Comments on The Mom With Brownies: THE WHOLE CONFESSING TO A PRIEST THING

Hi Diane! :o) What a small world! Yes, My dad'...

2010-03-31T14:21:24.193-04:00

Hi Diane! :o)

What a small world! Yes, My dad's grandparents were Roy and Nellie also. :o) Our kids would indeed be related. How Fun!

You will find that there are many believers in our family. The Bannisters are VERY devout Protestants. My father has run a jail ministry and preached at our churches in my youth. We're quite the Jesus Freaks! LOL And THAT'S a Good Thing!

On another note, I'm a protestant still...though, my hubby has informed me that he wants to go back to his Catholic roots...most of his family are Catholic and he was raised as a Catholic as a very young child. So, I'm learning and searching...that's the best I can do for now.

Are we friends on Facebook? :o)

I so appreciate reading what you have learned abou...

2010-03-31T12:45:15.556-04:00

I so appreciate reading what you have learned about Catholics. I, too, grew up evangelical (and still am) but am being exposed to more Catholic teachings and gaining more understanding. I love what you wrote in your first post about not living your life from fear. My wonderful Baptist pastor when I was young told us, also, to be very careful in not opening our minds too wide, not being silent before God because other spirits could get in, not lighting a candle when we pray because New Agers did that. You get it. It was fear based in that sense, and I was really strong in allowing God to transform my mind through His word but lacked in allowing Him to change my heart through more mysterious ways that perhaps our Catholic friends have experienced. So much here. I see God is using you to bridge some gaps, and that's a lovely thing! My husband is related to you through the Bannisters (his grandpa was a son of Roy and Nellie), and it's a blessing to find some more believing relatives! I guess our kids are related!!

Hi Liz & Hopes Mom, :o) Some of us were really ra...

2010-03-23T17:34:13.296-04:00

Hi Liz & Hopes Mom, :o)

Some of us were really raised to believe some crazy things about Catholicism, weren't we?!

When I realized that my Catholic friends were "meaning" the same things I "meant" but were using different words to convey the message, I was stunned. It really has been a journey to discovery on my part.

I'm still journeying, I might add.

Wow. I'm speechless. Many of my own thoughts were...

2010-03-23T15:34:12.969-04:00

Wow. I'm speechless. Many of my own thoughts were splayed before my eyes while reading this and it wasn't pretty.

I am (or thought I was) an accepting "hate the sin, love the sinner" type of gal who is truly thankful for the forgiving and patient God I serve. I'm not even sure where I am with the similarities or difference in these two major religions, what I am more struck by is seeing my own thoughts in the evangelical pre (mis) conceptions listed in this blog. Wow. Some "Christ-like" person, I am.

Thanks, Shell, You've given me something huge to gnaw on. Thanks for showing me how my shallow-minded-pride-filled thoughts were oh so wrong...I'll have to get back to you on the rest! :)

I know I'm really late to this party but I wanted ...

2010-02-26T10:32:19.930-05:00

I know I'm really late to this party but I wanted to clarify something for Lori. I find many Non-Catholics taking the same quotes out of context from the Vatican website to say the Catholics believe that if someone isn't Catholic, he/she is damned. The EXACT opposite is true.

Here is the "money" quote.
“It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church”[12].

So where my Protestant family says that I am damned because I am a "Papist", Catholics believe that anyone who walks in the steps of Chirst can make it to heaven.

Historically The false teaching that the sinners p...

2009-09-28T18:42:21.627-04:00

Historically The false teaching that the sinners prayer does anything is mainly a pentecostal thing. Its a virus thats running rampant nowdays,
but false doctrines have been running around ever since 100 AD. This is nothing new, just classic man making himself more powerful then God.
If a person is truly saved, (has faith in christ as Lord and submits to that lordship) then he is truly saved and yes its permanent.
I am a baptist, and Ill be the first to tell you the sinners prayer is an evil doctrine not supported by scripture.

In all fairness there really is a significant diff...

