I was not 100% convinced and I still had doubts.
What are the doubts you have Holly?
I went to Confession this morning.
As Muslims, we don't confess or disclose our sins to any human being, but to God directly, no middle man involved between ourselves and God. Prayer is directly to God alone, and forgiveness is directly from God alone.
We have some beautiful prayers for forgiveness, a the translations of couple of which I've put below:
"
Oh Allah, You are my Lord, There is no God (and none worthy of worship) except you. You created me, and I am your slave, and I abide by Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil which I have committed. I acknowledge Your favor and blessings upon me and I acknowledge my sins, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You."
We also say the same prayer that Adam and Eve said after eating from the tree:
"
Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us, and do not have mercy on us, we shall be among the losers."
Allah says, "
Seek forgiveness from your Lord, indeed He is Most Forgiving."
and
"
...Indeed, I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided."
Prayer is also directly to God alone. We do not pray to or through saints, nor ask priests to absolve our sins. We do not pray to Jesus or Mary (peace be upon them both) or anyone else.
There is only One God. He alone should be worshipped. He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, spouses, siblings, parents, cousins, or relatives of any sort.
He is eternal and does not die. He does not depend on anyone/anything yet we all depend on Him. He is free of all want and need.
There is nothing like Him. He is all Hearing, all Seeing, all Knowing, all Powerful, Incomparable, the Creator of the Universe.
He did not/does not, become flesh, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him. He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
He is not composed of persons, nor a trinity. There are no secondary, lesser, greater, equal, or multiple gods, nor any intermediaries. And no denying of God's existence either.
There are no sharers, associates, persons or parts whatsoever in His exclusive Divinity. Simply, He is One, in every sense. - See more at:
Leaflet on Islam
God has no sons, no 3 in 1's, He is truly ONE. He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, nephews or relatives of any sort. He is eternal and does not die. He did not and does not, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him (as per Christian and Hindu belief). He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
We don't believe mankind had a broken relationship with God, or fell out of grace with God, or that babies are born into a state of sin. God forgave Adam and Eve, and forgives us too, when we ask sincerely, resolving to try not to repeat past mistakes. No sacrifice is required, so it is truly forgiveness as opposed to atonement. Allah can forgive us freely with just His will when we ask sincerely.
In Islam, while guidance and the right way has been shown to us, we, as humans, have the freedom to choose, to err, and to repent sincerely, and should we do so, we will find Allah Kind & Forgiving, forgiving freely and abundantly with just His will, no sacrifice needed, because it is truly forgiveness rather than atonement. For all and any in the posterity of Adam, the door of returning to the right path is always open, prior to death. We give Christians and all non-Muslims an invitation to return to this right path, the path of all the Prophets, the right path that has always been.
All the Prophets taught the same thing, and we're following the same Ultimate Universal Truth that they all preached, which is to worship the One True God without any kind of associate in His Exclusive Divinity, be that in the form of a son or otherwise. Blaspheming/rejecting any of the Prophets how they are in the Bible takes one outside the fold of Islam. The Qur'an is 100% the word of God unlike the other scriptures in existence today which have been changed by humans, and it is a continuation, confirmation and culmination of the original message contained within them, in its last and final form, preserved for all mankind.
Your are responsible for the choices you make. Each choice, has a consequence. Think carefully, open your eyes, heart, and mind. Religion, as mentioned before, is not something to keep changing on whims, back and forth, back and forth. One of our prayers is for steadfastness upon the right path and that we do not waver from what we know with certainty to be the truth. Remember that the door is still open.
Peace.