In Islam we confess to God directly without a man. And i wonder dont you feel awkward when you are confessing to a man?
2006-12-21 07:30:48 · 37 answers · asked by Zifikos 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
HANS LAXMAN you are sick, i pitty to you
2006-12-24 23:42:05 · update #1
Good question.
It is written in the bible that the resurrected Jesus Christ is our intercessor between us and God. Jesus is our High Priest forever because He obeyed the God even unto the point of death, paying the penalty for our sins.
Some Christian religions have legalized things and say you have to confess to God through others in faith after one is already turned to faith in Christ. It is true there is the foundational confession of faith in Christ and other Christians witness it. But after one is born of God, relationship with God is restored and Christian can pray to God any place or time, 24/7. That is entering into His Rest.
Also, forgiving others is a requirement. If we refuse to forgive someone, Jesus lets us suffer, until we repent and forgive and forget others who sin against us. Forgive others like Christ forgave me my sins against Him and tossed them far away to not remember again.
If I hurt someone by slandering, or causing harm in any way, God would convict my spirit, and I would repent to God first, then to the person I hurt.
2006-12-21 07:47:13 · answer #1 · answered by t_a_m_i_l 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you feel awkward, then you are not truthful in your confession. James 5:16 says confess your sins to one another. It depends on the nature of the sin and who was affected. If no one was directly affected, I confess to God. If I did something against another, well then I confess to that person that I was wrong and ask for forgiveness. If I sinned against a group of people, like my church family or immediate family, then my confession is to all of them.
The one thing about confession is that there is true sorrow in what we did, not just trying to get off the hook by saying 'I'm sorry'. Rather, I need forgiveness to restore the relationship that I broke by wronging that other person.
2006-12-22 02:43:04 · answer #2 · answered by maguainc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only Christians who confess to a priest are catholic Christians and some Orthodox as well. The other Christians, which is about one-half of all Christians, do not confess to a man but ,as you do, directly to God (Allah).
Christians comprise about 2.1 billion of the worlds population or 33%. Depending on how you count, Catholics are either just under or just over half of all Christians. Combined, Christianity is the Worlds largest religion, followed by Islam at 1.3 billion (21), and so on and so on down the line with all the other faiths and those who do not adhere to any faith, which is actually 3rd on the list.followed by Hindu, 4th @ 14%..
Christians and Muslims together make up more than half of all adherents to a religion.
Please read on for another perspective.
If you are referring to prayers of confession and other prayers asked in Jesus' name, then you must remember that the majority, though not all of the, adherents to the Christian faith, accept Jesus as the Messiah. In that they do, then he is viewed as the prophetic intercessor and While praying directly to God, asking in Jesus name would be appropriate and common to our faith and therefore not feel awkward at all.
Christianity, Islam and Judaism are the only three faiths that have the same God.
excellent question!
Peace!
2006-12-21 07:47:59 · answer #3 · answered by rumbler_12 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
There are only certain branches of "Christianity" that confess to a man - Catholicism is the most prevalent. However, in most Protestant Christian denominations, confession is done directly to God through prayer. This branch of Christianity follows the biblical teaching that man has access directly to God through the work of Jesus Christ.
My own reaction to this would be the same as yours. I think it would be hard to confess every single one of your sins to a man who, whether intentionally or not, would form an opinion of you based on your actions.
2006-12-21 07:47:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Christians have a healthier mind in asking help from someone they can trust to lead them to a sincere sorry for the offense they created on themselves and others plus a proper way to correct it. It is much cheaper than consulting an attorney, psychiatrist or a psychologist to assist them to clear their minds when in trouble. A person confessing directly to God cannot deny that sometimes he only says what he wants God to accept to understand. Of course, if you believe in God, you can't hide anything. But there are things that you are not worried because you have hidden it from man and God does not have the lips to open it to someone as you think.
2006-12-21 07:44:48 · answer #5 · answered by Rallie Florencio C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, confession is hard.
But confession to each other is directed by Scripture:
James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Acts 19:18 - Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.
Matthew 3:5-6 - At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him (John the Baptist) and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
Mark 1:5 - People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him (John the Baptist) and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
1 Timothy 6:12 - Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 John 1:9 - If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
Numbers 5:6-7 - "Tell the Israelites: If a man (or a woman) commits a fault against his fellow man and wrongs him, thus breaking faith with the LORD, he shall confess the wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged."
Nehemiah 9:2 - Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their fathers.
Sirach 4:26 - Be not ashamed to acknowledge your guilt, but of your ignorance rather be ashamed.
The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."
When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.
Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church.
With love in Christ.
2006-12-25 17:21:44 · answer #6 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all Christians do their confession this way. Protestants don't have the sacrament of Reconciliation. Only Orthodox and Catholics do this.
I am a Catholic, and have confessed to a priest. It does feel awkward, and humiliating to tell someone about very personal things that you do not feel good about. But it also feels cathartic; Catholicism is a very tactile religion, in that we don't rely on the abstract - it is a church of "bells and smells" where we use signs and sacraments to make people realize that God is real.
That's what confession offers - it gives you the opportunity to make it real. Sure we all know in the abstract we can confess to God. But actually being put in the position where you have to say it - "I have sinned, and I am sorry" is a humbling thing. You actually have to put your humility into practice and acknowledge that you have failed at things.
And just as you have to make it real, so does the priest.
He says, "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen."
God forgives! And it is easier to know it when you hear it. That's why the saying, "Confession is good for the soul." To have what you have kept in the dark brought into the light feels really good.
2006-12-21 07:52:09 · answer #7 · answered by evolver 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Ditto what has been said.
I do not confess any sin to any man on this earth... Christ is my intercessor to God, and there is no man that needs to hear my prayers nor my confessions.
If religions 'require' you to go thru a priest or preacher, people in those churches need to read the bible and find the truth instead of being lead by religions that make man rules over God's requirements
2006-12-21 07:37:58 · answer #8 · answered by livinintheword † 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Im catholic and I've gone to confession. However, there's nothing stopping me from saying my prayers at night and confessing my sins directly to God. Its a choice that I make.
2006-12-21 07:38:03 · answer #9 · answered by talktime 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My dear, I take my confessions directly to the living God...though Jesus Christ.
Catholics have confession, where they confess to a priest however, they are the only denomination in Christianity that does this.
Hope that helps!
2006-12-21 07:36:08 · answer #10 · answered by Salvation is a gift, Eph 2:8-9 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