Why Protestants don’t believe in Purgatory? R. Eric Sawyer 21 August 2014 I am not Roman Catholic, but Episcopalian/Anglican. I am by no means up- to-date on current Catholic teaching, but a little bit on church history, and the case on my own side of the aisle. The most fundamental answer is that this doctrine of purgatory, or perhaps its misuse and corruption in certain places, was the match that touched off the powderkeg of the protestant revolt/reformation. That memory is pretty deep in our DNA, even if most protestants don’t remember what it was about. One of the ways the church used early on in describing how a person could benefit from the perfect life of Jesus was called the "Treasury of Merit" in that good works could be appl ied, or credited, to the soul of one in need. Sort oflike the story of the "Good Samaritan" taking care of a wounded stranger, and leaving money at the inn to pay for whatever was needed for the wounded man’s recovery. That merit can be applied to me, to "cover my account" so to speak, even though I don’t deserve it. That "unmerited favor" is a definition of grace, and is (or was, I am giving the historical teaching as best I understand, I know little of current thought) available through the sacraments. If I were to die with unconfessed sin, with a "negative balance" so to speak, there was a way to tidy up my account, through my sufferings in purgatory. Or, if my friends and family cared for me, they could do good works, or pious deeds in my name to shorten my time, and hasten my release into heaven. Now, so far, I hav e disagreements. But hear comes the match to the powder keg... Of all the possible good deeds, who could deny that the giving of money to the wor k of the Church was of high order? And of what worth was it to pray for dear Aunt Agetha (or one’s mother), if one was not also willing to sacrifice for her? Is that not a sorry sort of pray er? At least , this was the tone taken by certain men empowered to go among the people as pardoners - collecting funds for one work or another, good or bad, to refill the coffers of the vatican on the people’s love and fear for their family -or for themselves. Johan Tetzel (one such man) saying "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs" is an example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ind... Mar tin Lut her objected 1
