Bible Question:
Emmaus, I am very confused about certain aspects of Catholicism. I ask that you please remember that I am not familiar with the faith and do not mean to offend by my words. I simply want to understand the differences. In response, I agree that one must pay for the wrongs he did. However, I see a distinction between salvation and punishment, which you seem to imply are the same (correct me if I am wrong). Yes, we all, if possible must atone, or make restitution, for our sins. This is what I call punishment, not salvation. Nor was I speaking about being rescued (saved) from circumstances in one's life. I was referring to the forgiveness of sins. BC, the blood of Christ was represented by the blood of sacrificial animals. Therefore many of the "rituals" for lack of better word are no longer necessary for forgiveness of sin. In Catholicism, I see man forgiving man's sins and God is seemingly cut out of the picture. I don't understand why a priest is able to absolve a person's sin by telling him to say the rosary a number of times, or pay a penance fee to the church. It clearly says in the Bible that only God forgives sins. Why then is it necessary for a practicing Catholic to attend confession if he has made himself right before God and those he offended? I would better understand the necessity if the person made a public confession, but anything said to the priest in the booth is confidential. So what is the point? How is saying the rosary an atonement for a lie made to someone else? Another few questions, why is a priest not required to provide testimony to murder if the priest knows who did it? Where in the Bible (please do not include the Apocrypha) does it say that a person does not need to bear testimony against those who have done wrong against the laws of the land? Wouldn't the priest not become an accomplice? And how does he know to weigh the sin of the murderer or thief against the pain experienced by the injured party or party's family? In Christ, Estelle |
Bible Answer: Estelle, It was not my intention to stir up such a hornets' nest nor to start a catechism class on Catholic sacraments. I merely wished to correct a misrepresentation of Catholic belief. I do not assume any ill will on your part in making the comment. I presume you are misinformed. A review of my postings will show that I have already addressed a number of these subjects at the request of others, not on my own initiative. In reference to your questions on Confession please go to the search function on the right hand of the screen and type in ID# 38541 and click on SEARCH. When you get to that thread go down until you get to my post dated 3-12-02, 6:37 pm. I covered this ground with Ed at that time in a series of posts. Emmaus |