The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Will Christians face purgatorial judgement?

I have no current opinion on this matter.

Will Christians have to face any sort of punishment, rehabilitation or purgation after death?

Opinions.

Unless I am changed in the twinkling of an eye at my resurrection, I WANT whatever it takes to make me fit company for the saints in glory.

Perhaps?? But I haven’t seen any sound biblical rationale pointing in that direction; especially when one considers Paul’s words here…

…and thus I don’t see how there could possibly be any consequential “punishment, rehabilitation or purgation after death” given also that…

Or…

Or…

If Jesus died to sin one for all it is only logical that any consequences relative to “the sin” likewise perished, period. IOW… IF there be still yet MORE sin to be paid for, i.e., via some apparent postmortem punishment, rehabilitation or purgation THEN what was the point of Christ’s cross when we of our own volition could apparently avail ourselves of yet more cleansing postmortem?

Seeing as you’ve asked for “opinion” well there’s mine. :mrgreen:

The Orthodox Church has never taught any sort of purgatory. One can read the thousands of pages of her liturgies and never come across such a notion.

While a few scattered speculative theories of post-mortem purgations appeared here and there in Christian literature of the first millennium, such ideas were outliers from the main stream of the Church. It was not until the late 11th century (i. e, after Rome, heretical since 1014, formally fell into schism in 1054) that Rome posited Purgatory as a third place alongside Heaven and Hell.

When confronted by the novel doctrine of Purgatory less than 400 years later, the Orthodox Church rejected it, with St. Mark Eugenikos of Ephesos giving the definitive refutation of the idea in 1438-1439.

Less than 100 years after that, all streams of Protestant thought of which I am aware (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, and radicalism) rejected Purgatory as both uncatholic and unscriptural.

I myself see no indications of a Purgatory or anything like it in the Bible. When a man dies, he is instantly purified and made holy and sinless by the immediate presence of the overwhelming Godhead of Jesus Christ. An ice cube has a better chance on the surface of the sun than sin does before Christ’s throne.

Jesus said:

Both salt and fire are purifying agents; they destroy harmful bacteria.

But they probably also destroy good bacteria too, no?

Given that this so-called proof text gets so often quoted out of context, i.e., supposedly with postmortem applicability in mind, you can rest easy because I doubt anything relative to the afterlife can be affected by “bacteria”. :laughing:

Okay, if we want to be literal about it. :smiley: I suppose we won’t have to worry about someone pouring salt over us or lighting a fire under us either.http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/Paidion9/Emoticons/rotflmao.gif

By the way, I received my understanding of “salted with fire” from George MacDonald’s writings. Obviously, he didn’t consider this understanding as “out of context.” He also wrote a novel that was given this title.

I guess this means it must be a “novel” doctrine… http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/Paidion9/Emoticons/rotflmao.gif

On a more serious note, I answered this in more detail HERE.