For those who believe in confession...?

Question

Do you beleive a person has to confess to a priest or can a person instead confess to God in prayer?

Answer 1

When you confess to a priest you are confessing to God (and I am not saying that the priest is God or anything like that, just that the forgiveness is not coming from the man sitting in front of you it is coming from God.) The nice thing about confessing to a priest is that when you are told "Your sins are forgiven" you can then know without a doubt that your sins are forgiven. Otherwise you might have doubts about how perfect your contrition was.

I really think that the Sacrament of Reconcilliation is undervalued by many. I am really thankful that I am a Catholic and can go to confession. I think it is really important to periodically do an evaluation of my conscience, taking an inventory of what is keeping my from God, sit down face to face with another human being (one who is well-educated AND who has heard it all before) and make my confession. I can not tell you the wonderful "squeaky clean" feeling of a good confession. I also find I receive the grace that I need to keep me from continually commiting the same sins. If you are struggling, confession is a wonderful blessing.

For a good overview that answers a lot of questions and common objections to confession:
http://www.scborromeo.org/papers/confess.PDF

Answer 2

Well you can do both, but for the sacrament to actually work, and to gain knowledge about yourself, the holy spirit talking through the priest is best. Hearing a human voice makes the connection between right and wrong real.
Confessing straight to GOD probably works, but people rarely change without a true sincere repentance - usually this is connected to our childhood confessing to Mom or Dad - hearing the voice of authority say things will be alright is very comforting.
Also a constructive dialogue between yourself and a priest could open the door to more understanding of both yourself and your faith.

Answer 3

I believe a person can confess to God in prayer, but I also believe we can share our sins with fellow Christians - so as not to "hide" our sins. If we confess openly to others, we're admitting to what we have done, instead of hiding in shame. God is the only one who can truly forgive enough to reward us with eternal life. I'm just convinced that sharing our faults/sins helps know where we need help in our relationship with God and helps others understand that they are not alone in their fight against sin. I don't really believe I need to confess to a priest or pastor.

Answer 4

Confess to GOD in prayer

Answer 5

I think you need to go by what religion you belong to whether it be Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, etc. As for me, Catholic, I believe that you need to go to a priest for Reconciliation. (By the way, Confession is just that, confessing your sins. Reconciliation takes it further. Yes, it involves confessing your sins to the priest but it also involves you coming back into the fullness of the Church and graces of God.) With that explanation, why wouldn't someone wanting to be in full accordance with the Church, at least in the Catholic Church, go to Reconciliation?

Answer 6

Personally I would rather confess directly to God

Answer 7

A priest is just as human as you are and by no means is he the only one able to acknowledge your wrongdoing to God. Don't forget, God is beyond our finite minds and by the time you think about praying to him for forgiveness he has long before known that you are sorry for your mistake. Please do not see God as a judge, as he will love you unconditionally no matter what. Do whatever you need to do, even if an action does not seem right, your true self, your inner kindness will always overpower your mistakes. Never forget that the truth lies in your heart and that God is Truth.

Answer 8

If you are a Catholic, then you confess to a Catholic priest. If you are any other religion, you go by what your religion has made up.

Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations.
He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.

God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23).
(This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)

Confession is a sacrament for Catholics and it has been established by Jesus Christ himself. He gave this power to forgive sins to the apotles, who, when the Church was established, acted as bishops who then ordained the priests and deacons. ONly priests and bishops can forgive sins standing in for Christ because the power of absolution (forgiveness of sin) comes from Christ.

Answer 9

Hiding sins from one yet another is one element; hiding them from God is impossible. in spite of the shown fact that, as Christians, we are urged to tell different believers approximately our sins/weaknesses so we could be reinforced and edified via their help. This makes us in charge for our movements. Plus, confession is a extensive weight off the shoulders. Confession to priests isn't clever as priests do not own the potential to forgive them. purely the indignant it is easy to forgive the offense.

Answer 10

When we offend somebody we should asked them for forgiveness and then ask God to forgive us also. There is no need to go to a priest and confess the things we 've done wrong, we can talk to God directly and he will forgive us if we ask. God never gave authority to humans to forgive sins, the ONLY one who can do that is God and God alone.