A catholic question: why must you get absolution from a priest?

Question

King James Bible, 1Tim 2:5, "For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus". Since God is everywhere present, "though I make my bed in hell, thou art with me", why do you enter a confessional & whisper your sins in a man's ear? I believe Jesus spoke of the confessional in Luke 12:3, "...that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house tops". Matt 24:26, "...if they say...behold, he is in the SECRET CHAMBERS; believe it not". A chamber where secret sins are told? It seems to me that you "worship the creature more than the creator". I study the King James version because the truth has been revised right out of the others. 2nd Thess 2:2, "be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,...nor by letter AS FROM US". These revised additions are as letters from those God inspired writers of the Word of God.

Answer 1

Your responders dont like you. Ha. I have had questions for "the church" too, but I know only God can change the heart not us. father k really got his toes stepped on didn't he. One of my questions is, why they allow themselves to be called Father and even Holy Father contrary to Jesus' teaching in Matt 23:9-12, "And call no man your father UPON THE EARTH: for one is your Father, which is in heaven....whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted". We are not to exalt any man as Holy Father in reverence because this reverence belongs to God alone. Some would say the word conflicts when teaching to honor our father & mother but this refers to our natural parent not our Spiritual Heavenly Father. Another of Jesus teachings which is in conflict with "the church" is Luke 11:27-28, "... a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked". Jesus answer, "Yea RATHER, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it". He didn't put Mary above any other who hear and keep God's word. The answerers quoted John 20:22-23, as proof man has power to forgive sin but it's not the man but the Holy Spirit whom they receive that forgives the sins. "Receive ye the Holy Spirit:::::: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. This ability was the Spirit's not the man's. We are to confess our sins one to another. When we wrong someone, we must tell that person what we have done and ask for their forgiveness before we can ask God to forgive us.We are not to publicly tell every detail of our sin. What a seed of gossip that would plant. We are to admit before man that we are sinners, and we are to ask for forgiveness for sins committed against our brother, but only God can forgive our sins against God. One of your responders differed with your using a scripture spoken to the Pharisees and then said, we are to beware of the leaven/doctrine of the Pharisees. When you follow the practices of the Pharisees, you are following their doctrine & are guilty with them. I really liked what you said about the things spoken in the ear in closets referring to the confessionals. Also, reference was made to some sins being greater than others and Jesus said the greatest sin is having any god before the true God. To call any man, Holy Father, falls into that sin category! Just wanted you to know that there are others who see the subject as you do.

Answer 2

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)

Oral confessing of sins is recommended over and over in both the Old and New Testaments:
+ James 5:16
+ Acts 19:18
+ Matthew 3:5-6
+ Mark 1:5
+ 1 Timothy 6:12
+ 1 John 1:9
+ Numbers 5:6-7
+ Nehemiah 9:2
+ Sirach 4:26

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.

Remember all sacraments are encounters with God. This sacrament is a healing encounter between God and the penitent.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1422 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

If a Catholic who is conscious of having committed mortal sin wishes to remain in communion with the Church, and wishes to receive Holy Communion, then it is necessary to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As you well know, Paul wrote that whoever receives the Body of the Lord unworthily bring condemnation upon himself.

Catholics believe that, as in all Sacraments, Jesus Christ is truly present during confession so that when we make a confession, we are confessing our sins to Jesus Himself, and it is Jesus who forgives sins. The priest is the representative of the Church. When a member of the body of Christ commits sin, not only does he injure himself, but he injures the entire body of Christ. Again, as you know, Paul wrote about this as well when he said that when one part of the body suffers, the entire body suffers. Therefore, the priest in the name of the Church, and in the authority given to the Church by Jesus Himself, heals the penitent and thereby the entire body of Christ.

1Tim 2:5. I agree, and Catholics believe, that Jesus is the one mediator. However, Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins to the Apostles, and therefore all their successors.

Luke 12:3. Jesus speaks the truth, but was referring to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In Luke 12:1, Jesus says to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Matthew 24:26. You are taking this out of context. Jesus is talking about the last days. It is awfully dishonest of you to omit the first part of this verse: "If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth:" You see, this part does not fit too nicely into your contrived argument, does it?

In reference to 2 Thessolonians, read further on, in verse 15: "So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours."

2 Thess 2:15 seems to confirm the validity of Sacred
Catholic Tradition.

Please, do not offend the Lord any longer by placing a limit on His love and mercy. You should rejoice and be glad that millions of Catholics are being healed and receiving graces through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Peace be with you.

Answer 4

First may I suggest you do a little research where and when and how the King James version of the Bible came about. If you dig deep enough, you will uncover some thruths most Americans are blind too. It is truely an "eye opening" experience. I also use the KJ when I read the Bible, so please dont think I am putting it down. Just do some research if you are truely interested.

Scondly, again do some research on this one, dont take my word for it alone. But have you ever heard of Shammanism? Most people dont even think it is a real religion..and today it isnt talked about as much. But in Shamanism, the shaman will interceed for you, to speak to either others who have passed on, or to "the higher power". They believe that only a shaman can give you the answers to your questions, from your higher source ie..God. Think about it. What do Catholics believe? That they themselves cannot hear Gods voice and answers, but it must be relayed to them through someone else. I dont care how you break it down, it is a form of shamanism! Plain and simple.

In the Bible, it says, "None come to the Father, except through the Son". Where is the edited version where it says or a priest?

Answer 5

First of all I'm not Catholic, and I don't agree with getting absolution from a priest first of all they are just as much sinful flesh as we are, but scripture does say James 5:16...."Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Now through the blood and only through the blood of Christ we are all made righteous, 1Jn 1:9 also says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Scripture never states to go to a specific person to confess, it only says to confess. Also your scripture references are not completely correct either, you cant just take pieces of scripture and make them mean what you want, you have to consider the context in which they were written. In Luke Jesus is talking about the sins and plots of the Pharisees, and in Matt he is talking about false Christs claiming to be the Messiah. I agree with your point, but do more research be for you put it out there, remember context matters in scripture anyone can take one sentence and twist it to mean whatever they want. Email me if you have any questions or replys.

God Bless

Answer 6

Edited: God Bless The Pope (post below me) said the same thing, so here are some Bible versus!

The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins

James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.

Acts 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today.

Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).

1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.

Num. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making public restitution.

2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin).

Neh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other.

Sir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse.

Baruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly.

1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.

Matt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).

Answer 7

That is not a catholic question, but one directed at all Christian clergy. If it were possible for there to be direct communion between God and humanity, there would be no need for churches or priests, then they would all have to get honest jobs.

Answer 8

Because, according to the religion, the priests are God's appointed representatives on earth. If JC shows up, I am sure He will have time for a few Absolutions.

Answer 9

Catholics confess their sins to priests because-- as it is clearly stated in Sacred Scripture--God in the Person of Jesus Christ authorized the priests of His Church to hear confessions and empowered them to forgive sins in His Name. To the Apostles, the first priests of His Church, Christ said: ``Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.... Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.'' (John 20:21-23).

Answer 10

it's the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus said to confess your sins to one another. and He also said that whosoever you bind here on earth shall also be bound in Heaven.

I don't need to read the rest of your arguments as it has been thrown several times already.