Is Confessing Your Sins To A Priest Blasphemy?

[Alphabeta]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1270321' date='May 11 2007, 01:14 AM']Only original sin is remitted in baptism.[/quote]

All sins are remitted in baptism; see e.g. Catechism 1263:
"By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin."

Therefore the practice of some in the early Church, to delay baptism until danger of death, while misguided, had a certain logic to it.
"Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and coheir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit." (Catechism 1265)

I think we ought to do a lot more meditating than most of us do on the mystery of Baptism (and all the other sacraments, including of course penance). It's easy especially if we were baptized as babies to think of it in sort of a "been there, done that" way, whereas really it continues all along to be the spring of living water within us and the source of our spiritual life.

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='reelguy227' post='1272826' date='May 14 2007, 02:08 AM']Do you know what a burn is?[/quote]
Indeed. I just think the definition is going to the wayside. By the way, you don't need to globalise a good burn. People will see it if it is what it is.

[reelguy227]

Like I said, I just enjoy a good burn. Sorry, it's just what I do.

[mortify]

My question to our protestant friends is why did Jesus give His Apostles the authority to forgive or bind people in their sins?

"Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
John 20:21-23


Was this an empty gesture? Or did Jesus intend for them to use this authority?

[Lord Philip]

God Chaser,

One thing I would like to highlight in this discussion is the [i]incarnational[/i] themes in the New Covenant. We see in Christ that God did not establish a "spiritual" religion. He came to us not as an angel, but as a human being with a physical reality. As C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity, "God likes matter....he invented it."

Much of Protestantism harkens back to very early Christianity's battle with Gnosticism. The Gnostics were so spiritual that they denied Christ's actual incarnation.

I know you would not do this, but the issue at hand and indeed all the Sacraments are tied to this topic. God instituted a Covenant with mankind where, by physical means, we can attain the spiritual grace that flows from him.

Of course we can pray to God and have our sins forgiven! Yet God instituted a Church where this process could be given a physical "mouth" and audible words. As his instrument, God makes the words of the priest efficacious to forgive sins and to dispense the grace of God in the Sacraments. "Why?" you ask, well there are reasons we can think of, but primarily it is the way God chose to do things. We might ask "Why?" along with the Gnostics who took offense at saying that God had anything to do with matter, but the best response is that this is the way God chose to do it. Confession, while not having exclusive power to forgive sins is the [b]primary[/b] means of attaining forgiveness.

This is immensely helpful since in our private prayers we may not know how to properly repent. We may not be coming with the right attitudes or we might be confused as to whether we are forgiven or not.

Blasphemous? If this is blasphemous then it would also be blasphemous to bow down and worship Christ if his body was present right there with you as it was on the plains of Israel 2000 years ago. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen said: "If you saw him forgive people's sins, you would not say 'All I see is a lifted hand! And a movement of lips!'"

Let us be careful in our condemnation of God's choosing to deal with us through physical means: this was begun in the Incarnation of Christ, and continues in the incarnational Sacraments of the Church. Come home, dear brother, to the light and truth of the Gospel which resides in the Church that Christ has built (Matthew 16).

God bless,

Philip

[AccountDeleted]

I love Confession - it is like washing your soul. But it is so much more than just confessing your sins, that is why the name has been changed to Reconciliation. One day I went to confession, not because I had committed a sin, but because I knew there was a problem between myself and God - and I needed to reconcile with Him. I told this to the priest and he was able to help me open my heart again. The Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation is one of the greatest gifts the Church has. Sure, sometimes it is hard to admit sins to another person - even if that person is a priest - but the very act of doing it admits to such humility that God immediately responds to the soul that is confessing.

Protestants deny themselves so much joy and peace by rejecting this Sacrament, just as they deny themselves the great blessing of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist. I praise God every day for the grace to be Catholic.

[doe-jo]

[quote name='nunsense' post='1275403' date='May 16 2007, 07:23 PM']I praise God every day for the grace to be Catholic.[/quote]

AMEN to that

[infinitelord1]

The bible was written by man....should we trust every word it says since it wasnt written by god? This same logic can be applied on this subject. Is confessing your sins to a priest(man) reliable since he isnt god? I dont see anything wrong with the belief in confession. However, I have one question.....can one ask for forgiveness from god directly? If so, then why is confession necessary?

