Praying for the Dead?

A long while ago I was reading an article about the death of Harold Camping - the infamous predictor of the end times.  I left a comment on the article saying: "He was a strange and confused man, but we should pray that he finds rest with the Lord."

The reaction I got from the rest of the Christian audience was  .... unexpected.

Praying for the dead is a completely normal thing within Catholic circles, but is considered by many others to be bizarre and possibly heretical.  So what unfolded in that combox was a long, somewhat exasperating exchange in which I tried to explain the concept.

Why would one pray for the dead?

Get Well Soon!

Knowing that I was the Romanist Papist infection on this blog, my interlocutors assumed these prayers had something to do with the Catholic dogma of Purgatory. That wasn't the case, but its worthy of comment.

In short:  We're all imperfect people.  We all have character flaws which tempt us into sins of thought and action.  Thankfully, Jesus has offered us the forgiveness of our sins and reconciled us to God.

However, Bible passages like Psalm 24:3-6 and Revelation 21:27 both say that only perfect people are in Heaven.  So you won’t be walking into Heaven with all of your deep-seated imperfections in place.  You’re going to need to be healed and liberated.  And that’s good news!

But this all means you need to undergo some type of change.  The only space in which that can happen is after death, after judgment, but before arrival in Heaven.   Thus, one might think of it as going through a spiritual carwash before entering Heaven.

It is common for Catholics (and Eastern Orthodox) to pray that this process goes easily and expediently for a deceased person.  However, those prayers have nothing to do with changing the person's final destination.  Any final purification would take place after judgement - thus the destination has already been set.

So, again, what good would it do to pray for someone's salvation after he is dead?


Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Whimey Stuff:

I was once listening to an old podcast from a radio show which originally aired in 2007.  A woman called into the show who was going through a terrible situation.  The call ended with the host asking the audience to pray for the woman.

Well, by the time I listened to the podcast the woman’s dilemma was probably already resolved.  However, I didn't know how her issue turned out.  Thus, I didn't see a reason why I couldn't also pray for her.  So I did.

Prayer isn't some magical incantation you recite, the effects of which are dependent on your power. Rather, the efficacy of prayer comes from God.

In the first chapter of Genesis, we observe that God created the whole universe; all of space and... all of time.  Being outside of time, He is therefore not constrained by the limits it imposes on us.  God observes the entire timeline in one glimpse and can interact with the whole thing simultaneously.  The year 2013 and 2007 are simultaneously and equally present to God.

So is there anything stopping God, who foreknows all things, from responding to my prayer in a time prior to my actually making it?  Nope.  In fact, we're told in the Psalms:

"Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely." - Psalm 139:4

Always and Everywhere:

Now, one would still be rightly suspicious about praying for the dead if it was a recent innovation.  However, an investigation into the witnesses from the earliest days of Christianity shows this practice was taken for granted by everyone, everywhere.

Here are a few examples...


The Epitaph of Abercius:

The first ready example can be found in the ancient city of Phrygia.  The Bishop of Hieropolis, Abercius, died there in 190AD.  He left a tombstone which requested the prayers of those who read it.


The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity

One instance of this can been seen in the diary of Perpetua from the early 200's AD.  Perpetua was a woman from Carthage who had been condemned to die for being a Christian.  While in her captivity she had a dream in which she saw her deceased younger brother in a state of great thirst.

She responded by praying for her dead brother for days-on-end.  Afterward she had another dream in which she saw her brother refreshed and playing with other children in a land with living streams of water.   [The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity 2:3–4, 202AD]  

Now, Perpetua likely wasn't a trained theologian or Scripture scholar.  But she was an early Christian and martyr.  So it is worth noting that nothing in her Christian upbringing made her feel a reason to treat this experience with any suspicion.


Tertullian of Carthage:

A second witness, contemporary with Perpetua, is the Christian writer Tertullian.  He wrote a treatise on marriage which says a model widow should make regular prayers for the sake of her deceased husband:

"Indeed, she prays for his soul, and requests refreshment for him meanwhile, and fellowship in the first resurrection; and she offers her sacrifice on the anniversaries of his falling asleep. For, unless she does these deeds, she has in the true sense divorced him."  - On Monogamy, 10 , 216AD

Cyril of Jerusalem

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem was (as the name implies) the Bishop of Jerusalem in the mid-300's.  He wrote an extensive volume about the basics of the Christian faith called the "Catechetical Lectures".

Toward the end of the work he is describing Christian worship.  He mentions the robust life on mutual prayer and intercession which takes place between Christians - both living and deceased.

"Then, after the spiritual sacrifice, the bloodless service, is completed, over that sacrifice of propitiation we entreat God for the common peace of the Churches, for the welfare of the world; for kings, for soldiers and allies, for the sick, for the afflicted, and, in a word, for all who stand in need of succor we all pray and offer this sacrifice.  

Then we commemorate also those who have fallen asleep before us.  First Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs - that at their prayers and intercessions God would receive our petition.  

Then on behalf also of the Holy Fathers and Bishops who have fallen asleep before us, and all who in past years have fallen asleep among us, believing that it will be a very great benefit to the souls, for whom the supplication is put up."  - Catechetical Lectures 23:5:8-9 , 350AD

John Chrysostom

Saint John Chyrsostem was a deacon, presbyter, and preacher in Antioch in the late 300's.  In his exposition on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians - specifically chapter 15 on the resurrection - Saint John Chrysostem exhorts his audience to pray for their deceased loved ones:

"Let us then give them aid and perform commemoration for them. For if the children of Job were purged by the sacrifice of their father, why do you doubt that when we too offer for the departed, some consolation arises to them? Since God is wont to grant the petitions of those who ask for others." - Homilies on First Corinthians 41:8 , A.D. 392

Augustine of Hippo: 

Saint Augustine of Hippois widely received as the preeminent Christian theologian.  His work is considered, by almost all, to be the gold standard to which we should all look.  He also mentioned saying prayers for the dead - and vic versa - in one of his sermons:

"There is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the faithful know, when the names of the martyrs are read aloud in that place at the altar of God, where prayer is not offered for them. Prayer, however, is offered for other dead who are remembered. It is wrong to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought ourselves be commended" - Sermons 159:1 , 411AD 

Pray for All Men:

Let's wrap this up.  

There are two reasons one might pray for deceased loved ones; to help them along in a final purification, or praying into the past for their salvation.  Either will do.

Of course, one could swiftly go nuts with the latter.  For instance - is it worthwhile for me to pray that the Allies  win World War II?  Not really.  I know the answer to that prayer before asking it.

But if we're talking about a situation where I don't know the outcome... why the heck not?

And when it comes to a person's relationship with God in the instant prior to their death, nobody can know that. Thus, I like to take Paul 's words to Timothy and apply them without discriminating against where you fall on the timeline:

"I exhort, then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, and intercessions for all men" - 1 Tim 2:1