Historical Origins And Development Of Reconciliation In The West

Baptism is the primary means of reconciling sinners to God. But what happens when Christians fall into sin after baptism? In the sacramental traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, the Eucharist itself has been a means of restoring relationship with God and other Christians. But highly visible or habitual sinning required special attention if the integrity of the Christian community was to be maintained. In the Western tradition this led to the sacrament of penance: confession, absolution, and satisfaction for wrongs done. Although Protestants rejected many aspects of this sacramental practice, they retained a deep concern about church discipline and used both individual and corporate means to maintain discipline. In recent decades, Roman Catholic practices have changed markedly. Recently, Protestant groups have largely replaced formal church discipline with pastoral counseling. (For a renewed emphasis on corporate repentance in one wing of Protestantism, see chapter 19,…