Calling all non-Catholic Chirstians to help me out here

So I've been wondering for awhile about this.

See as a Catholic we have this thing called Confession where we go and confess our sins to a Priest and then we are forgiven.

That just makes sense to me. Because I feel like saying your sin to someone else out loud is a good way to help you forgive yourself.

The way I see it is if someone say steals a bike and they feel horrible about it. They put the bike back and don't tell anyone about it. Although they know they sinned and feel bad.

That just doesn't seem the same to me. Getting something off your Chest and being told you are forgiven just feels...nice.

So how do other churches handle this?

reply to post by drew1749

You take comfort from a ordinary man in a white collar who may be a paedophile , forgiving you?

i think the major premise of any "christian" denomination deals with forgiveness in the same light. voicing your sins to a brother is a channel to seeking forgiveness from God himself. confession is the catholic vehicle for forgiveness just as with baptists your first must accept that the Lord has forgiven you through a silent/verbal confession. you must say aloud that you have sinned, whether or not you ever say aloud your actual sins, you are admitting to sins. just my thoughts anyway.

Originally posted by lektrofellon
reply to post by drew1749

 

You take comfort from a ordinary man in a white collar who may be a paedophile , forgiving you?

edit on 24/4/11 by lektrofellon because: (no reason given)

1. Not a Paedophile.

2. Not a Pedophile either.

3. With exception of the Pedophile part....Yes. Actually God is forgiving me through the Priest. But Yes I do take comfort in that.

I have often thought this was only an extension of the High Priest in the Temple. Converting Jews and pagans alike required a bit a familiarity. Major Christian holidays are just reincarnated feasts to this god or that goddess. They just stuck the Jesus label on it.

I LOVE the Catholic Mass....but I'm not crazy about having a middle man (Priest) moderating between me and God. That's one of the reasons I left the church and went Protestant. We just confess or ask God directly for forgiveness...no middleman.

But...I LOVE the Catholic Mass, I was raised that way and attended Roman Catholic Parochial School growing up. I really miss it which is why I'm considering a change from my current Baptist church to a Episcopal (Catholic Light) church. Their service is very similar to the Catholic Mass.

Anyway I hope you find the answer to your question.

reply to post by drew1749



Why would you not be a real man and confess to whom you have wronged?



and now that Im thinking about it...

Why would you feel it better confess your "sins" to a mortal man?

Why would a "God" need a man to hear your confession? Isnt "He" all knowing?

Seems to me this was/is used as a Black Mail tool by the Church...

Skip the flesh, go straight to the source; admit (confess) to God. Seek forgiveness from him for it is he who one has transgressed against. You don't need a middleman to do that.

I LOVE the Catholic Mass....but I'm not crazy about having a middle man (Priest) moderating between me and God. That's one of the reasons I left the church and went Protestant. We just confess or ask God directly for forgiveness...no middleman.

Exactly.

Plead the 5th!

Don't incriminate yourself!

Originally posted by cloudwatcher
I have often thought this was only an extension of the High Priest in the Temple. Converting Jews and pagans alike required a bit a familiarity. Major Christian holidays are just reincarnated feasts to this god or that goddess. They just stuck the Jesus label on it.

That wasn't really the answer I was looking for. Haha

Tbh yes the Holidays developed over time. I mean for years there was no Organized Church and there were plenty of different groups believing plenty of different things.

In Plenty of different areas of the world as well.

I believe reasoning that these feasts were used was to convert more people during early Christianity. I could be wrong though.

But that isn't the topic.

Luckily, you can always buy indulgence

reply to post by reeferman


i don't think it is blackmail or anything of the like. you have to have a light heart to live a happy life. the act of forgiveness is for you, not for God. God knows you have done these things. you were given an opportunity to wipe the slate clean for YOUR sake, so you won't live a life tormented by your own hell. your reap that which you sow. you may do wrong, but if you can forgive yourself through God then you can forgive others and live a better life... maybe. just a thought.

Originally posted by reeferman
reply to post by drew1749

 

Why would you not be a real man and confess to whom you have wronged?



and now that Im thinking about it...

Why would you feel it better confess your "sins" to a mortal man?

Why would a "God" need a man to hear your confession? Isnt "He" all knowing?

Seems to me this was/is used as a Black Mail tool by the Church...

edit on 24-4-2011 by reeferman because: still ponding..

Prove that it was used as blackmail.

