Beliefnet Article: Heaven? Sure. Hell? Not So Much

[Holly3278]

Hey everyone. I was reading this Beliefnet article about Heaven and Hell and the preaching about each. Well, it was an interesting article until I came upon the following:
From the Article:

In 410 A.D., St. Augustine defined four states of afterlife: those so good they go to heaven; those so bad they go to hell; those who deserve some relief in their eternal torment; and those who deserve to be lifted out of torment after repenting for their sins. That set the stage for the doctrine of purgatory in 1237 A.D.

Well, let’s just say that I was disappointed in this article because it seems to say right there that the doctrine of Purgatory was just simply invented in 1237 AD and that it had not existed before then which we all know is not true. Everything the Church teaches now, the Church taught in the beginning. Whether or not we have a historical record of the Early Church Fathers teachings such things is, in my opinion, irrelevant because in order to have a historical record, it would have had to have been documented or written down and I am certain that not all Sacred Tradition was written down.

Anyway, the article also mentions Pope John Paul II and how he talked about Hell as a sort of state of mind of those who separate themselves from God as opposed to a lake of fire as the Evangelicals describe Hell.

So, I am wanting to comment on this article and refute this apparent misconception that the doctrine of Purgatory was invented but I am not sure how to do that. Could anyone help me understand this better? Also, if you’d like to post a comment on the article refuting that or for anything else, feel free to do so.

blog.beliefnet.com/news/2009/08/heaven-sure-hell-not-so-much.php

 

[DavidFilmer]

Well, let’s just say that I was disappointed in this article because it seems to say right there that the doctrine of Purgatory was just simply invented in 1237 AD and that it had not existed before then which we all know is not true.

Indeed, as you quoted the article itself as attributing this teaching to Augustine in 410. If Augustine was familiar with the doctrine in 410, then how could it have been invented in 1237?

Augustine is our best ECF in defense of the doctrine of purgatory (though the article did not specifically address some of his most direct comments). However, there were numerous earlier testimonies. Read them all in the CA tract titled The Roots of Purgatory.