Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/384

 376 PueOlTOer. [Boo H. r]irieved. The third comprehended the middle sort, who, though the)* sinned, yet were in a curable cond/tion; and these went to hell too, to be punished for and purged from their sins. The heathen did believe that those in this middle state might receive help from the prayers and sacrifices of the living. This is plainly proved from the compla/nts of the.ghost of F. lphenor, in Homer, Odyssey, book xii., /Ind of pallnurus, m Virgil,/Eneid, book vi. Indeed, the ceremonies sed for their deliverance, as described by these poets, resemble much the ceremonies of the Church of Rome, in reference to souls believed to be in purgatory; so tha were these poems camm/ca/, the most obsti- nate heretic would contend with them in vain. Our opponents, in this point, have at least four hundred years anti- quity against Christianity itself. In the first ages of its existence the doctrine of purgatory was not received. But when Christianity became popular, heathens, professing to be Christians, brought into the church many of their heathen opinions, and the doctrine of purgatory among others. But from the beginning of Christianity it was not so. It would be of some avail to the supporters of purgatory could they bring any support for their system from the Holy Scriptures; but it is to no purpose that the sentaments of heathen, unsupported by' Scrip- ture, are produced to prove the existence of purgatory. IV. TAz Scripture decbrations re.qtti;,g t& future state of fua= &- dde agent t doi of irgato. The following quotations and remarks are offered, az completely sub- versive of the Romish dogma ad practices concerning purgatory: 1. The Scriptures present us with only to c' applicable o men in their present state, the r/gAte. mrs and tv/cked; those who serve C2od and those who serve him not; believers and unbelievers. And however various the shades of distinction d/scovered among them may be, still there are only two general characters mentioned. The view given us of men in Scripture, as they will stand in the day of judgment, precisely corresponds to this. And their final destin/es exactly corres- pond to both. 2. Our Lord promised to the tA/ef,, on the cross, that that day he should be with him in paradise; and as our Lord went to heaven, so heaven and paradise are only different names for the state of happi- ness. What can more effectually destro)- the doctrine of purgatory and satisfaction than this ?. For if 8atisfact/on be necessary, and if teatory is the place where satisfactions are made after this life, as say, then certainly the pen/tent thief, according to their doctrine, must have continued a long time in purgatory; for he made no satis- faction for his sins, as to their temporal punishment, since he died after a vicious life, upon a very short and sudden repentance; yet he d/d not go to purgatory, but to the place where Christ was, even to para- dise or heaven. 3. Our Saviour too, in the case of the rich man and Lazarus, (Luke xvi, 22,) truly represents the state of the other world, viz., that the souls of the righteous are in heaven, and the souls of the wicked in hell, on their departure from the body. When Lazarus d/ed, he was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, i.e., paradise or heaven; and when the rich man died, he was tormented in the flames of hell. And though this is a parable, we can never imagine that our Sa,iour would con 1

