| Purgatory
Christian
The idea of damning any unconfessed sinner, no matter how petty the offense, bothered Medieval Christians so much that they came up with the dea of this middle place between Hell and Heaven where the lesser sinners spent some time in its purifying fires before advancing to the New Jerusalem. Protestants rejected Purgatory in small part because it was not Biblical and in large part because it fed papal power and wealth through the sale of masses for the quick release of souls. Modern Catholics still address prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and other saints on behalf of friends and relatives trapped here. They believe these prayers speed the release of those who are neither damned nor yet saved. Purgatory has its torments, but the souls there know that these will end following a sufficiently long period of contrition, measured in the thousands or tens of thousands of years.
|