Ecumenical Dialogue - Catholic

 

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Arguments Against Purgatory Considered

THE SPURIOUS ARGUMENTS AGAINST PURGATORY

by Kevin Tierney

 

 

... So we DO "need to be purified" according to Scripture (cf. Mal 3:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-9; 1 Cor 3:12-15; Hebrews 12:29), and Christ's one sacrifice is the application of that final purification and sanctification necessary for heaven -- which Catholics call "purgatory."

“When those in Christ die, they are automatically in heaven.”

There is no evidence in Scripture of the infamous mantra “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (some say it is implied in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 which actually reads: "we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord" -- RSV). There is often desire to be away from the body and be with Christ, but what believer wouldn’t desire this? Desiring something is not the same as automatically attaining it. And again, being that the Church does not teach a specific time limit in purgatory, and being time on Earth and time in Heaven and eternity are two different things, this objection does not remove the Catholic doctrine of purgatory.

"We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" - Philippians 1:21-23

Again, how one reads here "once you are dead you are automatically in heaven" I don’t know. Both passages suggest desires ("would prefer to be" and "I desire to..."), not absolute affirmative statements. I desire to be a millionaire, does that mean I am one or will necessarily be one? Of course not. This is faulty logic, and cannot be used to refute purgatory, at least not successfully.

“Even when the apostle Paul knew he was imperfect (Philippians 3:12), he knew he would go to be with the Lord when he died (Philippians 1:21-23).”

This is another common misconception of purgatory, that it’s somehow some middle ground. I don’t understand how this verse refutes purgatory. People can rely so heavily on a verse, and attempt to interpret it many ways, all not understanding what the Catholic doctrine of purgatory is. Everyone in purgatory is going to heaven. Just like those who were in Abraham’s bosom such as Noah, Abel, etc (Hebrews 11) were going to heaven, so are those in purgatory. To see this as having any affect on purgatory is to set up and knock down a straw man.