Why I think that Buddhism can lead a person away from what is true.
I was doing some thinking as I was listening to a couple of talks by Dr. Peter Kreeft, who is the theology chair at Boston College. And, it struck me that Buddha, who was definitely a wise man, got it somewhat wrong. But, this statement only can be proven true if one accepts that Jesus Christ is true God and true man
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The fact that we won't attain perfection is a blessing, because we always have something to strive for. We are continually maturing in our Christian faith.
And....I would argue that the great saints (Francis, Therese of Liseux, Agnes, and even the now Blessed Mother Theresa) have progressed so far on the path of perfection that there is little, if any, impurities that need to be burned away.
If we merely need to believe and accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then his command to be perfect doesn't make any sense. Why struggle to strive for perfection if I'm assured Heaven?
If, on the other hand, Jesus is advising us that it is better to be perfected on this side of death, then it makes all the sense in the world.
Try this, read Luke 12:42-48 and compare the servant who will be "cut to pieces and placed with the unbelievers" juxtaposed with the servant who will be "beaten with many blows." Then, read Luke 12:57-59.
With that in mind, and the fact that it's a tradition from before Christ was born to pray that the "dead be loosed from their sins," why is Purgatory such a stretch? Does it not, in fact, make the most sense?
Think about it. If I get run over by a bus, and the very next moment I find myself in Heaven with Jesus forever, would I recognize myself? If I'm suddenly free from every sinful inclination and desire, it'd be like I was a different person. If, however, I underwent a process of purification, then I could see the graces that Jesus Christ has applied to me to cleanse me and purify me of my sin.
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Why do we need a Savior if we'll do it on our own in Purgatory?
(I'm really enjoying the conversation!)
Thanks,
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If I ever intimated that we did not need Christ, then I wholeheartedly apologize.
We have no hope for salvation outside the redemption of Jesus Christ. And, the perfection we hope to receive only comes from the grace that is poured into us. We cannot do it on our own or by ourselves. It is only through Christ.
But........and here's the big difference between Catholics and Protestants.......we have to work with this grace. We have to cooperate with Christ. We are "God's fellow workers," as St. Paul puts it. God takes our little efforts and blesses our work with mighty dividends. I only have to look at the person I was three years ago and who I am today and proclaim the mighty power of God at work in my life. I could not have done it on my own. Without Christ, I'd still be on Paxil, and probably would have blown through half a dozen jobs and living back home with my parents.
Christ has put me back together and made me better than I was before, though I have a long, long, long way to go. Every time I go to confession and reflect on the sins I've committed the past couple of weeks, this reality slaps me in the face. ;)
But, I keep trying. I keep on cooperating with the grace that God is giving me. Because, at the end, I want a foundation of gold, silver and jewels, not wood, hay and straw. :)
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But I do believe in Grace, and how it changes lives :)
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So you believe that if something is not in the Bible, then you don't believe it to be true?
And, as for your comment...surely the passage from Maccabbees quoted above points to a state of purgation, where souls are being "loosed from their sins"?
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1st Maccabbees
2nd Maccabbees
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