The thing is, Don Piper is a very conservative Christian who is anti-abortion, believes Christ is the one King and Only Son of God, and much the same that we Catholics believe, but he’s an OSAS type, too, so he’s not completely in line with the Church of Rome.
My thinking was, was he in a high stage of Purgatory? It wasn’t a sad place or anything, so it doesn’t seem like a lower stage of Purgatory, and I know that some of our Catholic Priests have been approached by souls in Purgatory asking for memorial Masses to be said to release them into Heaven, so I was wondering if anyone thought he was in Purgatory, or if instead he had seen the Lobby of Heaven (so to speak).
I think you have very thoroughly answered your own question!
There are some things to keep in mind.
The Church does not now (and never has) made absolute statements against non-Catholics entering Heaven. In fact, what is truly refreshing and resonates truth is that the Church is very clear that ultimately the decision to let us into Heaven or not is solely the purview of God.
It is therefore quite possible that non-Catholics, perhaps even by the grace of God, non-Baptised people who are virtuous and do the best that they can with the understanding of God that they have. Personally, I have little doubt (though I don’t speculate on this much) that those responsible for leading others astray will receive very, very dire punishments. But those who are born into centuries old heresy (and think it is Christ and truth!) cannot reasonably be held to the same judgement.
WITH THAT SAID…and the following I feel is VERY important…
There is a grave danger in reading into NDEs. Some have used them to bolster the ‘new age’ movement as evidence that Heaven is really only what you believe it to me (sort of like the movie What Dreams May Come). This minister’s experience, because it is so vivid and true, can be twisted to argue that the Church (i.e., the Catholic Church) is not necessary for salvation.
Again, this is God’s station, not mine. But I know for me, a new Catholic filled with the spirit, having been presented clear and obvious information that there can only be one church and that Protestant rhetoric is heresy, I will be judged much harsher now if and when I screw up.
I cannot just wake up one day and say ‘oh well, a Baptist saw Heaven. I don’t feel like going to Mass. I don’t want to confess my sins, it’s too embarassing. In fact, I’ll go ahead and sin a bit, God will understand…’
Furthermore, in my experience, those in the Church who make use of the sacraments honestly are better guided and know right from wrong better than those not in it. How many times have I heard Protestants say stupid things like ‘I love Jesus…but I will [insert mortal sin here] because the Bible is outdated.’ That atttitude is NOT a path to heaven. I doubt that the minister who wrote this book had that mindset!
This is kind of the dark side of echumenism that needs work. Many Catholics think that echumenism is about fushion of the Church with the various sects. No! It is about getting those in heresy back into the Church!
My fear is that some Catholics will use this as justification for not going to Mass, not confessing sins, for brazenly using artificial birth control, and not living a Christ-like life.
In sum, I tend to think that this minister was on the edge of Purgatory, but inside it (is it not possible for Purgatory to have nice spots?). That is just my opinion.
Let’s never forget Christ’s appearance before Thomas when Christ asked rhetorically if he believed only because he saw Him. We don’t need NDEs to affirm our faith.
Here, the scientific approach of testing a theory via repetition would yield the same results for anyone who has active nerve endings in their fingers. It’s a testable theory that would bring about consistent results.