I've officially left the Church

[jmcrae]

So, is it required to confess to a priest, or can you not just confess to God/Jesus, through prayer?

No, you have to have confessed to a priest within the past seven days. Protestants cannot receive Indulgences - sorry!

 

[MrS]

I knew that was going to come.

I don’t subscribe to those rules any longer. I respect Catholicism, but for me, it is hollow, restrictive and contains too many distractions.

So no, I no longer subscribe to the beliefs of Catholicism, including having to continue to meet the imposed requirements of an institution, by writing a letter to a man employed as a Bishop of the RCC.

Seriously, I really have left…letter or no letter…it matters not and God doesn’t care if I write a letter to a Bishop. If God did care, wow, talk about a legalistic Deity.

It is meant so that both you and the Church are formally aware that you may not partake of the Sacraments, and it will also allow “decisions” to be made for your “christian” future and that of your children… as to what they are entitled to as Catholics, and not as non-Catholics.

.

 

[ChristianKnight]

No, you have to have confessed to a priest within the past seven days. Protestants cannot receive Indulgences - sorry!

lol, for what?

Honestly, I do not see why confessing to a priest is better than to God.

 

[Tietjen]

Nice examples but again you refuse to answer direct questions posed to you. You hide behnd little rolling faces. LOL silly old protestant. You have come to the battle unarmed.

 

[jmcrae]

lol, for what?

Honestly, I do not see why confessing to a priest is better than to God.

Because God speaks in a human voice through the priest, to tell you what you can do to be healed of your sinfulness, and to give you the Absolution.

 

[ChristianKnight]

Because God speaks in a human voice through the priest, to tell you what you can do to be healed of your sinfulness, and to give you the Absolution.

So, confessing to God, and saying your sorry is not as good as telling a priest you did, and him telling you a job to do for it?

 

[Tietjen]

No thanks…I know from experience such discussions are not possible. Beside, when you start your post off with disrespect, do you really think I want to deal with you?

I though so. Oh, and in my defense dear brother, perhaps if you took your own advice concerning disrespect other wouldn’t feel the need to prove you a fool. God bless.

PS - I wasn’t calling you a fool. I was simply suggesting that people might not feel the need to prove such a thing if you didn’t open you mouth or type. LOL

 

[Tietjen]

more drive-bys from those with no substantive contributions.

Now there’s the pot calling the kettle black. LOL

 

[PaulDupre]

Honestly, I do not see why confessing to a priest is better than to God.

The early church fathers saw it quite clearly. Your argument is not with us, but with the immediate successors of the apostles who learned from them how the Christian church was to be run. If you do not want to be part of that Church (the Catholic Church) then so be it. But please don’t leave because of misunderstanding or ignorance.

Quick Questions (1992)

Isn’t confession to a priest an option? If you’re sincerely sorry for your sins and confess them in your own heart, aren’t you already forgiven?

The power to forgive sins was one Christ gave to his apostles (Luke 10:16; 2 Cor. 5:18-20). After he rose from the dead Christ said to the apostles, “‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (John 20:22-23).

We can be truly sorry for our sins–that is essential for forgiveness–but we can’t forgive our own sins. We can’t absolve ourselves. That is a power reserved to God alone. Through Christ that power was conferred on his apostles and their successors, the bishops, and their helpers, the priests. Confession is not an option. It is the ordinary (normative) means through which sins are forgiven.

• Source: NewAdvent.org

 

[ChristianKnight]

I am ignorant?

I see in that he gives the mthe power to forgive sin, but it doesn’t say their successors.

 

[1holycatholic]

So, confessing to God, and saying your sorry is not as good as telling a priest you did, and him telling you a job to do for it?

Your quarrel is with Jesus who established the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

 

[ChristianKnight]

Your quarrel is with Jesus who established the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

on the scripture pauldupre showed, yes he did, to the apostles, but it didn’t say his successors, or am I missing a part of scripture here?

 

[Tietjen]

Oh, so you are then admitting it is symbolic only?

I am admitting dear brother that Christ was sacrificed once. The Church teaches that the one, all-sufficient, bloody sacrifice of Christ at Calvary is made present at each Mass in an unbloody manner. NOT that Christ is re-sacrificed at each Mass.

Perhaps you understand… perhaps not.

