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ROMAN CATHOLIC BELIEFS IN VIEW OF THE APOSTLE PETER'S WORDS
Part VI: Roman Catholicism's Views Of Purgatory And Limbus Infantum In View Of Peter's Words
(2 Peter 3:15-16 In View Of Paul's And In Turn Luke's Words)
  1. Introduction
    1. Catholicism teaches only canonized saints and martyrs go directly to heaven, but all others go either to the temporary place of torment in purgatory or to hell, Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 218.
    2. We examine these teachings in light of the words of Catholicism's alleged first pope, the Apostle Peter:
  2. Roman Catholicism's Views Of Purgatory And Limbus Infantum In View Of Peter's Words.
    1. Catholicism teaches the following views on Purgatory and "Limbo for infants" as its laity refer to it:
      1. Purgatory - Catholicism teaches all who die at peace with the Catholic Church but not perfect must go to the penal and purifying suffering of the intermediate state of purgatory. However, it holds that all unbaptized adults and those who commit mortal sins after baptism enter hell! (Ibid., Boettner, p. 218)
      2. "Limbo for infants" (Limbus Infantum) - The idea of infants going to Hell due to the failure of their parents to baptize them was so preposterous to its laity, Rome invented Limbus Infantum: it is a place to which unbaptized infants are said to go as "they are excluded from heaven but...suffer no positive pain." The councils of Lyons & Florence and the Council of Trent clarified it, Ibid., Boettner, p. 190.
    2. We view the Apostle Peter's words in view of these teachings on purgatory and Limbus Infantum:
      1. According to the Apostle Peter's words, there is no purgatory; there is only eternal hell or eternal life:
        1. Peter condoned all of the Apostle Paul's epistles as being Scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16.
        2. In turn, as Paul wrote to carnal as well as godly believers according to 2 Cor. 13:1-5, he stated in 2 Cor. 5:8-9 that all of these believers, godly and carnal, go instantly and directly to heaven at death.
        3. Also, Paul condoned Luke's Gospel as canonical by citing Luke 10:7 in 1 Timothy 5:18 and calling it Scripture with Deuteronomy 25:4. In turn, Luke 23:39-43 revealed the criminal who admitted he was guilty of crucifixion in Luke 23:41 went to paradise the day he believed in Christ while on his cross, and that with no other purgatorial requirements, and all by Christ's authority, Luke 23:42-43.
        4. Thus, there is no purgatory, only eternal torment or heaven for all who die, John 3:16.
      2. According to the Apostle Peter's words, there is no "Limbo for infants" (Limbus Infantum), either:
        1. Peter wrote the Old Testament writings were inspired by the Holy Spirit in 2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV.
        2. Well, 2 Samuel 12:20-23 reveals David claimed he would join his deceased infant son upon his own death, cf. v. 21. As David was a believer and would participate in the resurrection of the just according to Psalm 17:15, and as David lived long before infant baptism for salvation was taught in Catholicism, there is no "Limbo for infants" (Limbus Infantum) as Roman Catholicism claims.
    3. We now explain the origin and growth of Catholicism's teachings on purgatory [and Limbus Infantum]:
      1. Ancient pagans in India and Persia believed the dead were purified by fire, Ibid., Boettner, p. 229-229.
      2. Plato in Greece popularized this pagan idea, and the Hebrews adopted it in the Maccabean times. They taught the Jewish sin offering could alleviate post-death sufferings of deceased parents, Ibid., p. 229.
      3. Christian heretic, Marcion and the non-canonical, 2nd cent. A. D. work, Shepherd of Hermes advanced the idea of a purgatory to other Christian writers. Thus, Origen, Augustine and even Gregory the Great formed the dogma of purgatory for the Catholic Church, Ibid., Boettner.
      4. When the Protestant reformers opposed the dogmas of purgatory and Limbus Infantum, the Catholic hierarchy found support for them in 2 Maccabees 12:40-45: there, Judas Maccabeus sent money to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for soldiers who had died while guilty of adultery! So, against the objections of even some of its own theologians, the Roman Catholic Church made the Apocrypha canonical Scripture at the 1545 A. D. Council of Trent to support its dogma on purgatory and Limbus Infantum, Ibid., Boettner, p. 83; Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, 2nd ed., p. 368.
Lesson: There is NO "Limbo for infants" and NO purgatory. There is only a Hell to shun and a Heaven to gain, and faith in Christ is the only function that shifts one's destiny from hell unto heaven.

Application: (1) We must believe in Christ as Savior from sin (Jn. 3:16) and await heaven (2 Cor. 5:8-9). (2) We also trust God saves infants who die before they know enough to believe in Christ.