I have listened to and read some Christian fundamentalists attempt to use Hebrews 9:27 as a verse that refutes the theological concept of Purgatory. As someone who was raised in this part of Christianity, I know a bit about their thinking and ways of processing scripture. To be fair, there is much about fundamentalism that is good and that I still respect, but at the same time, some of where they are coming from is just plain mistaken. That is the case with using Hebrews 9:27 to refute purgatory. Nothing could be further from the truth. A true exegesis of the verse shows that it does not refute purgatory at all, but does rather clearly refute the concept of reincarnation.Here is the verse, in its context:
Hebrews 9:24-32 (New International Version, ©2010)
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
In looking at verse 27, the phrase in question is simply "people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." The more accurate English translation from the Greek is found in the New American Standard, which has the phrase as: "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Fundamentalists often point to this phrase and say that this "refutes the idea that people get a second chance in some purgatory." How do they reach this conclusion based on this verse? It is impossible to do so simply on the face what the verse is saying. Here is what can actually be drawn from the verse (exegesis):
1. People die once.
2. Judgment is subsequent to death.
That is all that can be accurately and truthfully drawn from this verse. Nothing more. The verse points out the human beings die one time, and that judgment follows death. So, how do the fundamentalists draw more out? It is called eisegesis, and it happens frequently. Eisegesis is reading into the verse rather than reading out of the verse what the meaning is. The fundamentalists' mistake is that they are approaching the verse with a preconceived idea and so in reading the verse they incorrectly inject their bias. To give them the benefit of the doubt, most of them probably are doing this naively and subconsciously, not overtly and with obvious intent. They are reading into it more than what is there because they desperately want it to mean what they want it to. They would rather hold on to what their understanding is rather than change their views to line up with scripture, because it is a very unsettling thing to have one's foundations rocked. But, that is what Christians should do - is be more committed to scripture changing them rather than the other way around - changing scripture to fit their own ideas. God's word is supposed to be over us and above us, and come into our hearts and minds infused with the Holy Spirit, so that we should shift our thinking to line up with it. Romans 12:2 reads, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Yet, because they do not believe in the concept of purgatory, some people think the verse means "people are destined to die once, and after that to immediately face judgment." Of course, the word "immediately" is not in the verse, but that is how they interpret it. An honest reading of the Bible in its entirety clearly shows that scripture reveals that judgment occurs much later than the vast majority of human beings down through human history have died, and that is at the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in the Book of Revelation in 20:11. I also know that most do not understand what the doctrine of purgatory is to begin with. They have a vague notion, and that notion is usually the result of a presentation of the doctrine from an extremely negative point of view. They have never read a Catholic understanding or presentation of the subject, and I say this as a Protestant. When one side has all the say, and the other side is never presented, then one can safely assume what the outcome is likely to be. I think that's a bit closed-minded and narrow. To pronounce such a judgment on something without even considering the other side is to live in a small box with no doors or windows, and perhaps even scripture has a hard time breaking through. There is much assumption and presumption that goes on in such boxes.
So, it is clear that a true interpretation of Hebrews 9:27 shows that it does not refute the concept of purgatory at all, but rather clearly could and should be used to refute the pagan idea of reincarnation, such as the followers of the Hindu religion and Wicca believe. Any honest Christian would stop using this verse to refute purgatory. It simply does not. It does not really matter to me if a Christian brother or sister chooses to not believe in purgatory. What does bother me is when they use such verses to claim that the Bible refutes the idea. That is what I will not stand by without some attempt to point out its folly.
In looking at verse 27, the phrase in question is simply "people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." The more accurate English translation from the Greek is found in the New American Standard, which has the phrase as: "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Fundamentalists often point to this phrase and say that this "refutes the idea that people get a second chance in some purgatory." How do they reach this conclusion based on this verse? It is impossible to do so simply on the face what the verse is saying. Here is what can actually be drawn from the verse (exegesis):
1. People die once.
2. Judgment is subsequent to death.
That is all that can be accurately and truthfully drawn from this verse. Nothing more. The verse points out the human beings die one time, and that judgment follows death. So, how do the fundamentalists draw more out? It is called eisegesis, and it happens frequently. Eisegesis is reading into the verse rather than reading out of the verse what the meaning is. The fundamentalists' mistake is that they are approaching the verse with a preconceived idea and so in reading the verse they incorrectly inject their bias. To give them the benefit of the doubt, most of them probably are doing this naively and subconsciously, not overtly and with obvious intent. They are reading into it more than what is there because they desperately want it to mean what they want it to. They would rather hold on to what their understanding is rather than change their views to line up with scripture, because it is a very unsettling thing to have one's foundations rocked. But, that is what Christians should do - is be more committed to scripture changing them rather than the other way around - changing scripture to fit their own ideas. God's word is supposed to be over us and above us, and come into our hearts and minds infused with the Holy Spirit, so that we should shift our thinking to line up with it. Romans 12:2 reads, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Yet, because they do not believe in the concept of purgatory, some people think the verse means "people are destined to die once, and after that to immediately face judgment." Of course, the word "immediately" is not in the verse, but that is how they interpret it. An honest reading of the Bible in its entirety clearly shows that scripture reveals that judgment occurs much later than the vast majority of human beings down through human history have died, and that is at the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in the Book of Revelation in 20:11. I also know that most do not understand what the doctrine of purgatory is to begin with. They have a vague notion, and that notion is usually the result of a presentation of the doctrine from an extremely negative point of view. They have never read a Catholic understanding or presentation of the subject, and I say this as a Protestant. When one side has all the say, and the other side is never presented, then one can safely assume what the outcome is likely to be. I think that's a bit closed-minded and narrow. To pronounce such a judgment on something without even considering the other side is to live in a small box with no doors or windows, and perhaps even scripture has a hard time breaking through. There is much assumption and presumption that goes on in such boxes.
So, it is clear that a true interpretation of Hebrews 9:27 shows that it does not refute the concept of purgatory at all, but rather clearly could and should be used to refute the pagan idea of reincarnation, such as the followers of the Hindu religion and Wicca believe. Any honest Christian would stop using this verse to refute purgatory. It simply does not. It does not really matter to me if a Christian brother or sister chooses to not believe in purgatory. What does bother me is when they use such verses to claim that the Bible refutes the idea. That is what I will not stand by without some attempt to point out its folly.
No comments:
Post a Comment