The scam known as confession

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TXatheist
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The scam known as confession

Post #1

Post by TXatheist »

I've read a bit about confession, and this is what I understand to be it's origin and purpose, and please correct me if I am wrong... Queen Mary of England wanted to keep tabs on her people, so she had them confess to the local priests, who would then tell her what her people were doing. Basically, the people gave up their deepest darkest secrets to the priest and then the priest would narc on them. If this is true, and again, correct me if I am wrong, then why would Catholics continue this ritual today?

The bible says that only god can forgive sins and that you are to confess to your father (god, not the priest "father"). And to make the whole thing more ridiculous, in my opinion, all the people have to do to be forgiven is to say a certain number of "hail Marys," the number of course being decided by the severity of the sin. Steal a pencil from work, say one hail Mary. Cheat on your wife, say twenty hail Marys. God and Jesus aren't even mentioned, you actually hail Mary.

It seems to me that Catholicism is based more on rituals and superstitions than actual religion. How does confessing to a man and then speaking a few hollow words wash your sins away and renew your ticket into heaven?
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Post #21

Post by Goat »

scottlittlefield17 wrote:God never says they can be. God says that God and God alone can forgive sins. We go through Jesus for our salvation not priests. Catholics have not been around since the beginning. If you look at early church history you will find that they did not confess using priests until later. Constantine and his father made it the standerd.
That is the logical fallacy known as 'arguement to silence.'

And, in the Jewish faith, the forgiving of sins is what every person has to do. .. if you hurt someone, you have to ask for their forgiveness, not ask god.

Where does it say that God says they CAN'T be? It is not enough to say 'God never says they can be'. Where is this issue addressed in the New Testament at all?
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

Steven Novella

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Post #22

Post by scottlittlefield17 »

If God never gave priests the power to forgive sins, they don't have it. Because God alone can forgive sins he would have had to give them the power to forgive them. And the very absence of that proves that priests do not have that power. Yes people did have to ask God to forgive them. That was the whole idea of sacrifices for sin. Now Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice so we go through him instead of the blood of the animals.

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Post #23

Post by Goat »

scottlittlefield17 wrote:If God never gave priests the power to forgive sins, they don't have it. Because God alone can forgive sins he would have had to give them the power to forgive them. And the very absence of that proves that priests do not have that power. Yes people did have to ask God to forgive them. That was the whole idea of sacrifices for sin. Now Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice so we go through him instead of the blood of the animals.
And what about the Gospel of John? Let's look at what John says


In John 20:19–23. Let me read it: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."


In John 20:23, it says 'receive the holy spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven'. That implies that sins CAN be forgiven by man.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

Steven Novella

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Post #24

Post by scottlittlefield17 »

Allow me to Quote something in regards to the binding and loosening idea in Mathew chapter 16 which is the same thing. "The two verbs dedemenon and lelymenon (binding and loosing) are both perfect passive participles which can be translated haveing been bound and having been loosed already. Those things which have been determined by God are revealed by the church on earth."

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