What is your view on Confession?

Question

Confession
Definition: A declaration or an acknowledgment, either publicly or in private, (1) of what a person believes or (2) of his sins.
Is the rite of reconciliation, including confession (personal confession into the ear of a priest), as taught by the Catholic Church Scriptural?
The manner in which the priest is addressed
The traditional formula, still often used, is: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been [length of time] since my last Confession.”—U.S. Catholic magazine
Matt. 23:1, 9,“Jesus said, . . . ‘You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven.’”

Sins that can be forgiven
“The Church has always taught that every sin, no matter how serious, can be forgiven.”

Heb. 10:26, If, after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them.”

Mark 3:29, “Let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.”

How penance is to be shown
Frequently the confessor directs that the penitent say a specified number of “Our Fathers” and “Hail Marys.”

Matt. 6:7, “In your prayers do not babble [that is, utter in a meaninglessly repetitious manner] as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard.”

Matt. 6:9-12,“You should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, . . . forgive us our debts.’” (Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to pray to or through Mary. See Philippians 4:6,

Rom. 12:9, Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil.”

sorry i asked too many questions and caused confussion! I appoligize! just let me know your stand on the issue...regardless of my beliefs...

Answer 1

I think that we should confess our sins to our God in prayer.

We should also confess our sins to our clergy if:
* the sin could affect our standing in the Church
* we need help overcoming the sin
* we don't know if we should confess this particular sin

Answer 2

Please post your other questions separately so that we can answer them.

Our sins are confessed to a priest because that's the way the Bible tells us that our sins are forgiven by God. Jesus commissioned the apostles with the authority and responsibility to forgive sins. When they forgave sins it wasn't they who were doing the forgiving, it was Jesus.
"He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." (Luke 10:16, KJV)
Of the fact that this authority and responsibility was passed on to others by the apostles is not in question because we are told
"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." (James 5:14-15, NIV)
This is what we call the sacrament of the anointing of the sick for those with a physical illness but the next verse clarifies this even more. This verse starts with the word "therefore" which should cause us to look to see what it is "there for": it is providing a summary of the teaching just concluded.
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16, NIV)
Who are these "each other?" None other than the sick person and the elder of the church (some translations use "presbyter" rather than elder, the Greek is presbyteros from which the word "priest" is derived). When the spiritually ill, those who have sinned, confess their sins to the priest the sins are forgiven and the healing process begins.

If any of what you say were true I would be the first to leave the Catholic Church.

Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. – Matthew 7, 1-2 (KJV)

Why do you say these things about my faith? Oh, I know what you will say, “we don't want you to go to hell; we love you.” That has to be the lamest and dullest excuse in years. Do you really expect us to fall for that line? Catholics do not bash other religions because we know we belong to the true Church. If you are so sure about your beliefs why bash Catholicism? You have already told us a million times what you do not like about our faith. And you have also warned us a million times we will go to hell with those beliefs. So, what really is your reason for attacking our faith again and again? I can only think of two reasons: to validate your own faith which means you are insecure and unsure of your own faith or you just want to bash my faith.

Fundamentalists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals talk as if no case can be made for the Catholic Church. How sure are you that you are right and we are wrong?

If you are so sure about your faith you should not turn your back on this challenge.
http://www.fisheaters.com/challenge.html

Do you really think a fourth of all Americans would be Catholic if their religion were as odd as its opponents claim? Isn’t it rather likely that you haven’t been told the whole story? To make an informed decision, you need to hear both sides. Why not study the Catholic faith? Either your suspicions will be confirmed, or you will discover that there is more to Catholicism than you once thought.

Answer 3

Yes everyone should have one to a Priest [ a Confession ]
Because confession is good for the soul.

The Priest has been charged with being a servant of God.
He's not going to go gossip your confessions to his friends and neighbors. It's his job to be there for you, to listen to you, to help you on your spiritual journey.

When in doubt about something to do with your Priest, you should probably ask your Priest :)

*edited to adress the evangelicals who want to disrespect Catholicism here*
No one says that Catholics are supposed to talk to a priest INSTEAD of god. It's simple human nature to feel better about a thing when you say it out loud. If I do something bad, I feel like crap. When I get it out, and admit it out loud it feels like a start to making the thing I did wrong right. Praying to God is still internal, private, personal. It's a hell of a lot harder to admit something you did wrong to another person than to just keep it to yourself and pretend to be all perfect. Yeah you could do it with your friend or relative, but they might be judgemental and/or gossipy. They might say "Hell don't worry about it, so you stole a few bucks , who cares!". That's why you tell your priest. It's part of a spiritual path that most of you clearly don't understand.


If a priest did not have authority to administer absolution for sins then who would waste their time entering the confessional.
Jesus tells the apostles: "Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven".
The priest is there in God's place and offers advise and support and God's unconditional love to the repentant sinner.

Answer 4

It is the first friday of the month, perfect timing for your question.

These are my views on confession, based on a devotion to the "Divine Mercy":

"When you go to confession, to this fountain of mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows sown upon your soul. In the tribunal of Mercy the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.
Come with faith to the feet of My representative. I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest....I Myself act in your soul. Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a person it is that I am making use of: open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light.
Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would be already lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God´s mercy!"

Answer 5

You ask too many question at once. I’ll just answer the follow one:

Mark 3:29, “Let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.”

No one has committed that sin yet. And only God’s elect can commit it. When satan, playing his roll as antichrist, is booted from heaven to earth, the elect will be delivered up, have a trial, and if they refuse to let the Holy Spirt speak through them, that’s unforgivable. Will any of them commit that sin? Not likely.

Answer 6

Your presentation is very good. Confession is the first step in a series of many to accomplish the act of salvation. After one is made aware of their sins they have the need to confess because fear is the beginning of wisdom and realization of the alternatives or most generally more than one can handle. Once confession is accomplished then understanding follows.

Answer 7

i will only say one thing.... you comment about calling no man father....

why then does Christ himself call Lazarus Father?
why are we told to honour thy mother and father
why are we told to entreat our elders as Fathers?

anyone can offer vain babblings - you have proven that point quite well and you repeated nothing of your own, just others cuts and pastes.

I like having a priest to whom i can go and privately have listen while i CONFESS WITH MY MOUTH and seek repentance. i don't always know how to correct my mistakes, how to go back to others to ask forgiveness or how to find the strength not to fail again. the priest is there only to be the live earpiece. for many they say - i would never tell another person that - to me it is also bvery hard. i find it amazing that it's easier to tell God - is that becuase He can not chastize you or walk you through things?! i don't know but i know -- i need smeone i can trust who i'll be able know can listen and understand and help me get back onto the right path of Christ.

Answer 8

We need to go straight to God to confess our sins and not to any man who is a sinner.

The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as “a kingdom and priests.” In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now approach God’s throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus’ death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:15). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

When it comes to confession of sin, believers are told in 1 John 1:9 to confess their sins to God. God is faithful and just to forgive our sins as we confess them to Him. James 5:16 speaks of confessing our trespasses “to one another,” but this is not the same as confessing sins to a priest as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. Priests / church leaders are nowhere mentioned in the context of James 5:16. Further, James 5:16 does not link forgiveness of sins with the confession of sins “to one another.”

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 9

It can be seen as a way to vent, acknowledge and repent that which they would consider a sin.
Go to Catholic.com

Answer 10

Ditto what Fr K said.