The Forgiveness of Sins

One objection that many non-Catholics have to the Catholic Faith is the teaching and practice which concerns the confession of our sins. The basic non-Catholic argument goes something like this: man cannot forgive our sins; God alone can forgive our sins; therefore, to have our sins forgiven, we must go directly to God. In light of this, the non-Catholic argues that when the Catholic confesses his sins to (before, or in the presence of) a priest, he is seeking the forgiveness only God can give from a man who cannot forgive our sins. In the least, then, it is a useless practice. At worst, it is idolatrous: setting up man in the place of God. Thus, in yet another way, the non-Catholic thinks he has discovered the man-centered-ness of Catholicism as well as the non-biblical nature of its teaching. After all, the Bible only teaches forgiveness of sins directly from God, right? Much can be said on this subject. I have chosen to include here a short article which begins to address some of these non-Catholic concerns. I hope it helps towards a better understanding of authentic Catholic teaching on this matter as well as the truth and importance of it.

Another Protestant Pastor Enters the Catholic Church

Here is the story of another recent convert to the Catholic Church whose background has similarities with our own.

The Two Brothers; or, Why are you a Protestant? Part 4

On December 28th I posted the third of four parts to this engaging story (if you're in to being engaged with this kind of story, that is : ). Here is the fourth. If you haven't already read the first, second, or third, or would like to read them all at once, you can find them linked in the right hand side-bar of the blog under the heading "Check This Out".