Are you 'working' to enter Heaven ?

Originally posted by wafflehead: ↑

There are I think about 5 mentions in the Bible of an event that later morphed into the Eucharist. In every case there is a bunch of ancillary Scriptures that suggest that the, bread & wine, was symbolic. Even the Last Supper is likely to be the result of Chinese Whispers as the symbolic meaning got turned into a physical meal rather than a spiritual meal.

As far as I know, Christ did not institute a single ritual. But it matters not, people love their rituals, let them have them, a 2000 year old religion practicing some ancient ritual speaks for itself.

Confession tends to be more about moral sins. To those we wrong there is the need for the courage to right those wrongs and apologise. The moral aspect of the sin still needs to be squared away with G.d, for those who believe in G.d.

If one chooses a trusted friend to sound out something that is troubling the conscience, then so be it. One must be very careful not to burden anybody too much with the causes of a troubled conscience. To do such can taint and ruin friendships. That said, there is no human on earth worthy of being designated a professional confession hearer. Nobody is authorised to be an intermediary between man and G.d. If one must confess in the religious sense, then the only avenue for confession is to G.d in privacy.

Confession and the process of admitting an error, a slight against somebody to offer genuine contrition and perhaps seek forgiveness is a different thing altogether than confession.

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Those who believe that a God that created the universe exists should have no problem believing that he could do what he likes with bread and wine. Believers in God claim that things that they don't understand are mysteries of God,including the mystery of the blood and the bread at the mass.

As far as I know, Christ did not institute a single ritual.
People who say that Christ instituted the mass get it from instructions attributed to Christ in the Bible; I don't believe it is my place to attempt to burst their bubble as the mass is an essential part of their faith. As a non-believer, I find it strange that I am more tolerant to some of their fellow believers than they are.

But it matters not, people love their rituals, let them have them, a 2000 year old religion practicing some ancient ritual speaks for itself.
We all have our rituals. Of course, they are not all religious. Most celebrate at least some occasions like Christmas (even non-Christians), New year, birthdays, anniversaries, National Days...etc
Of course, people celebrating their religious rituals "speak for itself" - it speaks for their faith which is important to them. This applies to rituals of religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and indigenous religions.
As you frequently point out religion is part of the fabric of humankind and consequenly so are their rituals.

If one chooses a trusted friend to sound out something that is troubling the conscience, then so be it. One must be very careful not to burden anybody too much with the causes of a troubled conscience. To do such can taint and ruin friendships.
I have friends, admittedly small in number where this is not an issue. Our attitude is "that is what friends are for" - one happens to be an Anglican priest. I have both received help and offered help.

That said, there is no human on earth worthy of being designated a professional confession hearer. Nobody is authorised to be an intermediary between man and G.d. If one must confess in the religious sense, then the only avenue for confession is to G.d in privacy.
While I agree with you, I concede that people who are practised in helping people provide some advantages together with the code of silence that these people offer. Private confession in privacy to God is like talking to a wall for some.