purgatory Flashcards
traditional views on purgatory and biblical refernces
purgatory is traditionally viewed as place of repentance and forgiveness our souls go to before the next stage of the afterlife. biblical reference from Mathew which suggests forgiveness will be possible in an ‘age to come’ (‘those who speak against the holy spirt will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come’)
in 1 corinthians there is reference to a building being burned and whilst the builder suffers a loss he can still be saved… this could be interpretated as the purification of purgatory, those who have sinned can still be saved
where did roman catholics interpret purgatory from and how
in the apocrypha , ( a collection of books that did not canon) in macabees it tells the story of a jewish family who are found dead with pagan tokens however those around the family prayed that the righteous judge would allow their sins to be blotted out. this suggests theirs a purgatory because there is a chance after death for our sins to be overcome
what is intercession ?
the catholic tradition in which they pray for the souls of the departed as they wish for their sins to be forgiven
what is dantes view on purgatory ?
to Dante purgatory is a positive process where the soul ascends various ‘terraces of the mountain’. we are given the opportunity to purge ourselves of sin and once successful will ascend to heaven.
augustine quote on purgatory
not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will suffer eternal punishments
who are the key thinkers in modern interpretations of purgatory
hick and karl rahner
what were rahners views on purgatory ?
he saw purgatory as a state of higher awareness and a place of ‘self inflicted’ pain and an oppurtunity to acknowledge the pain they inflicted on others during their lives on earth. Once the person comes t a complete undertsdaning of reprentence can ascend to heaven.
what is an inclusivist and who was one ?
rahner
people who believe who have not developed morally in to a relationship with God can still have their souls saved in purgatory
what were hicks views on purgatory ?
he believed it was an intermediate state as it makes sense for our souls to develop upon entrance to heaven. purgatory prepares the soul for their final encounter with God . it is a continuation of his soul making theodicy, to hick purgatory is the satisfactory explanation in comparsion to hell for example which condems people to eternal punishment and doesnt aid the person-making process
limitations of hick and rahner ….
DOES THE SOUL EVEN EXIST (“there is no ghost in the machine” ryle) this is a massive assumption we do not have emperical evidence for - dawkins
rejects notion of hell to work
yes whilst defentiley an attractive approach to the after life there is a lack of biblical justification. hick rejects hell however this has much more representation “the lake is a fiery sulphur”
are some peoples sins not worthy of being condemmed to hell for example Hitler and stalin some sins are to extreme to be saved
removes the christocentric nature naure of christianity if we can all be forgiven eventually regardless of our sin , would jesus sacrifice been necessary
limitations of early views on purgatory ?
the books werent made canon for a reason and we shouldnt be following them
martin luther –> doctrine of purgatory gave way to the practice of selling ‘indulgences’ indulgences were a way of reducing suffering for a loved one in purgatory
calvin- little biblical basis and undermines jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as it makes his sacrifice seem insufficient to defeat sin, if purgatory is necessary for our souls to be cleansed that suggests that Jesus wasnt enough and more is to be done.
doesnt make sense alongside particular judgement - the parable of lazarus and the rich man shows the richman been condemed to hell , not given a chance for repentence then sentenced to hell. conflicting evidence
what is epicurus quote on death and what does it mean ?
‘the most frightful of evils , death, is nothing to us”
we shouldn’t be concerned of life after death and just accept the now not fear what our sins may cause when we dont even have any empericsl evidenve of it as suggested by dawkins
advantages of traditional interpretations of purgatory ?
loving God wouldnt condem everyone to hell so having purgatory makes sense as a chance fpr those with minor sins to get repentence
words of bible are infalible
purgatory is a desirable state because as suggested
advantages of modern interpretations
fits with irenaus soul making theodicy
souls - plato - dualism - myth of Er
unjust God would allow people to develop
gives people different sentences for their sins are some are more sinful than others
