do you think the existence of purgatory is true???
@Lanz_negosyante (74)
Philippines
June 7, 2010 7:52am CST
Just as life is neither black nor white, so the end is neither heaven or hell. many who died cannot immediately enter heaven. They have committed venial sins or else, they have repented but were unable to do the corresponding penance.
God's particular judgement on us after death is just in the sense that we cannot enter heaven immediately may do is in the near future. Such as judgement is also merciful because Gods gives us a chance to correct the things that we failed to do in this life. Purgatory will be the place where we learn to live as saints and be purified from the effects of sins and selfishness.
1 person likes this
16 responses
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
9 Jun 10
I'm not familiar with this teaching. From where does it come? Is it in the Bible?
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
10 Jun 10
If the Bible teaches that "it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment," how can a person be saved afterward?
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
12 Jun 10
Thank you for these Scripture references. I wish all people would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I have asked you questions that I already knew the answers to, but I asked them in the hope that others would read what you have to say and at the very least do some investigation so they'll learn the truth. You don't know how thankful I am that I was born into a Christian household. With so many weird ideas and beliefs in the world today and with Satan being as crafty as he is, it's too easy to fall into his trap. The world needs people like you who are willing to share the Good News. Thank you for your witness.
@chickabee (119)
• United States
9 Jun 10
Hi 6precious102 - I am not certain which teaching you are interested in so I will tell you about a couple of my points. Every mention I made in my post concerning God does come from the Bible. For example: His many names - I mentioned "I AM" as one of God's names. You will find this in Exodus 3:14. "God" is in John 1:1; "Jehovah" in Psalms 83:18; "Lord of Lords" in I Timothy 6:15 and Revelation 19:16. There are many more names of God and Jesus all through the Bible.
If you are asking about the free will that God gives us you will also find many examples throughout the Bible. For instance, in Genesis where it tells about Adam and Eve and their children, they certainly had free will. God could have made man like robots, instead He gave them free choice. Eve did not have to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet she chose to do so when tempted by the serpent (satan); Adam did not have to eat it when Eve gave it to him, yet he did. Cain chose, of his own free will, to kill his brother Abel. If you go on over to 2 Chronicles 7:14 and read it you will see God giving the children of Israel a chance to turn from their wicked ways and, if they do, He will save them and heal their land. It's their choice. They have the free will to stay in their wicked ways or turn from their sins.
If I can give you more information, please send another post or message and I will do my best to try to clarify any question you may have. I would like to hear from you.
@archon309 (404)
• Philippines
12 Jun 10
Most people would argue that this is not true because this is not in the Bible. But then again there are many things that Jesus did that was not written down (I would assume that this would include teachings) because "the whole world could not hold all the books that would be written" - John 21:25.
And if you would take a look also at the history of the Bible, there are writings and books that the early Church fathers did not include in the official Bible. My point here is I can't say that purgatory does not exist because it's not in the Bible.
Though I still could not fully comprehend the full concept of Purgatory, and yes, it was believed to be a human concept, but could be possible that it was because of divine inspiration?
Lanz: Thanks for posting this question. It simply inspired me to know more about the subject. :)
@starsailover (7829)
• Mexico
7 Jun 10
Hi Lanz negosyante: Being a catholic I beleive in the Purgatory because I think that we, the normal persons make mistakes so we are not purified so our souls need to be perfectioned and God is merciful so he give us the oportunity to go to heaven after the purgatory. God is love and for me that's the reason to beleive in purgatory. Thanks for asking us this question. Have a nice day.
ALVARO
@juggerogre (1653)
• Philippines
7 Jun 10
No I don't believe in the purgatory. I believe man has only one chance to prove that he/she has the right to enter heaven. And that is when he/she is still alive. You can either be good or bad. Not half bad, half good. If your half good then I believe you'll go straight to Hell.
@starsailover (7829)
• Mexico
7 Jun 10
Hi jugggerogre: I respect your opinion but I don't share it because I think that if that would be true not even the 0.0000001% of the humanity would go to heaven. Even when you try your best not to sin you make mistakes, maybe you hurt somebody with your words even if it that was not your intention or you forget to help someone in need. For me people are not completely good. Only God is good, men are sinners. If you try your best you'll be 80% good but I don't think a person would 100% good and God knows our weakness so he's merciful with its son. Well that's my opinion.
ALVARO
@archon309 (404)
• Philippines
12 Jun 10
I'd take my hat off for you (If I'm wearing one) starsailover. Good point there.
@chickabee (119)
• United States
8 Jun 10
meirhu - I just now read your post in the discussion on purgatory and it so appalled me that it prompted me to pull up your profile and read some of your comments on other discussions. To answer for this discussion, you are correct in that there is no purgatory. However, there is definitely a heaven and a hell. They exist whether or not you choose to believe in them. I guarantee that one day you will find out I am speaking the truth. I also believe that when that day comes your mind will flash back to this very moment and remember what I told you.
Are you calling God "It"? He has many wonderful names, but He is not called "It". One of His names is the great "I AM" for instance. One of your posts said God was "a god of "hatred, disaster and evil". You are actually referring to satan when you use those words. You also say you have no free will. This is nonsense since you are choosing to be and think the way you do. God, nor anyone and not the way you were born is making you be the way you are. That is a blatant cop-out and a good excuse to live your life any way you choose because you think there will be no consequences to your thoughts or actions.. I would like to tell you so much more but I do not know if I could penetrate your ingrained thinking. I would not give up because with God nothing is impossible. I was surprised to see your age because I see so many young people with the same attitude. Please open your heart and mind to the possibility that you could be totally mistaken.
