Trapped in Purgatory Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roman Catholic

Roman Catholicism has the most developed concept of Purgatory. The "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church" states "Purgatory is the state of those who die in God's friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven. Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance."

Although the Eastern Orthodox church also has a concept similar to Purgatory they have not defined it as clearly. In Eastern Orthodoxy the idea is one more of growth towards the divine rather than punishment for purification purposes. It teaches that prayers for the dead do affect saints who are in this intermediate state.

Most Protestants reject the idea of Purgatory as an extra-Biblical creation. Two Latin phrases express the greatest concerns of most Protestants - sola scriptura, 'scripture alone' and sola fide, 'by faith alone'. Purgatory violates both of these principles.

Answer: Book of the Dead

The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" was organized around 1550 BCE and was used throughout the New Kingdom. Its roots can be traced back as far as 2400 BCE and the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom through the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom. At first such funerary rites were reserved only for royalty but by the time of the New Kingdom the practices had been broadened out to all Egyptians.

Although the concept of the book was shared by all, there was no one copy that was used by all; it varied greatly in text and illustration. The "Book of the Dead" contained spells that helped the deceased travel through the Duat's dangers to a life as an akh, blessed spirit.

Answer: Sheol

The Hebrew word Sheol appears over 60 times in the Old Testament/Tanakh. It appears most often in the poetic books, wisdom literature, and prophetic books. The Septuagint translated it with 'Hades'. The KJV translates it as 'Hell' and the NIV translates it as 'the grave' but neither of these do the word justice. There is a definite distinction in Hebrew between the actual physical grave and Sheol. The word for the physical grave is kever, not Sheol. This distinction clearly indicates that something more was meant by Sheol.

At first it was merely seen as the place where the soul resided after death but as time went on the concept was clarified so that by the time of Christ it was divided into two separate parts - Abraham's Bosom where the righteous awaited judgment and a place of torment for the unrighteous. Whereas in Rabbinical Judaism Gehenna has aspects of Purgatory, Sheol never seemed to have such aspects even when the two parts of it developed. The fate of those in Sheol was set with death and they were merely waiting for the final judgment.

Answer: Book of Enoch

Gen. 5:21-24 tells us twice that Enoch "walked with God". The same phrase "walked with God" is used of Noah. Verse 24 ends by saying, "and he (Enoch) was not, for God took him." From this tradition of Enoch never tasting physical death arose the book of Enoch and his travels through the realm of the dead among other subjects.

The Book of Enoch is not accepted as part of the mainstream canon in either Judaism or Christianity although some members of each do accept its canonicity. Although it is not accepted among the mainstream of either, it is accepted by the mysticism movements of both, particularly Kabbalah.

The "Book of Enoch" or "1 Enoch" is actually a collection of five books or one book with five distinct sections:
1. The Book of the Watchers (chapters 1-36)
2. The Book of Parables of Enoch (chapters 37-71)
3. The Astronomical Book (chapters 72 - 82)
4. The Book of Dream Visions (chapters 83 - 90)
5. The Epistle of Enoch (chapters 91 - 108)
The portion that pertains to the purpose of this quiz is chapters 17 through 36 in the Book of Watchers, specifically chapter 22. This chapter describes Enoch's journey through Sheol.

Answer: Buddhism

Buddhism does not have traditional Western versions of Heaven and Hell but Nirvana would be the equivalent to Heaven and Naraka is the equivalent of Purgatory. In Buddhism there is no eternal punishment or Hell. Instead, life is a journey towards the divine, towards Nirvana, a journey that everyone makes and one in which everyone will eventually succeed. The only question is how many lifetimes this will take for a soul to achieve this. Karma is the measure by which progress on this journey is kept.

Naraka as a concept appears in Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism and is a place of torment. In the Vedas, Naraka is a place where souls go who need to atone for especially bad karma picked up during a lifetime. Once they have suffered enough to cleanse the bad karma they leave Naraka, much the same way a soul in Purgatory is eventually supposed to leave.

