If God is all forgiving an omnipotent, why do Catholics have to go to confession?

Answer 1

+ Reconciliation +

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.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

+ Confession +

Orally confessing sins is recommended in the Bible:

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.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

". . .yet i'm not sure if i'm forgiven or now no longer." it rather is the reason we've the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance (i.e., Confession.) we don't might prefer to guess and hardship no remember if or now no longer we've been forgiven. If the priest believes which you're actual sorry on your sins, you will acquire Absolution. The priest is appearing as a channel of God's love and mercy. and advantageous, it very lots concerns if a sin is mortal or venial. A mortal sin is very severe -- so severe that it would keep you out of Heaven. subject concerns like homicide and rape are mortal sins. you're able to't validly acquire Communion once you're in a state of mortal sin. Venial sins at the instant are not so severe that they destroy your dating with God, yet they even nonetheless might prefer to be confessed and absolved. finally, the way which you repent is to tell God which you're sorry for doing subject concerns which you knew have been incorrect and yet chosen to do as properly. then you quite definitely swap removed from those sins and verify in no thank you to commit them returned. God bless you, and that i desire you get some solid strategies from Catholics -- as unfavourable to the nonsense and absence of information spewed with innovations from people who hate Catholicism.

Answer 3

Firstly, it is not only Catholics (as you seem to think) who use the Sacrament of Penance or "confession" as you call it. The Anglicans (Church of England) and the Orthodox Church, Russian Greek, Oriental etc all have this Sacrament.
Try reading the Gospels, where Jesus gives the instruction to his Apostles (from whom all authority is passed on in the priesthood), that "for those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven"). The purpose of this Sacrament is one of listening, offering advise and support and, in God's name and authority, absolve the sinner who is repentant.

Answer 4

Silent confession to a priest was not instituted until 7 centuries after the death of Jesus in Catholic history. Augustine was one of the authors of this practice.

Answer 5

When I was a child me and my friend had to go every week and we would make up thing to say cause we hadn't done anything bad, and to end the confession would say 'told lies' so we thought we were covered on that, I don't go to confession now cause I don't think I do anything bad.

Answer 6

Forget about confession, why does a Catholic even have to go to church!......They're just wasting their time. They might as well stay home and pray to the Ouija board and ask a demon for forgiveness. At least their confessions will be heard and their prayers answered, maybe not the way they would like but hey, what the hell.

Answer 7

Paul taught that one's sins must be confessed before the whole community. Sin not only injured one's relationship with God, it injured one's relationship with the community and all of creation, so the apology was required for all of these things. Early Christians did so. As communities grew larger, however, it became too time consuming to do this. The minister/priest stood as a representative of the COMMUNITY, not of God.

God forgives absolutely the moment you repent. But you still have to apologize to the community you injured as well.

Further, it is easy in the privacy of one's heart to go before God and say, "I messed up... I'm sorry." It's a LOT harder to look your family and friends in the eyes and realize you have offended and shamed them, to realize that you have slandered and demeaned them, you have slapped them all in the face by wronging the Body of Christ.

By requiring you to look the offended community in the eyes, there is a powerful motivation to not sin again, and EVEN BETTER, those in the community who have the Gifts can help you aspire to better things and to help you avoid the temptation to sin again.

Answer 8

U just said the key word "Catholics" make confessions, and not the servants of god who make confessions in prayer in to the Lord

Answer 9

Confessions were made up by the Catholic church. It kind of keeps the priests in control in one way, it is wrong because it makes it look like priests have a closer/better relationship with God. It makes them seem like the interpreter between you and God. You don't need one. Jesus died to be the in between person for you and God. Anyway Catholics shouldn't have to go to confessions anyway, its never ever mentioned in the bible(while confessing your sins to just Jesus is.)

Answer 10

J.P.

I'd just like to point out they're not confessing to the population in general, just to a man in a booth.

This is just another illustration of the nonsense spouted by the religious.