 

[jmcrae]

So, confessing to God, and saying your sorry is not as good as telling a priest you did, and him telling you a job to do for it?

You can confess to God and tell Him that you are sorry, but (unless you are a very powerful Saint) you cannot hear Him tell you what to do about your situation, nor that you are forgiven (if you are).

It seems dangerous to assume that you don’t have to do anything about your situation except be sorry for it, or to assume that just because you are sorry, you are forgiven. Not everything is forgiven immediately - some situations need to be solved before God gives forgiveness for them.

For example, say I steal something. I confess it to God alone without a priest, and assume I am forgiven. :heaven:

The next day, someone beats me up because of the theft - apparently, I was not forgiven. But, I didn’t know that, because (not being a very powerful Saint) I could not hear God’s voice telling me what to do.

Second scenario:

I steal something. I go to the priest for Confession. The priest tells me, “To avoid getting beaten up tomorrow, here’s what you do …”
He gives me instructions on what to do. He then gives me the Absolution, and I go out of the Confessional, and do the thing that he told me to do.

I avoid getting beaten up, and I know for a fact (not just assuming) that I am forgiven. :heaven: :heaven:

 

[ChristianKnight]

You can confess to God and tell Him that you are sorry, but (unless you are a very powerful Saint) you cannot hear Him tell you what to do about your situation, nor that you are forgiven (if you are).

It seems dangerous to assume that you don’t have to do anything about your situation except be sorry for it, or to assume that just because you are sorry, you are forgiven. Not everything is forgiven immediately - some situations need to be solved before God gives forgiveness for them.

For example, say I steal something. I confess it to God alone without a priest, and assume I am forgiven. :heaven:

The next day, someone beats me up because of the theft - apparently, I was not forgiven. But, I didn’t know that, because (not being a very powerful Saint) I could not hear God’s voice telling me what to do.

Second scenario:

I steal something. I go to the priest for Confession. The priest tells me, “To avoid getting beaten up tomorrow, here’s what you do …”
He gives me instructions on what to do. He then gives me the Absolution, and I go out of the Confessional, and do the thing that he told me to do.

I avoid getting beaten up, and I know for a fact (not just assuming) that I am forgiven. :heaven: :heaven:

Or, you could have been robbed, cause of bad luck?

So, not everyone hear’s God speak to them?

 

[jmcrae]

on the scripture pauldupre showed, yes he did, to the apostles, but it didn’t say his successors, or am I missing a part of scripture here?

This ability was also passed on to their successors - the forgiveness of our sins was not meant to last for only one generation.

 

[PaulDupre]

on the scripture pauldupre showed, yes he did, to the apostles, but it didn’t say his successors, or am I missing a part of scripture here?

The successors thought they did:

But they [who receive the Eucharist unworthily] spurn and despise all these warnings; and before their sins are expiated, before they have made a confession of their crime, before their conscience has been purged in the ceremony and at the hand of the priest, before the offense against an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, they do violence to the body and blood of the Lord.

Confess even this to the priests of God in a straightforward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience. Thus, they remove the weight from their souls and seek the saving remedy for their wounds however small and slight they be; for they know it is written: “God is not mocked”.

I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his own sins while he is still in this world - while his confession can still be received and while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are still pleasing to the Lord.

• Cyprian, The Lapsed (251 A.D.)

 

[ChristianKnight]

This ability was also passed on to their successors - the forgiveness of our sins was not meant to last for only one generation.

Scripture to prove? Sorry, but I like to see scripture that says it, not tryin to be rude.

 

[Verisimilitude]

I do not care if it gives an impression, its true.

I am glad you make the distinction between Catholic and Christian as you do for you help separate the wheat from the chaffe. When asked what is a Catholic a person can get a clear answer whether they want to accept it for themsleves or not. When asked what is a Christian there are a multitude of choices.

Personally I am happy to drop the term Christian for Catholic because far too many Christians are pro-abortion, pro-war, and pro big government among other practices that are less than Christ-like.

 

[jmcrae]

Or, you could have been robbed, cause of bad luck?

So, not everyone hear’s God speak to them?

Not everyone.

I can hear God speaking to me (although probably not because I am a great Saint - it is probably just because I need a lot of extra help, actually ), and the interesting thing about that is that He sometimes tells me directly, to go to Confession with a priest …