The Book of Confessions - The Presbyterian Leader

equired it. Let them comfort and confirm them in the true faith, and then arm them against the
dangerous suggestions of Satan. They should also hold prayer for the sick in the home and, if
need be, prayers should also be made for the sick in the public meeting; and they should see that
they happily depart this life. We said above that we do not approve of the Popish visitation of the
sick with extreme unction because it is absurd and is not approved by canonical Scriptures.
CHAPTER XXVI - Of the Burial of the Faithful, and of the Care to Be Shown for the Dead; of
Purgatory, and the Appearing of Spirits
THE BURIAL OF BODIES. As the bodies of the faithful are the temples of the Holy
Spirit which we truly believe will rise again at the Last Day, Scriptures command that they be
honorably and without superstition committed to the earth, and also that honorable mention be
made of those saints who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and that all duties of familial piety be
shown to those left behind, their widows and orphans. We do not teach that any other care be
taken for the dead. Therefore, we greatly disapprove of the Cynics, who neglected the bodies of
the dead or most carelessly and disdainfully cast them into the earth, never saying a good word
about the deceased, or caring a bit about those whom they left behind them.
THE CARE FOR THE DEAD. On the other hand, we do not approve of those who are
overly and absurdly attentive to the deceased; who, like the heathen, bewail their dead (although
we do not blame that moderate mourning which the apostle permits in I Thess. 4:13, judging it to
be inhuman not to grieve at all); and who sacrifice for the dead, and mumble certain prayers for
pay, in order by such ceremonies to deliver their loved ones from the torments in which they are
immersed by death, and then think they are able to liberate them by such incantations.
THE STATE OF THE SOUL DEPARTED FROM THE BODY. For we believe that the
faithful, after bodily death, go directly to Christ, and, therefore, do not need the eulogies and
prayers of the living for the dead and their services. Likewise we believe that unbelievers are
immediately cast into hell from which no exit is opened for the wicked by any services of the
living.
PURGATORY. But what some teach concerning the fire of purgatory is opposed to the
Christian faith, namely, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting," and to the
perfect purgation through Christ, and to these words of Christ our Lord: "Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he shall not come into
judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). Again: "He who has bathed does not
need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over, and you are clean" (John 13:10).
THE APPARITION OF SPIRITS. Now what is related of the spirits or souls of the dead
sometimes appearing to those who are alive, and begging certain duties of them whereby they may
be set free, we count those apparitions among the laughingstocks, crafts, and deceptions of the
devil, who, as he can transform himself into an angel of light, so he strikes either to overthrow the
true faith or to call it into doubt. In the Old Testament the Lord forbade the seeking of the truth
Copyright © 1996 by the Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)