garrisonjj Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Wow! No fucking kidding! Catholic confession, what a perverted idea that inspired guilt and obedience in so many lives. Jeezuzs fucking christ! Just think how many sins were confessed to perverts who then went out and abused little children. What could be more sick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHEMtron Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I remember being in Catechism and having to do confession for the first time. Of course it wasnt by choice to do confession, but we were required to. When it was my turn to confess, the priest and i sat there for a couple of minutes. Then i straight up said to him [paraphrasing of course], "Im still a kid. I dont think or know if i did anything wrong." Just because i said that, he told me to say 50 Hail Mary's.... what an ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Being raised as a Catholicker myself, I can actually remember making shit up to say to the priest just so that I could feel like I confessed something. That's right! I actually told him that I did bad shit that I didn't even do! .... A child's mind. Don't fuck with it, or it just might turn around and fuck with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I remember I was ok with Confession for the most part, but that's all a part of being raised in a less-than-fundy environment. It just didn't make much of a difference to me. When I got older and got serious about Catholicism, I relied heavily on Confession. I believed the Church's line totally, and thought Confession was my easy pass to Heaven. Not that I could sin as I liked and then get it all washed away, but that even if I did sin like the worthless worm I was, there was a way out, so long as I was genuinely sorry. That was the kicker. Confession isn't taught as "sin all you like and we'll make it better when you ask" but "convince yourself to feel guilty for anything that we tell you is a sin, suspend your own reasoning and accept Big Momma Church's authority, and crawl to us because otherwise, you're going to Hell." It was a great method of controlling parishoners, by showing them Confession as a sure pass to being sin-free and guarenteed Heaven if/when you die, but telling them to reprogram themselves to think that they are evil sinners who need Confession to become sinless and avoid sure damnation. All the scrupulosity and guilt and self-doubt that inspires is insane. Even though I didn't feel wracked by guilt, I know I had an awful time of trying to reprogram myself, and it was reinforced every week when I went into that little box and told the priest my sins. I wasted a lot of years becuase of shit like that. Confession and such are powerful tools, because it introduces something "tangible" in the believer's life. The acts of going into the box, making the prayers, confessing, getting the priest's blessing - ritual helps cement a belief like nothing else. That can be used for good or ill purposes, of course. The Protestant method of just confessing straight to Jebus is more convenient and logical in the case of a god who is supposedly all-knowing. However, the rituals of Catholicism engage the believer more in what's being done, and help to strengthen their Catholic beliefs - especially dependence on the Church. It may even help to explain why Catholicism is still so widely-believed - it's much more engaging than Protestant sects, and the play-acting is what helps keep the faithful in the Church's clutches. You can debate points of philosophy and doctrine all you want, but rituals keep you stuck in the cult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosa Mystica Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Varokhar, you explained it perfectly. I developed severe scrupulosity at the tender age of twelve b/c of Confession. In fact, scrupulosity/Confession issues were one of the main contributors to my deconversion. Stupid fucking deathcult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaura Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Wow, Varokhar, never had thought of it like that! As a Catholic female I remember feeling guilty.. a lot. I still feel guilty a lot as a Pagan, it's something that's become almost ingrained. I'm always saying "I'm sorry" for things I haven't even done but just for crap happening to whomever I'm speaking with. Also, Confession/ Reconciliation never does anything to **help**. In other words, the punishment for, say, saying cross words to your spouse is similar to the punishment for something that involves only yourself. Most priests don't actually have you make amends to the wronged person. That's something I really only learned to do after I left the clutches of the Church. (Not that I usually go around wronging people, mind, but misunderstandings do happen) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 Yes, that's the problem with Catholicism. The rituals are powerful ways of inculcating the brainwashing and fostering dependence. Protestants do it with waxing philosophical, Catholics and Orthodox rely on the ancient method of ritual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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