Protestants and Perfect Contrition

[The_Iambic_Pen]

It has occured to me recently that it may, in fact, be easier for a Protestant to make an act of perfect contrition than it is for a Catholic. Most Protestants, whether they believe in “once saved, always saved” or not, usually deny that any single sin can separate a person from their “saved” state. Therefore, when a Protestant repents of a sin, they cannot be doing so out of fear of Hell. Rather, it seems to me that they are more likely to be genuinely sorry, acting more out of a desire to reconcile themselves to God, as opposed to saving themselves from the fires of Hell.

By contrast, the Catholic who finds himself or herself in a state of mortal sin may likely find himself or herself motivated to repent primarily out of fear of Hell. My understanding is that this fear alone does not put the person in a state of perfect contrition, and therefore the Catholic is in a rather dangerous condition until he or she is able to go to confession.

I am probably way off on this, so I welcome your thoughts.

God bless!

 

[water]

The same two persons you mentioned:

One is willing to go to the confessor to confess. He believes through the Priest, God forgives him. He believes that Jesus gives authorities to the apostles to forgive sins.

The other said “No, I don’t want to confess my sins to anyone but God. The priest cannot forgive sins.”

What are your thoughts about this?

 

[Veritas41]

It has occured to me recently that it may, in fact, be easier for a Protestant to make an act of perfect contrition than it is for a Catholic. Most Protestants, whether they believe in “once saved, always saved” or not, usually deny that any single sin can separate a person from their “saved” state. Therefore, when a Protestant repents of a sin, they cannot be doing so out of fear of Hell. Rather, it seems to me that they are more likely to be genuinely sorry, acting more out of a desire to reconcile themselves to God, as opposed to saving themselves from the fires of Hell.

By contrast, the Catholic who finds himself or herself in a state of mortal sin may likely find himself or herself motivated to repent primarily out of fear of Hell. My understanding is that this fear alone does not put the person in a state of perfect contrition, and therefore the Catholic is in a rather dangerous condition until he or she is able to go to confession.

I am probably way off on this, so I welcome your thoughts.

God bless!

Perfect contrition arises from love of God, and I don’t think Protestants have any advantage over Catholics in that area. Even though a Protestant may not fear going to hell because of his sins, he may still fear temporal punishment/judgment because of sin, so he could still only have imperfect contrition when he confesses.

 

[myfavoritmartin]

The same two persons you mentioned:

One is willing to go to the confessor to confess. He believes through the Priest, God forgives him. He believes that Jesus gives authorities to the apostles to forgive sins.

The other said “No, I don’t want to confess my sins to anyone but God. The priest cannot forgive sins.”

What are your thoughts about this?

Confession isn’t about getting forgivenof sins…

we don’t believe in the Priestly (ordained priest) confessions but that doesn’t mean we don’t face up to sin… Whats funny is that we can’t figure out how the priest can absolve you from your sin. Read how we feel we become righteuos

James 5:16

16Therefore 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.

 

[Church_Militant]

Hi IP!

No way to know for sure, since we cannot know anyone’s heart but our own, right?

I’d wonder about your logic here though.

Does their ignorance allow them mitigation?

Also bear in mind that as Bible oriented as they are (and as we all should be I think) they may very well have read the truth in the Word of God and chosen to rationalize it away…that would indeed leave them accountable, would it not?

In the final analysis, rare indeed is the soul that might be able to make a perfect A of C, regardless of background.
Pax tecum,

 

[HailMary]

16Therefore 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.

Confess your sins one to another… That is, to the priests of the church, whom (verse 14) he had ordered to be called for, and brought in to the sick; moreover, to confess to persons who had no power to forgive sins, would be useless. Hence the precept here means, that we must confess to men whom God hath appointed, and who, by their ordination and jurisdiction, have received the power of remitting sins in his name.
(newadvent.org/bible/jam005.htm)

The minister of the Sacrament of Confession were determined by Christ and by their successors in John 20:21-23

When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: receive you the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

Whats funny is that we can’t figure out how the priest can absolve you from your sin

We also can’t figure out the cure to AIDS or how the hypostatic union of Christ works, let alone the Trinity but they are still realities that one day, I pray and so does the Church, you will believe in.

 

[scylla]

The priest does not do it on his own, as God is the one who forgives sin. It is an act of humility to confess to one another and have the elder (priest pray over you) for the forgiveness of your sin.

No Catholic thinks that the Priest on his own forgives the sin but rather God who works through people forgiving the sin.

Catholics do not do this to feel good or out of convenience it is much easier to just believe that God does it without any interaction between people. We do it out of obedience and humility, it is very difficult but as the Bible says Jesus gave the power to the first Bishops (the disciples) to forgive and not forgive sin.

In our obedience to Jesus we confess our sins to one another and allow God to work through His priests, as He sent people to send others to send others down to today.

