How Do You See Sin, Confession, and Atonement?

Great Debates
1

I don’t want to hijack the thread on Purgatory, but I wanted to have a deeper look at some of the points which were made. I’m interested in learning what people think about doing wrong, the need to admit it, and the need to make amends for it.

The Episcopal church teaches that you must make a formal confession of your sins before Communion (aka, The Eucharist, The Lord’s Table, etc.). A priest or bishop, acting for God then pronounces your sins to be forgiven. Normally, no specific atonement is required. Here’s one standard Confession:

(from the Episcopal Church’sBook of Common Prayer, Holy Eucharist, Rite II)
Formal, one-on-one confession to a priest isn’t usually required, but there was one time when I deliberately did something which broke one of the most important vows I had made to God when I felt it was necessary. I wasn’t given any penance because I clearly was repentent enough, and the guilt I was feeling was probably penance enough. I was, however, told to be a bit more careful in future. Since I think most Episcopal priests also have some training in counseling, I like the idea of having formal confession available as an option, even if I hope to never need to use it again.

Pretty much all Christians believe God forgives our sins. Most believe we need to acknowledge them first, but I suspect we can sin without being conscious of it, i.e. was I failing to love my neighbor as myself when I didn’t let that person make a left turn in front of me, or was I simply in a hurry? Who do you acknowledge them too?

Atonement’s another sticky area. If a friend ruins your favorite jacket, while you may accept their apology, you might want them to do something more like offering to replace it. God does love us, but He also does judge us. Theoretically, Christ was a full and sufficient sacrifice. Theoretically, a good friendship is also worth a lot more than a ruined jacket, but can an arguement be made that something must still be done?

I’ve focussed mostly on Christianity because that’s what I know best. I’m also interested in other religions’ perspective on these three issues, as well as other denominations’. Even our atheists must have an opinion on what to do when you screw up.

I’m looking forward to reading your replies.
CJ

2

There are different ways to approach it. For example, I have seen people who know they are going to sin, sin, apologize for the sin, and then say that it’s all okay 'cus God accepts their confession. Seems to me to be a bit ridiculous.

If you are just confessing that you screwed up, I don’t quite see the need for that. I mean, can’t your God see into your heart and know if you really mean it? Why the need to vocalize it?

The whole thing seems to just be a way for people to get away with whatever they did and ease their conscience.

3

Well, easing your conscience seems to be a pretty good idea to me. Do you want to go thru life with all your sins (screw-ups, etc.) still on your conscience? A confession and asking forgiveness sure beats the hell out of paying a psychologist an hourly rate.

4

CJ

I don’t know whether my opinion will be of value to you, but here’s how I see the three: (1) sin is a decision made by the spirit, and born in the heart, to turn away from God; (2) confession is admission to God of what He simultaneously doesn’t yet know, knows, and has always known; and (3) atonement is the reconciliation of God to man, and has already been accomplished.

5

Sin? There is no “sin.” It’s something invented by Christianty to slap on the innocents; a classic case of blaming the victim.

Since there is no sin, there’s no need for any silly confession or atonement.

6

Sin was invented by Christianity? References to sin appear as early as Genesis 4.

7

Which, of course, was why the Greeks already had a concept of '[symbol]amartia[/symbol] (hamartia) that Paul could use in his writings with no explanation, since his audience was already familiar with both the word and the concept.

It would be interesting, in fact, if one could find any culture that had no concept of actions that put one outside the bounds of society or interpersonal relations. Different cultures express those situations differently, but no culture lacks a concept of ethics or morality with a corresponding concept that to violate some set of precepts will put one at odds with the Creator or the Source or the All or whatever.

8

And this shall be an eternal law for you. Each year on the tenth day of the seventh month you must fast and do no work. This is true of the native born and of the proselyte who comes to join you. This is because on this day you shall have all your sins atoned, so that you will be cleansed. Before G-d you will be cleansed of your sins. It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and a day upon which you must fast. This is a law for all time. (Leviticus 16:29-31)

The three aspects of this topic (Sin, confession and atonement) are all central to the concept of Yom Kippur.

On Yom Kippur, we are reminded that what we do for a living has no correlation to our worthiness before G-d. Everyone is equal. The only thing that matters is our behavior to our friends, our spouses, our parents, our children, and our community. There is no open confession of individual sin, but public confession of the sins that are a by-product of human behaviour.

Since Yom Kippur is the day to ask forgiveness for promises broken to G-d, the day before is reserved for asking forgiveness for broken promises between people, as G-d cannot forgive broken promises between people.

When G-d judges a person, He doesn’t simply weigh his sins and good deeds on a scale. Rather, He judges the individual himself. What is he? What does he represent? True, a person’s essential being depends on his past actions; but he is actually judged for the “gestalt” of his being, the whole and not the parts.

Can a person undo a sin? What’s done is done! Only a miracle could wipe away the negative consequences of a misdeed. Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in his classic “Path of the Just” explains that atonement is a miraculous phenomenon. It enables a person to undo the spiritual effects of what is already done. Repentance can erase a misdeed, or even turn it into a good deed! That is the miracle of miracles.

9

I’m waiting for Urban Ranger’s confession and atonement for the inaccurate claim posted above.

In the world of debate, of course, that’s “I acknowledge the error,” or “I retract the statement.”

Amazing how seldom that happens. I do not, of course, suggest that intellectual honesty is tied to any particular religion or lack thereof. People unwilling to admit error span the gulf from fundamentalist religious to fundamentalist atheist.

  • Rick
10

My heart turns away from the Lord. This is a sin. Behavior is usually the cause, although not always. It is the turning that harms my spirit. What I have done is not a secret from the Lord. What I do, is hide my self from Him. That doesn’t work, of course, but it does keep me from seeing Him. So, I must confess, to Him. Not because He doesn’t know, but because to do so, I must turn again to face Him. And when I do, the love He has for me can freely flow into my heart again, because I will let it happen.

Atonement is the matter of the love in my heart, not the bottom line here on earth. It is the exercise of God’s love for those whom I have harmed. His love in my heart compels me to seek out those whom I have injured, and seek to help heal whatever harm they have experienced. It is not limited to “making up” for my behavior, or “replacing” what might have been lost. I am obligated to love them, as I should always have loved them all along. It can mean a lifetime of service, for a small fault, and still carry divine justice. These brief years are nothing, in the endless halls of eternity. The child of God is my child too, and my love for His child must be as much like His own as ever I can make it.

Even unconfessed, and unrepentant, I am loved by the Lord. It is not because of my merit, but because of the divinity of His soul. It is I who have gotten lost and need to be found, not Him.

Tris

“We have met the enemy and it is us.” ~ Walt Kelly, Pogo ~