“Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?
If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?”
(1 Cor. 15:29).
This passage is one of the most difficult in the Scriptures to understand.
The most plausible interpretation is that “baptized” in this context means
sufferings and afflictions undergone on behalf of others (St. Mark 10:38-
39; St. Luke 12:50). What St. Paul was alluding to was the practice of the
Apostolic Church to sacrifice, pray and fast for the souls of departed
Christians.
“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often
refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in
Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me––may the Lord grant him
to find mercy from the Lord on that Day––and you well know all the service
he rendered at Ephesus” (2 Tim. 1:16-18).
The sense of this passage is that Onesiphorus is dead at the time of writing
and that St. Paul is praying for his soul. It is a simple prayer, akin to our
present-day funeral utterances, such as “may he rest in peace.”
Finally, the Scriptures give one clear example of another place besides
heaven and hell in the next world. St. Peter tells us (1 Pet. 3:19) that after
His death Jesus preached His redemption “to the spirits in prison.” Based
on this, the concept of another temporary, intermediate place such as
purgatory is not totally out of the question.
Third objection: “But St. Paul says, ‘To be absent from the body is to
be present with Christ’ (2 Cor. 5:6-11). Therefore, when a true
Christian dies he immediately goes to Christ. There is no half-way
house or waiting room in the middle.”
Does St. Paul actually say the above words? In reality he says the
following:
“So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in
the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We
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