In Christ
Scylla

 

[hengcymatthew]

If you will like to have more information on confession,
you may want to look for the book titled

Lord, Have Mercy by Scott Hahn

 

[Nita]

It has occured to me recently that it may, in fact, be easier for a Protestant to make an act of perfect contrition than it is for a Catholic. Most Protestants, whether they believe in “once saved, always saved” or not, usually deny that any single sin can separate a person from their “saved” state. Therefore, when a Protestant repents of a sin, they cannot be doing so out of fear of Hell. Rather, it seems to me that they are more likely to be genuinely sorry, acting more out of a desire to reconcile themselves to God, as opposed to saving themselves from the fires of Hell.

By contrast, the Catholic who finds himself or herself in a state of mortal sin may likely find himself or herself motivated to repent primarily out of fear of Hell. My understanding is that this fear alone does not put the person in a state of perfect contrition, and therefore the Catholic is in a rather dangerous condition until he or she is able to go to confession.

I am probably way off on this, so I welcome your thoughts.

God bless!

My guess is that there are probably a lot less non-Catholic sinners who truly repent - in the Catholic sense. Repentance for a Catholic means not only confessing/acknowledging our sin (mortal sins to a priest in confession; venial sins can just be confessed to Jesus) - but also making a firm purpose of amendment (sincere effort not to commit the sin again).

Confession of sin came up in a conversation once with a Lutheran who had converted to Catholicism. She said that as a Lutheran, when she sinned all she had to do was confess it to Jesus; no repentance in the sense of having to resist doing it again, almost like not even having to be sorry about committing the sinful act. Always remember her final comment - “It was a lot easier being a Lutheran.” Now, I’m not sure how well-versed she was in her Lutheran faith.

Nita

 

[The_Iambic_Pen]

The same two persons you mentioned:

One is willing to go to the confessor to confess. He believes through the Priest, God forgives him. He believes that Jesus gives authorities to the apostles to forgive sins.

The other said “No, I don’t want to confess my sins to anyone but God. The priest cannot forgive sins.”

What are your thoughts about this?

My thoughts are that the Protestant honestly believes that confession to a priest is not necessary (and perhaps even ridiculous, that a man should have such power). Therefore, the Protestant is not deliberately resisting what he knows to be a God-ordained confessional system. He is confessing his sins directly to God, in the way he believes is correct.

One could say that the Catholic goes to confession because he knows he must, whether he is willing or not.

I think it is incorrect to assume that all Catholics are sincere in their repentance simply because they make use of confession, while the Protestants, who do not believe in confession (as the Catholic Church understands it) are deliberately in a state of rebellion.

I think both Catholics and Protestants are fully capable of sincere repentance. I am just inclined to think that the Catholic fear of damnation due to mortal sin may induce some Catholics to repent more out of fear than out of genuine repentance. Most Protestants, at least in my experience, are not going to have this fear. As a result, there seems to be a greater possibility that the repentance is genuine.

Perfect contrition arises from love of God, and I don’t think Protestants have any advantage over Catholics in that area. Even though a Protestant may not fear going to hell because of his sins, he may still fear temporal punishment/judgment because of sin, so he could still only have imperfect contrition when he confesses.

True enough, though I think fear of temporal punishment pales in comparison to the fear of damnation.

Hi IP!

No way to know for sure, since we cannot know anyone’s heart but our own, right?True enough.

Does their ignorance allow them mitigation?

Always a fan of Scott Hahn. I loved his book, Rome Sweet Home.

My guess is that there are probably a lot less non-Catholic sinners who truly repent - in the Catholic sense. Repentance for a Catholic means not only confessing/acknowledging our sin (mortal sins to a priest in confession; venial sins can just be confessed to Jesus) - but also making a firm purpose of amendment (sincere effort not to commit the sin again).

Ah yes, this is important. I do suppose, though, that most priests have heard more than their share of repeat confessions. I think most genuinely repentant Protestants would also make a firm purpose of amendment. Whether they would succeed or not remains to be seen, of course.

Confession of sin came up in a conversation once with a Lutheran who had converted to Catholicism. She said that as a Lutheran, when she sinned all she had to do was confess it to Jesus; no repentance in the sense of having to resist doing it again, almost like not even having to be sorry about committing the sinful act. Always remember her final comment - “It was a lot easier being a Lutheran.” Now, I’m not sure how well-versed she was in her Lutheran faith.

I can identify with this…

Basically, I am not attacking the Catholic system of confession. I think it is wonderful, and I know I would greatly benefit from it. It just still seems to me that fear of Hell is less likely to be a factor when a Protestant confesses sin, than it is for the Catholic. This would, I think, make it easier for a Protestant to make an act of perfect contrition.

God bless!

 

[water]

My thoughts are that the Protestant honestly believes that confession to a priest is not necessary (and perhaps even ridiculous, that a man should have such power). Therefore, the Protestant is not deliberately resisting what he knows to be a God-ordained confessional system. He is confessing his sins directly to God, in the way he believes is correct.

I read on these forums that some Protestants don’t want to confess to a priest because of shame! How and why do you think protestants break off from the Church and among themselves? being honest…yes? how about …also being prideful?

 

[dal11]

Wouldn’t it actually be better for a catholic because they continue to repent thru out their lives. Where as a once saved always saved believer never has to repent or ask forgiveness again for the rest of their lives no matter what they’ve done. Because they’re already saved, so why would you need to repent.

