Your views on Priests/Confessions will, because, include, course

amy

Do you think priests have the right to forgive your sins, or are they doing God's job? with each submition, include your religion.

GO!

Yes, of course I do.


Originally Posted by TheDreamingYes, of course I do.

lol then vote in the poll!

no because that isnt what priests really do...

You will end with a poll pertaining to who is Protestant and who is Catholic on these forums. Aye, maybe you will even get the Orthodox and the other denominations evenly split on this issue, but I don't see how this is a discussion.

Care to fill me in? I know that this could be very interesting discussion for once about Luther's works which caused The Reformation, but when just mapping a statistic we won't get a discussion going.

And please, this is the sort of topic which can lead to people feeling their beliefs are being threatened. So don't read it if you believe your beliefs ought not to be challenged, since disagreements alone are not recognised as insults here.

@raisin I said i can forgive sins i dont know about those others. I have to think about it.

I don't really understand how confessing to a priest is going to do anything. I view priests as just a person that preaches God's words and teaches others his way, so in my view they don't have a reason to forgive you it wasn't them you should be confessing to, it wasn't their word you went against.

Hell no!

a.) I have no reason to tell some creepy old man my deepest quot;sins.quot;
b.) I have no reason to be alone with said man in a room for any length of time.
c.) The quest for God or whatever you want to call it is deeply personal to me, and anybody who thinks they can use external forces to make it easier or to magically absolve them of quot;sinquot; is, in my opinion, sadly mistaken.

It leads to people going to church just for the sake of quot;feelingquot; Christian when they just turn around and act like hypocrites outside of it!

I'll go to the protestant side. Hey, if God is omniscient/omnipresent, he must know when I repent having sinned, so he should forgive me at that moment; then why do I need to told someone else my sins to be forgiven?

I'm Roman Catholic and actually went to Confession Saturday night.

The priest doesn't forgive your sins; God does.  The priest is there to help you through the thought process and help devise a penance.  Having your sins forgiven in the presence of a priest is completely optional.

II Xion II:  Please tell me you are exaggerating with your list.

I believe priests can help by aiding a listening ear and maybe giving some advice if desired. But forgiving, or giving a quot;penancequot;, should be none of their business. Your karma is between you and your God.


Originally Posted by Dragonus NeshaII Xion II:  Please tell me you are exaggerating with your list.

A bit.

A and C are quite serious, it is never comfortable confessing anything serious.

But B is more related to the flurry of stories of pedophilia amongst priests. The number is a bit surprising and is only one reason that I have lost all faith in the RCC.

I just made a pun, I said quot;faithquot; .

Sorry, no... but my reason has nothing to do with faith...
There is a church eight miles from my town called the quot;Living Faith Fellowship.quot;  They are classified as a cult.  One of the many things they do is have the priest record all of your sins.  Then, if you try to leave the church, they bring out the file and wave it in front of you saying, quot;Well, then, I suppose you won't mind if we show this to your spouse, your family, your friends, your boss, the cops, etc.quot;
If each person can connect to God on their own- let's face it, most of the people in The Bible who got a message from God weren't priests- then there is no need to confess to a priest, which can be dangerous... not always, but you always take the risk of telling a secret to someone who wouldn't mind spilling it.

... Er, that said, I'm an atheist, so I don't really see any good coming from confession other than being able to talk about the actions that you perceive as being wrong...


Originally Posted by Toby_ChristYou will end with a poll pertaining to who is Protestant and who is Catholic on these forums. Aye, maybe you will even get the Orthodox and the other denominations evenly split on this issue, but I don't see how this is a discussion.

Care to fill me in? I know that this could be very interesting discussion for once about Luther's works which caused The Reformation, but when just mapping a statistic we won't get a discussion going.

And please, this is the sort of topic which can lead to people feeling their beliefs are being threatened. So don't read it if you believe your beliefs ought not to be challenged, since disagreements alone are not recognised as insults here.

Ha ha, you hit my opinion on the mark. Being raised roman catholic (although I am none-practicing and I don't necessarily believe in God), I think that there is absolutely nothing wrong with confessing one's sins to a priest. In the catholic church, the priest is 'like a stand in for Jesus' during confession, and if thats one of your sacrements, then in no way is it 'wrong'. Although I will say it was very ackward when I had my first confession in grade 3 with the priest. Nevertheless, I would go on to say that there's nothing with any other forms of confession, so long as you aren't being forced to against your will.

You dont need a preist. I just ask god himself, in my prayers at night. Im sure he hears me


Originally Posted by MarcoYou dont need a preist. I just ask god himself, in my prayers at night. Im sure he hears me

same. I see priests as teachers, they are human, they have no more of a connection to God than you or me. So who are they to announce whether God has forgiven you or not.

I don't see any damn reason to have to quot;confessquot; for anything I do.  Furthermore they have already tried to forceably make me do it and to be honest it pisses me off.  Why should I have to tell somone things about my personal life so that a mortal person can quot;forgive mequot;.  What a joke.

While I believe confession may serve a social/counseling purpose, as some people, regardless of faith, will insist on unburdening their conscience to another human being, I don't see a third party as having the power, or the right, to absolve anyone of anything.

God, perhaps, insofar as such a thing may exist.

Otherwise, there are only two parties in this world capable of forgiving anything. You, who must decide if you can forgive yourself your own regrets or shortcomings, and the one(s) whom you wronged (if applicable), whose forgiveness or lack thereof is theirs alone to give, and yours only to move on with your life either way.