The Greeks!!

This post is for my hijo, A***. Miss ya buddy!

Iggy,

Can you please give me the full explanation of purgatory? Where and when did the doctrine begin? How does it fit with scripture? How does it fit in with prayers for the souls of the dead? I must admit, I do not know exactly what Catholics believe in this case, and can therefore not discuss it until I have some fact.
My quick comment would be that as a gospel believing Christian, I am unsure how such a doctrine can fit in with the rest of what the Bible teaches.

Strange New World

Sorry it has been a while.

I am sitting in the Phoenix airport, on my way back from Chihuahua, Mexico. I have spent the past week teaching, driving, hiking in canyons, battling poisonous spiders and scorpions(not kidding), but I have now reached civilization.

Iggy, that is an awesome question.

When I first arrived at the school that shall remain nameless, I knew very little about the Catholic faith. All I knew was that when I was dating a Catholic girl for a while as a teenager, and the picture of Pope John Paul II hanging in the dining room kinda freaked me out.

Truthfully, when I first arrived, I thought everything that I was not familiar with was silly. I basically went to everything I had to and begrudgingly sat through it. However, as time went by, I began to appreciate SOME of what I experienced. For instance, although some of the Mass was uncomfortable for me (for obvious reasons), what it is, in fact, is a long prayer. When I began to accept this, I was able to partake in the majority of it with out to many interruptions. (sorry to all you "the pope is the anti-Christ" protestants out there, but I am convinced that I am worshipping the same Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my Catholic brother and sisters).
However, what I still find difficult to grasp is the seeming inability for my Catholic brothers and sisters to just talk to their Creator. Everything seems to be mapped out and unless one is told what to say, there is silence. I understand why there may be a need for liturgy, but if Nietzsche is wrong, and God is in fact very much alive, let us talk to him one on one. Stop relying on saints of the past and tell him what is on your heart. He went through a hell of a lot to make it possible (I am not swearing here but using it in its proper sense.
That is all for now. I know it is quick and kind of sporadic, but it is a little noisy in the airport, and I am having a difficult time typing up on my friends laptop.