[quote:ntycndz1]Thanks. Then is this similar to our understanding[/quote:ntycndz1]
Nice to hear that, for a change. ” title=”Wink” />
[quote:ntycndz1]If this is the case, then I see no need for a purgatory teaching at all but would agree that the disagreement is mainly one of terminology.[/quote:ntycndz1]
The fact that you personally see no need for it….. well, to be frank… who cares?

We use different terminology and base our teachings in part based on the culture… with different cultures and modes of thought, East and West are bound to express things differently, so I don’t see where you feel the need to point out that you see “no need” for it.
[quote:ntycndz1]From my point of view there is a tendency in the west to over-philosophize theology [/quote:ntycndz1]
From our point of view, there is a tendency in the East to over-mystify theology (by no means confined to your RO) which seems to stem from the belief than humans are so deficient that any attempt to use our God given reason and intellect somehow robs God of His honor and mystery.

There should be a balance between the two…. the post-Vatican II Catholic Church has made quite an effort to do just that, and I think the more you learn about CURRENT RCC teachings, you’ll begin to realize it.

I’ll leave you with a quote of my own:

[color=blue:ntycndz1]Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human hearth a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.[/color:ntycndz1]
(cf Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2)
From Fides et Ratio by Servant of God John Paul II

Peace in Christ,
Scott