2009-04-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

In all fairness there really is a significant difference between a priest granting absolution and a protestant pastor declaring your sins are forgiven. Catholic doctrine teaches that the protestant pastor absolutely (no pun intended) can not do what the priest is doing when the priest grants absolution. Catholic teaching maintains that the priest is acting under an authority handed down through apostolic succession and that the priest can only be vested with this authority by the Roman Catholic church. So there is clearly something different going on (according to Catholic teaching) when a priest grants absolution than there is when a protestant pastor declares that someone's repentance has resulted in their forgiveness. The priest is literally "granting" absolution, not just announcing it. He is doing exactly what Christ did when He forgave sins (and was confronted by the Pharisees who considered it blasphemy since they didn't believe He had the authority to forgive sins).

Hi Lori,Sure we could name all of our differences....

2009-02-18T16:09:00.000-05:00

Hi Lori,

Sure we could name all of our differences. I would rather focus on what we have in common because unity brings discussion and friendly discussion binds that unity. :o)

Glass half full? Glass half empty?

Though, I would LOVE to chat in person with you sometime. I'm sure we'd have some long conversations. LOL

Believe me, I have many catholic friends and we do...

2009-02-18T13:57:00.000-05:00

Believe me, I have many catholic friends and we do have a lot in common and they are a blessing to me. However, that does not mean that I should ignore the differences of our faiths.

I will leave it at that. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

Hi Lori, Yes, of course Catholic and Evangelical d...

2009-02-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

Hi Lori,

Yes, of course Catholic and Evangelical doctrines are different. In fairness, if we pick on the Catholic church doctrine for stating they are the only "real church" we must also pick on the Protestant churches who believe their way is the only way also.

The cause of these posts are not to say that we all believe every detail in the same way, but to say that we are all more alike than we are different.

Do we have differences in some of our belief system? Yes.
Do we all hold Jesus dear to our hearts? Yes.
Can our knowledge grow as time and the Holy Spirit leads us with discernment? Yes.

Those are the points of unity between our sisters and brothers in Christ.

It is relatively safe to say that each Evangelical does not believe EVERYTHING their church doctrine states. It is also safe to say that each Catholic does not believe EVERYTHING their church doctrine states. Interpretation is the key! :o)

It is my hope that in learning more about the practice of Catholicism and the practice of Evangelical worship, we can learn that we are more alike than we may think. That has been a huge eye opener for me and I hope that it has been a blessing to others also. :o)

It is in their current catechism where it says "Ou...

2009-02-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

It is in their current catechism where it says "Outside their church there is no salvation"
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p3.htm

And even more recently their current Pope Benedict clarified that the Second Vatican Council "neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine..." He also said:

"these venerable Christian communities lack something in their condition as particular churches"

"these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church...because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery[19] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense"

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html

Here is one reference for Vatican IIhttp://tinyurl...

2009-02-17T17:50:00.000-05:00

Here is one reference for Vatican II

http://tinyurl.com/dce9t7

Hi Lori,Thank you for your comment. I will say th...

2009-02-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

Hi Lori,

Thank you for your comment. I will say that your research is very good, however you have missed the newest information regarding the last Vatican session of the Catholic Church. The interpretation session, if you will, was 50 years ago and the reforms are still being set in motion today.

There were many interpretations given at that last meeting of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul XXIII stated that "it was time to drag the church out of the Dark Ages and into the Modern World."

If you read up on Vatican II you may be very interested in the newest revelations from the Catholic Church. :o)

I hope that helps. The dialogue is wonderful! :o)

I have found it better to go the source when looki...

2009-02-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

I have found it better to go the source when looking for answers. In the 14th session of the Council of Trent the Catholic Church has declared that this very penance of forgiveness is necessary for salvation and also states that if people disagree that confessing to a priest alone is NOT required then they are eternally condemned (anathema). So I either have to agree that confession to a priest is necessary for my salvation and an institution of God or I am condemned by them. Yes, I know, most catholics don't seem to believe that, but it is what their church believes, whether they know that or not.

In fact, according to their catechism it says "Outside the Church their is no salvation" (the header to sections 846-848.) In that they mean their own magesterium leadership, not the universal church as Pentecostals refer to it. We must also remember that these documents are held by them to have the same authority as Scripture (Catechism 81-82) and they claim that only they have the power and authority to interpret Scripture (100).

So while your friends may not mean this or mean that, their church actually does.

Great job explaining the sacrament of Reconciliati...

