Purgatory is no longer a commonly held belief in Catholic teaching. It certainly formed the basis of Catholic doctrine until the 1950s, but belief in a redemption period prior to accessing heaven is usually not taught any longer.

Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible. There is no such place as purgatory. A Christian is saved, forgiven of sins, and enters Heaven only by the grace of God, which is granted only through genuine belief in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and acceptance of Him as Redeemer. The Bible is very clear about that. I've read the whole thing. In Old Testament times, people were judged righteous by how well they kept the law. Their incessant failures were proof that they needed a Savior. When He came and shed His blood for us, the need for "works" ceased (including penances, Reconciliations, etc which are also never mentioned in God's Word).

The Bible tells us that our righteousnesses are like filthy rags, that we all sin and fall short, and the wages of sin is death. Any perceptibly "good" thing you do is worthless in the eyes of God. Nothing you do as a sinner can justify the fact that God had to send his only Son to die a cruel death for you on the Cross. Your belief is all that's required. A person who truly believes will perform works because of his faith. His or her faith will be evident to all around. The Bible tells us that if we call upon the name of the Lord, we shall be saved, that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved, that a person who "works" has fallen from grace.

It's interesting, anonymous, that the Catholic church no longer teaches the existence of purgatory. Why would they stop teaching something if it were true? What other things does the Catholic church teach that are not true? Let's start with the baptism of infants. Read about Paul and the eunuch, in Acts, I believe. Upon hearing the gospel, he asked what he must to do be baptized. Paul answered, "If you believe with all of your heart, you may." He confessed, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

May God truly bless you.

re: first anonymous comment and response. the catholic church does still teach purgatory, read the catechism of the catholic church to understand the facts regarding Christ's true church.

and, sorry responder, but the bible also mentions baptisms of whole households, certainly including infants. unfortunately, there are many problems that arise when you adhere to the "bible alone" school of thought held by virtually all protestant denominations, which is why you have 200,000 or so different "churches" with different doctrines... if you believe that the books of the bible are truly the word of God, you must acknowledge that God guided the church to decide without error when it decided which books belonged in the bible and which didn't, not done until over 300 years after the resurrection...or was there an expiration date on the scripture "...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." but this could go on forever, it all boils down to authority...I personally hope everyone ends up in heaven :p

I agree with you, Anonymous, that I also hope everyone would go to Heaven. That is certainly God's hope, but even he tells us in the Bible that some of even those who cry "Lord" will not enter. Part of my comments were edited out last time. Maybe they will be posted this time. The Bible does mention households being baptized. It never specifically names an infant, and not a one was sprinkled. The Bible tells us one must believe before he can be baptized, and an infant certainly does not. The Bible also does not allow us to pray to saints and in Jeremiah talks about the law being written on our hearts and thereby removing the necessity for priests, which my former Catholic friends say must practically look over your shoulder if a Catholic wants to read the Bible. I will say, though, that I live in a largely Catholic town, have lots of Catholic friends, and I would be generous to say that 1 in 50 had ever read the Bible at all. The Bible mentions nothing about Limbo, Purgatory, penances, venial sins, Peter being the first Pope. They are all traditions of man, and therefore, lies. Have you ever prayed to anyone other than God? Have you ever given homage to a relic or kissed the statue of St. Peter's toe? That makes you an idolater. Catholicism is a religion of meaningless rituals, which are forbidden over and over under the New Covenant. He who works has fallen from grace and will be judged by his works. In short, your works will never get you anywhere. They do not make you righteous. Unless you ask the blood of the Lamb to wash away your sins, you will die in them. If you are Catholic, I urge you to get out your Bible, and read it front to back without asking anyone what they think about what it says. You will be held accountable for what you do and will not be able to blame anyone else in the day of judgment. The best way to find out what to do is to read the instruction manual. From your post, I think it would be beneficial to you to find out how the Bible was canonized. God bless you.

Another thing I would like to add, Anonymous, is that the Greek work for "baptize" is "baptizo" and "baptizma." The word "baptism" in English is NOT translation, but a transliteration, in which the Greek letters are given their English equivalents to produce a new word. The definition of the Greek word in its original language is "to submerge, plunge, or dip." The Greek word for "pour" is "cheno" and "sprinking" is "raino." Baptism is being fully submerged in water, as was Jesus. If one was sprinkled as an infant or had water poured over their head as an infant, that person is not baptized.

kimberly406, I feel sorry for you--so much hatred in your undertone. A few facts for you to mull over.

1. Tell me where, exactly, in the Bible it says to live by the authority of the Bible alone. it doesn't. Nowhere in there will you find it. I have read it several times front to back--it's not in there.

2. It was the Catholic Church who compiled the Bible. Until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's everyone was taught about Purgatory and used the same bible. There was only one religion and it was Catholic.

3. During the Protestant Reformation it was the Protestants who "changed" the Bible by removing the "extra" books at the end of the Old Testament (Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha) which talk about Purgatory. (i beg you, don't take my word for it--research it. it's a historical fact).

4. The only difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant Bible is the few extra books and the end of the Old Testament in the Catholic Bible. Other than those books, they are, word for word, the same Bible.

5. As far as Catholics praying to saints and Mary--we don't. We honor Mary and honor the saints. If you were faced with cancer, would you ask your close friends or family to pray for you? I would assume so. Does that make you an idolater? Does that mean you worship your family or friends because you value the power of their prayer? Of course not. We, as Catholics, are merely honoring Mary and the saints by asking them to join in our prayers. That does not make us idolaters anymore than you would be by asking a friend to pray for you. Do you know someone who you feel is especially close to the Lord? Would you feel, possibly, that they might have a better relationship with the Lord than you do? We all know people like that and that is how Catholics feel about asking those closer to the Lord than maybe we are (Mary and the saints) to join in our prayers. We are not worshipping them or praying to them.

