I have a new topic for you to ponder.
Modern protestantism, thanks to Martin Luther, does not observe the official rite of Confession, nor does the Anglican church. Instead, we either 1) admit to God our shortcomings and sins in private, either in solitary prayer or at an evangelical "alter call," or 2) admit to God those sins in public, but only in a vague and general way, by reciting the prayer in the penitential order during the holy Eucharist, as noted below:
The Deacon or Celebrant then says
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Minister and People
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
The Protestant take on confession depends solely on the person confessing, and that all too often leads down a road of psychological extremes. Either we say we're sorry but don't mean it because, for all practical purposes, our sin carried no real consequences (I said my prayer to God, but no one else has to know, so really, who's watching to make sure I don't do it again?), or we can't get the guilt of something off our chest (it's like God doesn't hear me!) and thus carry it around like a dead weight, never coming to absolution.
Within the Catholic churches, however, the rite of confession (the "sacrament of penance") is still used, but we all know that the sale of indulgences, among other abuses, causes the rite to lose its usefulness; the priest becomes to powerful with his ability to grant or deny absolution, and penitence loses its gravity when we may instead "buy" our way out of it.
So it would seem that either extreme has its weaknesses. The Catholic confession grants too much power to the person running the confessional, and the Protestant confession is vague or nonexistent. Either way, we may "get out of" confessing, or even admitting, our sins, by buying our way out or by faking repentance.
I suggest that the observance of official confession (ie, admitting one's faults, sins and shortcomings to a "man of the cloth") be mandated within the Christian church. That said, I also suggest that the rite be slightly altered, such that the "Minister of the sacrament" holds no power of absolution over the penitent. If we do not have some form of official confession, we are never held accountable to those people around us whom our sinning actually affects. If we have an official, personal absolution from confession which is determined only by an individual priest, then we give the priest too much power. So we must strike a balance, and that solution must be mandated such that it is required of all, lest any person think themselves immune from the true consequences of sin. If we are forced to admit our sins before man (and not just before God), then we are "actually" (as in, "in actuality") held accountable for them. Psychologically, we recognize the consequences of our actions even if no penance is prescribed, and thus we learn from our mistakes and are not as likely to repeat them. Additionally, we are relieved of the burden of carrying that psychological weight, at least a little bit. We are grounded in reality by admitting our shortcomings to another human being, and aren't then likely to blow them out of proportion because we have no base from which to begin.
So that's my topic for the day - a mandated, but slightly altered, sacrament of confession within the church. Thoughts?
5 comments:
Funny thing, for I am doing a speech about Martin Luther. And I saw this. I do believe that we need a space for personal confession with a trusted person. One can do it with a lay person, athough he or she has no authority to grant absolution. And there are many a times when I took this route. And it does work because when two or three of us are gather, Christ is there. And we can forgive each other and ourselves.
I think having the option present for one to 'confess' is a great one, though I agree with Teddy that it need not (in principle) be delivered to an ordained person (but there are benefits to this 'standardisation'). However, I think the benefit of a form of confession is largely dependent on the individual personal desire confess.
I hate to throw practical issues into a good theological debate ;-) but... the problem with mandating confession is that, in the cases where a person is not going to do so of their own accord, they are not necessarily going to actually 'confess' their sins if they are forced to go through the ritual. There is nothing to stop them from withholding information, or from understating the magnitude of their sins, in order to reduce the 'public' impact of actions. Unless we're going to introduce 'confession via torture,' of course ;-)
Furthermore, extra official and standardised focus on confession must approached with care, be sure not to overemphasis it as a mechanism toward absolution (by which I do mot mean directly from the priest) - for fear the system further encourages an attitude of 'I can do whatever I like providing I confess someone about it later to absolve my conscience.'
Ultimately (and perhaps sadly), I think that it is only those who are already searching to improve their lives through a deeper personal knowledge of God who really benefit from confession. Confessing to a person may be 'embarrassing' but it does not necessarily alleviate the chance of confessing with the mouth and not the heart.
From Coach...
I have confessed and fallen again. I have looked him in the eye and asked for forgiveness but he denied me. I have turned to God itself to release me from the grasp of the devil and because I meant it, I was set free.
Confession is a spiritual state with many dimensions. Which dimension allows you to speak the truth may be more important then the method.
I do realize that I'm being a bit idealistic; perhaps it is a personality flaw of mine. Perhaps, too, I am still waiting for retribution against those who "repay me evil for good." I personally know people who, despite all effort, will never truly understand or acknowledge what they've done.
Coach, I think you're right. Perhaps it is something I need to keep between myself and God, perhaps I need to confess to a priest, perhaps I need to visit a psychologist. It's obviously going to depend on the individual and the circumstances. That said, I still think that, as it stands, the Protestant churches demand too little in terms of public acknowledgment of sinful behavior.
Kelly, do you remember when Jesus says "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing"? There are times when I do not know what I am doing and I still ask for forgiveness and I forgive all whether any know what that person is doing or not know.
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