7 Comments

  1. Mallory said:

    Great article! Surprisingly I’ve never been challenged on purgatory, but I love the tactic of asking questions to determine their understanding first. Always a great place to start.

    March 2, 2015
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  2. L said:

    Thank you for this. Can’t wait until part 2. Please address the problem of indulgences with this issue and praying for those in purgatory as this is a difficult thing to talk about w ex Catholics and non Catholics. My son also has trouble in his social studies class when dealing with the crusades, reformation, again indulgences etc. He is in a public school. Perhaps a summer course for teens on apologetics would be awesome as they have to be warriors now for the faith.

    March 5, 2015
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  3. Matt Nelson said:

    Thanks for your comments, L. I hope to have Part II out soon. The schools, especially public schools (secondary and post-secondary), are truly intellectual battlegrounds for any Christian. I recommend any book by Steve Weidenkopf or Diane Moczar if looking for information on the Inquisition or Crusades (http://www.catholic.com/profiles/steve-weidenkopf). For the facts on indulgences, I recommend this article by Jimmy Akin – http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/PRIMINDU.HTM. As for a summer course for teens , let’s pray that this great idea comes into fruition if it is in god’s will – love the idea!

    March 5, 2015
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  4. Matt Nelson said:

    Mallory, thanks for the comments! The “answer with a question” approach comes straight from Jesus Himself 🙂

    March 5, 2015
    Reply
  5. Jane said:

    Hey,
    Did you ever get around to posting Part II? There isn’t a search bar on your website and a google search of it didn’t reveal the second part. Thanks!

    June 5, 2017
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    • Matt Nelson said:

      I haven’t….(I’m blushing). But I haven’t forgotten about it! So stay tuned!

      June 8, 2017
      Reply
  6. Paul said:

    I am Catholic, and the doctrine of Purgatory now threatens to wreck my faith. I find it reprehensible. It puts another barrier between God and myself, and makes me fearful of death. It also makes an utter mockery of Jesus’s death, and it makes church attendance futile. All people are going there, so why bother with church? You claim that the pain experienced there is like feeling the burn on a run. Clearly, you haven’t read the Church fathers sick opinions on this subject, which is that the worst pain experienced here is the least experienced there. There was a nineteenth century saint whose father had died. He had been a good man, had attended mass and communion and made special devotions to Our Lady. But he still ended up in that horrible place. He appeared to his daughter several times after his death, all burned and shrivelled up and desperately thirsty..AND IN PAIN!!!!! Now, if you want to believe this place exists, well firstly, you need to know that YOU ARE GOING THERE to suffer PAIN….possibly for THOUSANDS of YEARS. Secondly, don’t EVER talk to me about a God of love, because clearly, if this house of horrors exists, then the God of our Church is Satan Himself, as the Jehovahs Witnesses have always maintained.

    June 23, 2018
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