[Didymus]

One can ask for forgiveness from God directly, but one can be wholly assured of forgiveness by asking through the sacrament of reconcilitation, because Christ gave the power of this assurance to the twelve when he instituted the sacrament.

"whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven" Mt16:19

"Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven" Mt18:18

so yes, it is reliable because Christ gives to the priest the power to bind and loose.

Edited May 23, 2007 by Didymus

[Mateo el Feo]

[quote name='infinitelord1' post='1279745' date='May 23 2007, 10:24 AM']The bible was written by man....should we trust every word it says since it wasnt written by god? This same logic can be applied on this subject. Is confessing your sins to a priest(man) reliable since he isnt god? I dont see anything wrong with the belief in confession. However, I have one question.....can one ask for forgiveness from god directly? If so, then why is confession necessary?[/quote]Quoting from the Catholic.com website:[quote]Is the Catholic who confesses his sins to a priest any better off than the non-Catholic who confesses directly to God? Yes. First, he seeks forgiveness the way Christ intended. Second, by confessing to a priest, the Catholic learns a lesson in humility, which is avoided when one confesses only through private prayer. Third, the Catholic receives sacramental graces the non-Catholic doesn’t get; through the sacrament of penance sins are forgiven and graces are obtained. Fourth, the Catholic is assured that his sins are forgiven; he does not have to rely on a subjective "feeling." Lastly, the Catholic can also obtain sound advice on avoiding sin in the future.[/quote]Link: [url="http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp"]http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp[/url]

[Ragamuffin]

[quote name='Mateo el Feo' post='1279749' date='May 23 2007, 08:36 AM']Third, the Catholic receives sacramental graces the non-Catholic doesn’t get; through the sacrament of penance sins are forgiven and graces are obtained.[/quote]
Could you expound on this one? In what way are sins any more forgiven than when a non-Catholic repents and asks God for forgiveness and what additional graces are obtained?

[Katholikos]

[quote name='Ragamuffin' post='1279969' date='May 23 2007, 02:51 PM']Could you expound on this one? In what way are sins any more forgiven than when a non-Catholic repents and asks God for forgiveness and what additional graces are obtained?[/quote]

Q 1. Sins are not "more forgiven." But, provided that we make a good, thorough confession with true sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment, we have the absolute assurance that we are forgiven when the priest pronounces the words of absolution.

Confession to a priest requires only imperfect contrition -- our motivation for repenting need be only the fear of hell, though it may also be love of God. To obtain forgiveness when confessing directly to God, however, requires perfect contrition -- repentance purely for the love of God. It is difficult for a person to know his true motivation, thus a feeling of uncertainty often accompanies such confessions. I was uncertain, always. I was never sure if I was truly sorry enough or what my motivation was for the sorrow. I wanted a sign. Confession to a priest gives one a sign -- we can see, hear, feel the absolution given by Christ through His priest.

Q 2. All of the seven Sacraments are channels whereby God fills us with grace -- that is, with His Own Divine Life. This makes us truly "partakers of the Divine Nature" 1 Peter 1:4. Through the Sacraments, God lives (abides) in us and we live (abide) in God. Imagine, God sharing His Divinity with us! After confession, we walk with Him once more, just as Adam and Eve did. H A L L E L U J A H !

So grateful to be Catholic,

Likos

[Socrates]

Good answers on here.

I find it interesting, though, that most non-Catholic Christians seem to have no problem with the concept of the Sacrament of Baptism being performed through the agency of the actions of a human minister, yet have great difficulty with other sacraments, such as penance, being ministered in similar manner.

[jeffpugh]

I like what Matteo El Feo dug up. I think if anything aside, confession is awesome because of growth in humility, and you get some spiritual guidance from another holy person. We all need guidance from another perspective. It would be prideful to think we can make it along by our own initiative. Yes if one reads scripture for guidance, good. But a priest has a better perspective. I think protestants with love for God should be happy to hear such a thing exists.

[Ragamuffin]

I actually see a lot of value in confession to a priest, notably the humility mentioned before as well as getting advice and some accountability. I was just confused on the phrasing used before. Thanks for clearing that up.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Ragamuffin