How important is confession in religion?

Question

I feel that confession should be to God himself through prayer and repentance...but my church believes that you should confess to the head of the church...does God disapprove of this??

Perhaps I should specify...I meant does he disapprove of those who don't practice the telling of their sins.

Answer 1

people write way too much on this...

in short, confess your guilt to god, then find a friend or person in the same faith and walk with you, and practice telling him/her your issues.
basically, confession to god is for the forgiveness of sins. the confession to a friend in faith is for your own human needs to communicate and relieve your mind. it helps. it's what i try to do. but really, you don't need to confess every single little thing to another person. but if after confessing to god, you still hold onto the idea of what you did, then confess to a friend and seek their prayer, compassion, and communication.

Answer 2

Not trying to intervene too much on your Church's(belief);but God's temple is your body and is the vessel for the soul. God knows the good and the bad;He searches the heart and mind of you and knows all sins the point to prayer is to confess to him that you acknowledge your faults and repentance is saying to him," you're sorry and you'll try to do better" No person has the right to make you confess just so they can accept you as one of them or they can have self glorification. Jesus prayed alone or with others God gave us free will...so what person has the right to contradict his example? It is good tho to pray for others and forgive them and bless them so they can hear your faith and fear in your creator...not man. You only have to confess to the Father and son. Some things should stay between you and God if that is what makes you feel closer to him.

Answer 3

I think that religion is a curse. Look at all the wars that were caused by religion. People let religion controle their life. I think its ok to believe in being a good person, and believe in a god or a heaven if it makes you feel better about dieing. But dont let it controle your life. Therefore I think asking if its important is more of a personal question. Is it important to you? If so then yes. If not then no. Religion plays no part in my life and im still happy and healthy, so for me the answer is No.

Answer 4

I agree with you 100%. People can misinterpret what you say, or give too much or too little concern for some things of varying level of degree or importance. Spiritual relationship with God, Just like any relationship, is best if it is direct, in this case, between your innermost soul and God, not through intermediaries, human employees of some organization.


You are perfect for Lutheran or any other "protestant" church, instead of Catholic church. Within your soul pray to God and ask God for forgiveness for things done and left undone, leave fallible humans out of the spiritual relationship. Love God with your whole heart and soul, and love your neighbour as yourself. Read about Martin Luther (forget the rotten movie), Martin clarified and purified the way we should worship, and he freed us from having to submit to humans and the spiritual and worldly corruption that developed from that when the Catholic church had a monopoly on western civilization.
Start exploring and trying different churches. Find a friendly one that welcomes you and doesn't rub you the wrong way or is solidly unscriptural. Each one has a different set of individuals, and somewhat different "class spirit". Some may be cold and unwelcoming, and rude, others can be a real treat for your mood to visit.

Welcome !

Peace be with you.

Answer 5

This sacrament is rooted in the mission God gave to Christ in his capacity as the Son of man on earth to go and forgive sins (cf. Matt. 9:6). Thus, the crowds who witnessed this new power "glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8; note the plural "men"). After his resurrection, Jesus passed on his mission to forgive sins to his ministers, telling them, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . 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).


Since it is not possible to confess all of our many daily faults, we know that sacramental reconciliation is required only for grave or mortal sins—but it is required, or Christ would not have commanded it.


Over time, the forms in which the sacrament has been administered have changed. In the early Church, publicly known sins (such as apostasy) were often confessed openly in church, though private confession to a priest was always an option for privately committed sins. Still, confession was not just something done in silence to God alone, but something done "in church," as the Didache (A.D. 70) indicates.


Penances also tended to be performed before rather than after absolution, and they were much more strict than those of today (ten years’ penance for abortion, for example, was common in the early Church).


But the basics of the sacrament have always been there, as the following quotations reveal. Of special significance is their recognition that confession and absolution must be received by a sinner before receiving Holy Communion, for "[w]hoever . . . eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27).


The Didache


"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure" (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70]).


The Letter of Barnabas


"You shall judge righteously. You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light" (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).

Answer 6

I'd not wish to be involved in a debate over whether or not this is an approved religious practice.

However, there is something to be said for sitting in front of another human being,and admitting those human failings --generally common to us all-- you'd rather folks not know about you. It is difficult and embarrassing to admit our foibles. That difficulty can act as an incentive to lay aside foolish behaviors.

In the end, though, I don't think it's really about the other person, although their presence is required for this to work right. Rather, your confessor is sort of like the referee or designated scorekeeper at a game you have chosen to play. Confessing is a kind of honesty with yourself, a holding of yourself accountable (to yourself through another human being) to rules you agreed to live by.

The advantage of having a person you confess to, is that they share those rules in common with you; they generally share your view of their importance.That is why facing another person in confession is hard.

This isn't to say that confession to God is not important. Like I said, that's a separate argument. I just think the dynamic of confessing to another human being has merit.

:-)

Answer 7

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Proverbs 28:13

SALVATION
by grace, through faith in Jesus
ONLY - John 14:6; Acts 4:12;
Rom. 5:2 ;Eph. 2:8
now is the day of - 2 Cor. 6:2

REPENTANCE
none? you will perish - Luke 13:3, 5
works to salvation - 2 Cor. 7:10
for remission of sin - Acts 3:19
God commands - Acts 17:30
combines with faith - Acts 20:21
God's goodness leads us to - Rom. 2:4
God's will for all - 2 Pet. 3:9

Answer 8

The practice of Confession arises from the example and command of Jesus, who showed that human nature could be used by God as an instrument of grace and forgiveness. He said "That you may know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sin..." (Mt. 9:6; Mk 2:7-10; Lk 5:21-24). The Hebrew title He used was "ben Adam" meaning "Son of Adam." This was the Hebrew way of saying "a human being." Jesus always gloried in His Humanity, since through It He redeemed us. He communicated this authority to His Apostles on Easter night, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (Jn 20:19-23). In this way He gave the Apostles the power to give "Peace" (v.21), which is nothing less than the reconciliation of man with God.



The text even makes clear how Confession is to be conducted. 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, as we "do not give what is holy to dogs" (Mt 7:6).
Matthew 9:3-8 "And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth. And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. And he arose, and went into his house. And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men."

John 20:19-23 "Now when it was late that 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. And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."

Answer 9

Confession should be done in private prayer so that you can get it off your chest and move on with life - hopefully forgiven.

It is for the confessor's mental peace. Obviously our heavenly father already knows what we did.

Answer 10

The Catholic church believes this "head of church thing " true but Jesus said "no one comes unto the father except by me" this means you are the one right not the church!