@chickabee (119)
• United States
9 Jun 10
Hello meirhu
To answer your question, yes, God (and please stop calling Him IT) is more powerful than satan. God created satan and called him Lucifer and Lucifer was very beautiful and was, in fact, in charge of the music in heaven among other things. He became puffed up and thought too highly of himself. He said to himself, "I will be like the Most High". He wanted to replace God and so he rebelled, along with 1/3 of the angels. There was a rebellion and God cast Lucifer and his followers to earth. Here he is called satan or the devil, if you will, and his fallen angels are demons.
God is all powerful and certainly can stop satan and He does and will stop him for good at the end when he is cast, along with his followers into the lake of fire.
I will certainly share my beliefs with anyone with a desire to listen to them. I have read some of your posts and I see your attitude toward God. If you have a genuine question to ask me I will be glad to share my faith with you. You could never "enlighten" me to your way of thinking.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
7 Jun 10
Seriously speaking, I feel that living on earth is and can be considered purgatory / hell. Yes we have good and bad days comparable to what we can surmise as heaven and hell. In reality the illnesses, lack of money, and lack of respect can not be in any greater place than here on earth. I am Catholic and yes I do believe in heaven and as the bible says God forgives all those who are true to God. Here on earth, people say they are forgiving, however don't truely mean it, and certainly do not respect you for the person you are. It is so we should never judge a person by how they look and or make mistakes. We should always judge them for the ways they change and or retify the mistakes. Therefore, after life that is a greater discussion as to if we really exist after and in all honesty we will not have the opportunity to convey to anyone if this is in fact true.
@carlynganda (749)
• Philippines
7 Jun 10
i like purgatory..i hope it's real since i'm not really sure if it really exist or now..because i don't want to go to heaven and enjoy the rest of my existence..i don't want to go to hell either to suffer the rest of my existence..i want to stay in the middle..purgatory, that is, a place where it is more challenging and rewarding..
@cobrateacher (8432)
• United States
7 Jun 10
Frankly, Lanz_, I've always believed in a good and loving God. If there is a purgatory, for many of us, it's herre and now...
@chickabee (119)
• United States
8 Jun 10
I feel I must respond to this discussion and give my honest opinion. To put it plainly, I do not believe in purgatory, period. I cannot find reference to it anywhere in the Bible. I also firmly believe that you only have one of two places your soul goes when you die - heaven or hell. Depending upon the choice you make while on earth. If you desire to go to heaven there is only one way to get there and that is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. He is the one and only way and good works and being a "good" person won't do it. All you have to do to go to hell is nothing. Just deny Jesus and His priceless gift of eternal life.
@aguas_aj (498)
• Philippines
19 Jun 10
i dont believe in Purgatory. As you have said. everything is in Black and white only.. There's no lukewarm faith to God, It is only Hot or Cold. Everything we have to learn in this life is given in these life and every mistake we do in these life is given a 2nd chances to correct also in this life. Not after life..
@achilles2010 (3051)
• India
7 Jun 10
I think only place the soul can purify is during its personification in the human body. Once it leaves the body it, is waiting either to be burned or burnt immediately? Once grain is sifted from the chaff, it is gathered in the barn but the chaff is kept aside to burn. The chaff gathered for burning is the purgatory. I will tell you why it is purgatory. While Christ is sifting grain from chaff, some grain too is caught up with chaff. Master does not want that a single grain should be burnt with chaff. He sends his servants to salvage that grain. That salvaging we know as salvation. I think I have explained to the best of my knowledge what purgatory is.
@gfeef01 (537)
•
7 Jun 10
I think Purgatory is a bit of a complex issue, in some ways it's non-biblical, it's a human construct, perhaps to explain the harsh reality we don't want to accept, or to explain the loopholes to the logic we are faced with.
In the general christian teaching, we have our lifetimes to chose to respond to God. If we chose not to, we have chosen to ignore heaven as an afterlife and take our chances on what the alternatives could be. Purgatory gives us a third option, one that explains what happens to those who did not get a chance to respond, or those we believe can't possibly be denied the conmfort of heaven for whatever reason.
Honestly i find purgatory a harmful concept. One that teaches we all get another chance so you needn't commit to which side of the fence you want to stand on. I find it hard to defend a man made construct but i understand the confort it gives people, expecially those who see the purity of God and the reality of humanity as being hard to put together.
Interestingly most of the biggest churches of the world now DON'T teach the existence of purgatory as standard, though some preachers still chose to do so independently. Hope that helps.
@med889 (5941)
•
7 Jun 10
I think after heaven and hell are both on earth and when we are happy we experience being in heaven and when we are in sorrows or depressed or even hurt then we often say we are in hell, so this is the right place to do good things and correct the mistakes.
@aquariand (464)
•
7 Jun 10
I don't believe in the after life so Ii don't think purgatory exists, it is just a matter of what you believe as nothing or no-one has ever proved there is an after life or whether there isn't one.
No-one knows, its all down to what your faith is and what you chose to believe or not to believe. I personally don't think there is a heaven or hell life is what you make it then your gone, like a candle that is blown out, the light has gone and never returns.
