A sinner...:)

[beata]

OK, you might find it funny at first, but when you think about it, you might come to some conclussions...
Just before the Easter I went to the Church for a confession. I felt I needed that. SO I talked to the priest, told him all my sins (don't worry, there weren't many of them!!!) and waited for him to say that I can go...But he started asking different questions about my personal, intimate life and told me that I had not told him all my sins...Ok, I'll have to say that...The point is that due to him, even kissing with somebody you're not married to is a sin...I disagreed with him and he told me I was wrong and I should think it over...Isn't it funny? What? Does he expect me to be sorry for that and say that I'll never do it again? The same thing is with drinking alcohol, smoking and the stuff alike. I can't say I'm sorry for that....
It made me think how much the priests can force on us. I mean, this is some kind of brainwashing. They want us to feel guilty for something that gives us pleasure...I just wonder whether it is written there in the Bible that eg. you can't kiss. I doubt it...
OK, that would be all. Don't laugh at me. Maybe only those Polish priests are like that and you might not understand it.

[Foggy]

I can promise you this -- I am not laughing at you.

Beata, I know nothing of priests.. but I know preachers, and there are probably a lot of similarities. You received one man's opinion, not God's.

I am sorry, my dear lady. You went seeking forgiveness and solace, and received guilt and condemnation. But fortunately, it is God who forgives... and He sees your heart. He has already forgiven you for your true sins, which He knows, because you asked Him to.

[This message has been edited by Foggy (edited 27 April 2000).]

[beata]

OK Fog, but what if one day I won't be given forgivness by a priest. I might feel that God forgave me everything but the Church won't think so. Isn't it stupid that so much depends on this whole organisation we call Church? Of course, people who interpret the Bible and teach us what is written there are needed, but how far can they go? There are so many things they tell us to do or not to do (well, to straight things out- I'm a Roman Catholic) which have no relevance with the Bible. It's just something they think is right or wrong. I hope you know what I mean. And thanks for treating me seriously.

[Johnson123]

Beata,

A church should seek to be a congregation of people and not an organization of business. I'm sorry you have these feelings but if you were raised that way it may be difficult to change.
Sounds like you have changed though.

REX xx

[beata]

Meaning?
I don't think I have changed...Or maybe...A little...For worse?

[johnstruthers]

Foggy said it all: You received one man's opinion, not God's. And don't worry about your moral compass, you're probably doing just fine. For the record, Orthodox priests don't interrogate you, as this Roman priest chose to do. Most of them are married, and know that kissing is just fine, thank you. In the Orthodox confession, you first ask forgiveness, then the priest asks if you have forgiven those who have offended you. If you forgive, you are forgiven. Pretty straightforward stuff.

Jews have something similar, in which they verbalize the axiom. They say something like, okay, God, can I be forgiven now, since I've forgiven everyone who has ticked me off? We intuit the need to forgive and be forgiven, it seems, and we understand the intuition as divinely inspired.

So, kissy, kissy, kissy, Beata, you're okay. Now, say five Our Fathers and ten Hail Mary's...

[beata]

Ha, I had to say 10 Our Fathers and Hail Marys as well