Purgatory

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What!?

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I thought purgatory truly revived from greedy popes trying to sell indulgences to make money. Augustine never pushed the idea!

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The concept is anti-Christ in that it negates Christ’s sufferings as redemptive and instills doubts about the cross of that Christ atoning believers . and of the resurrection of Christ that should cause men to raise to everlasting life.

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Dare to read a little of Luther on Galatians to understand why priest-craft and purgatory seriously belittle the cross and resurrection of Christ.

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That would be correct, purgatory is not biblical and IS anti-Christ.
It suggests that more than Christ's gift is necessary, and that is simply not true. The RC makes no beans about it being her idea, as is all of sacred tradition, non-biblical.

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Egyptians had a doctrine of purgatory, I bet if we did research it goes back as far as Sumer, perhaps the decent of Inanna.

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For you.home.computer.net/~cya/cy00026.html - 9k"In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was inculcated. But when once this doctrine of purgatory was admitted into the popular mind, then the door was open for all manner of priestly extortions. Prayers for the dead ever do hand in hand with purgatory; but no prayers can be completely efficacious without the interposition of the priest and no priestly functions can be rendered unless there by special pay for them. Therefore, in every land we find the pgan priesthood devouring widows houses, and making merchandise of the tendor feelings of beloved dead" (The Two Babylons, p. 168).That the doctrine of purgatory is unscriptural can be shown easily. The Bible says nothing about any such place, and in fact the most devastating arguements against purgatory come from those inspired pages. Christ made not even so much as a passing allusion to purgatory. Instead He said: "He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life" (John 5:24). Hence eternal life is already possessed by the soul that believes on Christ and there can be no possible condemnation of that soul. When Jesus said to the penitent theif on the cross, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), the clear inference was that at his death he would go immediately to heaven, Christ's words, "It is finished" (John 19:30), spoken at the end of His suffering on the cross, mean that the work of redemption which He came to perform has been accomplished, finished, not partially, but completely."The link makes a great read.Added: I see the link does not work. Google 'Pagan Origin of Purgatory',This message has been edited by DorfMan, 10-29-2005 09:41 PM

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Thank you.

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Isn't it funny how things have been passed down?

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Do you think the Catholic church borrowed these teachings,honestly, how does this happen?

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Jesus said that he is the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE. To me that means it is his way, his truth, and his life. Neither of the three can be modified and still remain his way, his truth, his life. Substitutions do not carry, or Narnia could be acceptable, etc.
I recommend a good book by a respectable author on the history of the catholic church. Your librarian will be able to help you with this, or do a search on line. The following link can help you get started.http://mbrem.com/bible/traditn.htmPurgatory is part of sacred tradition. Sacred tradition is NOT part of sacred scripture, which the RCC allows. It is for the individual to determine whether or not to follow the word of God or the word of man, having previously accepted the scriptures as the word of God. If you doubt the all-powerful God's ability to inspire his creatures to lay down his words as is fitting to him, then scripture is meaningless, and you may follow your own heart's desire.

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My time as a Christian has always been in a protestant church but I find it hard to be critical of a church that numbers among its adherents Mother Theresa and Jean Vanier. I think it is important that we listen to each other and see what we can learn from each other.

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To find others in need of a Saviour as you are and as I am, commendable, takes your eyes off the Christ who alone is worthy of your admiration and emulation. I imagine you have not spoken to either of those you cite and don't know the objections they may have to the teachings of their church. Befriending a priest or religious may be of service to you. An intimate conversation and your view of adherents will change. The church is filled with broken hearts and souls in some confusion.
Spoken in care, never in criticism, always in Christ and only him.