Purgatory and the Nature of Reality

A Tract Book Essay

By

Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif

© Copyright 2007 by Anthony J. Fejfar

Once upon a time a lot of people believed in Heaven and Hell. Even longer ago

in time, many people believed in Purgatory. I argue that Purgatory best represents the

real Nature of Reality and that both Heaven and Hell are antiquated concepts.

First let us talk about Heaven. What is the nature of Heaven? What is Heaven

like? Well, in point of fact there is no agreement. Some think that we will spend eternity

in heaven going to church and praying. Others think that this would be boring and not

Heaven. Some think that Heaven is like Paradaise, and that Heaven will be filled with

great food, entertainment, etc., and of course, with a suitable number of beautiful women

(or men) of the opposite sex, just waiting for the perfect relationship. Others think that

there will be no sex at all in Heaven and that beautiful people will not be allowed in.

Interestingly, even some Satanist think that they will be going to Heaven. These

are extremely irrational people who think that anything can mean anything. So, they

define evil as good, as good as evil, and Heaven as Hell, and Hell as Heaven. They are so

deluded that they think that they will go to Heaven for being evil. Obviously, most

people come to the more sensible conclusion that good people go the Heaven and evil

people go to Hell.

Then there is Hell. Since about 1960, or so, Hell has become an increasingly

unpopular concept. The idea that a Good God would leave a person in Hell forever,
suffering torture, seemed a little bit extreme. So people soon either tried to redefine Hell,

or to define it out of existence. Additionally, there were always conceptual problems

with Hell. If you were truly evil then you went to Hell. But, the problem was that Satan

was in charge in Hell. Satan is considered to be evil. In fact, it is generally thought that

Satan tempts people to be evil on Earth. So, if one was Satanically evil, then one might

ask why Satan would torture you in Hell. Perhaps he might reward you for being evil.

Somehow, it only makes sense that people are punished in Hell if God is in charge in

Hell, not Satan. But, then, some contemporary theologians define Hell as the complete

separation from God. Obviously, both cannot be true. If God is in charge in Hell, then

obviously a person in Hell is not separated from him, instead one is being punished by

him.

The last problem with Hell is ecumenism. Many Catholics and Protestants are

ecumenical, that is, they try to find the Spirit in other religious traditions. Where before,

my Protestant friend might think I was going to Hell for not being a “Born Again”

Christian, and I, his Catholic friend might think that he was going to Hell for missing

Mass on Sunday, or something else, after ecumenism, this began to fade. In fact, even in

the old view, many of us cheated, praying for a friend or relative who was in the “wrong”

religion. This was especially true when there were children of mixed Protestant Catholic

marriages. It’s hard for a kid to think that one of his parents was going to Hell for being

in the wrong religion.

Finally, there is Purgatory. Purgatory is defined as a place which is conducive

to Spiritual Growth. In the old view, the idea was that you spent time in Purgatory

before you could go to Heaven. Once in Purgatory, you could not go to Hell. On the
other hand, in the old view, I guess it was possible that some would spend a very long

time in Purgatory, never quite “getting it.”

Now, I would like to argue that Heaven and Hell no longer exist, if they ever did,

and instead what exists is something like Purgatory. Purgatory is a place for education,

reflection, and Spiritual Growth. One might argue that Purgatory ranges from “Virtual

Heaven” on the top end, to “Virtual Hell,” on the bottom end. Purgatory is a Spirit

World which is based upon the paradigm of spiritual and intellectual growth. Those

who are in sync with this paradigm find Purgatory to be Heavenly, and those who are not,

find it to be Hellish. You see, if you spend all your time on Earth being anti-intellectual

and anti-spiritual, then you are going to find Purgatory to be a difficult place to be.

Recall, at this point the notion of Reincarnation. I argue that Reincarnation is

ordered toward personal growth, both spiritually and intellectually. In his book, Journey

of Souls, by psychologist Michael Newton, Newton describes a Spirit World which is

ordered toward spiritual and intellectual growth. It is this World, this Purgatory, that we

return to between lives on Earth. If we do not learn our lessons in the Spirit World, then

we must learn them on Earth in later lives. Perhaps, then, Hell only exists for those who

reject the existence of Purgatory, and for no others. Since spiritual growth can go on

forever, it would seem that the notion of a “Perfect” Heaven is not logical.