I truly wish all this religion bashing would stop and people would learn to respect one's right for freedom of religion. Who are we to judge one another anyway? Isn't that God's job?

It is sad to see by some of the comments that so many people are still so ignorant and prejudiced against the Catholic Church. So much misinformation passed on one to another. I am a Catholic and read my bible every day. I can assure you I can quote chapter and verse with almost anyone.

I am also very proud to be in a woman’s bible study which meets weekly in my neighborhood. There three Catholic, to Baptist, two Lutheran one Pentecostal and several who seem to wander from one protestant church to another. All wonderful women of faith. We do not judge each other and I am happy to say that through this bible study I have been able to disabuse these women of their prejudice belief about what Catholics think. It is a beautiful faith based community that we all love. In fact I am taking the whole bunch of them to our local Grotto to walk the 'Stations of the Cross' in two weeks. I can’t tell you how touched I was when they suggested we go.

If you really want to know what Catholics believe try watching a show on the Catholic TV channel called “A Crash Course in Catholicism?” It’s wonderful and you can find out what Catholics really think from an actual Catholic pastor and not from someone who only thinks he knows what we think…. By the way did you know that the word Catholic means ‘Universal Church’? Can’t get more inclusive than that!

Just a final comment on the churches teachings. Remember the Catholic Church was in existence before the writings of the bible were put together in its current format. For 300 years the church followed the teachings of Jesus mostly from the oral tradition. Jesus never wrote anything down. As far as we know he never asked anyone else to write his teachings down. He gave the gift of tongues to the apostles so they could go and teach to all nations. He could have given them all the gift of being able to write but he did not seem to think it was important. So I think we are justified in thinking that not all of his teachings were written down and ended up in letters that made it into the bible. Jesus himself set this precedence by not insisting that everything he said be recorded. Catholics and all Christians are the recipients of this oral and written tradition. Catholics believe the bible (New Testament) is the inspired word of Christ, but no place in the bible does it say; “ and this is everything Jesus ever said on every subject.” If people would open their eyes and see what a beautiful gift they have in the teachings handed down through all the generations going all the way back to Christ; maybe, just maybe we could all get along without verbally stoning each other…. May the peace that is in Christ Jesus live in all your hearts. J

P.S. Sorry this is so long; I have never posted a response before. Guess I just had to get this off my chest:}

People are prejudiced against the Catholic church because it is a false church. Did you know that last Spring, the Pope decided that there was no reason to think that an unbaptized infant would go to limbo and not Heaven? How many times is the Catholic church going to change Jesus's mind for Him? The idea of purgatory goes against the entire Old Testament, which was not compiled by the Catholic church, in which Jesus was nailed to a tree for our sins. Why would He have to pay the price for us if we were supposed to do it ourselves in purgatory? And then, we can reduce our time in "purgatory" if we go confess our sins to a priest, a religious position that was nailed to the cross?! The temple veil was torn in two at Jesus's death because the wall of separation between us and God was removed. We can go to Him ourselves and ask forgiveness! In Timothy, we are told that two characteristics of false teachers are those who forbid marriage (Catholic church) and those who forbid foods that were sanctified by God (Catholic church again). The Catholic church chained the Bible to the pulpit in the Dark Ages and brutally murdered anyone in opposition to it. I'm sorry that you have been brainwashed into thinking that the Catholic church is Jesus's church. The only thing written in the Bible about the Catholic church is in Revelation. It is the beast that gets its power from Satan. Read it. If the shoe fits . . . What does Jesus Himself say about those who have taken the mark of the beast? "Come out of her, my people." I am not a hateful person at all . . . I just hate liars. As far as praying to saint . . . what makes a saint? The Catholic church grants "sainthood." In the Bible, the saints are the church members. There is no one in Heaven until the Resurrection. Those "saints" don't even hear you. Jesus is very clear that when He returns, all will hear His voice from the grave and wake to either everlasting destruction or everlasting life.

It is a Catholic myth that the Catholic church canonized the Bible. It has been set since the first century. The books of the Catholic Bible are not inspired. Even the Hebrews do not accept Catholic Apocrypha to be a part of the Old Testament. The notion of purgatory goes completely against the fact that Jesus died in the place of humanity so that they would not have to suffer for it. Catholicism is a false religion, no matter that it's 'universal.' I once knew a woman named Joy that was anything but a joy. The name means nothing when it completely contradicts the teachings of Jesus. And, yes, it is a recurring theme in God's Word that we live by nothing other than His Word alone. Anything beyond that is a tradition of man, as such are all of the meaningless rituals found in Catholicism today.

kimberly406...I would like to remind you of a couple of verses you should obviously be quite familiar with: Matthew 7:1,2 "Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others." I would strongly recommend you re-reading these verses throughout your Catholic bashing campaign.

tf515... Many Christians say that we are not to judge, but the Bible doesn't support this. Malachi 3:18 (KJV) says "Then shall ye return, and discern [judge] between the righteous and wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not." Jesus says in John 7:24 (KJV) "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." The scripture you referenced to in Matthew 7 about judging has to do with unrighteous judgment. Also, I noticed in your response to kimberly406 that you have read your Bible several times front and back. I have had many people who boast to me how many times they have read the entire Bible, however, I find their understanding of God's word lacking. I have yet to read in God's word a command to "read the Bible". The Bible uses much deeper words such as "study" and "meditate". Anybody can read the Bible, but to accurately study and comprehend the Bible you must have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.