Where did the Idea of Purgatory come from?

Question

It was not found in the Bible

No insults!!!

Answer 1

…as Purgatory, for instance, which Gregory was advocating with the aid of the most absurd fables.”



-J.H. Merle d’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, trans. Dr. H. White, Vol. V (Rapidan, VA: Harland Publications, 1846 edition), p. 683.



According to Roman Catholic dogma, a Christian who dies in a state of grace (i.e. did not lose their salvation) will go to Heaven. However, all sins that that believer committed after baptism must be satisfied or else the believer will suffer temporary punishment:



“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.



The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.” -Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 1030 and 1031



According to the Council of Trent, Purgatory is based on the writings of Scripture and the Church fathers:



“Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, following the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this ecumenical council that there is a purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by the suffrages of the faithful and chiefly by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the holy council commands the bishops that they strive diligently to the end that the sound doctrine of purgatory, transmitted by the Fathers and sacred councils, be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ, and to be everywhere taught and preached.” -The Council of Trent, Decree Concerning Purgatory



These beliefs are echoed by Roman Catholic apologists in our modern times who claim that purgatory can be supported by both the test of history and by Scripture. Is this true? This article will deal with the history and roots of Purgatory and prove that it was not a doctrine that was taught by the apostles but something that was injected into Christianity by pagan Greek philosophy.



Roman Catholic apologists often imply that all the early church fathers believed in Purgatory which, if true, would most certainly be a great proof that their doctrine was taught by the apostles. Here is a quote from a Catholic apologetics website:



“The doctrine of purgatory, or the final purification, has been part of the true faith since before the time of Christ…Jews, Catholics, and the Eastern Orthodox have always historically proclaimed the reality of the final purification. It was not until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century that anyone denied this doctrine…purgatory has been part of the Christian faith from the very beginning.” –Catholic Answers, “The Roots of Purgatory” (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2004).

Answer 2

"Look at 1 Corinthians 3:14–15: "If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." You see, the Latinate word purgatory means a purgation or burning by fire. Paul in these verses refers to a purgation process whereby a man is saved even though his works are burned away. This is precisely what the Catholic Church teaches. A person at death who still has personal faults is prevented from entering into heaven because he is not completely purified. He must go through a period of purgation in order to be made clean, for nothing unclean will enter heaven (cf. Rev. 21:27)."



PS:Many human beings have dedicated their entire lives to the scriptures since its first incarnation appeared. To this day people spend their entire existence attempting to understand the Bible. The result of such dedication is countless numbers of Christian denominations, and many translations. The reason for this, I believe, is that each person, complete with their own ideas, influential histories and environments, interprets the bible in a manner which makes sense to them. It is a natural human tendency to attempt to make sense of the world. That is why an Eastern Orthodox Christian may interpret the same material in an entirely different manner from a Southern Baptist or Mormon, etc. Much in the same way two students might differ when interpreting the meaning of Othello in a High school English class.

Answer 3

The term of what afterward grew into the doctrine of purgatory is to be found in the idea of a purification by fire after death among the ancients long before the time of Christ, particularly among the people of India and Persia. It was a familiar idea to the Egyptians and later to the Greek and Roman mind. Plato accepted the idea and gave expression to it in his philosophy. He taught that perfect happiness after death was not possible until one had made satisfaction for his sins, and that if his sins were too great his suffering would have no end.



We need only read church history to discover how this doctrine developed by slow processes into it's present form. In the early Christian era, following the Apostolic age, the writings of Marcion and the Shepherd of Hermes (second century) set forth the first statement of a doctrine of purgatory, alleging that Christ after His death on the cross went to the underworld and preached to the spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:19) and led them in triumph to heaven, Prayers for the dead appear in the early Christian liturgies and imply the doctrine since they suggest that the state of the dead is not yet fixed. Origen, the most learned of the early church fathers (died 254 A.D.), taught, first, that a purification by fire was to take place after the resurrection, and second, a universal restoration, a purifying by fire at the end of the world through which all men and angels were to be restored to favor with God.



Read more at

Answer 4

It's basically a Roman Catholic insertion in order to give most criminals (minor and petty offenses) and "sinful" people a chance to repent. The idea there being, if you did something wrong for a justifiable reason, then you'll be forgiven but you got to pay a few penalties (i.e. purgatory) before you can be totally cleansed and go to heaven.....minor sins = minor penance. This was also used as a form of encouragement to continue believing in the Catholic Church.



Use to believe that Catholic CR@P....

Answer 5

Catholics were given a choice between accepting 1) the Protestant belief that God would allow any white washed pile of dung into heaven, or 2) that God would mercifully provide a place of final purification for those who were basically good people, but still had a few unresolved problems with sin.



They wisely chose the second option, which is based on both the old and new testaments of scripture, and which fits in perfectly with the law of love which Jesus himself gave us.

Answer 6

Purgatory is found in the Bible, although not the word. Maccabees says that "It is a good and holy thing to pray for the dead." If everyone is in Heaven or hell, why would anyone pray for them? Those in either are there permanently.

Purgatory is a purification necessary when good people die but are not perfect enough to enter in Heaven. No one can go to Heaven, in God's presence, unless they are perfect.

Answer 7

a very good question but what is so offensive is that you must search other books and religions to seek further knowledge, read other things plz there are many other sources to explain purgatory and you have did not insults to any particular group! there are so many others beliefs and books!

Answer 8

you are correct it is not found in the Bible nor was it a concept that Jesus or his followers were familiar with the bogus place came into exhistance at the invention of the catholic church to extort money out of the poor and ignorant for allegedly getting them out of that alledged state into heaven they would sell indulgences and charge a fee for saying prayers, masses, and novenas for the alleged sinners to get from there to heaven quit e little money making racket Gorbalizer

Answer 9

Its in the catholic bible. Not the protestant bible because those assemblers of the cannon included what was considered by them as inspired jewish writings and the jews had excluded 5 books and 2 additional chapters from the their bible.

Answer 10

whether in or out the idea was a gem that someone came up with but then again Mythology had some great ideas too ....don't think my rotting corpse will be going anywhere so much for that....

Answer 11

Invented at the Vatican in 1438 AD by a poop.



Makes them lots and lots of money!

Answer 12

Read Dante's the divine comdey.

Answer 13

it's not in the bible, because there is no purgatory.

Answer 14

Your right, it's not in the Bible because it does not exist, just as the dead no longer exist.

Answer 15

From people who don't believe Jesus when he said it is finished !!!

Answer 16

it appears to be loosely based on a jewish belief.