SINNING AND CONFESSION

1. 61

   Dave Mathewsposted 14 years ago

   I will preface this by stating the obvious. I am, by choice a Christian, meaning that I chose to adopt and follow to the best of my ability the teachings of Jesus Christ and Christianity.
   
   I was raised up in the Roman Catholic Church, BUT I chose to stay with the Catholic Church because I love the music,especially the traditional Latin,and Gregorian music. I was brought up with it and as a choir member for more than 46 years, I have enjoyed singing it as well as the more contemporary church music of the day. As a matter of fact I sing with 2 choirs,one performs only Traditional, the other Contemporary,the Mass Service is basically the same though for both. Enough though about me.
   
   The Catholic Church and especially Christianity teaches that God hates sin.
   
   BUT
   
   The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there are two kinds of sin. There is "A White Lie" or as the church calls it a "Venial Sin" and then there is the dreaded "Mortal Sin".
   
   This is where I draw the line. As far as I am concerned, a sin is a sin is a sin, and God hates sin. It's just that simple for me.
   
   "I am The Way,The Truth and The Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." Spoken by Jesus in John 14:6 KJV
    
   Christianity teaches that to be cleansed of your sins,if you confess your sins to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,accepting whole heartedly that Jesus died for the remission of sins, and then repent of your sins, you are instantly cleansed, by the blood and water of Jesus for all of your sins past present and future and have the right and the priveledge to stand before Father God, cleansed, and justified and can be considered a "Child of God" and therefore an equal heir to all that is bestowed upon Jesus.
   
   The Catholic Church teaches though, that you must confess your sins to a priest, and he has the right to choose to either forgive you through the power of Jesus, of your sins or leave them with you.
   
   The church quotes the scripture spoken to the Apostles of Jesus, by Jesus John 20:23 KJV "Whose soever sins ye remit,they are remitted them;and whose soever sins you retain,they are retained."
   
   This is where I draw another line for I believe that only Christ Jesus, who died for the remission of all sins has the right and the power to forgive sins. The priviledge of forgivness may have been passed down to the Apostles, but this priviledge is not transferable to others.
   
   Therefore to sum things up a Christians if we Confess to Jesus our sins and repent, all our sins are totally erased. If we are Catholic, first we have to confess to a Priest, then maybe or maybe not he will forgive us our sins again and again and again.
   
   If Jesus died for the remission of all sin as the Bible teaches great BUT if not, then Jesus crucifixion was for nothing, which makes Jesus and God simply a myth, an old wive's tale.
   
   The choice is yours the decision is yours, TRUE  or  FALSE ??

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   1. 69

      aguasilverposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Dave,
      
      No contest, we (all) become a Holy Priesthood when we come to faith in Christ, not faith in the church.
      
      I was born an Anglican, had Church of England on my passport! .... but God has no grandchildren, we all must come to Him by individual choice, and besides, why would I want to worship and praise England, my Saviour was Christ, not England!
      
      So God alone forgives our sins, through Christ our intercessor and mediator, and we are forgiven in His name alone, no other, so no priest  needs to present my prayers and confessions to God, except Christ, who is our High Priest.
      
      Sin is sin, and the sooner we all learn that the better things will be.
      
      You are just as much a thief for stealing a paper clip and you would be for stealing the bank.
      
      You are just as guilty for fornication as you are for homosexuality.
      
      God hates SIN, not the SINNERS.
      
      You will probably have the Satan whisperers in here soon enough, you look to be new to the forums, don't let them bait you, the local atheists see our discussions as only an opportunity to goad and bait us.
      
      Let them be, for He that is in us is greater than he that is in them.

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      1. 61

         Dave Mathewsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         You are absolutely correct, but fear not about what others wiil say to me I am grounded in My Lord Jesus and The Holy Bible.

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   2. 0

      loisryanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Good post.  I too do not believe that we have to go to a middle man to confess our sins to Jesus.  I too was raised a Catholic but because a Christian in my 20s.  No where in the Bible, maybe in the Old Testement, does it say that we have to go to a priest to confess our sins.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      True.

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2. 62

   tantrumposted 14 years ago

   Religion is about  following.
   You follow your church, temple,religious commandments.
   
   If you don't like what you're suppose to follow, just look for another church.
   But all of them will have rules to follow.
   that's what religion is about.

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3. 0

   Denno66posted 14 years ago

   Not to rile up anyone here, but, why would an all-loving being Hate anything?

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4. 63

   Mishaposted 14 years ago

   Cause it's obviously all-hating. Well, obviously, to those who don't belong to its flock.

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5. 70

   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   Sin is a term only used through religious mystic faith.
   
   The word itself, would not even be in existence, if it weren't for religion.
   
   Since religion is fake, created by man, then it's message is also fake by association.
   
   The GOD concept was brought forth through religion, therefore it's fake.
   
   Sin is supposedly evil?  So the message given to the people is that all mankind, whether or not, they believe are inheritently evil.
   
   This is false.  A baby cannot be accused as a sinner, when it's done nothing wrong to begin with, except be born. Humans are NOT born evil, they become evil in their actions, because they lack knowledge and understanding about their own individual life.
   
