During Lutheran Confession, can the confessor refuse to absolve the sins of the penitent?
Upvote:0
I'm not a theological expert, however, the Lutheranism that I know identifies the confession with the affirmation of a person's baptismal covenant. Confession witnesses to our faith in God to forgive and make us new in the new covenant with Jesus. It would be very improper for a Lutheran to go to communion without identifying themselves (i.e. confession) as a sinner that sincerely desires to change. My understanding is that those that are not sincere (and only God know's our hearts) reject the covenant and risk having their heart progressively blinded to God's truth. The people that are sincere, should find that the gift of communion causes real action toward being a new person.
Upvote:2
First and foremost, nobody - neither Catholic nor Protestant - believes that a priest "forgives" sins. At best, they act as an intermediary, supplicating to Jesus, who alone forgives sin.
As the Cathecism of the Catholic church states:
Only God forgives sins. The priest is the sign and the instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner. The confessor is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant. The minister of this sacrament should unite himself to the intention and charity of Christ
Whether or not a priest chooses to exercise this role, in any form of Christianity, is up to the priest.
As an intermediary between man and God, Lutherans do not believe that a priest has an absolute lock on forgiveness. Indeed, as with most Protestants, Lutherans do not believe that the priest is doing anything except for incarnating the action that Jesus himself performs in forgiveness.
Put another way, Luterhans would not see the priest as having any particular monopoly on the granting of forgiveness. As a practical matter as well, the priesthood of all believers means that in reality, any believer any seek forgiveness from any other. (Note: While this doctrine is usually associated with Baptists, Luther himself subscribed to the notion, if not the term.)
As such, if a priest didn't pronounce absolution, it would be a trivial matter for the penitent to secure another "priest" who would, or even find his forgiveness directly through prayer with the Lord.
More post
- 📝 How is Christ's death so significant?
- 📝 Do I get a second chance to believe in Jesus after I die?
- 📝 Does eternal functional subordination replace the two natures theory?
- 📝 Can a diocesan priest become a missionary?
- 📝 Transcendence of God in the New Testament
- 📝 What about all those who just don't know?
- 📝 What is the difference between Soul and Spirit?
- 📝 What is the connection between Charity and Virtues according to Aquinas?
- 📝 Did 17th century Reformed Christians reject textual criticism?
- 📝 Did Pelagius believe in "faith alone"?
- 📝 How does the Mormon Church reconcile the following claim with the Bible? "The Church of Jesus Christ was well established in the time of Adam."
- 📝 Is the American version of the "Father Abraham" song anti-Christian?
- 📝 Did Paul change his teaching regarding Jesus? Rom 9:5
- 📝 Why are sandals considered to be unholy?
- 📝 What is the basis for the argument that Jesus DID NOT have the ability to sin or give in to temptation?
- 📝 According to Catholicism did Pope Linus know that he was the Pope and Head of the Church?
- 📝 In Matthew 26:63-64, does the high priest think that the Messiah is Son of God?
- 📝 Why do we focus on faith in Jesus' death and resurrection vs other kinds of faith?
- 📝 What does 1 Corinthian 2:15 mean?
- 📝 What is the original language that each of these books were written in?
- 📝 According to Catholic Tradition, what is Jesus doing right now?
- 📝 Are faith and proof mutually exclusive?
- 📝 Wall numbers in German church / during German burial ceremony
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for hearing God's audible voice today?
- 📝 If God is power beyond this reality, is there an infinite measurement of possibilities?
- 📝 What animals were in Eden?
- 📝 What is the biblical meaning of "believe"?
- 📝 Was St. John Chrysostom Pelagian?
- 📝 What's so bad about monoergism and monothelitism?
- 📝 Eating of which non-fish animals does not go against the dietery law of the Roman Catholic Church?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 During Lutheran Confession, can the confessor refuse to absolve the sins of the penitent?
- 📝 Is a confession valid if I only voice the sins I'm comfortable sharing and confess the rest in my heart to God?
- 📝 What sins can be absolved only by a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 How can anointing the sick confer forgiveness of sins in Catholicism?
- 📝 What was the origin of repeated confession of fault during the Act of Contrition?
- 📝 Under What Conditions Can a Priest Validly Refuse to Absolve Sins?
- 📝 If a priest makes a major mistake during confession, can he later talk to the person to correct themselves?
- 📝 Why do Catholics have to go to regular confession to have their sins forgiven if they pray The Lord's Prayer and ask for forgiveness daily?
- 📝 How can Jesus rule the earth during the second coming, if he is only in Jerusalem?
- 📝 Can someone atone for the sins of another, in the life after death, if they asked this grace from Our Lord before their own death in this life?
- 📝 Where in the Catechism can one read about sins of omission?
- 📝 How can I best communicate I'm a lutheran evangelic as per the German definition?
- 📝 From a Roman Catholic view, after God creates a soul, does He let the soul to choose if they want to enter a body? Can a soul refuse to be embodied?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, when can a priest refuse to grant absolution in confession?
- 📝 Is it true that if we make a good confession and receive the sacrament of Eucharist on the following Sunday of Easter all our sins will be forgiven?
- 📝 If the Ten Commandments say “thou shalt not kill” how can a Christian fight in a war?
- 📝 How can the Son not know what the Father knows?
- 📝 How can the sun be created after day and night?
- 📝 How can we trust the Bible after it has been translated to another language?
- 📝 Can somebody summarize the different "branches" of Christianity to me, and explain why they exist in the first place?
- 📝 How could Jesus be born during the reign of Herod, and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, if those periods were not contemporary?
- 📝 How can I tell the difference between the Moral law and other laws in the old testament?
- 📝 Where can I find out more about other people rising from the dead, when Jesus died on the Cross?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 Since God provided for the forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament, why do we need Jesus?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 Can we trust the Septuagint?
- 📝 How are the Calvinist, Arminian and Lutheran conceptions of Total Depravity different?
- 📝 Where was Jesus during the period from His death to resurruction?
- 📝 If the Bible has been changed over the years, can we still trust it?