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Greetings in Christ...thanks for your reply, I appreciate your perspective...I did lose you though in this statement:

"Personally, if people think its easier to confess their sins to Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth - the omnipotent Being who they have directly offended without just cause - instead of confessing to a fallible, mortal man, I seriously question their understaning of the nature of their sin, its gravity, or even their understanding of God's Being. If I had killed a king's son, I would find it much easier to tell one of his servants than the king himself. Unless of course I was either a) not afraid of the king's power or b) didn't think my sin was that bad"

I would contend this example is backwards in that confessing to a servant to the king is the equivalent of confessing to a priest/pastor/minister...You noted it's more difficult to confess to the king (God) which is true. So if it's easier to confess to a servant (priest), than king (God) I don't understand why you would question the understanding of the nature of their sin of those who would confess of their actions to the king? I, like many others who confess to God in private petitions, know the gravity of what I have done. I know I have failed to do what i am to do and have done what I should not. I know I deserve eternal punishment for my transgressions. I know that in your example the king would likely call for justice and my death in return. But I also know that God loves mankind so much that he has promised to forgive me for his Son's sake...that is not to say I think God's power is mute, quite the opposite...I confess and ask for forgiveness because of his power.

Please clarify what you meant by your statement...thanks!

Blessings to you and yours...

Hmm...you're right. Some clarification of my muddled statement is needed indeed.

I am making a parallel to the priest as servant and the king as God, so we are in agreement over that part of it.

My point is that I question the authenticity of people who say they confess their sins privately to God, but refuse to confess it to another person. Following the analogy I've given, if, after killing the king's son, I did have the courage to confess to the King, then it would be absolutely no problem for me to confess to the servant as well. But such is not the case for most people opposed to confession. They are afraid, or reject vehemently, the idea of telling a priest but have absolutely no problem telling God. Something about his doesn't make sense and I think it is a way of rationalizing their way out of confession because their actions don't reflect a "true" understanding of confessing their sins to God.

I think the root of it is, we can't see God but we can see a priest. When we confess to the priest we can see the eyes of another human being looking at us, the ears of another human being hearing our words, and the mind of another human being associating our sin with us. For many people, that brings the matter too close to home. But God? Well, we can't see Him. He's invisible, doesn't talk to me the same way a human does, doesn't look at me, and doesn't respond - at least in a physically manifest way - to my confession. Which do you think is the path of least resistance?

Great saints who did understand the gravity of their sin made no secret of their sinful nature. There were saints who would walk around with their sins written on their clothing, a saint who rode a donkey through town laying backwards with his face towards the donkey's rear, saints who wear sackcloth or habits, fast, and do a multitude of penance both publicly and in private, etc. Compare this to your average Christian who present the appearance of being perfect or spotless and shudder at the thought of someone knowing their sin.

That is why I'm skeptical of Christians who say they would rather confess their sins to God instead of another man. If you have the true courage and sincerity to tell the King that you've killed his son, you should have no problem telling the servant. But such is not the case. Christians are more afraid of human, accusing eyes and find solace in telling in secret their sins to a God they cannot see, does not respond to them in the same way a human does, and provides a sense of comfortable secrecy in no one knowing what you've done. This raises a red flag in my mind.

If I have strength in Christ, then I am afraid of no man. If I have forgiveness in Christ, I am afraid of the judgement of no man.

Please understand that this is not a direct criticism of you as I do not know your heart and for all I know you could very well be on the path to sainthood, as so many other faithful men and women. However, one has to ask themself: "Why can't I tell another human being my sin, but be so willing to tell the all-powerful Lord and God to whom I've done the worst injustice?" Christians need to search their heart and make sure that their pseudo-Scriptural or theological objections are not a cover for a deeper misunderstanding of the nature of God or the gravity of their own sin.

Peace, brother.