a place in which, according to the church of Rome, the just,
who depart out of this life, are supposed to expiate certain offences
which do not merit eternal damnation. Broughton has endeavoured to prove
that this notion has been held by Pagans, Jews, and Mohammedans, as well
as by Christians; and that in the days of the Maccabees, the Jews
believed that sin might be expiated by sacrifice after the death of the
sinner. The arguments advanced for purgatory by the papists are these:
Every sin, how slight soever, though no more than an idle word, as it is
an offence to God, deserves punishment from him, and will be punished by
him hereafter, if not cancelled by repentance here. 2. Such small sins
do not deserve eternal punishment. 3. Few depart this life so pure as to
be totally exempt from spots of this nature, and from every kind of debt
due to God’s justice. 4. Therefore, few will escape without suffering
something from his justice for such debts as they have carried with them
out of this world, according to the rule of divine justice, by which he
treats every soul hereafter according to his works, and according to the
state in which he finds it in death. From these positions, which the
papist considers as so many self-evident truths, he infers that there
must be some third place of punishment; for since the infinite holiness
of God can admit nothing into heaven that is not clean and pure from all
sin, both great and small, and his infinite justice can permit none to
receive the reward of bliss, who as yet are not out of debt, but have
something in justice to suffer, there must, of necessity, be some place
or state, where souls departing this life, pardoned as to the eternal
guilt of sin, yet obnoxious to some temporal penalty, or with the guilt
of some venial faults, are purged and purified before their admittance
into heaven. And this is what he is taught concerning purgatory; though
he know not where it is, of what nature the pains are, or how long each
soul is detained there, yet he believes that those who are in this place
are relieved by the prayers of their fellow members here on earth, as
also by alms and masses offered up to God for their souls. And as for
such as have no relations or friends to pray for them, or give alms to
procure masses for their relief, they are not neglected by the church,
which makes a general commemoration of all the faithful departed, in
every mass, and in every one of the canonical hours of the divine
office. Beside the above arguments, the following passages are alleged
as proofs: 2 Macc. xii, 43–45; Matt. xii, 31, 32; 1 Cor. iii, 15; 1
Peter iii, 19. But it may be observed, 1. That the books of Maccabees
have no evidence of inspiration, therefore quotations from them are not
to be regarded. 2. If they were, the texts referred to would rather
prove that there is no such place as purgatory, since Judas did not
expect the souls departed to reap any benefit from the sin-offering till
the resurrection. The texts quoted from the Scriptures have no reference
to the doctrine, as may be seen by consulting the context, and any just
commentator upon it. 3. The Scriptures, in general, speak of departed
souls going immediately, at death, to a fixed state of happiness or
misery, and give us no idea of purgatory, Isaiah lvii, 2; Rev. xiv, 13;
Luke xvi, 22; 2 Cor. v, 8. 4. It is derogatory from the doctrine of the
satisfaction of Christ. If Christ died for us, and redeemed us from sin
and hell, as the Scripture speaks, then the idea of farther meritorious
suffering detracts from the perfection of his sacrifice, and places
merit still in the creature; a doctrine exactly opposite to the
Scriptures.
who depart out of this life, are supposed to expiate certain offences
which do not merit eternal damnation. Broughton has endeavoured to prove
that this notion has been held by Pagans, Jews, and Mohammedans, as well
as by Christians; and that in the days of the Maccabees, the Jews
believed that sin might be expiated by sacrifice after the death of the
sinner. The arguments advanced for purgatory by the papists are these:
Every sin, how slight soever, though no more than an idle word, as it is
an offence to God, deserves punishment from him, and will be punished by
him hereafter, if not cancelled by repentance here. 2. Such small sins
do not deserve eternal punishment. 3. Few depart this life so pure as to
be totally exempt from spots of this nature, and from every kind of debt
due to God’s justice. 4. Therefore, few will escape without suffering
something from his justice for such debts as they have carried with them
out of this world, according to the rule of divine justice, by which he
treats every soul hereafter according to his works, and according to the
state in which he finds it in death. From these positions, which the
papist considers as so many self-evident truths, he infers that there
must be some third place of punishment; for since the infinite holiness
of God can admit nothing into heaven that is not clean and pure from all
sin, both great and small, and his infinite justice can permit none to
receive the reward of bliss, who as yet are not out of debt, but have
something in justice to suffer, there must, of necessity, be some place
or state, where souls departing this life, pardoned as to the eternal
guilt of sin, yet obnoxious to some temporal penalty, or with the guilt
of some venial faults, are purged and purified before their admittance
into heaven. And this is what he is taught concerning purgatory; though
he know not where it is, of what nature the pains are, or how long each
soul is detained there, yet he believes that those who are in this place
are relieved by the prayers of their fellow members here on earth, as
also by alms and masses offered up to God for their souls. And as for
such as have no relations or friends to pray for them, or give alms to
procure masses for their relief, they are not neglected by the church,
which makes a general commemoration of all the faithful departed, in
every mass, and in every one of the canonical hours of the divine
office. Beside the above arguments, the following passages are alleged
as proofs: 2 Macc. xii, 43–45; Matt. xii, 31, 32; 1 Cor. iii, 15; 1
Peter iii, 19. But it may be observed, 1. That the books of Maccabees
have no evidence of inspiration, therefore quotations from them are not
to be regarded. 2. If they were, the texts referred to would rather
prove that there is no such place as purgatory, since Judas did not
expect the souls departed to reap any benefit from the sin-offering till
the resurrection. The texts quoted from the Scriptures have no reference
to the doctrine, as may be seen by consulting the context, and any just
commentator upon it. 3. The Scriptures, in general, speak of departed
souls going immediately, at death, to a fixed state of happiness or
misery, and give us no idea of purgatory, Isaiah lvii, 2; Rev. xiv, 13;
Luke xvi, 22; 2 Cor. v, 8. 4. It is derogatory from the doctrine of the
satisfaction of Christ. If Christ died for us, and redeemed us from sin
and hell, as the Scripture speaks, then the idea of farther meritorious
suffering detracts from the perfection of his sacrifice, and places
merit still in the creature; a doctrine exactly opposite to the
Scriptures.