Theotokos, pray that we may be delivered from the gloomy toll-houses!

199 posted on 08/01/2002 10:19:58 PM PDT by The_Reader_David
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
"I never said you would not pay for your sins on earth. I believe we were talking of our spiritual life. Nice try at spinning away the point, but no dice."

I think suffering for your sins is a spiritual requirement and a biblical reality that is God ordained. What about David of the Old Testament? I could have the wrong impression but you act like earthly suffering is just a man made formality that God could care less about.

"What does the bible mean in Heb. were it says, one scrafice perfected believers forever. What you are saying by believeing in purgatory is that you weren't perfected by the one sacrafice, that you have to add to it by going to purgatory to finish the job."

Are you saying that this passage you quoted means that you have been perfected such that you can escape any form of suffering for your sins? I think the passage means that we can never be perfected by doing the works of the law, only by Christ. That is NOT the same as saying you don't have to suffer for your sins. There is no contradiction between the Redemption and our suffering in expiation for our sins whether that suffering is in this life or in the next. Paul said I "rejoice in my sufferings for you, and [I] fill up those things that are wanting in the suffering of Christ" (Col. 1:24). Ronald Knox explained this passage by noting that "the obvious meaning is that Christ's sufferings, although fully satisfactory on behalf of our sins, leave us under a debt of honour, as it were, to repay them by sufferings of our own." And as we have said time and again, purgatory is temporary. And it is there that Christ himself perfects us. We don't perfect ourselves.

200 posted on 08/01/2002 11:01:27 PM PDT by Theresa
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