Being a Catholic you should know that according to RC dogma, your purgatory isn’t a place for second chances. According to RC dogma all in purgatory will eventually go to heaven. They’re not there to “repent” but (for Catholics) to be purged of unconfessed, venial sins by the pain of fire. What does MJ, a Christ rejecting Muslim, have to do with Catholic “purgatorty?”
Not entirely.
You’re correct that we ALL fall short. But none of us can bridge the gap, even in a million lifetimes. Have you ever read:Rom 3:21-24 "But now apart from law {the} righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even {the} righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for ALL sinned (past tense, in Adam) and (present tense, continually) fall short of the glory of God, being justified (how?) as a gift by His grace (how?) through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (i.e., the cross of Christ)…MJ didn’t believe this. He converted to Islam which does not believe the Man Christ Jesus accomplished redemption on the cross. Hence, he died in his sins. To pray for him now is futile. If you wanted to pray for him you should have done it while he was living in the hope that he would believe the gospel message, “now,” while still living. As the Scriptures say:2 Cor 5:20 - 6:2 "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (through faith in Jesus Christ). He (God) made Him (the Man Christ Jesus) who knew no sin {to be} sin on our behalf (while on the cross), so that we might become the righteousness of God (how?) in Him (i.e., through faith in Him). And working together {with Him,} we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain-- for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you,” Behold, NOW (i.e., in this lifetime) is “the acceptable time,” behold, NOW is “the day of salvation”…"There is no salvation after death. NOW one must believe.
Please don’t preach to me, I have the entire Bible several times over. I also have read James 2:14-26 Have you?
But we are straying from the topic. This is a Catholic forum and this is the from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
So it is certainly good to pray that God is merciful and to pray for MJ’s soul.
What does “pray that God is merciful” to “MJ’s soul” mean? In what way are you praying that God be merciful to MJ? That God might ignore the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, forget about sin and His offended holiness because of it, and allow MJ into heaven in spite of his sins and unbelief? Or are we to pray that MJ would claim ignorance and that God would recognize Muhammad on his behalf instead of Christ?
You don’t know the state of his soul at the time of his death or what he truly believed or didn’t believe only God knows that. What it means to pray for MJ’s soul comes from 2 Maccabees 43-46
I’m not going to keep arguing with you. I don’t want to add to this debate over MJ’s soul any further - I leave the state of soul in God’s hands where it should be.
First of all 1 & 2 Maccabees was not considered Scripture by the Jews, and for good reason. Nor did the early church, as a whole, accept any of the Apocrypha as inspired writings. Second, the writer of Maccabees is completely unknown. And what he states concerning the intention and motives of Judas Maccabees in sending money to Jerusalem is the writer’s opinion and interpretation only. Third, the passage reveals that those who died died in the sin of idolatry - a “mortal sin” in the eyes of Catholicism. This is the main passage Catholicism uses to support its dogma of purgatory, but Catholicism itself teaches that those who die with the stain of “mortal sin” on their souls perish, and that purgatory resolves only the stains of “venial” sins. Fourth, the writer is inconsistent in that he states:"But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought."But the dead warriors were idolaters who had been judged by God for their sin. They died in their guilt, not godliness. Fifth, there’s NOTHING in the Law of Moses that calls for a sacrificial provision for the DEAD. Nor does the passage itself prove that Judas himself even believed such a thing. Based on Lev. 4:1 - 6:7 it seems more likely that Judas, according to the Law, sent the money to Jerusalem to provide for a sin or trespass offering to atone for the defilement that the sin of those idolaters had brought upon the camp. So, in that case, the offering would have been for the living, not the dead. The author himself demonstrates confusion. Last but not least, the author of 2 Macc. says that his book is the abridgement of another man’s literary work - not at all an original (2 Macc. 2:23). He concludes the book by saying:“If it is well written and to the point, that is what I wanted; if it is poorly done and mediocre, that is the best I can do” (15:38).Hardly the testimony of a Holy Spirit inspired writing. “Mediocre” is a good description of the Apocrypha. For this reason both the Jews and the early church rejected those writings as Holy Spirit inspired.
The problem is you leave the doctrine of salvation to total obscurity. The Scriptures do not.
The Pope himself says those of other religions are brothers and siters in Christ. There are some truths on other christian religions though they are not whole like the Catholic church. There are probably saved but are not spritualy matured which can only be done through the Catholic church. I assume that those who are not Devout Catholics will spend time in purgatory but will have there chance to enter heaven one day. As far as Michael Jackson is concerned or anyone else, it is not are right to give an opinion whether or not he is saved or not. I know we are only human and it is hard not to give an opinion over somthing like who goes where, never the less we are all sinners forgiven or not and until we live without sin we should all as individuals concentrate only on where we personally are going! God bless!
A friend of mine asked me if Michael Jackson is in heaven. He had watched the memorial on Tuesday and was a little disturbed that mostly everyone who was honoring Michael Jackson was saying that he is in heaven already. What does the Church teach on matters of a loved one dying and where their soul goes. How can I help him understand what he asked me? Because that is a very good question and I want to know also.
Rest in Peace Michael Jackson
MJ had a Rabbi. did he become a jew?
Michael Jackson was never a Christian to begin with. He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. Which opens a whole new can of worms on this mostly useless speculation on the state of his soul. Did he actively and deliberately reject Jesus Christ and His truth, or was he truly ignorant of it, not having been taught correctly and not having internalized it?
