La Divina Commedia di Dante (Dante and the Divine Comedy). Fresco in the nave of the Duomo of Florence, Italy. Photo courtesy Domenico di Michelino [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (http://bit.ly/11h8Es3)
Especially that whole part about “Cut your time in purgatory by following pope on Twitter.”
To many non-Catholics (and more than a few cradle Catholics), the idea of purgatory seems more than a little bizarre. Add on the idea of indulgences — and the complicated and scandalous history that goes with them — and things get even more murky.
Here’s a back-of-the-envelope explainer about purgatory, indulgences and Twitter explained in 140-character bits. Well, OK, five of them:
Let's try to explain theology of #purgatory and #indulgences in 140 characters or less. More complicated than @wyd_en stories imply.
— Kevin Eckstrom (@KevinEckstrom) July 18, 2013
#Purgatory is the detention time served for cheating on a test. The teacher can forgive the sin, but you still have to serve the time.
— Kevin Eckstrom (@KevinEckstrom) July 18, 2013
#indulgences are a way of cutting short your time in detention. Indulgences are earned, not free. They also involve work. So no goofing off.
— Kevin Eckstrom (@KevinEckstrom) July 18, 2013
#indulgences clean your slate, but you'll be back in detention if you cheat again. After the #Reformation, indulgences no longer for sale.
— Kevin Eckstrom (@KevinEckstrom) July 18, 2013
Gaining an #indulgence via @wyd_en means participating as if you were there, not just retweeting @pontifex. In short, you gotta work for it.
— Kevin Eckstrom (@KevinEckstrom) July 18, 2013