Purgatory
Introduction
Does purgatory exist or does it not? It depends on the branch of Christianity. To some, purgatory was considered mankind's best option, a place that would absolve them of sins and crimes. (9) Others believed purgatory was where people's souls remained if they had unfinished business on Earth. Still more believed that purgatory was just a Catholic invention designed to scam gullible people out of their money. (9)
Does purgatory exist or does it not? It depends on the branch of Christianity. To some, purgatory was considered mankind's best option, a place that would absolve them of sins and crimes. (9) Others believed purgatory was where people's souls remained if they had unfinished business on Earth. Still more believed that purgatory was just a Catholic invention designed to scam gullible people out of their money. (9)
The Scam
The gist of it is that the Catholic Church took advantage of the doctrine of original sin: all humans are naturally inclined towards sinning. (10) Don't deny it. It's a fact of life. You see that baby over there? Yup, it's already tainted with the flaws of humanity. Humans are imperfect from birth, because it's what sets us apart from God.
If we were innocent and completely good when we were born, why, that would put us on par with Jesus and God in terms of purity and goodness! (10) This means that there's no logical way for humans to ascend to heaven, because the standards are just a little bit too high for anyone to meet.
Normally this is easily dismissed; so we do some things the Bible wags a finger at. Is it a big deal? Well, the Catholic Church thought so, though not out of concern for us or anything along those lines. They created purgatory as an attractive alternative to being dumped in hell just because you're human. (2) They explained that, because we're unable to go to heaven, instead we go to this place called purgatory.
The idea was that in purgatory, the dead had to endure agonizing pain, scorching hot fires, and cruel and... certainly unusual punishments in order to be purified and move on to heaven. (9) Naturally, the whole process could take decades, maybe even hundreds of years. And therein lay the scam: pay the church, and they'll perform some simple rituals and prayers to speed up the whole purification process for your dear old departed Aunt Darla. (2)
The gist of it is that the Catholic Church took advantage of the doctrine of original sin: all humans are naturally inclined towards sinning. (10) Don't deny it. It's a fact of life. You see that baby over there? Yup, it's already tainted with the flaws of humanity. Humans are imperfect from birth, because it's what sets us apart from God.
If we were innocent and completely good when we were born, why, that would put us on par with Jesus and God in terms of purity and goodness! (10) This means that there's no logical way for humans to ascend to heaven, because the standards are just a little bit too high for anyone to meet.
Normally this is easily dismissed; so we do some things the Bible wags a finger at. Is it a big deal? Well, the Catholic Church thought so, though not out of concern for us or anything along those lines. They created purgatory as an attractive alternative to being dumped in hell just because you're human. (2) They explained that, because we're unable to go to heaven, instead we go to this place called purgatory.
The idea was that in purgatory, the dead had to endure agonizing pain, scorching hot fires, and cruel and... certainly unusual punishments in order to be purified and move on to heaven. (9) Naturally, the whole process could take decades, maybe even hundreds of years. And therein lay the scam: pay the church, and they'll perform some simple rituals and prayers to speed up the whole purification process for your dear old departed Aunt Darla. (2)
The Hope
Despite the church's not-so-squeaky-clean original intentions in creating the idea of purgatory, the concept as a whole became rather appealing to Christians. Where once the options were only eternal damnation or eternal bliss (and although humanity is on a whole optimistic, the options are a bit too extreme to be absolutely certain which way you'll fall), now people were reassured that, even if they weren't as good as Jesus (it's a bit too ambitious a goal for any person), they could still eventually rise to heaven. (2)
The idea was novel and inspiring; no longer did we have to strive to meet superhuman goals in order to avoid eternal punishment and torture, we simply couldn't commit any mortal sins. And even though the torture to be faced in purgatory was no walk in the park, either, so long as someone was on the other side paying the church to help you along, the situation was really quite manageable.
So yes, the Church didn't have our best interests at heart when telling people about purgatory, but the end result was similar to a sigh of relief. Christians could loosen up, have a little fun, and just avoid the Big No-No's, like killing and raping and blasphemy.
Despite the church's not-so-squeaky-clean original intentions in creating the idea of purgatory, the concept as a whole became rather appealing to Christians. Where once the options were only eternal damnation or eternal bliss (and although humanity is on a whole optimistic, the options are a bit too extreme to be absolutely certain which way you'll fall), now people were reassured that, even if they weren't as good as Jesus (it's a bit too ambitious a goal for any person), they could still eventually rise to heaven. (2)
The idea was novel and inspiring; no longer did we have to strive to meet superhuman goals in order to avoid eternal punishment and torture, we simply couldn't commit any mortal sins. And even though the torture to be faced in purgatory was no walk in the park, either, so long as someone was on the other side paying the church to help you along, the situation was really quite manageable.
So yes, the Church didn't have our best interests at heart when telling people about purgatory, but the end result was similar to a sigh of relief. Christians could loosen up, have a little fun, and just avoid the Big No-No's, like killing and raping and blasphemy.