 

[The_Iambic_Pen]

I read on these forums that some Protestants don’t want to confess to a priest because of shame! How and why do you think protestants break off from the Church and among themselves? being honest…yes? how about …also being prideful?

Well, most Protestants alive today never broke off from the Church. They were born already broken off, I guess you could say. However, yes, I think there is much truth in what you say. Protestants don’t really want to share their deepest, darkest sins with another person. Since we can’t see God face to face, it is much easier to confess to Him directly.

Wouldn’t it actually be better for a catholic because they continue to repent thru out their lives. Where as a once saved always saved believer never has to repent or ask forgiveness again for the rest of their lives no matter what they’ve done. Because they’re already saved, so why would you need to repent.

Yes, I think the Catholic is better off.

 

[slowbutfaithful]

Confession isn’t about getting forgivenof sins…

we don’t believe in the Priestly (ordained priest) confessions but that doesn’t mean we don’t face up to sin… Whats funny is that we can’t figure out how the priest can absolve you from your sin. Read how we feel we become righteuos

James 5:16

16Therefore 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.

How many Protestant believers confess their sins openly to anybody ??? It seems contradictory to me that many (most?) non-Catholic Christians cite Jas 5:16 as a reason not to confess to a Priest, but at the same time not confess their sins “to one another.”

 

[Michael_Francis]

Brilliant use of the new Multi-quote feature there IP!

 

[The_Iambic_Pen]

Why, thank you!

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Wouldn’t it actually be better for a catholic because they continue to repent thru out their lives. Where as a once saved always saved believer never has to repent or ask forgiveness again for the rest of their lives no matter what they’ve done. Because they’re already saved, so why would you need to repent.

Hi,
Im a believer in Osas and I repent on an almost daily basis for my sins. Oh and what you said above, I dont know a single Osas believer that doesnt repent of their sins. My minister is always talking about repenting of our sins. I just think you have bought into a false teaching of Osas just like some of us Protestants have bought into some false teachings we have been taught of the CC.

 

[MariaG]

The same two persons you mentioned:

One is willing to go to the confessor to confess. He believes through the Priest, God forgives him. He believes that Jesus gives authorities to the apostles to forgive sins.

The other said “No, I don’t want to confess my sins to anyone but God. The priest cannot forgive sins.”

What are your thoughts about this?

There are many people who never even consider that there are those who confess to a priest. They truly are “protesting” nothing because they do not even consider that there is any other way to confess there sins but the way they were taught, on their knees in their bedroom, at an altar call etc.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[MariaG]

My guess is that there are probably a lot less non-Catholic sinners who truly repent - in the Catholic sense. Repentance for a Catholic means not only confessing/acknowledging our sin (mortal sins to a priest in confession; venial sins can just be confessed to Jesus) - but also making a firm purpose of amendment (sincere effort not to commit the sin again).

Confession of sin came up in a conversation once with a Lutheran who had converted to Catholicism. She said that as a Lutheran, when she sinned all she had to do was confess it to Jesus; no repentance in the sense of having to resist doing it again, almost like not even having to be sorry about committing the sinful act. Always remember her final comment - “It was a lot easier being a Lutheran.” Now, I’m not sure how well-versed she was in her Lutheran faith.

Nita

I would disagree with you here. Although some may be as your friend was, many are not. I know when in a Nazarene Church, the pastor was a fan of Wesley. Weslians believe in a Holiness doctrine and part of contrition is trying to keep yourself holy in the future also.

Respectfully,
Maria

 

[MariaG]

It has occured to me recently that it may, in fact, be easier for a Protestant to make an act of perfect contrition than it is for a Catholic. Most Protestants, whether they believe in “once saved, always saved” or not, usually deny that any single sin can separate a person from their “saved” state. Therefore, when a Protestant repents of a sin, they cannot be doing so out of fear of Hell. Rather, it seems to me that they are more likely to be genuinely sorry, acting more out of a desire to reconcile themselves to God, as opposed to saving themselves from the fires of Hell.

By contrast, the Catholic who finds himself or herself in a state of mortal sin may likely find himself or herself motivated to repent primarily out of fear of Hell. My understanding is that this fear alone does not put the person in a state of perfect contrition, and therefore the Catholic is in a rather dangerous condition until he or she is able to go to confession.

I am probably way off on this, so I welcome your thoughts.

God bless!

I actually am going to go against the trend here. I base this however on my own personal experience and this may not hold true for others.

I know when a Protestant, I did in fact have perfect contrition. I do believe it was easier because there was no other way that I knew to reconcile myself with God.

But as a Catholic, I know that Christ wishes us to be reconciled with God and He instituted the Sacrament of Reconcilliation to do so. Because of this, even if I feel I have perfect contrition, I know what the Church says I am supposed to do, and feel that as a Catholic Christian, perfect contrition will include a desire to go to confession for confession of mortal sin.

As I said, just my personal experience so I don’t know how useful it is.

God Bless,
Maria