Original Sin?

Quote: FrGamble

Sure you can and should confess your sins directly to God! Confession is a sacramental gift that helps us to know we are forgiven. The Lord knows that we need tangible expressions of His love that we can touch, feel, and hear. The Sacraments are tangible expressions of God's love for us.

Bob is so wrong about what both Catholics and protestants believe. Evil thoughts are of course unhealthy and wrong, but they alone wouldn't condemn you to He'll. However, we all know that thoughts are the seeds of action so we have to be careful. All Christians recognize that thoughts can be sinful, but you don't have to and really can't or shouldn't confess all our thoughts that would be sinful.

Quote: FrGamble

Bob is so wrong about what both Catholics and protestants believe. Evil thoughts are of course unhealthy and wrong, but they alone wouldn't condemn you to He'll. However, we all know that thoughts are the seeds of action so we have to be careful. All Christians recognize that thoughts can be sinful, but you don't have to and really can't or shouldn't confess all our thoughts that would be sinful.

So, you can pick and choose which sins should be confessed versus those you keep to yourself?

Quote: aceofspades

So, you can pick and choose which sins should be confessed versus those you keep to yourself?

Of course. Only mortal or deadly sins need to be confessed. However, often people desire to confess other sins and be reminded of God's love. St. John Paul II used to go to confession at least every week.

Quote: FrGamble

Of course. Only mortal or deadly sins need to be confessed. However, often people desire to confess other sins and be reminded of God's love. St. John Paul II used to go to confession at least every week.

Quote: aceofspades

So, you can pick and choose which sins should be confessed versus those you keep to yourself?

I would tell somebody if they just had
to confess, find a shrink. Priests are
the last people you should confess to.
There is page after page on the net
of people posting about their bad
experiences with confessing to
priests.

They're very judgemental, that's
their job. Some of them cross
over the line and say nasty things
to people, or weird sexual things.
Or say things to make them
feel guilty.

Priests and not trained shrinks.
They aren't there to help you,
they hear confession because it
makes the confessor feel vulnerable
and puts the priest in a position
of power.

Just look at the history of confession.
It wasn't made a sacrament until
the 13th century. A priest would
meet the person face to face in
private, who led to horrendous
abuse of women by priests. So
in the 16th century the 'dark box'
was invented.

But even the box had problems:

It was specifically to keep penitents separate from their confessors... But now a new kind of seduction becomes possible. You have these women in the dark, whispering into the priests’ ears. It paved the way for abuse, and by the 19th century, the practice had again largely broken down because of that. Confession in the box had an amazing shaping effect on the way that people thought about themselves. It helped foster a very private, and very modern, sense of inferiority and guilt.

What really killed confession was
prior to 1900, a boy had to be
12 or 13 to give confession. The
Church lowered it to 7, and behold
the rampant pedophilia begins.
Stats show 1/3 of caught priests
say molesting boys begins in
the vulnerable confession setting.

It's all about power, that's why
it was started. Insidious is the
exact right word for it.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/02/16/catholic-confession-steep-price/NbMVFfYljv26Gcphu17yPJ/story.html

Such lies, falsehoods, and slander from Bob.

Let me just reiterate that confession is a beautiful thing for both priest and penitent. It is all about helping people know how loved they are by God and giving them peace through forgiveness. Priests are rigoursly trained not to be psychiatrists, but to be humble and loving confessor. If you don't believe me then make an appointment to talk to a priest or stop by any Church on Saturday during confession hours. I guarantee you that you will have a good experience and see clearly how ridiculous Bob's claims are.

Quote: FrGamble

Such lies, falsehoods, and slander from Bob.

Let me just reiterate that confession is a beautiful thing for both priest and penitent. It is all about helping people know how loved they are by God and giving them peace through forgiveness. Priests are rigoursly trained not to be psychiatrists, but to be humble and loving confessor. If you don't believe me then make an appointment to talk to a priest or stop by any Church on Saturday during confession hours. I guarantee you that you will have a good experience and see clearly how ridiculous Bob's claims are.

IF "God" is in everyone and everything, then wouldn't those who feel connected to "God" already know it loves him (I use "it" as it would be mighty weird if "God" had a gender as we define it)

Quote: aceofspades

IF "God" is in everyone and everything, then wouldn't those who feel connected to "God" already know it loves him (I use "it" as it would be mighty weird if "God" had a gender as we define it)

Sure they would and they do. Just like a husband and wife know they love each other. However, sometimes we still need a hug or to hear the words, "I love you."

Quote: Evenbob

It was specifically to keep penitents separate from their confessors... But now a new kind of seduction becomes possible. You have these women in the dark, whispering into the priests’ ears. It paved the way for abuse, and by the 19th century, the practice had again largely broken down because of that. Confession in the box had an amazing shaping effect on the way that people thought about themselves. It helped foster a very private, and very modern, sense of inferiority and guilt.
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The sexual obsessions of the earliest priestly celibates and the abuse of confession resulted in the suffering of untold millions of everyday Catholics. For centuries, priests functioned as "forensic" interrogators, coercing or merely persuading men, women and children to reveal the secrets for which they should feel most ashamed. The institutional obsession with sexual sin tells us that clergy were themselves tortured by guilt.

This is what confession was intended
for, the controlling of people through
the gathering of private information.
Of course priests are taught the rainbows
and lolipops version in seminary,
but confession has been used since
it's inception to put people in a
very vulnerable position with a
father figure in their lives. So the
priests abused the power, without
penalty. And still do, it's in the
news all the time.