16If anyone sees his brother [believer] committing a sin that does not [lead to] death (the extinguishing of life), he will pray and [God] will give him life [yes, He will grant life to all those whose sin is not one leading to death]. There is a sin [that leads] to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin which does not [involve] death [that may be repented of and forgiven].
Amplified Bible
Neither did I.
Ok, so…what is it we are not supposed to pray for?
Where does the above verse say anything about a Priest?
It was written BY a priest. But his name is John, not Paul. It is John who captures the instructions of Jesus about the retention and remittance of sins.
When he wrote this letter, he had been absolving sins in the sacrament of confession for as much as 70 years.
Where does the above verse refer to confession?
This question points out a major difference in the way Catholics and literalists learn their faith. Catholics receive the One Faith from those who were entrusted by Jesus to preserve and to teach it. We find that the Scriptures testify to that faith(because they were produced by that faith) but the Scriptures are not the Source of our faith. Jesus is our source.
Our separated brethren, having been separated from the Body,Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord during the Reformation, clung to the most Holy thing available, that being the Bible.
Unfortunately, a pattern of understanding the faith has emerged that draws doctrine from one verse or handful of verses. This is a gross error in exegesis. That is why Catholics understand verses such as this one in the light of the Word of God that was committed to the Church by the Apostles, and in the light of all the other verses that make reference to the subject. It is therefore of no concern to us that the words “priest” or “confession” are not in this verse. They are elsewhere in the Word of God.
In the above verse Paul speaks of sin that leads to death. He says further … "I do not say that one should pray for that.’
This passage is not written by Paul. He calls the sin mortal. All sins lead to death, both mortal, and non-mortal. In the next verse, he says “all disobedience is sin”. The wages of sin is death.
I think that the confusion is related to the interpretation of the words “sin that leads to death”. I think you are interpreting the phrase to mean all ‘mortal sins’
The context does not seem to indicate all ‘mortal sins’. Because ‘mortal’ sins can be forgiven.
Yes, we do interpret this to be a reference to “mortal” sins. You are mistaken, though. Mortal sins can be forgiven. It happens every day.
Jesus forgave the mortal sin of his executioners as they were crucifying him.
Paul speaks of a specific kind of
‘mortal sin’ …a kind that should not be prayed for… Perhaps he is referring to the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit … which Jesus said is unforgivable.
It doesn’t say that in the passage either, does it? you are speculating.
Besides, you have likely misunderstood the meaning of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Human beings can be forgiven of every sin, including mortal ones, up until the moment of death. Blasphemy against the HS is final impenitence, which means that a person has resisted the call of the HS to repent up to death. It cannot be forgiven because it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment.
Paul does also write about mortal sins. People in mortal sin do not inherit the Kingdom.
I quoted the scripture… that is all. I changed nothing. Paul, in that scripture says that there is sin that we should pray for so that it will be forgiven and he says there is sin that leads to death He says nothing about a Priest
You did not quote the Scripture. You posted a passage out of the amplified version, which adds words and concepts to the scripture. Here is the non-amplified version:
1 John 5:16-17
16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.
There is nothing in this passage that has your concept (you are adding) of “leads to death”. On the contrary, the Apostle describes a person who is already in a state of death. Mortal sin kills the life of the HS in the soul.
At the last supper, Jesus empowered the Apostles to hear confessions and to absolve sins. They passed this power on to their successors, the bishops, and they to the presbyters that were ordained.
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Then I said that it seemed to me that Paul was saying that that we can pray for someone that has sinned … and they will be forgiven … and I made the observation that his statement seems to line up perfectly with Jesus’ statement “Whose sins you shall forgive … they are forgiven.”
Yes, you did say that. One has to deny 2000 years of Christian practice to say it, but it can be done. Don’t you find it odd that all the Apostles, and all of their successors, and all of the presbyters and all the disciples in unity with them understood this passage differently? how was it that the HS is so weak he was unable to convince the Bride of Christ they misunderstood for 1500 years?
There is sin that should not be prayed for? Holy Moley!
