Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation

by Jerry L. Walls

Jerry L. Walls, the author of books on hell and heaven, completes his tour of the afterlife with a philosophical and theological exploration and defense of purgatory, the traditional teaching that most Christians require a period of postmortem cleansing and purging of their sinful dispositions and imperfections before they will be fully made ready for heaven. He examines Protestant objections to the doctrine and shows that the doctrine of purgatory has been construed in different ways, some of which are fully compatible with Protestant theology. In particular, while purgatory has often been understood as matter of punishment in order to make satisfaction for sins that have not been fully remitted, it can also be seen as the completion of the sanctification process, an account of the doctrine that is fully consistent with the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith. Purgatory assumes not only continuity of personal identity but also gradual moral and spiritual growth between
death and resurrection. Different theories of personal identity are examined and assessed in light of these assumptions. Walls also shows that the traditional doctrine of purgatory is not understood as a second chance for salvation, but goes on to argue that it should be modified to allow for postmortem repentance. He concludes with an examination of C.S. Lewis's writings on purgatory, and suggests that Lewis can be a model for evangelicals and other Protestants to engage the doctrine of purgatory in a way that is true to their theology.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Religion, Philosophy

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jerry L. Walls (PhD, University of Notre Dame), a world-class expert on the afterlife and a sought-after speaker, has written for Christianity Today, First Things, and Christian Century. He has appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation and in the documentary film Hellbound? Walls, professor of philosophy and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas, is the coauthor of Why I Am Not a Calvinist and the Christianity Today Book Award Winner Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality. He has authored or edited a dozen books, including a trilogy on the afterlife—Hell: The Logic of Damnation, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation, and Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy—and is a senior speaking fellow for the Morris Institute for Human Values.

Reviews

[Luis Dizon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jerry Walls’ “Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation” is a whole different take on the doctrine of Purgatory from most other treatments of the subject, primarily because the author is an Evangelical Protestant theologian, who approaches the topic from a Protestant perspective and offers reasons for why someone who does not come from the Roman Catholic tradition might find the idea of Purgatory compelling from a scriptural and theological standpoint. The book is fairly short, with only seven chapters, but its comparatively brief treatment belies the impressive detail with which Walls has researched the subject matter and the nuance with which he treats it.

The book begins with chapter 1, “A Short History of Purgatory,” where Walls begins by discussing the Biblical texts that have traditionally been used to support the doctrine, such as 2 Maccabees 12 and 1 Corinthians 3. It then moves to the development of the doctrine, from its earliest forms in the patristic period, to the more elaborate formulations of the medieval period, to the Protestant reaction against it in the Reformation and the Catholic defenses of it afterwards.

This leads nicely to chapter 2, “Protestant Objections and Alternatives to Purgatory.” The main focus of this chapter is on the question of how different Protestant traditions have proposed getting around the problems that Purgatory was initially meant to solve. Proposals from the Lutheran, Reformed and Wesleyan traditions are explored, all of which posit the completion of the Sanctification process either before or upon death.

In chapter 3, “Models of Purgatory.” This chapter primarily discusses the difference between models of Purgatory that emphasize sanctification versus those that emphasize satisfaction. Walls point out that the earliest models focused more on sanctification, until the satisfaction aspect of Purgatory came to the fore during the Reformation. In recent years, the focus has begun to shift back towards emphasizing sanctification, as Walls notes.

In chapter 4, “Personal Identity, Time, and Purgatory,” he discusses the question of how a person’s self-identity survives physical death, and how this question impacts one’s view of Purgatory. He also elaborate on an issue that has come up several times in previous chapters, namely, why God doesn’t just completely sanctify someone instantaneously.

In chapter 5, “Purgatory and Theories of a ‘Second Chance,’” Walls covers various the view held by some Protestant theologians that one’s chance to repent and be saved doesn’t end at death, and that some individuals may be given another chance at salvation during the afterlife in a purgatorial state. This contrasts with the traditional Catholic view that Purgatory is only for those who die in a state of grace, and that death seals a person’s eternal destiny (although he does point to Karl Rahner as an exception to this).

