Holy Fire

Explicitly Implicit

In the previous memo Mystery of the Missing Seven, we discussed the scriptural basis of praying for the dead and how the conclusion of an intermediary third state of the afterlife must exist: purgatory.

When it comes to purgatory, the first thing that Protestants will yell is “show me where it is explicitly in scripture!!”

While most Protestants are genuinely concerned about believing something unbiblical, the idea that purgatory—or any other uniquely Catholic doctrine—must be explicitly described in detail in Scripture to be valid is a fundamentally flawed approach.

In the same way that the Trinity isn’t explicitly mentioned or described in scripture, using a handful of verses, one can come to the reasonable conclusion that the Trinity does in fact exist.

The most pertinent example of these verses is Matthew 28:19:

The Church Fathers unanimously agreed that this proved the Trinity, with St. Athanasius of Alexandria proclaiming “for, in the very act of baptizing, the three are named together: not to divide Them, but to show Their unity in the Godhead.”

Similarly, with purgatory, the Bible doesn’t have the word “purgatorium,” but there are a handful of verses that point to its existence.

There are several that are extremely popular when Catholics discuss purgatory, especially 1 Corinthians 3:15, but the most under the radar passage is from the Gospel of Luke (12: 42-48).

Nearly all of the Fathers concluded that this represents those who spend their time on Earth doing the will of the Father and are blessed with inheriting the Eternal Kingdom.

Conversely, this is interpreted as those who shall not inherit the Kingdom due to their wicked behavior. Interestingly, in other translations, the imagery of the servant being cut in half represents the finality of this judgement.

Now, according to the Protestant tradition, the parable should end here given that, in their eyes, the only two options are heaven and hell. But the parable continues:

Several conclusions can be drawn here.

First, the difference between being cut in half and receiving a beating doesn’t have to be explained in depth; ignoring the modern day advancements in science and technology, the possibility of someone’s life being restored after being severed is zero. On the other hand, the temporary nature of receiving a “beating” is obvious.

This means that besides those who are destined for heaven or hell, there exists a third group of those who did not “get drunk” or “beat other servants,” but also did not execute the will of the Father to the best of their ability.

The more direct theological explanation is that since nothing unclean can enter heaven (Revelations 21:27), those with unconfessed venial sins or unremitted temporal punishment due to forgiven sin must undergo purification.

Because heaven is perfect union with God, any remaining stain of or attachment to sin must be purified due to the double consequence of sin: eternal and temporal.

Eternal refers to the negative impact that sin has with our relationship with God and is forgiven through the Sacrament of Confession, while temporal is the residual damage and disorder that remains even after one’s sins are forgiven.

This type of “debt” is “paid off” either through penance in this life or through the purifying fires of purgatory in the next.

To be clear, this purifying fire is both tangibly felt by our souls (given they’ve been separated from the body) and more painful than any suffering possible on Earth.

With all of that seemingly bad news, the good news is that those in purgatory will eventually receive the beatific vision and be co-heirs of eternal life.

The other good news is that the Christian community continually offers up prayers—with Mass being its highest form—to decrease the debt that these souls must “pay.”

In addition to the objection of not being explicitly found in Scripture, Protestants may say something along the lines of “purgatory is fundamentally contradictory to the infinite mercy of God.”

On the surface, the argument seems to have an inkling of validity.

However, the truth is that purgatory is one of several examples that perfectly depicts God’s infinite mercy and justice working hand in hand, as it is only just to be purified of our uncleanliness while also merciful of God to gift us the opportunity to be cleansed, although we don’t deserve it.

Coming back to Luke’s parable, a fourth group is mentioned as a direct reference to the concept of invincible ignorance and introduction of the idea of varying degrees of culpability of one’s actions based on their awareness of the truth.

Origen, a 3rd-century Christian theologian from Alexandria, comments on the passage by explaining “a servant who knew the will of his master and did it not is condemned more than the one who sinned in ignorance… for lesser punishment follows upon lesser knowledge.”

Origen and other Church Fathers helped lay the foundation for the concept that those who are truly ignorant of the Gospel through no fault of their own, but who live according to their conscience and in a manner pleasing to God, may be saved through God’s infinite mercy.

Like mentioned previously, passing from this life with unrepented venial sins is one cause for entering Purgatory.

On the other hand, unrepented mortal sin is a whole different ball game.

Like purgatory, (most) Protestants view mortal sin in the same light as purgatory: since it’s not explicitly delineated in the Bible, it doesn’t exist.

Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the case; references to mortal sins are scattered throughout the Old and New Testament.

But that’s for a different day.

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Thanks for reading and until next time.

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