To Purgatory, or not to Purgatory…

A recent question arose in a religious discussion, and it concerned the existence of Purgatory. While the only major Christian denomination which has an official doctrine of a place called Purgatory, most Eastern Rites acknowledge a place of “purification”; normally denoted by fire, either spiritual or physical. For the most part, the question among Protestants is mute, except within those denominations which hold the rope between Protestantism and Catholicism.

The question was raised when a Protestant who had began to read the Early Church Fathers, etc, questioned the theology of these Fathers due to the majority of the ones he had read mentioned a place of purification, prayer for the dead, trial and purification by fire, etc. To him, it proved that the theology of the Early Church was not as pure as it is today, and gave him further credence in his mind of the teachings of Luther, Calvin, etc. Also, he noted the prominence of praying for, and saying Mass for the dead. Of course, in his Protestant frame of mind – Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, as well as the belief that once you die you go straight Heaven, etc, that this was a pointless ritual and act, in fact, a waste of time, and even heretical – though he did not go as far as to call the Early Church Fathers heretical, he claimed that these teachings and beliefs is what lead the Roman Church, and even the East, to heresy, and away from salvation.

I am interested in responses, I thought it was an interesting question.

New Apologetics

I have posted a new apologetics page. It is something I wrote early last year, and it has corrections and commentary from Fr. Michael Birdsong (my “big” brother and mentor… God help us all).

Please comment, thanks!

Lunar Eclipse – Feb. 20, 2008

   

Who really killed Goliath?

Was it David – 1 Sam. 17:48, was it Elhanan – 2 Sam. 21:19, or were all of the giants spears like a weaver’s beam – 2 Chron. 20:5

Poetry – a new poem

Turbulence

The air surrounds,
as the moon chases the sun,
and I drown within the water.
Does the angel exist?
I dare not say,
either way I am,
to be and to live,
within this tornado of dreams,
within the hurrican,
I long for the eye,
I long for the storm to pass.
I cause alittle,
I bleed within,
diligence is not my trait,
only a fool,
yet, I remain in my silence.
I grip the air,
riding like a wave,
as a cloud catches me,
and I no longer sink.

Moon #2 – Feb. 16, 2008 (Thomaston, GA)

       

Here are some more shots of the moon from tonight. Sky was clear for about 20 min, so these were a lot easier to focus. Again, taken from Thomaston, GA with my Canon A75 point and shoot, with my brothers scope.

Moon – Feb. 16, 2008 (Thomaston, GA)

     

Moon, again from Thomaston. The pics are not that great due to cloud cover, which made focusing and detail much more difficult. The “halo is caused by the clouds, not so much the focus. These pics were taken with the Canon A75 and though my youngest brothers scope.

Moon #2 – Feb. 15, 2008 (Daytime from Thomaston, GA)

     

More “daytime” moon pics. They appear darker due to exposure times and enhancements, etc. The first pic is the smallest of the four, it is also the most enhanced.

Moon – Feb. 15, 2008 (Daytime from Thomaston, GA)

 

Moon today from Thomaston, GA (we are back home this weekend). This was taken through my brother’s (Josiah) telescope (SpaceProbe 3 Altaz Reflector 3″) with my Canon A75 point and shoot. Hopefully it will remain clear and I can take some tonight.

Moon #2 – Feb. 14, 2008 – w/ Canon A75

       

More Moon pics, this time taken with my Canon A75 point & shoot. Thanks to Dr. Michael Covington of the University of GA (Covington Innovations is his website), I have discovered the main problem with my DSLR.