In chapter 6, “C.S. Lewis and the Prospect of Mere Purgatory,” he then goes over the writings of C.S. Lewis, and shows that the author affirmed Purgatory, not just as an incidental feature of his theology, but as the logical outworking of his view of salvation. Furthermore, he discusses the matter in such a way that indicates that such a belief was uncontroversial in the Anglicanism of his day. Walls shows the ecumenical potential of Lewis’ thoughts on purgatory as well.

Finally, all of these different threads are wrapped up and summarized in chapter 7, “Looking Forwards by Looking Back.” Here, Walls argues that since Scripture neither explicitly affirms nor denies Purgatory, one must remain open to the possibility that such a doctrine may be reasonably inferred from Scripture, and how such a belief does not contradict salvation by grace, since Purgatory also functions by God’s grace.

While I found the quality of the books to be rather uneven, I did enjoy chapters 2-3 quite immensely. Walls does a good job of pointing out that Scripture does not say that sanctification only occurs in this life. Thus, from the perspective of one adhering to Sola Scriptura, the possibility of sanctification after death cannot be ruled out. He shows how Reformed and Wesleyan ideas of sanctification being completed either in this life or upon death are not found in the Bible, and thus cannot be touted as “biblical” anymore than belief in Purgatory. He also does a good job of showing how Purgatory as a form of satisfaction does not take away from the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, since 1) Purgatory is only efficacious because of the grace that comes from the atonement, and 2) the logic behind this satisfaction is essentially the same as why God disciplines us in this life (cf. Hebrews 12), albeit applied to the next life.

Overall, the book has a heavy emphasis on historical theology. The theologies of individuals such as Dante, John Henry Newman, and C.S. Lewis are especially emphasized. The sections dealing with these thinkers is a good overview of some of the best thought on the matter. There is also some scriptural exegesis in the first chapter, which is helpful for those who want a purely biblical treatment of the topic. However, that section is far less developed, and if someone wants a more detailed biblical defense of Purgatory, I would recommend something like Trent Horn’s “The Case for Catholicism,” which has a chapter expounding the quoted verses in greater length. Between that and this book, I believe that readers will have a good well-rounded presentation of why it is reasonable to believe in Purgatory.

[Jarrett Vandiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We threw away too much when we threw purgatory clean out the doors” - PT Forsyth (A 1900s Scottish Protestant)

This book makes quite a strong case for what Walls calls “mere purgatory”: a “sanctification” model of purgatory in which when a Christian dies, any sinful desires will be purged from them in the presence of Christ Jesus before their full entry into Heaven. Even if the term “purgatory” is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, Walls convincingly shows that the concept of purgatory is a rational inference from what we know about God and salvation in Scripture, just as the belief in the Trinity is a rational inference. The strongest part of this book is his outlining of many theologians’ explanations of purgatory, such as Augustine, Aquinas, PT Forsyth, and of course CS Lewis.

Of the several divisions between Protestants and Catholics today, the doctrine of purgatory should not be one of them. For even CS Lewis believed in the doctrine and implicitly asked for prayer after his death in his last letter of his life. Walls ends his book by claiming that he is arguing that purgatory “makes best sense of how Christians who die short of perfection can be appropriately transformed and fitted for heaven” (177).

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those who already believe in a non-traditional form of purgatory that sanctifies and transforms through suffering but does not punish retributively, this book would probably make you feel good.

For everyone else, most notably the protestants/evangelicals like myself who came to the book not believing in any sort of purgatory after death, the response would be mostly along the lines of “well, that’s very interesting that those Catholic theologians, Christian philosophers, and fiction writers believed those various things.” Truth be told, there isn’t much of an attempt (let alone successful completion) of a persuasive argument for purgatory. It’s kind of assumed, for the most part, that purgatory is true, and so the question is, what type of purgatory fits best with protestant theology. As far as an actual persuasive argument goes, pretty much it’s just a brief argument from free will that is sort of tacked on to the end of Chapter 4. In fact, more of an argument is put forth for the idea of post-mortem repentance of the unsaved than for purgatory itself(see Chapter 5).

