Question: Why do Protestants believe that Purgatory was invented?
Answer:
The typical Protestant shows his total ignorance of Jewish and Christian history. They have been deceived into thinking that Hell came first and that Purgatory was "invented" later. Actually the opposite is true. The Jews of the Second Temple period believed in an afterlife in Sheol in which souls awaited the Resurrection. It was believed by them that during that interim, the souls of the just went into rest in the "Bosom of Abraham" or Paradise. Meanwhile, the souls of those who were less-than-just suffered torment. For the most part the Rabbis believed that this torment was purgative in preparation for the resurrection. The souls of the just and the unjust were segregated and did not intermingle. A few Rabbis speculated that at least some souls were punished for eternity, but this was a minority opinion. Some Rabbis believed that the souls of the evil were punished until the Resurrection and then destroyed. Others believed in reincarnation (called gilgul) which appears to be a concept borrowed from Hinduism. This is all well documented in the recent book, "Jewish Views of the Afterlife" by Rabbi Simcha Paul Raphael. The evidence for this can be seen several Jewish sources. It is best illustrated for us in 2Maccabees 12:39-46, which preceded the birth of Jesus by over a Century. In any case, Jesus was well aware of the tradition of purgation and supported it in his teaching. For example, the parable about Dives and Lazarus in Luke 16 where Lazarus rested in Abraham's bosom while Dives suffered torment was a Sheol story. Dives was not eternally damned. He was being purged until the Resurrection and would not be released until then. Jesus also spoke about sins being forgiven in "the world to come" which is clearly the terminology of purgation used by other Rabbinic sources:
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.
It should also be noted that it was Jesus who was the primary advocate of eternal punishment for some souls. He was the original hellfire-and-brimstone preacher. It is because of him that many in Judaism now accept the concept of an eternal Hell. I should also note that James repeats the lie told by many prots that Catholics added the Deuteros to the Canon to support their 'novel' idea of purgatory. Actually, the Deuteros were part of the Christian Bible from the very beginning. (For example, Jesus alluded extensively to Wisdom, Sirach and Tobit in the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, St. Paul quoted from Wisdom in Romans 1 and the author of Hebrews quoted form the Maccabean literature in Hebrews 10.) It was the prot Deformers who EXCLUDED the Deuteros from the Bible specifically to deny the concept of purgatory.
I thought you all would find this quotation interesting:
Tosefta Sanhedrin, 13;3 In the House of Shammai it was said: There are three groups: One is destined to eternal life, and another is consigned to ignominy and eternal abhorrence- they are the thoroughly wicked, the average among them will go down to hell, and dive and come up and arise thence and be healed... In the House of Hillel it was said: "[God is] rich in kindness (Exodus 34;6)"- would incline the balance to the side of mercy"
Jesus believed in purgation after death as I have shown. So did St. Paul. Note:
1Cr 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13 each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
Compare this to 2 Maccabbees 12. St. Paul uses the same reasoning.}Historic Christianity therefore had BIBLICAL as well As Traditional warrant for belief in purgation in the intermediate state. It is the prot heretics who denied this based upon their theological speculation. I would submit that 1500 years after the fact no group of heretics, schismatics, and apostates such as the 16th Century Deformers had any authority to invent a new doctrine or to deny a well established one
Art Sippo
The Catholic Legate