A Guest Essay by Mr. Gideon Ripley, MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Article XI of the Augsburg
Confession states that “Private Absolution ought to be retained in the
churches” (BookofConcord.org),
yet a simple survey of modern American Lutherans (excluding the ELCA for
obvious reasons) shows something else. Instead of Private Absolution, we have Corporate
Absolution. It has some similarities and is effective for forgiveness, but it
lacks the “private” part of Private Absolution. We have traded the power of
confession for ease and convenience. The end result is the same, we think, as both
end with forgiveness. Yet, if both of these acts result in forgiveness, why do
our Confessions state that we must keep Private Absolution in our churches?
Perhaps there is some benefit that we don’t see immediately. Perhaps there is
something more to Private Confession and Absolution (C&A).
The Holy Scriptures state that “If
we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There are a great many
theological truths which arise from this verse, many of which are addressed in
Luther’s Small Catechism. The act of C&A is stated to have “two parts: the one is, that we
confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from
the confessor, as from God Himself” (BookOfConcord.org, 2024).
As a practice in the Church,
C&A was given not just for the good of the Church, but for all of her
members individually (Matt. 16:19, 1 John 1:9, 1 Tim 1:20). Ultimately, the
Rite of Confession is before God and is it to Him alone that we need to confess
our sins (Psalm 51:4), but the act of Confession also has psychological power on
the individual. Confession of our sins leads to a greater sense of relief (Kassin
& Gudjonsson, 2004; Peer et al., 2014). Publicly confessing the changes we
wish to make helps us to keep to these changes (Helgason & Berman, 2022). In C&A, we acknowledge to God and our pastor the wrongs
we have done while simultaneously acknowledging the good we want to do. The
Church was given C&A, but was it only given for her spiritual good, or for
her psychological good as well?
Confession has value from a
psychological perspective. Carl Jung, the father of psychoanalytic theory,
posited that confession works to bring up the secret and hidden part of the
individual’s psyche. He proposed that there is transference occurring because
of the bringing out of the hidden, and that a bond is formed between the
confessor and confessant (Todd, 1985). This idea of bringing the hidden to
light is further reinforced by Murray-Swank, who found that those who confessed
to wrongdoing initially had more guilt but after two weeks had less guilt and a
stronger spiritual connection to God (2003). Theologically, it should be noted
that God knows all our faults (Psalm 90:8). However, there is a psychological
effect to bringing our sin and wrongdoing before God: there is not only a
lessening of guilt, but spiritual and attitude shifts as well (McCormick &
McMinn, 2012). Furthermore, we know that religion has a positive correlation
with overall wellbeing and has even been tied to healthy behaviors (Bożek, Nowak,
& Blukacz, 2020). This agrees with
the theological understanding that Christians “put on the new man which was
created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
The underlying emotions related to confession are guilt and shame. In
some psychological theories such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the use
of confession would be rejected in favour of the DBT skill of opposite action,
citing the need to act instead of simply verbalizing sin (McCormick &
McMinn, 2012). However, research has contradicted this understanding. Watson et
al. found that awareness of personal fault has been positively correlated with
psychological wellbeing among Christians (2004). Research has also shown that
attending weekly worship has an impact on psychological wellbeing and spiritual
wellbeing, an example being research by Bożek, Nowak, & Blukacz (2020) that
showed that actively participating in religious activities is related to higher
wellbeing.
Private Confession gives the opportunity for not only confession, but
true and real absolution. Those who attend both weekly worship and C&A tend
to have higher and more stable psychological and spiritual wellbeing, as
opposed to those who only attended weekly worship and did not attend C&A. Perhaps
the creator who calls for us to “Confess your faults one to another” (Jas 5:16) knows that in
doing so we are benefitted spiritually and mentally. This may be well and good,
but for most people the focus of wellbeing is now sought from and understood by
going to a professional: a therapist, a doctor, an individual removed from your
life and who knows or cares nothing about you. We seek advice and betterment
from these transactional relationships, rather than from the relationships God
has already given us in our parents, pastor, siblings, and even the body of
Christ. While these latter relationships may not be the experts in psychology,
are the experts themselves the ones we should first turn to?
Now would be a prudent time to discuss the differences and tensions
between the views of psychology and Christianity (the Church). Some Christians
reject psychology outright because of its sordid history of opposition to the Church,
while others don’t reject it and instead embrace American culture which loudly
proclaims for us to “trust the experts”. There is a tension between Christians
and psychology. Christians are divided on how to approach this topic because of
our own inclinations towards schism. The problem with psychology and the Church
is not that one wants the benefit of the individual and the other does not;
rather, the tension lies in the different views of how to go about obtaining
this benefit, and of where the individual flourishes.
In 1974, Valerie Worthen wrote an article entitled Psychotherapy and
Catholic Confession. In this article, she asks the question of “how the
[Church and Psychology] are truly comparable in terms of contributing to one
another” (Worthen, 1974, p. 275). Some wholly reject psychology, some try to
integrate it into the Church, and some relegate it as a worldly pursuit, one
which a Christian could work in, but has very little consequence in the Church
herself. Some who reject it do so because of the history of psychologists like
Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, Erich Fromm, and William James who either twist
religion into a sick corpse or just outright reject it. These are just four out
of the thousands who deny Christ in their unbelief. Still, there are many
Christians who practice and study this field out of interest and God given
talent. The defence given by many Christian psychologists is a simple one: psychology
itself is a morally neutral area of study, no different than physics,
chemistry, or math.
Psychology as a field allows man to study the natural world and the
creation God has made. It presents the challenge of studying both body and
soul. The study of Man takes certain proclivities: no-one enters the field of
psychology without some desire to learn about the nature of pain and suffering,
or their own inner workings. Psychology can be a tool or a master, just like
any other passion Man has. However, psychology can also help us to understand
some of the physical truths of the spiritual blessings from God.
