Why is colon placed in the following sentence? What silence are they talking about?
The nature of our sources may account for this silence : martyrs and confessors, through their sufferings, were purging themselves of their sins in this world.
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1It must refer to something mentioned in a previous sentence.– Kate BuntingNov 12, 2021 at 13:50
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1 Answer
'This' refers to something mentioned in a previous sentence.
The martyrs and confessors of the year Kihae accounted for roughly 1 per cent of the Korean Christian community, but it is they who articulate most clearly the contempt for the world, the belief in a better life to come, the preoccupation with (sexual) sin and concern with God's judgement which have been identified as characteristic features of so-called `Tridentine' Catholicism." Such views, however, need to be set against a background of more mundane and communal activities, including prayer meetings and the distribution of charity in response to famine or persecution, and the intense eucharistic devotion displayed by the laity. Similarly, none of the martyrs spoke of purgatory, although the existence of prayers for the dead indicate that the Korean laity were exposed to that doctrine. The nature of our sources may account for this silence : martyrs and confessors, through their sufferings, were purging themselves of their sins in this world.
Page 578 - Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 51, No. 3, July 2000. A Persecuted Church: Roman Catholicism in Early Nineteenth-Century Korea by Andrew J. Finch
answered Nov 12, 2021 at 14:24
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@KateBunting - The bare sentence which is the subject of the question is given in a set of 'examples' under the Cambridge Dictionary definition of 'purging', but without any context whatsoever, just a link to the Cambridge English Corpus. Nov 12, 2021 at 16:21
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@KateBunting - my father told me, perfectly seriously, when I was aged seven, that as our family were Church of England, we didn't have to worry about Purgatory or Limbo. Nov 12, 2021 at 16:33
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@MichaelHarvey, Thanks for that. Please also tell what does 'nature of sources' mean here?– ShaagNov 13, 2021 at 16:04
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The colon after 'this silence' indicates that what follows is an explanation - 'the nature of our sources' (of information) means 'the particular types of sources of information' (that is, martyrs and confessors) 'available to us' (the authors of the article). These sources were not inclined to talk of purgatory because they were purging themselves of sin while still alive. Nov 13, 2021 at 17:09