>Here is a good question:
Between Oprah and the therapist’s couch, is there any role left for the church confession?
This question was posed by Michelle Boorstein, a Washington Post staff writer. In her article, “A Call to Confession, for It Is Fading: D.C. Archdiocese Opens an Ad Barrage to Revive the Elemental Rite,” she writes that the Archdiocese of Washington is launching a campaign using ads on buses, subway cars, billboards, brochures, and radio spots to bring people back to the confessional. She wrote:
Priests and sociologists of Catholicism have theorized about the drop for years. Is it because of a culture that tells us we aren’t responsible for what we do wrong? Or could it be something less dark: that the traditional Saturday confession time has simply been gobbled up by youth soccer leagues and errand-mania? Or maybe something more dark: that we don’t even know what sin is anymore.
To me, her last suggestion explains the reason people no longer confess their sins: they do not know what sin is.
In the past, when people knew what sin was and understood the consequences of sin, they believed confession of sins was the only path for reconciliation with God. Boorstein wrote:
In the ancient church, punishments were sometimes public. Sinners were ordered to do such things as long-term fasts and in some places were seated separately or banned from the church during communion. Today penances can involve the traditional order to recite (and re-recite) prayers, telling a busy parent to spend more time with a child, or mandating a nature hike for perspective on God’s creation.
Today, most people in our society have lost the biblical meaning of sin. Today, ministers preach about the sins of racism, militarism and environmental degradation. Since most people do not have a good understanding of the biblical concept of sin, they ask: “What is it that I am supposed to confess?”
In the world in which we live, people blame the environment, genes, and social conditions for the things they do. For this reason, instead of realizing the need for confession, people emphasize the need for improvement.
Good luck to the Catholic church. People will not recognize the need for confession until they realize that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). James 5:16 urges believers to confess their sins, because, as John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Confession, Michelle Boorstein, Repentance, Sin
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>The Catholic Church needs some Major PR Compaigns to bring back its glory to God. Just being open on Sundays is not going to cut it. They need to bring back the neighborhood parties, community outreach programs, small groups, and street apologetics. Until they build respect, no one will find confession appealing – at least not the Catholic Version.Edgar,
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>Edgar,I agree with your comments, but the truth is that PR alone will not help the church. The Catholic Church needs to return to the Good News of Jesus Christ and teach people how to apply the principles of the Gospel to everyday life. Many church members go through the motion of being Catholics when they know nothing about God’s Word and the reason they need to repent of their sins and be reconciled with God through Jesus Christ.Thank you for visiting my blog.Claude Mariottini
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>Thanks Prof. Yes – PR alone won’t cut it either… What we need to do is to bring it back to the Basics of the Gospel & the Truth of the Resurrection…why we believe what we believe… We need a lot of small groups, and community events sponsored by the Church…
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>Edgar,Again, I agree with you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Resurrection are the key elements for the renewal of the church.Claude Mariottini
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>I find it very disturbing that people may not be able to recognize sin in themselves. Does that mean the basic idea of right and wrong doesn’t exist anymore? Are people so self-obsessed that they don’t even realize they have wronged another person, or even themselves? Quite possibly so, I get strange looks for saying hello to people on the street. People look astonished if I bump into them and say excuse me. These little signs tell me something is terribly wrong.
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>Natalie,I agree with you. Many people today do not accept the idea that sin exists or that many things they do could be considered sin. The prevalence of dishonesty, cheating, theft, murder, sexual immorality, and many other practices that at one time where considered to be sins, now have become mental problems, psychological disorders, personal choices, social behavior, and so forth. People are rude and violent, but this is attributed to genetical imbalance. Now, with the development of gene therapy, every social issue, every abnormal behavior, every violent action, and every immoral action is attributed to gene deficiency or genetical abnormality. In the end, no one is guilty of anything, because they were born this way. You are right: something is terribly wrong in our society today.Thank you for commenting on my post.Claude Mariottini
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