Some Further Thoughts on Private Confession and Absolution
There were several good questions that emerged after I posted the list of Lutheran quotes about the practice of private confession and absolution. I am still working through the theological and practical implications of all of this, so I will attempt to offer some further reflection here. Your thoughts and responses would be helpful.
1. Private confession is really nothing more than a form of Gospel proclamation. Confession needs to be seen in light of a joyous opportunity to hear those words of absolution when we confess.
2. We do need to work on a clearer theology of sin in the ELCA. Let’s face it, if you listen to the debates in the ELCA, one would think that the only sins that exist are sexual and/or economic. We need to move to see sin as a condition of separation from God, and the individual sins that we commit as a symptomatic of the larger condition. With this, we should teach our seminarians how to hear confessions and how to provide counsel within that context. We are gravely deficient in this.
3. Reintroduction of private confession needs to be accompanied by catechesis. We need to teach our people that the order exists in the LBW and has been an intended part of Evangelical practice since the time of the Reformation. This also should address the anti-clerical attitude that exists within the ELCA, even among ordained people. The Office of the Keys should be lifted up. People do not believe that the pastor can forgive sins in the stead of or at the behest of Christ. Though they may be uncomfortable with this, it is clear Lutheran doctrine, and should be taught.
4. There is no need to enumerate every single sin. As has been said, we could probably fill volumes with our sinfulness. Confession is especially suited for those sins that are troubling to us, that we continue to struggle with.
5. People should not feel forced to go to confession. As Luther is purported to have said, “All may, some should, none must” go to confession.
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If I didn’t think this could be used as a gossip mill I’d totally agree with you. I once expressed a struggle of mine at the alter thinking it’d be kept in confidence, but it spread and was used against me at a later time. I still find it difficult to share about this.
Also, would you want to write up a little post on rockabilly music for my blog? I’m interested in the music (became a recent fan) and want to learn more and want to share it with the cube heads. And you are the grand master on the subject.
I don’t know about being the grand master, I just really like the music. I’ll email you and we can come up with some ideas.
Confidentiality really is a big issue here. In the decree that fully authorized individual auricular confession in the Western Church (Omnis utriusque from the 4th(?) Lateran council {the 1215 one…]) the penalty for revealing a confession was a sweet life-long vacation to a fringe-of-the-empire monastery… I don’t think that’s done anymore–especially not in my church.
No…but maybe it should be. Off to Christ the Light in the desert with you! There are priests that on pain of going to prison have refused to give up confidentiality, and if one takes on the role presbyter, s/he must be prepared to live that out…
lp, the thing I struggle with is from my RC days is the long brochures of sins, mostly sexual btw, but of course, no mention of sins of violence or household stewardship or gossip (one of the worst in my opinion). Very acts- focused without due regard to context for those acts. It’s a rather faulty moral reasoning in my opinion.
I still think Martin Smith’s book on the matter is a sensitive, pastoral, and good for folks who experience sins of self-loathing focused on traits, such as women and gay folk. I’ve known confession to be abused especially on gay folk, myself included, and while I think the practice of regular honesty to God before a sacramental representative is very good, I’m always so careful with whom I would go to confession.
*C - That is exactly what I don’t want this to be. I don’t want it to be an oppourtunity to beat people down, but a chance to see their faith strengthened. A difficult task to say the least, but a worthwhile one, I think.
Because I’m married to a physician, I’ve learned things and heard things that should have been confidential. This isn’t because my husband tells me things he shouldn’t tell me, but rather because it is often not hard to overhear phone conversations, etc. We are very careful with confidentiality, but I can tell you, it is something that has to be on the mind constantly. I think that people in my community have figured out that we don’t gossip, but when we moved here, I could tell that people assumed that he came home and immediately told me everything. (I suppose you husband told you that I am pregnent….?)
We have also had the unpleasant experience of finding out just how much people talk about us. This has nothing to do with anything juicy, but about so-called facts about our life and decisions we’ve made. People we’ve never even seen before have come up to us and asked questions which reveal that they’ve heard things about us. It is pitiful.
I’ve never thought about this in the context of confession before, but putting these expereiences together with the thoughts expressed in your comment section would mean that I would have to have a really good relationship of trust with a pastor before I could go to a private confession.