The book has almost no scripture cited. A few passages are pointed to at the beginning as examples of verses that Roman Catholics use to show that the Bible teaches the doctrine of purgatory, though no real analysis is done on these. They aren’t used by Walls for or against the doctrine. It’s virtually all history and philosophical arguments (which generally rely on Walls’ specific view of election and free will). And again, most of them aren’t arguing for the doctrine of purgatory, but for post-mortem repentance (which doesn’t necessarily require purgatory, at least not for those who died as believers).

It’s kind of hard to judge any case for purgatory that Walls makes because so much of it is simply an overview of various views and deciding which is best. That said, though Walls rightly disregards the traditional Catholic view that, despite Jesus’ death, we have actual atoning to do for venial sins, which is to be done in purgatory, he doesn’t address the key scriptural arguments against any purgatory. Passages that are used to argue that at death, the believer goes straight to be with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Philippians 1:28) aren’t challenged. Regarding the dilemma of the believers who, according to this view of purgatory, still need to be sanctified when Jesus returns, it only comes up in the footnotes of Chapter 5. His answer, dealing only with 1 John 3:2, is less than satisfying. His reply:

“How purgatory fits with the timeline of the parousia, the final judgment, and so on is not always clear and admittedly requires some degree of speculation. The assumption that this text is incompatible with purgatory assumes, however, that there is a singular moment of Christ’s fully appearing to all believers, and that all will clearly and fully see him at this moment, and instantly become fully like him. However, the exact chronology, duration of time, and individual appropriation of this transformation is not explicitly clarified by this text.”

In other words, to preserve this notion of purgatory which Walls doesn’t even try to argue is actually stated in the Bible, he would have us believe that Jesus’ physical return is not a one-time event where all believers together to be with Him. But, isn’t that explicitly what 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, that all the believers on earth who are alive will meet Him together, i.e. at one time? Doesn’t the Bible say that when He comes, all the saved dead are resurrected and those who are still alive are changed “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Do these people, who have not died and never will (Verse 53), go into purgatory after they are instantly immortalized and perfected in every other sense? Does Walls have an answer for these passages? I don’t know, because it never comes up in the book...

Overall, the book is mostly historical information and citing the beliefs of philosophers, most of whom Wells doesn’t even agree with. The persuasive argument is mostly “morally imperfect people can’t be in Heaven, so either there is purgatory or they are perfected at once. But the latter is silly, so there must be a purgatory.” Like I say, purgatory is mostly assumed. Walls focuses mostly on finding a version that is compatible with protestant theology. The fact that a lot of interesting and useful information about historical theology is presented gives this book some use, though not if your goal is to prove purgatory.

[Readnponder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first foray into the doctrine of purgatory. While the author did not make a believer out of me, I understand better what it is about. There is a chapter on the history of purgatory, the protestant objections, how time and space factor into it, among others. The reason I initially picked up the book was because of the chapter on C.S. Lewis and purgatory. Yes, he seemed to believe in some form of purgatory as suggested by "The Great Divorce" and his last book, "Letters to Malcolm."

The idea of purgatory being for further sanctification rather than a way of earning salvation post-mortem was new to me. The author also talked about the growing modern interest in purgatory as a corollary to universalism or having a post-mortem second chance for saving faith in Christ. (Think Rob Bell's "Love Wins.")

Although there were some tough sections to muddle through, by and large I felt the author was accessible to non-theologian.

[W Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

In mainstream Protestant theology, justification and salvation are both accomplished wholly by grace. Yet the Bible tells us to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling". As most theologians would have it, sanctification, transformation, and moral perfection are requirements for entrance to heaven. But most (if not all) people are far from attaining this when they die. How, then, is their sanctification finished?

Protestant philosopher of religion Jerry Walls thinks it is inadequate to assert that sanctification is suddenly completed at death by a divine act. If there is to be a sense of continuity in a person's identity, the process of sanctification cannot be leaped over in the single bound of death. This leads quite naturally to a notion of purgatory, but this immediately seems objectionable to many Protestants.

