A
adrift
Guest
I would like some documentation. The historian Warren Carroll has stated that no money was ever paid for indulgences. That there was a misunderstanding and it had the looks of paying for indulgences. To give money was considered worthy. Indulgences were granted for supporting projects like St. Peter’'s. Paying money was considered a work but was so easily misunderstood the Church bands it altogether. There are those who claim it is still done but have provide no evidence. Their claim is suspect. We can use the old proof of truth 1.would they lie 2. are they in a position to know 3. can you check it out to decide the truth. Those posters fail on at least two. If you fail on only one, it is false.Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to some Catholics that there are Protestants, and just as difficult to explain to some Protestants that there are Catholics. Someday all will wake up. I know you and I are here to learn from each other, explain our beliefs and to correct and dispell distortions, lies, myths, etc.
As for the idea of Purgatory, it actually goes back to OT times. The majority of the Jews back then believed in a “holding place” where the soul went after death to await judgement by God. They knew that nothing unclean could enter heaven. Since some very pious men died in war, the people knew they were ritually unclean. But since they were fighting for God and for justice, etc. God would not deny them heaven. But how could they be purified? After much study, debate, and prayer, the answer was the “holding place” where they can be cleansed of their sins and be pure enough to enter heaven. This "holding place applied then to all who died. Flavius Josephus, a devout Jewish historian, describes this in the book “The Writings of Josephus”. Many ( if not all ) Jews of today believe in this “holding place” and pray for the souls of the dead, asking for God’s mercy. The Church has always taught about this “holding place” from the beginning, developing it into Purgatory. But since it is not dogma, we are free to accept or reject it.
As far as the money obtained from indulgences back then, it was used to support the crusade of the time ( and probably to pay off some loans and other debts too ).
PAX DOMINI
Shalom Aleichem
Second the Catechism 1030
III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory
1030
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.
1031
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:607
Code:
As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.608This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."609 From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.610 The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
Code:
Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayersThe Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire
Doesn’t sound as if you can reject it as a Catholic:nope:
And God, His Father, through the Holy Spirit, gave him the power to forgive sins.The disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and Peter told the people to turn back to God for forgiveness of their sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! So, they were still turning people towards God for forgiveness:thumbsup:By the way, how many scriptures actually document the apostles forgiving sins?
