How priest can gave forgiveness from god?

Question

i am not christian but it is really funny the way the above things work. could some experts explain them?

how and why the priest is given the authority to give forgiveness ? i believe they are not special being, they just learn bible - and could this make the superhuman?

is possible in future we just email the priest for forgiveness ..?? or using online media ..??

thank you all,
i glad this topic turn to be friendly discussion ...

Answer 1

The practice of Confession arises from the example and command of Jesus. He communicated this authority to His Apostles, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (Jn 20:19-23).

Christ's representative, the priest, must decide whether to forgive or retain. Therefore, the penitent must confess each and every serious sin, that is anything which separates him from Christ. If the priest judges he is truly sorry, He must absolve since Christ's Passion merited forgiveness for every repentant sinner. Only if the person shows no willingness to give up sin does the priest retain, that is withhold absolution.

In one form or another the Sacrament of Penance has been in continuous practice in the Church. Its existence in all the Churches of the First Millenium, even those separated from Rome, shows its apostolicity. The present Catholic discipline of secret confession dates to the early middle ages, though there are suggestions of an even earlier practice. Prior to that, confession of sins involved lengthy public penance for great sins such as adultery, murder and apostasy from the faith. Thankfully, it is much easier today. Even the practice of the sacrament today is no encouragement to sin, as they thought. On the contrary it requires humility to confess your sins. It also gives great peace to hear the priest say in Jesus' name "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." It is Christ's will that we hear those words.

Although God CAN forgive sin directly it requires a perfect motive: love of Him and sorrow over having offended such a good Lord. An imperfect motive would mean we have not fully turned from our sin back to God. Not every one can rise to the occasion, so rather than excluding the marginal person struggling with sins, perhaps even over a lifetime, Christ has given us the Sacrament in which He raises us up, even when our sorrow is weak and imperfect.

Cheers :-)

Answer 2

Yes, you can ask God to forgive you directly. But you can't give yourself absolution from your sins. For that, you need an ordained priest. If there isn't a priest available, you can make plans to get to a priest ASAP, such as your next three-day weekend. You can also ask the Bishop to send a priest out to your area once a month or something. If it's really late at night, you can probably find a priest awake who is a hospital chaplain. Or you can leave a message and talk in the morning. No, sacraments cannot be handled over the phone. You have to go to confession in person. If you truly want to go to confession and try to but are unable to do, and confess your sins to God with an act of contrition, and then you die before you get to confession, the Church teaches that God is still merciful and will accept your intention.

Answer 3

Typically, a priest is a practitioner of Catholicism. Under their doctrine, the work of God is implemented by certain humans.

Other branches of Christianity (yes, Catholics are Christians) remove the humans from the process.

I, personally, tend toward the non-Catholic Christians. I was a Catholic, but did not agree with all of the doctrine. Eventually I found a simpler, Bible-based Christian church that I belive emulates first century congregations mentioned in the Bible. My congregation works more like the churches at Corinth or Ephesus, or even Rome.

Answer 4

Anyone who confesses sins directly to God may assume they have been forgiven, but they will not know for sure, until Judgment Day.

Catholics are privileged to KNOW that their sins have been absolutely forgiven, through the sacrament of reconciliation that Jesus personally instituted, as the very first thing he did after his glorious resurrection.

Joh 20:19 Now when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
Joh 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Joh 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

Priests are indeed special, because they are expressly anointed by the Holy Spirit for their mission, just as Jesus "breathed" the Holy Spirit on the apostles, in the scripture above.

Soon, every duly ordained priest of the Catholic Church was empowered to forgive sins, in God's name, according to the specific rules for such things, as they had always existed.

This was God's radical new way of distributing his grace and peace to as many people as possible, as soon as possible, for the benefit of all mankind.

Anyone who denies this, is simply denying the truth, and deliberately ignoring a major portion of new testament scripture.

It's not likely that confession by mail, or by the internet will happen, any time soon.

Answer 5

The Roman Catholic Church bases their practice of confession to a priest primarily on Catholic tradition. Catholic do point to John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." From this verse, Catholics claim that God gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and that authority was passed on to the successors of the apostles, e.g. the bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church. There are several problems with this interpretation. (1) John 20:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin. (2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles. (3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority. Similarly, Catholics point to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 (binding and loosing) as evidence for the Catholic Church’s authority to forgive sins. The same three above points apply equally to these Scriptures.



Again, the concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. We are to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). As New Covenant believers, we do not need mediators between us and God. We can go to God directly because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Answer 6

One of the great myths of the Catholic Church is that Catholics ask the priest to forgive them. They do not. Catholics confess their sins to God with the priest as a witness. They then ask for God's forgiveness.

Answer 7

Only God can forgive your sins because only God died on a cross for them. The Bible tells us that there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). The Bible does tell us to confess our faults to each other (James 5:16), but never gives us the authority to forgive them, only to pray for each other. If we confess our sins it is God who is faithful and just and will forgive our sins (1 John 1:9).

Answer 8

Not only are Priests the ambassadors of God, but they are also the dispensers of His graces and the almoners of His mercy. "Let a man so regard us," says the Apostle, "as ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God."[I. Cor. iv. 1.]


To sum up in a few brief sentences the titles of a Catholic Priest:

He is a king, reigning not over unwilling subjects, but over the hearts and affections of his people.

His spiritual children pay him not only the tribute of their money, but also the tribute of their love which royalty can neither purchase nor exact.

He is a shepherd, because he leads his flock into the delicious pastures of the Sacraments and shelters them from the wolves that lie in wait for their souls.

He is a father, because he breaks the bread of life to his children, whom he has begotten in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.[I. Cor. iv. 15.]

He is a judge, whose office it is to pass sentence of pardon on self-accusing criminals.

He is a physician, because he heals their souls from the loathsome distempers of sin.

Answer 9

If you think a priest knows the Bible then you don't realize all the area's of the Bible they disobey on a daily basis.


Idols (Graven Images)
Marrige
Calling a Priest father
Praying to saints
etc. etc. etc.

All these things they do go completly against scripture.

Answer 10

After Jesus resurrected, He breathed the Holy Spirit upon the 11 Apostles giving them authority to forgive sins. Jesus placed His church into Peter's hands. Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic Church and was given the keys to the kingdom, every Pope since Peter has been given this gift of receiving the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. A priest does not forgive sins but gives absolution of sins.

Absolution is an integral part of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. The penitent makes a sacramental confession of all mortal sins to a priest and prays an act of contrition. The priest then assigns a penance and offers absolution in the name of the Trinity, on behalf of the Church:

"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."

Absolution: "Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat; et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo ab omni vinculo excommunicationis (sespensionis) et interdicti in quantum possum et tu indiges. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Deinde, ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."

Translation: "May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication and interdict, so far as my power allows and your needs require. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Thereupon, I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen."

Post-absolution prayer: "Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi, merita Beatae Mariae Virginis et omnium sanctorum, quidquid boni feceris vel mali sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem peccatorum, augmentum gratiae et praemium vitae aeternae."

Translation: "May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints obtain for you that whatever good you do or whatever evil you bear might merit for you the remission of your sins, the increase of grace and the reward of everlasting life."