It is not true that Christ "set up a procedure" of confession to a priest for forgiveness of sin. From http://www.justforcatholics.org/a23.htm, we learn:
Our Lord taught us to confess our sins directly to God the Father. He told us to pray, "Our Father in heaven...forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us." Reading the New Testament we do not find a single instance of the apostles hearing private confession; nor do we find the disciples confessing to a priest.
There was no auricular confession to a priest in the early church either. Augustine gives us a snapshot of the church in the 4th and 5th century. In his Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed, Augustine writes:
How did Christians deal with sin at that time? They dealt severely with those who committed grievous sins, casting them out of the church. A period of "penance" was required before the repentant sinner was re-admitted. But what about the daily sins that all Christians commit? Did they confess them to a priest? No, they confessed directly to God in prayer, asking the Father for forgiveness. Prayer was considered sufficient for daily cleaning.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church admits that private confession first came on the scene in the seventh century:
So, private confession was introduced a full seven centuries after Christ and His apostles. Ironically the Roman Church curses us if we dare assert the plain historical fact that secret confession to a priest was not observed from the beginning:
Friend, I urge you to disregard Romes vain threats; you cannot deny the truth. If you want to follow the teaching of the Bible, and the practice of the early church, stop once and for all going to private confession to a priest. Pray to God. He knows your heart and He hears your prayers. He will certainly forgive you if you repent and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Hey Boat, here is something I see. When we are dealing with some people, sometimes we need to completely define everything we say. Example: When dealing with Mormons, for instance, they are guilty of "cult speak," meaning almost everything you say must be defined. When you say Jesus Christ, you know exactly who you a talking about, the spotless, sinless only begotten son of God. When a Mormon says Jesus Christ, it conjures up in his mind a whole different concept in his mind, not at all the Jesus of the Bible, but the Jesus of Mormonism, which is a Jesus who does not exist. Same with other words like "faith," "repent,""confession."
Make sense?
Can I have a show of hands of our FR CAtholics please?
Which of you accept the following as true...