Is this a protestant concept, or is it shared by the catholic and orthodox?
“Is this a protestant concept, or is it shared by the catholic and orthodox?”
We need to continually repent for our sins. In fact, the Desert Fathers taught that in their entire lives, despite having spent them in faithful prayer, they hadn’t even made a beginning of repentance. One of the most respected saints in Orthodoxy, +Symeon the New Theologian, wrote
“...it is good to repent every day, as the commandment demands. For the words: ‘Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ impose upon us a practice not limited to a definite time but for always.”
Is this a protestant concept, or is it shared by the catholic and orthodox?
I cannot make a generalization on protestantism on this question, but certainly, it would seem to be consistent with what is taught at some protestant churches and is clearly a core element of the gospel according to Joel Osteen. As you know, a traditional catholic/orthodox view is that such sufferings are a gift from God, that through our ordeal, we may strengthen our faith and learn to more fully rely on Him and not ourselves.