The idea of confessing sins to priest and not God

[Mateen]

Salam,

Can any Christian brother/sister explain me why should anyone confess sins to priest and not God directly? Why priest? He is not God appointed. Even Prophets of God are helpless when it comes to forgiving sins.
Where did this belief in Christianity start?
Did Jesus say that?
Where did the belief originate?

Wassalam.

[north_malaysian]

Not all Christians practice this... only Catholics (I dont know about the Orthodox though)

[glo]

I agree with north-malaysian that this is the practice of Catholics, not of all Christians.

I cannot find any Biblical reference which suggests that anybody other than God can forgive sins.
It was one of the reasons why Jesus was seen to be blaspheming in the eyes of the scholars and teachers of the day: he was claiming to forgive people's sins - something only God was able to do!

Jesus sent out his disciples, and gave them the "power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9: 1-2) ... but he did not give them the power to forgive sins ...

It would be interesting to hear where this belief is coming from.

James talk about confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other:

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)

But John makes it very clear that only God can forgive sins:

If we confess our sins, he [in context: John is speaking about God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)

Peace

[SUMMAYAH]

I agree with north-malaysian that this is the practice of Catholics, not of all Christians.

I cannot find any Biblical reference which suggests that anybody other than God can forgive sins.
It was one of the reasons why Jesus was seen to be blaspheming in the eyes of the scholars and teachers of the day: he was claiming to forgive people's sins - something only God was able to do!

Jesus sent out his disciples, and gave them the "power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9: 1-2) ... but he did not give them the power to forgive sins ...

It would be interesting to hear where this belief is coming from.

James talk about confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other:


But John makes it very clear that only God can forgive sins:


Peace

Thankyou for that. It has cleared up lots of misconceptions.

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[north_malaysian]

I agree with north-malaysian that this is the practice of Catholics, not of all Christians.

I cannot find any Biblical reference which suggests that anybody other than God can forgive sins.
It was one of the reasons why Jesus was seen to be blaspheming in the eyes of the scholars and teachers of the day: he was claiming to forgive people's sins - something only God was able to do!

Jesus sent out his disciples, and gave them the "power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9: 1-2) ... but he did not give them the power to forgive sins ...

It would be interesting to hear where this belief is coming from.

James talk about confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other:


But John makes it very clear that only God can forgive sins:


Peace

thanks for the infos...

[Pygoscelis]

Back in the middle ages there was quite a lot of money made in "selling" god's forgiveness. And they did claim that you could buy it.

But today I don't think even Catholics believe that priests can forgive sins. I think they are seen more as facilitators or ritualists. Meant to encourage you to seek forgiveness and to make you do it aloud, which has an added psychological benefit (saying something out loud does for some peculiar reason).

That being said though, I'd like to note that forginess is relative.

Just because God forgives you doesn't mean the person you wronged does.

In my view more time should be spent making it up to the wronged person and less time repenting to the God. If you slash my tires, prayer is nice, but I'd rather you spent that time getting me new tires. :)

[glo]

In my view more time should be spent making it up to the wronged person and less time repenting to the God. If you slash my tires, prayer is nice, but I'd rather you spent that time getting me new tires. :)

LOL You've got a point there! ;D

To be forgiven, you first need to repent.
For my own sake, I looked it up in the dictionary:

repent
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

So there seems to be different elements to repentance:

• To feel regret - that means to apologise to Pygoscelis for slashing his/her tyres.
• To want to change my behaviour - that means to make a start by replacing Pygoscelis' tyres!

But as a believer I also ask forgiveness from God: not only have I done damage to Pygoscelis' property, I also have broken God's laws!
I would also ask God for his divine strength to help me better myself.

Peace :)

[Indigo]

Confession is one of the sacraments of the catholic faith. Every catholic is to do it at very least once a year, and advised once a month...or as much as nescisary. During confession, you tell your sins to priest, and he gives you penance...usually prayers...once i was told to say an "our father" for each of my family members for example. Then you say the act of contrition. To be forgiven for mortal sin in catholic faith, you must confess and be truely contrite. For "lesser" sins, it is encouraged to confess them also. Please excuse any misspellings! heheheh

[Pygoscelis]

Repaint! Repaint! And Thin No More!!

... sorry had to say it.

[Ninth_Scribe]

Salam,

Can any Christian brother/sister explain me why should anyone confess sins to priest and not God directly? Why priest? He is not God appointed. Even Prophets of God are helpless when it comes to forgiving sins.
Where did this belief in Christianity start?
Did Jesus say that?
Where did the belief originate?

Wassalam.

According to scholars in that field, the priesthood was supposed to merely bear witness that a confession was made. The Catholics took it upon themselves to prescribe the steps they believed would absolve the sin on the Earthly level of existence... which was called, penance. This was a physical act to atone for the sin. In legal terms, it constitutes a type of restitution for damages.

Ninth Scribe