   Just a thought.

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6. 41

   efeguyposted 14 years ago

   Christ died for us.and is grace  still keep us alive daily

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   1. 70

      Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Christ died for other reasons, not sins.

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7. 70

   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   Jesus Christ died because others believed that CONSCIOUSNESS and FREE THOUGHT were destructive. Therefore, humans must answer to a higher authority.
   
   Jesus Christ REFUSED to teach religion. And, since he refused to teach religion, the religious/spiritual leaders killed him, because of their own greed and corruption, and control of people.
   
   Get the story straight. It's plain as day, yet people buy into the B.S. offered.
   
   Why is Jesus' works in religion? Because, it keep people under control.
   
   Plain, simple and truth.

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8. 60

   h.a.borcichposted 14 years ago

   I agree the middle man is not needed nor has the option to forgive me of my sins - only Jesus can.
   The part about retaining sins I think has more to do with refusing to ask our sin be forgiven, and also when we refuse to forgive someone else.
   Just my thoughts, Holly

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9. 60

   barbara yuliaposted 14 years ago

   From my own experience, I believe that confessing my sins to a priest brings so much good for myself.
   
   YES, Jesus died for our sins.
   
   And YES, the privilege of forgiveness was passed on to the apostles. But have you ever attended a ceremony where a priest is ordained? In that ceremony, all of the privileges given to the apostles are passed down to the priest, including forgiveness of sins.
   
   When we make errors, we not only disappoint God, but we hurt others as well. And in some cases, we are not able to get in touch with those whom we've offended.
   
   This is the priest's role. He represents not only God but also the society. And even though the priest has the right to forgive or not forgive, I've never encountered one who has never given an absolution. Because they are men who devoted their lives to following God's word, then forgiveness is always given, for the Lord is always forgiving.
   
   I have always supported the Sacrament of Penance because it's not only about confessing your sins to a priest. It's a lot more than that. It helps me to be more aware of my actions, gives me the strength to be a better person, cures me of my soul's pains due to traumatic past events, and opens my heart to experience God's grace so much more in my life.
   
   This process may take years until we can really feel the impact on our daily lives. For my part, it took more than 15 years. But I never had any regrets and I love to attend this Sacrament at least once a month. For if we really believe and if we really pray, then God himself will speak to us through the priest who is listening to our confessions, such as God would speak to us through daily events and through people we meet along the way.
   
   To Dave and everyone on this post, God bless and have a nice day. From Indonesia with love.

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   1. 74

      Mikel G Robertsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      "...Because they are men who devoted their lives to following God's word, ..."
      
      Then why do they rape/molest our children? And why do Bishops cover up the fact that they(Priests) are betrayers of our sacred trust?
      
      {EDIT} They have forfeited any right to be called special in the eyes of God or humanity by allowing the infiltration of a sacred holy place by people that have done these terrible things. We must look at them with suspicion and distrust. They are no better than any group of strangers we might happen across on the street and should be given that same level of trust and no more.

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      1. 0

         Kenrick Chatmanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Mikel, there are a few bad apples in any religious group. Even Atheists have a few bad apples.
         
         Anyone can claim they are righteous. However, actions speak louder than words. Also charlatans exist.
         
         Most importantly, we probably should not stereotype everyone in a group due to the bad apples.

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         1. 61

            brianzenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I think even the bad apples have uses.

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         2. 81

            earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Depends on the group. If that group is spouting their "religious love," then using their position to have sex with little boys I reckon they are are the worst sort of low life.
            Talk the talk... walk the walk.
            Puts a whole new meaning on "suffer the little children to come unto me."

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            1. 61

               brianzenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Not disagreeing just saying without the creeps our movies would be without villains. That would be pretty weak!

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         3. 74

            Mikel G Robertsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Trust is earned. They have betrayed that trust and I for one will not lightly trust them again.
            
            If they want the group to be held as better and more trust worthy, then the 'group' gets held to the actions of every individual in the group.
            
            One child molester in the group that is using group autonomy as a reason to be held above others (held as better than others), means the entire group suffers the consequences of the actions of any individual in the group.

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10. 81

    earnestshubposted 14 years ago

    I don't go near priests or religious fanatics.
    All the ones I have met either molest kids, spread lies, live on hate or all three.

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    1. 0

       Kenrick Chatmanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       earnestshub, did you also get a chance to meet John Wayne Gacy?

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       1. 81

          earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          No, but I do know non religious people do these things. Most don't have the trust of a billion gullible believers who trust their children with them though! You site one person. The churches have hundreds of paedophiles that are known, with hundreds if not thousands more to be discovered.
          Finally even the biggest zealots are going to have had enough of "gods love" from these disgusting lunatics.

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             brianzenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Hmmmm

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    2. 74

       Mikel G Robertsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       If someone whispers the word religion you come running...Fanatically. 

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       1. 81

          earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          And your point is? I don't see you avoiding the subject or anyone else here for that matter! If you followed other posts you would see a different story. Tell lies, or spout hate and I come running!

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