Purgatory: Replying a comment

Dear friend,
Thank you so much for your comment that included many references from scripture. As one who strives to tremble at the word of God, I took your comment very seriously. I accept the point, which you make only implicitly, that the fact that the Bible does not mention the word “purgatory” should not prevent us from identifying any reference to a “state after death of suffering and forgiveness,” should it exist.

As you can imagine, I spent some time thinking over my answer. It gave me an appreciation of the extent to which a person’s theology influences the way a particular text is interpreted.