Walls thus surveys the historic development of purgatory in Roman Catholic theology, the abuses that led the Reformers to jettison it entirely, and the alternative ways that Protestants traditionally get around the dilemmas that purgatory was meant to solve. He contends that the Reformers took a wrong turn by jettisoning purgatory entirely—though they rightly rejected the idea, prevalent in their time, that retributive purgatorial suffering (the satisfaction model of purgatory) could somehow aid in our ultimate salvation. In fact, Roman Catholic theology has wavered between a satisfaction model of purgatory and a sanctification model of purgatory. The latter model, which provides a way for souls to be naturally purified rather than arbitrarily punished, has taken a more prominent place in recent Roman Catholic theology, and there is nothing intrinsic to it that is at odds with mainstream Protestant theology.

From here Walls sets out to build a model of purgatory that has ecumenical promise, i.e. that both Protestants and Catholics can assent to. To do this he draws largely on the imaginative works of Dante and C.S. Lewis, since the Bible is basically silent on the matter and since both of these authors are renowned throughout the wide reach of Christianity. It is admittedly a speculative project, but one that fits naturally within well-established theological and philosophical frameworks on both sides of the Protestant/Catholic divide. Walls holds that not only can the process of sanctification be continuously finished in the hereafter, but also that there will be chances for people to turn to God in the next life if they have not done so in this life. In fact, Walls wonders whether more people may be saved after death than before death—it is even reasonable to hope for the salvation of all people, even if one thinks that this outcome is ultimately unlikely. This demonstrates God's wholehearted love and grace for people who, for reasons beyond their control, do not have sufficient opportunities to turn to God in their earthly lives.

This is an interesting and helpful read, and noticeably less dense and technical (and thus more accessible) than Walls' previous books on heaven and hell.

[Nathan Marone]

This was a challenging read for me, but ultimately rewarding.

I was looking for two things when I started reading. First, I wanted to better understand the doctrine of purgatory. Second, I wanted to see if I could be convinced.

On the first count, Walls' book was a gift. He does a nice job of tracing the developmental history of the doctrine of purgatory, giving sketches of the two main approaches (satisfaction and sanctification). Walls' goal is ecumenical understanding, and the work here is fantastic. I walked away with a better appreciation of the doctrine and sympathy for it, especially the sanctification models, which line up well with my own Wesleyan-Holiness background.

On the second count, I was frustrated. My main hang up is typically Protestant: it doesn't seem to have adequate support from scripture. If someone in my congregation held to purgatory, I would probably make no effort to disabuse them of the notion, but I don't think I could ever preach or teach it. Walls, to his credit, admits this problem up front. The scriptural passages usually cited in support of purgatory are inferential at best, and so it's very difficult to build a substantial case from the raw data of the Bible. For this reason, I often found myself annoyed at now almost purely speculative this doctrine could be. But that isn't really Walls' fault. He's writing a book mostly to explain and then build a bridge between Protestants and Catholics.

Overall, I'm glad I read Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. I walked away from it with a richer understanding of this corner of theology and a better appreciation for my Catholic brothers and sisters.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm likely going to reflect on this book at length in print somewhere ere long, as it raises with uncommon clarity a number of key issues that surface in my theology classes: the element of sanctification in salvation, the nature of the intermediate state, inclusivism, universalism, body-soul dualism, and more. So I'll keep things brief here.

Jerry Walls, a Methodist now teaching at Houston Baptist University, wrote previous books on heaven and hell that are well worth reading also. He is indeed a philosopher (Notre Dame PhD), not a theologian, and the lack of sustained interaction with Scripture (he spends far more time with Dante than with the Bible) marks a severe limitation of the book. What IS strong, however, is what you'd like to think you could expect from an analytical philosopher: a temperate examination of the issues, a clear analysis of the options, a calm critique of each, and a sober and restrained set of recommendations.

I think there is a lot to say on behalf of a certain view of purgatory in a Protestant register, and Jerry Walls says much of it in this good book. If you want your theological paradigm shaken and stretched at least a bit, this will do the job.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too much consideration of all thoughts on this topic, rather than conclusions, but a very good source of history and understanding that purgatory can neither be sufficiently disproved or proved based on the information given in the bible. A stand alone topic, more than being used as a defense for universal salvation. Extremely informative.

[Bruce Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. Written by a Protestant theologian, the book gives a history of the doctrine, including many changes over the centuries. Most Protestants will no doubt be unconvinced by the author's arguments, which draw heavily on C. S. Lewis. Nonetheless, it's worth the effort.