Why do Catholics need a priest to ask God for forgiveness(I don't recall reading it in the Bible)?

Question

It says nowhere in the Good Book that we can't talk directly to the Lord through Jesus Christ.

Answer 1

no, it is NOT in the bible, God sent the Holy Spirit so that we could communicate with him directly. one of the main reasons this is done in the catholic churches is because back in the day when many ppl couldn't read they relied on the priests to teach them about the bible. the priests started telling them stuff that wasn't in the bible and giving themselves power because they were corrupt. with confessions like this the only way to God was through them, it gave them all the power.

Answer 2

You do not need a Priest to ask God for forgiveness- The Bible says that Jesus is the mediator between God and us. Jesus is the High Priest, go directly to Him and you will be forgiven.

Answer 3

Sure U can talk directly with God, and Jesus Christ while U are praying anywhere and anytime. But the priest can ask the God to forgive us for our sins, priest can represents Jesus,who died for us and our sins to ask God for our forgiveness. Read the Bible carefully my friend.

Answer 4

Once you're baptized, you have the RIGHT to talk to God all you want.

That's what the Royal Priesthood of all believers is all about.

Catholic priests belong to the Ministerial/Sacrificial priesthood, which was instituted by Christ to serve the faithful in very specific ways.

There's a significant difference between the two.

Your interpretation of the Bible, subject to the limited understandings and teachings of your chosen faith tradition, is the only reason you haven't been able to discern this for yourself.

Answer 5

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/confession_qa.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm

no offence but did you ever find the word rapture,trinity,bible alone,faith alone amongst other things in the bible. jesus gave the world a visible church with apostolic succession and tradition. this church gave us the bible not the other way around. the catholic church safe guarded the sacred texts even under persecution and death,it is thanks to the catholic church we have a bible,i would think that the bible being a catholic book us catholics would know how to read and interpret it. again no offence i am simply trying to bring it to your attention try these sites for more in depth inforamtion and details,it is an interesting read if you take nothing else from it

www.scripturecatholic.com
www.salvationhistory.com
www.newadvent.org
www.catholiceducation.org

you may enjoy this as well
http://www.fisheaters.com/challenge.html

god bless.

Answer 6

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.

+ 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 7

And the Catholic Church does not forbid one from talking directly to God either.

"‘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.

"Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).

This power was understood as coming from God: "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18).

First, the apostles could not know what sins to forgive and what not to forgive unless they were first told the sins by the sinner. This implies confession. Second, their authority was not merely to proclaim that God had already forgiven sins or that he would forgive sins if there were proper repentance.

Such interpretations don’t account for the distinction between forgiving and retaining—nor do they account for the importance given to the utterance in John 20:21–23. If God has already forgiven all of a man’s sins, or will forgive them all (past and future) upon a single act of repentance, then it makes little sense to tell the apostles they have been given the power to "retain" sins, since forgiveness would be all-or-nothing and nothing could be "retained."

Furthermore, if at conversion we were forgiven all sins, past, present, and future, it would make no sense for Christ to require us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors," which he explained is required because "if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:12–15).

Answer 8

Perhaps its because of tradition. Long ago the church was the only place one found "educated" people, that is people who could read Latin or Greek. The church of the day held a great deal of power, both spiritually as well as politically. They were, as they are today, one of the larges land owners in the world. The Pope was the head of that organization and he, naturally, became the one people looked to for devine interpretation of Scripture.

Perhaps its all handed down from that situation. It is not, however, strictly Biblical.

Kev

Answer 9

You are correct. The act of confession for Catholics is a sacrament. It is believed that speaking to a priest, the intermediary for God, is therapeutic. Of course you can go directly to God. It's a matter of preference.

Answer 10

Catholics need a priest to conduct Lithurgies, baptise, marry and a conduct a funeral.
You are right by the way, you don't need anyone to tell you how to live a holy life. No one disputes your right, so what is the problem?