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Purgatory pp 19–32Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Purgatory, Atonement, and the Self

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Abstract

Purgatory has traditionally been thought of both as a state—the middle condition between earthly existence and eternal destiny—and a process preparatory to Heaven and Hell, a process whose pains and penalties have the effecting of purging the souls of those who undergo them. How would such ‘purging’ work? The aim of this chapter is to offer an answer to this question by connecting some themes in the philosophy of punishment with themes relating to the substitution theory of atonement. Its concluding suggestion is that the pains of Purgatory eliminate attachments to the self, and may thereby determine whether after death there remains anyone for whom Christ can atone.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, USA

    Gordon Graham

Authors
  1. Gordon Graham
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome, Italy

    Kristof Vanhoutte

  2. Department of History, Political Science, Philosophy, and American Studies, University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA

    Benjamin W. McCraw

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Graham, G. (2017). Purgatory, Atonement, and the Self. In: Vanhoutte, K., McCraw, B. (eds) Purgatory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57891-0_2

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