2009-02-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

Great job explaining the sacrament of Reconciliation! We do believe that it is a sacrament and that is also another aspect of the Catholic faith that is different from Protestants. Usually when I go to confession the priest will give me a few prayers to say. I've never had to do community service. But I suppose it would depend on what your sins were. And no we are not saved after going to Reconciliation. This act is just a way to help improve our life and grow closer to Jesus. We are all sinners and will return to confession again. Great post! I enjoyed reading both of them.

Hi Heather,Well, In my mind it went something like...

2009-02-01T00:59:00.000-05:00

Hi Heather,

Well, In my mind it went something like this...

You walked in and said,
forgive me father for I have sinned it has been 1 week since my last confession...
Then he would say something like, Okay my child what have you done?
Then you would say,
I cussed, ate too much, drove too fast, drank too much and told my mother-in-law to shut up.

Then he would say, Say 2 hail Mary's. I forgive you of your sins.

And then you thank him and go off to sin some more and think nothing of it until you see your priest again! ACK!

We are basically told that the priest has the power to forgive you and Jesus died for nothing because he gave all of his power to priests and that was that.

I believe many, if not most protestants think this type of scenerio! We are told that the "priest forgives their sins" We are never told that you pray to Jesus and the priest is quoting scripture through the authority of Christ. We are basically told that you worship Mary and Jesus is the last think on a Catholic's mind.

Isn't that sad?!

I know I helped with this post, but I'm really cur...

2009-01-31T21:07:00.000-05:00

I know I helped with this post, but I'm really curious.
What DID you think happened during Confession?
I mean, you knew we went into the little box and... what?

Heather and Johanne,I'm happy that I'm getting thi...

2009-01-31T18:16:00.000-05:00

Heather and Johanne,

I'm happy that I'm getting this down pat. :o)

Johanne,

MOST Evangelical and/or Protestants do NOT believe that one prayer will do the trick. There is a sect of Protestants that believe that but the VAST Majority of Protestant churches teach that we must "pick up our cross daily." We are taught to pray and ask forgiveness at bed-time or whenever we feel that our countenance is falling. We are taught that we have the ability to do something called "back-slide." A back-slidden Christian is one who has given up living for Christ and has not been "trying" to live for Him. (that's an entire post for another day and would most assuredly be longer than this one! LOL)

So, to answer your queston, Evangelicals are constantly seeking the Holy Spirit to lead us. We are asked and taught to be prayerful at ALL times lest we fall. Keeping our sights on Christ is another buzz phrase often spoken in Evangelical churches.

I hope that helped! This is awesome! :o)

Great job :) Um, I'm going to sound really stupid...

2009-01-31T16:27:00.000-05:00

Great job :) Um, I'm going to sound really stupid here... so do you mean that most protestants really don't believe that they can just say "Jesus, save me", and they are saved forever no matter what they do? I really believe(d) that many evangelical protestants believe that. Once saved, always saved.

I will also say that you seem to have gotten the Catholic teaching on Reconcilliation down correctly. But, be aware there are some Catholics (priests even :( ) that give Catholics a bad name through poor catechesis. Protestants may have misconceptions about what Catholics believe (or are supposed to believe), because they are only going by what they've been told by their misinformed Catholic aquaintances.

Whenever a question arises on Catholic teaching, the answer can usually be found in the catechism. And that answer in turn will usually have several biblical references :)

What abundant and overflowing Catholic parishes we would have if every Catholic took the time to learn Catholic teaching as you have!

Thanks for going through this, I'm enjoying reading it, and learning some things myself :)

Two things, neither one of which are corrections b...

2009-01-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

Two things, neither one of which are corrections because you did such a spectacular job.

1. The little thing we do before going in for Confession is called (technical term) 'Examination of Conscience.' You can find little pamphlets that list questions based on the Ten Commandments, like: Have I put other things like money, television shows, or other worldly goods as more important than Christ? That's a violation of the first. Or 'Have I abused my body with drugs or alcohol?' is a violation of "Thou shalt not kill."

2. Confession is also called "Reconciliation." Now, you really aren't reconciling your relationship with the priest since you didn't sin against him, right? So Who Else must you be reconciling yourself with? :)
(I know you get it; that's just to help with your other readers.)