Jesus didn't do a good job!

It would appear that this Catholic didn't have a very good understanding of what her church teaches about purgatory.

According to Catholic teaching, the soul in purgatory is already saved and heaven-bound. But what is happening is that the soul is being cleansed in the blood of Jesus by means of "fire" (1 Cor 3:15) so that the person will enter heaven completely clean and purified of any sin on the soul. It isn't something that you have to "earn" in order to "get out."

So the Catholics say.

 

Awesome response! Thank you for sharing that!

One of the things I hit recently while witnessing to a nonbeliever was, "You Christians always make such a big deal out of Christ dieing for you, then say he knows everything and was raised from the dead. Well, he knew he wasn't going to stay dead, what difference did the cross make?"

My answer was: That is actually the beauty of what he did. He left heaven, the place of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect power, to live a little over 30 years on the earth as the son of a Carpenter in a poor region of the earth - KNOWING how hard life on the poor can be. He ministered and loved and healed - KNOWING that the very act of doing those things would make people like you hate him. He KNEW he would be tortured for sins that WE should be punished for, and that He never committed. He went to the cross knowing that some people would never listen, never appreciate never care, but He did it ANYWAY because HE loved us. You say it doesn't count because He didn't stay in the grave. The fact is, it ONLY counts because he didn't.

 

The works that official Catholic doctrine is talking about in purgatory hold the same status as works Baptist talk about when we reference the works of progressive sanctification and refining discipline after initial justification. Of course, this distinction is rarely made to the lay Catholic.

Catholic Outlook : Common Objections
Catechism of the Catholic Church : Purgatory

 

and of course our sactification is in progress while we are alive and will be made complete when we see Jesus (immediatly) after we die.
No sanctifing going on in a nonexistant purgatory
They may hold some status with the catholic church but that is it. Why try to even make some kind of comparison. One is a true biblical statement the other is absolute falsehood.

 

Agreed.

I believe it is important to make truthful and correct statements about those who we think are wrong.

 

Posted by Gold Dragon: The works that official Catholic doctrine is talking about in purgatory hold the same status as works Baptist talk about when we reference the works of progressive sanctification and refining discipline after initial justification.

You always seem to be slamming the baptists. I know we aren't perfect by far but I think they are the closest to getting it right. That is why I am a baptist. Why are you a baptist if you hold them in such disdain?

 

It is interesting that you accuse me of slamming baptists in this thread. I have done so before in other threads, but this one, I honestly had nothing negative to say about Baptists. The works of progressive sanctification that both Baptists and Catholics refer to is biblical truth.

Regarding your question of why I, a baptist, am critical of baptists and remain a baptist, that is a great question with a pretty complicated answer.

Why am I critical of baptists? I grew up in a Baptist family, attending baptist churches my entire life, marrying a baptist and having most of my friends as baptists. I love baptists.

My criticism of baptists stems from my love for this community that has nurtured and corrected me over the years.

The motto of this site is "The Truth Shall Set You Free". Would it be love to know truth and let others remain in error? I know you feel it is you who has the truth and I that is in error. I couldn't care less who is right, as long as the truth is made known.

You feel that Baptists are the closests at getting it right. That is great. My hope does not lie in the "rightness" or closeness to perfection of my local church or its theologies. They are just as imperfect as every other church and theology out there.

My hope lies in the perfect Christ that my imperfect local church seeks to worship and know. It lies in the perfect Christ that our imperfect theologies seek to understand.

Of course I feel my imperfect theologies are more perfect than your imperfect theologies or else I wouldn't believe them. Hopefully through our dialogue and honest searching for the truth with Baptists and non-Baptists alike, both our imperfect theologies will become more perfect, even though seeking perfect theologies is not the aim of Christianity. It is to seek and know the perfect Christ.