Answer: Limbo

Limbo as a concept developed during medieval times. During this period, Catholic theologians divided the underworld into four parts - Hell (or Gehenna), Purgatory, Limbo of the Patriarchs, and Limbo of Infants. The Limbo of the Patriarchs was the place where believers who died before Christ went to stay because Christ had not yet died on the cross and been resurrected. In many ways it is synonymous with the concept of Abraham's Bosom. In Western Christianity, it was believed that upon His death, Christ went to this place and set the captives free when He was resurrected, a doctrine known as the Harrowing of Hell. See Ephesians 4:8-10, Psalms 68:18, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, 1 Peter 3:19-20 and 4:6 for verses used to support this concept.

The Limbo of Infants is a theory developed to deal with the fate of unbaptized infants or innocents who die in original sin but before they reach the age of accountability at which they might have committed personal sins. This is not official church doctrine as the church has stayed silent on the fate of unbaptized infants. This theory is rejected by both the Eastern Orthodox church and Protestantism.

In Dante's "Inferno", Limbo is the first circle of Hell, reserved for virtuous pagans such as Julius Caesar and Virgil.

Answer: China

Diyu arose in China and combines ideas from the three faiths mentioned in the question. In many ways Diyu is very similar to Naraka but with Chinese influences added in. The exact make-up of Diyu depends on whether it is interpreted by Taoism or Buddhism but there are some basics in common. Mostly it is seen as an underground maze where souls atone for their sins and prepare for the next life. One tradition says there are 10 courts or levels and another says 18. No matter the size or make-up, all traditions have the same basic philosophy behind them: Diyu is a place where sinners atone for their sins, much like in Purgatory.

Answer: Islam

The clue refers to the saying about the founder of Islam, "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain." Araf is a concept in Islam spelled out in the Surah Al-Araf from the Quran. Araf is the plural of Arf and is most commonly defined as a curtain, high wall, or hill that exists between Paradise and Hell. According to Islam God will weigh the deeds of a man on the scale, Mizan, to determine whether he should reside in Paradise or Hell. Those whose deeds are equally good and bad will be made to wait in Araf for some time before being allowed to enter Paradise, a concept very similar to Purgatory.

Answer: Gehenna

Gehenna is never mentioned in the Torah but it is mentioned first as a geographical place outside of Jerusalem, Valley of the Son of Hinnom. It was notorious as a place of child sacrifice to the gods Baal and Moloch and was linked to the phrase "pass through the fire" (2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:6). From this it is generally believed that the concept of Gehenna and the fires associated with it derived.

The word Gehenna does not appear in Jewish texts until about the 6th century BCE. In the "Mishnah" the concept was developed into a place of punishment of the wicked with both temporary and eternal components to it. For the most part Rabbis did not believe that punishment would be eternal except for very grievous sins. Still it was believed that repentance could come at any time so eternal damnation was not stressed.

The word does appear in the New Testament and Jesus uses it 11 times to denote a place that was the opposite of living in the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout the New Testament it leans far more to being a word more closely linked to the Christian concept of Hell than that of Purgatory.

Answer: Abraham's Bosom

According to the parable of Jesus in Luke 16:19-31, Abraham's Bosom is where Lazarus went when he died, hence the clue. Prior to the first temple in Jerusalem and up through its destruction, the concept of Sheol was one more of silence or inactivity after a person died. Beginning with the Babylonian captivity or shortly before this, the concept began to change.

By the time of the second temple in Jerusalem, the idea of Abraham's Bosom had developed. By the time of Jesus the idea was considered part of the orthodoxy. Whether Jesus truly accepted the idea as a true representation of the state of the believer after death is unclear because the only place it is mentioned is in the story of Lazarus. Since this is a parable there is great debate about whether to take it as a literal place or as a metaphor. Whether or not it was considered to be a true place, one fact is certain - it in no way represents the idea of Purgatory like Gehenna. According to the Lazarus story the fate of the dead is sealed when they die and there is no changing it.