Confession

lzbones

I came across the website http://www.venials.com and was wondering if confessing in a public forum like this is a good or bad idea. Would there be any recognition from the church that this form of confession is useful to society if the repentance is genuine (unburdening guilt). Does the nature of the public forum condone sinning or share the knowledge that we are all human and make mistakes.

Should the Vatican have a website like this ?

opinions !

philologos

No, I don't think Christians have to confess to a priest anyway, God is always with us and He is able to listen to our confessions rather than a priest.
As for that website, it seems to be all voted on and it doesn't seem to be a very religious venue of doing it, as you are taking peoples votes into account rather than what God feels about it. By reading the Bible you should be able to find that it should have all the info you need regarding sin.

fourblackdogs

lzbones wrote:

I came across the website http://www.venials.com and was wondering if confessing in a public forum like this is a good or bad idea. Would there be any recognition from the church that this form of confession is useful to society if the repentance is genuine (unburdening guilt). Does the nature of the public forum condone sinning or share the knowledge that we are all human and make mistakes.

Should the Vatican have a website like this ?

opinions !

We were always told in church to "test the spirit" when we had any doubt. Can someone not smell a rat with this online confessional?.......ie look at the last three digits of the included phone numbers! http://www.venials.com
We were also told to confess our sins only to Jesus.

Michael G

Jakkass wrote:

No, I don't think Christians have to confess to a priest anyway, God is always with us and He is able to listen to our confessions rather than a priest.

Confessing to the priest (who is primarily there to represent God, and not in his own right) is only half the story. The other half is the absolution which the priest gives in God's name together with the grace to keep to the good resolutions (what used to be called the "firm purpose of amendment") that the penitent undertakes. I know that many Protestants (and nowadays many Catholics also) think the sacrament is redundant. I can see the Protestant argument (though I know that some Anglo-Catholics don't agree with it; but I don't see how a Catholic - if he or she really addresses the theology behind it - can logically maintain that Confession, or the Sacrament of Penance to give it its correct name, can be dispensed with.

philologos

In relation to the OP, we have been advised not to judge other Christians in the book of James. Hence the online confession wouldn't abide with the teaching of Christianity.

James 4:11-12 wrote:

Do not criticise one another brothers and sisters. If you criticise fellow Christians or judge them, you criticize the Law and judge it. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law but one who judges it. God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else.

fourblackdogs

That site is definitally "of the Devil" because it tells you in its help desk to go to the Wilkipedia for information on venial sins rather than the Holy Bible. http://www.venials.com/help.html

BrianCalgary

I think thatthe purpose behind cofession gives us the ability to voice our sins, which leads to healing and a changed life as a result of the recognition.

Since priests can be trusted, they were a natural place to go.

Within the evangelical movement we are encouraged to get an accountability partner who has the obligation to ask us the difficult questions in areas that we struggle. Not to have one over on us but to help us to overcome the areas of our lives that need work.

Red Alert

I believe in confession because I prefer to refer to it by it's 'new' name - the sacrament of reconciliation. Reconciling with yourself, god and the world as a whole. To reconcile yourself, you must confess to what you have done and appreciate the gravity of it. Afterwards there is a fresh start, time to make amends and time to make a real change to everyday life.

philologos

Red Alert wrote:

I believe in confession because I prefer to refer to it by it's 'new' name - the sacrament of reconciliation. Reconciling with yourself, god and the world as a whole. To reconcile yourself, you must confess to what you have done and appreciate the gravity of it. Afterwards there is a fresh start, time to make amends and time to make a real change to everyday life.

I believe that it's important to reconcile oneself also, and I do whenever I feel I have sinned against God. However I feel that I can do this in my own privacy, while praying to God Himself, as opposed to a priest.