If confessing to a priest is so important?

Question

If confession to priests is so important then why is it not commanded anywhere in the New Testament? Why didn't Paul or one of the apostles not say "confess your sins to the apostle"? Shouldn't something that is so important be in there? Why was it left out?

Daisy J - that says nothing about confessing sins to anyone. In fact I truly believe the Catholic interpretation of that is wrong.

Brian G - where is confess to a priest in that?

Answer 1

There is only one mediator between us and God and it isn't a earthly priest...

Answer 2

There's a number of things that have always been practiced by Christians from the beginning, and so had little or no need to be written down.

One is the Lord's Supper, and the other is confession.

Both were instituted personally by Jesus Christ, and both were practiced by the church from the earliest days.

The only reason you can't see them in scripture is because you were taught not to see them by false teachers who wanted you to miss them.

To put it bluntly, anyone can confess their sins to God directly, but doing so within the sacrament of reconciliation provides the assurance of absolution, right here and right now, as well as requiring a lower "standard" for both contrition and repentance than is required outside of the sacrament.

And in the end, Catholics KNOW their sins have been forgiven ... while non-Catholics won't know whether God has accepted their apology until JUDGMENT DAY.

Think about that for a while ...

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

The priest works as a 'pathway' to God by which lesser peoples can confess their sins, as priests confess directly to God. Yet, this makes little sense seeing that Jesus' message always appears to be directly with people and not through some agent. I believe it is a way for Catholicism to hold power over believers. If God is any God worth worshipping and following, you should be able to talk with him at any time, place, or day, and tell him directly what you are struggling with. good luck!

Answer 5

Your right, confession to priests is something unfounded and unneeded. The bible says "confession your sins to each other and seek forgivenss" but at the same time, when every christ died, and the curtain was torn between the holy holy's (where god was) and where the people stood, there was no longer something between God and us. SO that means that the holy spirit now interceeds for us and we are able to confess our sins to god and seek forgivness, the first step is accepting Jesus as the ultimate sacrafice. For the covering of all your sins! So... a Priest is not needed for the forgivness of sins, becuae who can forgive sins accept God alone.

Answer 6

confession is a step in picking up personal responsibility for one's actions. Church dogma has regimented the process into confession before a priest, but the Bible says "confess your faults one to another". The important thing is admitting your shortcomings, which is the first step toward living responsibly on the earth where God or Allah or Whatever Cosmic Force has placed you (or maybe some of you wise guys out there placed yourself on earth). Be kind to others. Love them as you love yourself. Then worry about church doctrines.

Answer 7

"Confess your faults one to another" ... James 5:16

Edit: While it does not say "confess to a priest", I suppose it could be implied. After all, who are we to confess to? James says we are to confess our sins one to another; this certainly goes against the popular belief that we must only confess our sins to God. While the verse does not specify that confession should be made to a priest, it does state that confession should be made to another human, right? It just makes sense that a priesthood leader would be in a better position to help someone repent than the average lay person.

The only scriptural example I can think of in which people confessed their sins to a priesthood leader is Num 21:7.

Answer 8

Because the Bible says confess to God, which is what Christians are to do, but Catholics confess to a priest.
Like Christians worship God, but Catholics worship Mary.

Answer 9

The reason is because we were never meant to confess to a priest. They can't forgive us. Only God can forgive, and he is the only one we need to confess to.

Answer 10

I don't think confessing to a priest is necessary. Confess to God and repent.

Answer 11

Confession is simply a way to get out of your mind what you're repressing...

Say...you stole something from the store the other day, and you haven't told anybody, but it's bothering your conscience...

Telling someone is simply a way to help to ease your conscience...

Or if you're gay...

Same thing...

"Confess..."

"Dont...

"Repress..."