Just off the top of my head:

Matthew 18:34

Luke 12:47

Mark 9:49

1 Peter 3:19

Ephesians 4:9

1 Corinthians 3:13

This is just a brief list of biblical evidence of Purgatory from the New Testament for you protestants to start with.

This remark is not a substitute for the missing argument.

This is the bottom level of Grahams Hierarchy of Disagreement.

<tga> now has responses from <td>, me and <op>.

If either of you are genuinely interested in hearing my argument for the biblical evidence for Purgatory then I will be happy to provide it.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:23-35)

The king is obviously God (cf verses 23 & 35)

The first servant is forgiven his debt but is subsequently punished due to his unmerciful act towards his fellow servant.

His punishment is imprisonment and torture until his debt is repaid, even though the debt had been forgiven.

Now God does not reinstate sin which has been forgiven, nor condemn those who have been saved by faith, yet there is a temporary punishment to expiate an individuals wickedness which all people carry with them even after forgiveness and salvation.

The unmerciful servant in the parable was forgiven his entire debt, yet imprisoned "until he should pay back all he owed". Jesus warns “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart".

<The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. >

If it was forgiven, he doesn't owe anything.

<The unmerciful servant is punished for his wickedness, but the punishment is commensurate with his debt, >

As regards the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus is very specific in identifying the kingdom of heaven as being like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants and as to "how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Now, as you say, if the debt was forgiven he doesn't owe anything. And yet, the king imprisons the unmerciful servant specifically "until he should pay back all he owed."

The servant is therefore not being imprisoned for the debt that was forgiven, but for his wickedness, although in time and intensity commensurate with his debt.

So Purgatory is not a punishment for a debt already forgiven, but rather a cleansing of wickedness carried into the hereafter.

Glad we agree so far.

<but introducing the parable of the dishonest manager as a comparison confuses the issue. >

It emphasizes the fact we can't always appeal to parables in a literal way. You have stipulated that.

<These are two different parables and should be treated separately.>

I affirm both clearly take a lot of literary license, as evidenced by behavior attributed to God that is unethical.

<As regards the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus is very specific in identifying the kingdom of heaven as being like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants and as to "how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Now, as you say, if the debt was forgiven he doesn't owe anything. And yet, the king imprisons the unmerciful servant specifically "until he should pay back all he owed.">

Yes. Unethical behavior. I attribute that to literary license. You attribute it to an unethical God.

<The servant is therefore not being imprisoned for the debt that was forgiven, but for his wickedness, although in time and intensity commensurate with his debt.>

Yes or no. Was he imprisoned until he paid back all he owed? I say yes.

<So Purgatory is not a punishment for a debt already forgiven, but rather a cleansing of wickedness carried into the hereafter.>

Matthew 18:34 >

The action of the king is to imprison the unmerciful servant until his debt has been repaid to atone for his wickedness in not extending the same mercy to his fellow servant.

This parable is clearly a warning of punishment directed, not at unbelievers (who will experience their own punishment), but at believers who think they have benefited from cheap grace.

Sin may be forgiven by God, but still must be atoned for.

It is why in the Sacrament of Confession, after absolution, the penitent is given a penance to complete.

So after 55 years of studying the Bible you prefer to hide your light under a bushel? (Matthew 5:15)

<OhioChessFan: I'm okay so long as we remain in the realm of whether it's a Scriptural position. If we move outside that, I'll walk away.>

I don't know why this is your modus operandi, but it's inevitable. Get to where the rubber meets the road, and you refuse to address the specific points I raise. Instead, you simply repeat yourself in generic language.

<This parable is clearly a warning of punishment directed, not at unbelievers (who will experience their own punishment), but at believers who think they have benefited from cheap grace.>

Ditto.

<Sin may be forgiven by God, but still must be atoned for.>

Ditto.

<It is why in the Sacrament of Confession, after absolution, the penitent is given a penance to complete.>

I think your problem may be that you’re confusing a monetary debt with the corruption of sin.

A debt forgiven is simply a monetary obligation waived, but sin has a personal effect on the soul.

So even after forgiveness by God, the soul requires purification, or purging, before entering Heaven.

The parable of the unmerciful servant is specifically a reply to Peter’s question about how many times one must forgive, but this parable also reveals the truth about a temporary punishment for wicked behaviour to those who are saved but imperfect.

This is only one Scriptural account revealing Purgatory. There are numerous others which support this theology.

No.

< and if you would like to examine the other biblical verses referenced I will be happy to do so.>

+1

This nonsense about <td> not being able or willing to share his wisdom of God's word because this is a "chess website" comes across as extremely disingenuous. Nobody is buying that. There is another reason that he runs away from the debate.

After all, it's not as though <td> only talks about chess at the "chess website". He's going on and on about everything under the sun all the time without regard to this being a "chess website".

My guess is that his blood pressure is high enough, so he doesn't want to get into a debate that will make his blood boil. In other words, he probably gets all worked up during a debate so he's avoiding it.

But please, <td>, have a little respect for your interlocutors here in the Free Speech Zone and resist the lie about this being a "chess website" as the reason you won't talk about the bible.

Couldn't you see the Apostle Paul here?

What I mean by that is it seems first you come up with purgatory, and then you reason backward from there, trying to make the little bits and pieces fit together to form some kind of strange, tenuous support for the doctrine.

That's ad hoc.

It's like the Mormons saying that we will all be gods one day and rule our own planets. When asked why, they point to the bible where it says we are brothers in Christ, and since we are brothers and Christ is a deity, then we are also deities and since Christ is king on earth (king of kings) then we will also be kings on our own planets.

Ad hoc, like purgatory.

Purgatory is not a Christian idea or doctrine; it's purely Catholic.

I'm waiting for your debate with <OCF> to run its course before I chime in. Why am I waiting? Because <ocf> used to be a Catholic before he was saved and came to the Lord, so I'm interested in what he's going to say.

However, he seems unsatisfied with your remarks thus far, as though you are failing to get to the <central point>, and that you know you are failing to get to it, as though you are being somewhat obtuse.

I think <ocf> senses that, and because of that, he may be thinking that it's a waste of time to continue further with you, just as it's ridiculous to get into an extended argument with someone who is drunk.