Also Why is it better? Because God rarely replies. Sure sometimes he might and you can have faith that you are forgiven. But isn't it better to know that for a fact?

God does know your sin. He knows you did it just as much as you know you did it. But you confess you get the burden of that sin off your Chest.

Well there's potential for multiple problems here. Not only do they endorse that you will only be forgiven for sins you confess to a priest and through him you'll be forgiven, but then the actual implication of that.

I'm sure they tell you "You don't have to worry about all sins, just the major ones" or something like that as it would be impossible to rememeber all your sins. That still doesn't make sense. If you're only forgiven for sins you confess then the "smaller" ones still count as any sin is worthy of condemnation.

There also exists the factor for the individual who has done something they would never admit to. Then the person could end up avoiding God all together because they feel they've done something they'll never be forgiven for.

We're to confess in our prayers and ask for forgiveness through Jesus. Not through man, this is one of many points the catholic church fails and will probably never change. If you feel you need support with a habitual sin, talk to those around you who love you but most importantly talk to God about it. A priest behind his wall will not help you with anything in your life aside from his limited advice.

To summarize, It is impossible to rememeber every sin you need to be forgiven of. God know's every sin though and will forgive you through your faith in Jesus. Even if rememebering all sins wern't required, it would defeat the purpose of the whole thing to begin with. It is good to confess to God. You don't need any man alive to speak with God, you yourself are probably much closer to God (love) then the Pope in actuality.

Originally posted by thegiftbearer
reply to post by reeferman

 

i don't think it is blackmail or anything of the like. you have to have a light heart to live a happy life. the act of forgiveness is for you, not for God. God knows you have done these things. you were given an opportunity to wipe the slate clean for YOUR sake, so you won't live a life tormented by your own hell. your reap that which you sow. you may do wrong, but if you can forgive yourself through God then you can forgive others and live a better life... maybe. just a thought.

Star for you.

That was mainly my counter point but I like the way you worded it. Much more emotional.

Asking God for forgiveness in prayer is sufficient for most Christians. It's more efficient to get forgiveness directly from God, than from God through a priest. I think Catholic priests were bored and wanted to hear some dark secrets when they created the idea of confession. Also knowing the Catholic church's record in regards to the Vatican and higher-ups it probably made for some good black mail back in the day.

- Ex-Catholic

I think that having a "confession" every week, to a degree makes it more comfortable to sin the whole week before imo... Best way to feel better is to stop sinning.. Because if you keep going back, what is it really doing for you?? I believe that if your truly a good person, forgiving yourself over common human error shouldn't be a problem...If the problem is big enough not to forgive yourself, then maybe a lawyer might be a better alternative

reply to post by Artanis667

I'm sure they tell you "You don't have to worry about all sins, just the major ones" or something like that as it would be impossible to rememeber all your sins. That still doesn't make sense. If you're only forgiven for sins you confess then the "smaller" ones still count as any sin is worthy of condemnation.

I was never told that by a Priest. Who told you they tell people that?

There also exists the factor for the individual who has done something they would never admit to. Then the person could end up avoiding God all together because they feel they've done something they'll never be forgiven for.

If a Murderer was Baptized in the Catholic Church (Or wanted to be Baptized for that matter) and made confession and was serious he would be forgiven. You just have to ask. Also if the Murderer was never found Guilty the Priest can't tell anyone. If he does then the Priest is sinning himself.

To summarize, It is impossible to rememeber every sin you need to be forgiven of. God know's every sin though and will forgive you through your faith in Jesus. Even if rememebering all sins wern't required, it would defeat the purpose of the whole thing to begin with. It is good to confess to God. You don't need any man alive to speak with God, you yourself are probably much closer to God (love) then the Pope in actuality.

I believe it is said that if you don't know you are sinning then you are already forgiven. But I'm not sure if that is how it works.

For example the older religions like the Indians. Before they were exposed to Christianity or the Jewish faith they really couldnt be blamed for not believing. Because they didnt know. Right?

Originally posted by ShellyBoo
I think that having a "confession" every week, to a degree makes it more comfortable to sin the whole week before imo... Best way to feel better is to stop sinning.. Because if you keep going back, what is it really doing for you?? I believe that if your truly a good person, forgiving yourself over common human error shouldn't be a problem...If the problem is big enough not to forgive yourself, then maybe a lawyer might be a better alternative

Who goes every week?

It's only needed to go once a year.

reply to post by drew1749


Sorry, should have looked better before I posted...Now I must ask, you feel that bad for that long over human error??