Would you let Ben hear your confession?

[Elok]

Leaving aside the question of who you were having a dig at (which doesn't much matter to me, honest), the priesthood really isn't about being endlessly kind and compassionate. That's more in the therapist's job description. A priest of course cannot spend his whole life throwing hellfire at his congregation, but there's a very thin line between "kind and compassionate" and "enabling and excusing." The best priests I have known have all had very different personalities, but most were rather firm. In a church like us or the RCC, there's really no other way to be--we have rules, and we expect people to obey them. I've heard of churches where the pastor/minister/priest wants to be your best buddy; I haven't heard that they hold on to members any better than we do. If anything, they do somewhat worse.

(leaving BK out of this too, since it was just a dumb joke after all)

[Sava]

Oh, you're talking about orthodox priests? Never mind.

Aside from being legitimate representatives of God, there isn't much difference

[DaShi]

Ben can't commit to anything. He'd be a priest, hear your confessional, stop being a priest, and then go on a lying spree about what you confessed to him.

[giblets]

Aside from being legitimate representatives of God, there isn't much difference

The difference is their sexual orientation

[Alexander's Horse]

i've thought about that before, just going into a confessional booth and making up some outrageous stories (and then father they brought in the goats and things started to get really wild...). i've never done it though, and i expect they have some way of limiting that kind of thing.

It's okay if

a. you add telling lies to your list at the end

b. you are prepared to either ignore or put up with lots of penance

[Alexander's Horse]

i've thought about that before, just going into a confessional booth and making up some outrageous stories (and then father they brought in the goats and things started to get really wild...). i've never done it though, and i expect they have some way of limiting that kind of thing.

I'm putting Jon Miller on my list

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben can't commit to anything. He'd be a priest, hear your confessional, stop being a priest, and then go on a lying spree about what you confessed to him.

10 years of being a Catholic.

[Alexander's Horse]

Ben if you became a priest I'd have to mention that your girlie avatars gave me lustful thoughts - I haven't mentioned that yet - if I go to perdition I'm taking you with me buddy

[The Mad Monk]

The USA escapes, unless a Muslim or a Mormon or an atheist wants to get elected president.

Or a Catholic, or a Quaker? That list used to be longer, you know.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben if you became a priest I'd have to mention that your girlie avatars gave me lustful thoughts - I haven't mentioned that yet - if I go to perdition I'm taking you with me buddy

You wouldn't be the only one confessing that. But, there's no chance of me becoming a priest.

[Alexander's Horse]

Why? Is there something wrong with you?

[dannubis]

Y.E.S.

[C0ckney]

It's okay if

a. you add telling lies to your list at the end

b. you are prepared to either ignore or put up with lots of penance

i've managed to ignore organised religion for this long, so i think that ignoring a few hailmarys and ourfathers won't present much of a challenge.

[Sava]

The difference is their sexual orientation

I ran out of thanks

[Kidlicious]

Leaving aside the question of who you were having a dig at (which doesn't much matter to me, honest), the priesthood really isn't about being endlessly kind and compassionate. That's more in the therapist's job description. A priest of course cannot spend his whole life throwing hellfire at his congregation, but there's a very thin line between "kind and compassionate" and "enabling and excusing." The best priests I have known have all had very different personalities, but most were rather firm. In a church like us or the RCC, there's really no other way to be--we have rules, and we expect people to obey them. I've heard of churches where the pastor/minister/priest wants to be your best buddy; I haven't heard that they hold on to members any better than we do. If anything, they do somewhat worse.

(leaving BK out of this too, since it was just a dumb joke after all)

I imagine they rebuke people but only for certain sins, as MrFun said. Tho has been my experience, but then I haven't been to an orthodox church, and I don't pay attention to orthodoxy much.