Five Lutheran scholars say which still matter and why No place for purgatory By Joy Schroeder 14. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear. 15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near the horror of despair. 26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of inter-cession for them. The early church’s practice of prayer for the dead led to the idea that saved souls undergo a process of “purgation” (purification) after death, before entering heaven. In Martin Luther’s time, many imagined purgatory as a geographical place filled with fire, punishment and torment. One’s duration in purgatory was described in terms of days and years. In theses 14 and 15, Luther redefines purgatory as an experience—the near-despair of a dying person filled with dread about God’s punishment and one’s salvation.  Modern
Roman Catholic theologians, likewise, resist defining purgatory as a
place or something quantifiable in human terms such as years. Some
Roman Catholics still do use older concepts to describe purgatory but
their theologians now prefer to use the language of experience, transition, process or maturation
to describe purification of souls being prepared to enjoy the full
presence and holiness of God. These souls are said to benefit from the
prayers of the living. Pope Benedict XVI suggested that purgatory might
be the “moment” of the Christian’s purifying encounter with Christ
after death and on the Last Day. Luther advances his arguments with the assumption that there is some sort of purgatory and concludes, in thesis 26, with the idea that souls there may benefit from prayers—specifically the pope’s. Modern Lutherans don’t share this supposition. Luther and his supporters later argued that there is no scriptural warrant for teaching people to believe in purgatory. The rest of this article is only available to subscribers. |
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