The Rite of C&A is similar, in
a sense, to psychotherapy. Worthen writes, “The process of psychotherapy
involves confrontation on a one-to-one basis, the same element that exists in
Catholic confession” (1974, p. 277). In the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS), the Rite of Confession instructs the penitent to bear in mind both the
Ten Commandments and their vocation, and then to confess the sins which
particularly trouble them (Lutheran Service Book, 2006). Here, the individual
goes to their pastor and alleviates themselves of their wrongdoings. They then
receive the forgiveness of God and are sent on their way.
On the other hand, psychotherapy
uses “forms of communication and interaction to assess, diagnose, and treat
dysfunctional emotional reactions, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns”
(American Psychological Association, 2023). In therapy, the goal is to take
your behaviors, thinking, and distress, and then to move them towards health
and wellbeing. This is very similar to the Christian, who is told to be perfect
(Matt. 5:48, Lev. 19:2) and is to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”
(Rom. 12:2). Christians themselves strive to keep the Law of God, for it is “that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Furthermore, the
Christian is renewed through receiving Christ and is told that “[having]
received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). Walking in Christ
is done through “the traditions which ye have been taught” (2 Thess. 2:15),
which includes the use of the Keys (Matt 18:18). The Keys are best seen in
private C&A. There is evidence for the spiritual efficacy of the Rites of
the Church, yet the question of how these Rites transfer into psychological
health is one that should be addressed at another time. While psychotherapy and
C&A are not dissimilar metaphysically speaking, they have the same effects
rather than the same essence.
The essence of C&A lies not in merely feeling better, but in the
full restitution of the sinner to God. There is an inner turmoil in which man
faces, this turmoil being the Law that God has placed into the heart of
everyone (Rom 2:15). Sin conflicts with the Law and with the conscience which
man has been given. Sin entered the world and with it came suffering, (Romans
5; Askins, 2015), that same suffering which psychotherapy attempts to alleviate
(Worthen, 1974). C&A has a Secondary effect of the alleviation of mental
health symptoms precisely because it has a Primary effect of removing sin.
Secular psychotherapy “presupposes the acceptance of sin as a symptom of
some larger problem that is unconsciously motivated” (Worthen, 1974, p.283).
Psychotherapy looks at the individual from a community perspective (Worthen,
1974). The essence of psychotherapy is restitution to the community and the
group in which one belongs. Often, this leads to the encouragement of the
counselee towards sin (Worthen 1974). Secular psychotherapy can and does
alleviate mental health symptoms, but the focus of it is towards acceptance of
the individual’s condition, rather than towards restoration to a right
conscience (Worthen 1974).
C&A and psychotherapy share similar effects and can look very
similar in practice, as both have the end goal of wellbeing (Worthen 1974).
Their presentation is similar in that the sinner goes before a confessor and
seeks restoration, one for his mental health and the other for his spiritual.
However, spiritual health is connected to mental health in a way that
psychotherapy does not address, while C&A’s focus on the spiritual is able
to address both.
Because of this difference, Christian psychotherapy looks different than
secular psychotherapy. It acknowledges the sin which causes suffering, while
also providing the psychological expertise needed for those seeking
psychotherapy. Christian psychotherapy incorporates the understanding and
teaching of the Christian Faith, which is nonsensical (1 Cor. 1:23) and
distressing (Ro. 2:8-9) to those who are not in the Faith. The Christian
psychotherapist builds up their fellow believer (1 Thess. 5:11) through their
own knowledge and expertise in mental health. The importance of utilizing the
Faith in therapy should also include an admonition to seek pastoral care, which
care should include the use of C&A.
Another challenge and tension between psychology and the Church arises
because psychotherapists are called to be advocates. According to the American
Counselling Association (ACA) code of ethics A.7.a, counsellors are to advocate
and remove barriers which inhibit the growth of the client (American
Counselling Association, 2014). This, paired with the unbeliever’s hatred of
God, creates further disconnect and reason for a Christian to not participate
in psychology. However, especially for the Christian but even perhaps the un,
we know that the spiritual is ultimately more important than the psychological.
There is both psychological and spiritual gain from attending both C&A and
church; thus, the energy of advocacy should go towards encouraging this
attendance. Ultimately, the therapist and the counselee are both members of one
body (1 Cor. 12:12) and should interact as such. Even if there is not an
explicit issue of faith present in counselling, the issue of acting according
to the Faith is always present.
As for the Church, she is to be reminded of her Rites and reminded to
not cast them out. Lutherans in particular ought to be admonished that their
own Confessions state that “Private Absolution ought to be retained in the
churches” (BookofConcord.org, 2024). There, the pastor can be a part of
benefitting the mental health of the congregation through the church’s
established Rites.
The pastor, meanwhile, should not send his parishioners to a secular
psychologist, but rather to one who professes the Faith and who will work with
the pastor for the spiritual and psychological health of the parishioner. The
pastor should also be reminded that psychotherapy has its place within the body
of Christ, and he should take the time to encourage and study the Faith with
the psychologists under his care, for their work is similar in effect to his.
The individual Christian who suffers under the effects of sin should
seek both psychological and spiritual help. Mental health should never be
sought to the exclusion of spiritual health. Rather, if an individual is able,
they should seek both, for both influence psychological wellbeing.
Conclusion
The benefits of C&A and church attendance on psychological wellbeing
give a glimpse into the conflicts that religion and psychology have. This
conflict is truly one between the Christian and the non-Christian. The
resolution of the matter requires that the spiritual be restored to it’s rightful
place as primary in life, not to exclude the psychological, but rather as a
reordering of priorities.
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