Protestant Purgatory or Catholic Correction?

Do Protestants and Catholics have more in common on this doctrine of Purgatory than you previously thought? Wright has some interesting comments worth pondering (Surprised by Hope, p. 171):

Paul makes it clear here [Romans 8] and elsewhere that it's the present like that is meant to function as purgatory. The sufferings of the present time, not some postmortem state, are the valley through which we have to pass in order to reach the glorious future. I think I know why purgatory became so popular, why Dante's middle volume is the one people most easily relate to. The myth of purgatory is an allegory, a projection from the present onto the future. This is why purgatory appeal to the imagination. It is our story here and now. If we are Christians, if we believe in the risen Jesus as Lord, if we are baptized members of his body, then we are passing right now through the sufferings that form the gateway to life. Of course, this means that for millions of our theological and spiritual ancestors death brought a pleasant surprise. They had been gearing up for a long struggle ahead, only to find it was already over.

I'll not now go into the implications of believing in purgatory which Protestants tend to point out (i.e. that it denigrates the efficiency and sufficiency of the cross; that it places a portion, however small, of their resulting salvation in their own suffering as opposed to Jesus'). What I wish to point out is that for so long I had repudiated any sense of "suffering before heaven" because I had only associated the idea with purgatory and had neglected to see that which is so obvious: this life for God's people is, among other necessary things, nothing less than a purification of the soul, and that: by faith in the atoning work of Christ in our place. Yes, I can believe that.

BHT

Wright Speaks About Rewards Rightly

From Surprised by Hope, page 161-2 (italics Wright's):

We have been taught that we are justified by faith, not works, and, somehow, the very idea of being a Christian for what we will get out of it is distasteful. But the image of reward in the New Testament doesn't work like that. It isn't a matter of calculation, of doing a difficult job in order to be paid a wage. It is much more like working at a friendship or a marriage in order to enjoy the other person's company more fully. It is more like practicing golf in order that we can go out on the course and hit the ball in the right direction. It is more like learning German or Greek so that we can read some of the great poets and philosophers in those languages. The "reward" is organically connected to the activity, not some kind of arbitrary pat on the back, otherwise unrelated to the work that was done. And it is always far in abundance beyond any sense of direct or equivalent payment. The reward of being able to read and enjoy Homer for the rest of your life is way beyond any kind of one-for-one payment for the slog of learning Greek.

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N.T. Wright On The Meaning of "citizens of heaven": Divine Imperialism

I am aware that, in particular theological circles, there's a whirlwind of opinion about N.T. Wright and whether his view on "justification" is orthodox or not. Be that as it may, I'm also aware that many of those same critics are as excited about his writing on the resurrection of Jesus as they are horrified about his views on justification. His larger, more encyclopedic, work titled The Resurrection of the Son of God is the foundation for his smaller, more popular and accessible book titled Surprised by Hope. A friend loaned the latter to me and I've found myself delightfully surprised by how much I enjoy it, and the Christian hope that, by it, Wright has made more clear.

A sample:

Philippi was a Roman colony. Augustus had settled his veterans there after the battles of Philippi (42 B.C.) and Actium (31 B.C.). Not all residents of Philippi were Roman citizens, but all knew what citizenship meant. The point of creating colonies was twofold. First, it was aimed at extending Roman influence around the Mediterranean world, creating cells and networks of people loyal to Caesar in the wider culture. Second, it was one way of avoiding the problems of overcrowding in the capital itself. The emperor certainly did not want retired soldiers, with time (and blood) on their hands, hanging around Rome ready to cause trouble. Much better for them to be establishing farms and businesses elsewhere.

So when Paul says, "We are citizens of heaven," he doesn't at all mean that when we're done with this life we'll be going off to live in heaven. What he means is that the savior, the Lord, Jesus the King - all of those were of course imperial titles - will come from heaven to earth, to change the present situation and state of his people. Jesus will not declare that present physicality is redundant and can be scrapped. Nor will he simply improve it, perhaps by speeding up its evolutionary cycle. In a great act of power - the same power that accomplished Jesus's own resurrection - he will change the present body into the one that corresponds in kind to his own as part of his work of bringing all things into subjection to himself. (p. 100)

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