The Saints in Purgatory

The Roman Catholic Church holds that the dead who do not deserve

hell but who are not yet ready for Paradise can have their sins purged

in purgatory and then ascend from there to Paradise. Their sufferings

in purgatory can be reduced by the prayers and penances of loved ones.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is explicit about purgatory: “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.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday,

1995), p. 291. It states, too, that their suffering can be alleviated by the

prayers of their loved ones, as well as by other acts on behalf of the dead.

“The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of

penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.”—Catechism of the Catholic

Church, p. 291.

Read Ecclesiastes 9:10, Ezekiel 18:20–22, and Hebrews 9:27. How do

these passages refute the theory of purgatory?

The dogma of purgatory combines the pagan notion of a burning hell

with the pagan practice of praying for the dead. This dogma is unaccept-

able for those who believe in the biblical teachings (1) that the dead remain

resting unconsciously in their graves (Eccles. 9:10); (2) that the righteous-

ness of one fallen human being cannot be transferred to another fallen

human being (Ezek. 18:20–22); (3) that our only Mediator is Jesus Christ

(1 Tim. 2:5); and (4) that death is followed by the final judgment, without

any second chance to repent from the pitfalls of this life (Heb. 9:27).

An even more serious implication is how the antibiblical theory of

purgatory distorts God’s own character. Indeed, “Satan’s work since his

fall is to misinterpret our heavenly Father. He suggested the dogma of

the immortality of the soul. . . . The idea of an eternally burning hell

was the production of Satan; purgatory is his invention. These teach-

ings falsify the character of God, that He shall be regarded as severe,

revengeful, arbitrary, and not exercising forgiveness.”—Ellen G. White,

Manuscript 51, 1890. Instead of the dead asleep, awaiting Christ’s

return, this view says they’re in purgatory, suffering there until some-

one manages to get them out.

What do such errors as purgatory or eternal torment teach us

about the importance of doctrine? Why is what we believe of

importance, and not just in whom we believe?