This is a short essay I wrote for my omnibus exam. I tried to imitate Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica by using the form of a Disputed Question.
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Question 1
First Article
Whether Dante's Purgatory should be read by Christians?
We
proceed thus to the First Article:—
Obj.
1: It would seem that Christians should not read Dante’s Purgatory, for it seems to teach that
people can be saved from the guilt of their sins by their own righteousness
earned in Purgatory, and Paul says that it is “by grace you have been saved
through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a
result of works, so that no one may boast.” If we could save ourselves by doing
good things, then it would rob God of his glory, and the sacrifice of Christ
would have been pointless. “For if righteousness were through the law, then
Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21). Therefore a person cannot blot
out his bad deeds by his good deeds.
Obj. 2: Further, Purgatory teaches that we will have another chance at salvation
after we die. But in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man
begs for Father Abraham to have mercy on him and send him water, Abraham
replies, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things,
and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you
are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been
fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and
none may cross from there to us” (Luke 16:25-26). Therefore it is impossible
for a person, once deceased, to change his place of eternal residence.
On the contrary, C.S. Lewis says in his
essay entitled “On the Reading of Old Books” that “first-hand knowledge is not
only more worth acquiring than second-hand knowledge, but is usually much
easier and more delightful to acquire.” In addition, Lewis says, “[Many] would
find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a
tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hands.”
Dante’s Purgatory is an old
theological classic. Therefore, Christians should read it so that they may have
an unadulterated view of Dante’s theology regarding Purgatory to compare to
Scripture’s teaching, and, when doing so, learn what Scripture says on the
topic.
I answer that, Christians should read
Dante’s Purgatory. For the same
reason that we should read other classics, like Plato’s Republic—the reason being that classics increase our understanding
of the world and God. “If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8b). There is much that is
excellent and worthy of praise in Purgatory.
But we should still “take every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and test
it against Scripture, which is infallible.
In
addition, Purgatory gives us an example of how to live whilst on earth. While
there is no such place as Purgatory, we can still take the principle portrayed
in it—that of sanctification—and apply it to our lives. We are not saved by works, but we do become more like Christ through our
actions, which stem from the renewing of our minds.
Reply to Obj. 1: Those that are in
Purgatory are already Redeemed (Purgatory,
2.73). The Late-Repentant and the Excommunicate are in Purgatory, it is
true; but, even though they only came to know Christ at the end of their lives,
or were excommunicated, they are Christians nonetheless. Their works are not
saving them, their works are making them ready for an audience with a Holy God
who cannot be in the presence of sin.
This
has been a sufficient reply to the second objection.
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