Purgatory: Did Catholic's Make it up?

Did Catholic’s Make up Purgatory? The answer of course is no. And with this article I would like to argue this using Scripture, the early Church and the Catechism.

With Scripture let’s begin in the Old Testament book of Maccabees. As many of you know this book is not considered sacred Scripture by our Protestant brothers and sisters, and they would likely discount this passage. However, and regardless of that, written about 100 years prior to the birth of Christ it does provide a pre-Christian historical account of this doctrine, which Christians then adopted among their beliefs. Maccabees includes the following:

⁴³ He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. ⁴⁴ For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. ⁴⁵ But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.

A brief background to this (verses 36-42) is the fallen were soldiers killed in battle who had sinned by keeping tokens of idols. At this point we read Judas Maccabeus then exhorted his men to provide for a collection as a sin offering. And it is clear from this passage that Judas believed in the need to pray for the dead and acknowledges that it would have been “foolish to pray” for them if he did not believe it was beneficial and necessary for the dead. Again, this was written about 100 years before Christ, so we can see that a belief of valuable prayers for the dead superseded the establishment of the Church.

If this passage is rejected because it’s not in the Protestant Bible and if the argument on the basis of at least an historical account is also dismissed, then we should dive into the New Testament writings which are in the Protestant Bible.

1 Corinthians 3 is a good place to begin. It reads:

¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. ¹⁴ If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

Here St. Paul refers to the works of each builder (ours) which will become visible on the “day”. The day here is the day of judgement which we will all experience at the end of our lives (2 Corinthians 5:10). The work of each builder will be revealed with fire. Fire biblically can be metaphorical for purifying (See Malachi 3:2-3). That is what St. Paul describes here. He goes on to say our work will be tested. And if what we have built (by how we lived our lives), survives, then there will be a reward. But, the builder “will suffer loss”, but will still be saved. But “only as through fire”. So, where is this place that we will be rewarded but only as through fire? It cannot be heaven because no one suffers loss in heaven. It cannot be hell because no one is saved in hell. So, at the very least there must be a third place. A place we call purgatory.

Let’s also consider Matthew 12:32 which reads:

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the HolySpirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

This suggests that there are some sins that can be forgiven in “the age to come”, meaning after we die. We know sin cannot be forgiven in hell and we acknowledge that there is no need for sins to be forgiven in heaven. Any remission of sin in the next world can only occur somewhere besides heaven or hell- in a third place again which we call Purgatory.

A few other passages to consider are Revelation 21:27 “But nothing unclean will enter it”-referring to heaven and Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” We must be clean (cleansed from our sins) and we must be holy before we see the Lord. This place where we are cleansed and made holy is what we call purgatory.

Now let’s looks at what the early church had to say:

"The citizen of a prominent city, I erected this while I lived, that I might have a resting place for my body. Abercius is my name, a disciple of the chaste Shepherd who feeds his sheep on the mountains and in the fields, who has great eyes surveying everywhere, who taught me the faithful writings of life. Standing by, I, Abercius, ordered this to be inscribed: Truly, I was in my seventy-second year. May everyone who is in accord with this and who understands it pray for Abercius" (Epitaph of Abercius [A.D. 190]). 

"We offer sacrifices for the dead on their birthday anniversaries [the date of death—birth into eternal life]" (Tertullian-The Crown 3:3 [A.D. 211]). 

"Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them" (John Chrysostom- Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5 [A.D. 392]). 

There are numerous other quotes from the early Church. I included only three here for brevity. But, from these three we can observe the references to prayers for the dead. As Judas Maccabeus tells us in Maccabees 12:44  (centuries before these references) “For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead” -we therefore must pray for the dead, it is not foolish!We must ask why pray for the dead if they are already in heaven? They are already there and do not need our prayers. They are not in hell, because no amount of prayers will free them from hell. We pray for them because they are in this third place-purgatory.

Finely, let’s consider the teaching of the Church in the Catechism:

1030All 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.

1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.⁶⁰⁶ The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:⁶⁰⁷

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.⁶⁰⁸

1032This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."⁶⁰⁹ From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.⁶¹⁰ The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.⁶¹¹

The Catechism is clear in its teaching. But, I would like to add a few comments. It mentions the Church gives the name Purgatory. This word does not appear in Scripture. However, this fact should not cause scandal. The words trinity, incarnation and hypostatic union (three persons in one God, God became man and Jesus being both God and man) are all tenets of the Catholic (Christian) faith. These words are also not found in Scripture. The Church also gave us those descriptive names. And so, it gives us the word Purgatory to describe the reality from Scripture.

The Catechism also mentions the Church formulated her doctrine on Purgatory in the Councils of Florence (held between the years 1431 to 1449) and Trent (conducted during the years 1545 and 1563). At first glance this could lead one to believe that the Church did make up the doctrine of Purgatory and not until 1,500 years after the birth of Christ! But, as I have, I hope argued successfully above, this belief was held at least 100 years prior to Christ (Maccabees 12), is found in the New Testament and was believed by the early Church.

It is worth mentioning that during the two thousand years of Christian history the Church has found it necessary to address questions in teaching. Examples of this would be the Council of Ephesus which declared Mary the Mother of God (theotokos) against Nestorius and the argument against Eutyches in the Council of Chalcedon who denied the two natures of Christ (Divine and human). In this light in regards at least with the Council of Trent the Church found it necessary to dispute claims of the Protestant Reformation including dismissal of the doctrine of Purgatory. So, although this concept was always believed the Church felt it necessary to define it infallibly at that point in history.

I began this article by asking the question did Catholics make up Purgatory? After exploring the Scriptures, the early Church and the teachings of the Catechism I hope the evidence is clear and the answer is NO!