Confession or Curse

By Rev. R.J. Rushdoony – bio

Reprinted from Cure of Souls: Recovering the Biblical Doctrine of Confession

A prevalent heresy of the modern age is the belief that, outside of the walls of the church, our lives shift into neutral. Worship and the church are reduced to one realm among many, and each area of life is a separate universe. The logical conclusion to all that was made by President Clark Keer of the University of California in calling for the recognition of multiverses instead of universes, and the multiversity to replace the university.


This perspective, a return to pagan polytheism, with its many multiverses, developed rapidly after the Darwinian mythology spread throughout the world. It prompted the revival of many false religions and beliefs. A British rock performer, Freddy Mercury, died of AIDS in November 1991. He had previously declared himself a Zoroastrian. This dualistic faith has long been an undercurrent, taking many forms, in Europe and elsewhere. Its fundamental belief is that two equal gods or life-forces exist, the one calling itself good, and the other bad. Both are equal powers or forces; both have equal validity. If rape, incest, sodomy, abortion, euthanasia, murder, and theft are your "thing" or taste, then your lifestyle has equal validity with the Christian way of life. In fact, because the Christian is "intolerant" of your lifestyle, you are probably morally superior and are the enlightened one.

Not all men are as open as the homosexual Mercury in their beliefs, nor as self-conscious. This perspective, however, is very prevalent. In its milder forms, its thesis is that all consensual acts between adults are morally valid; they are simply doing "their own thing." To criticize them is to transgress the "inviolability" of a freely chosen lifestyle and a religious way of life.

Now, given the prevalence of such thinking and acting, it should not surprise us that it has infiltrated the churches, Protestant and Catholic, both clergy and laity. Confession then becomes an empty form.

The British edition of Vanity Fair, December 1991, carried a long report on "Unholy Alliances," by Leslie Bennett. There is an extensive history now of pedophilia in the priesthood. Instead of a housecleaning, there have been payouts to hush up offenses, and even a promotion into a tenured college professorship for one priest with a history of offenses. In the United States, two televangelists have been exposed for their sexual sins, and many pastors go unexposed. The problem is there. No endless catalog of offenses by laymen and laywomen, by priests and by pastors, will provide an answer to the problem. Many charges are made, too often true, about one group or another. Sexual harassment and molestation of women has obviously increased, and of children also, but sexual molestation of men and children by women has also increased. The problems are all around us.

Some vague "confessions" are made when public exposure or criticism reaches a high level, as with a U.S. senator recently. What seems clearly to be lacking is the day by day confession of sins, and such confession means repentance and restitution.

In Luke 19:1-10, we read of Zacchaeus (the Greek form of Zaccai, cf. Ezra 2:9) that, on his conversion, declared:

8. Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:8-10)

Our Lord declares Zacchaeus to be a true son of Abraham, an heir of the Kingdom because of his faith. As Joseph McAuliffe has pointed out, Jesus did not say, "Forget it, Zacchaeus, I know You believe, and that you have a good heart." Rather, he commended Zacchaeus, who met the requirements of the law, which are the requirements of faith. First, Zacchaeus repented; to repent means to reverse the direction of one's life, faith, and action. True repentance is not simply a matter of words. Second, having repented, he confessed his sins.

His sins had been public, and so too was his confession. Third, he declared that he would make full restitution and more. Zacchaeus had moved from a world of self-determination to a world of total accountability under God.

This is why the alternative to confession is the curse of God. Humanistic man is much given to cursing. The words, "God damn you," come readily to his lips, but not their meaning, nor the fact that he may truly be accursed by God.

Blessings and curses by God are not merely verbal expressions: they are legal decrees. We can not only be accursed, but we can be made a curse by God (Num. 5:21). The Lord God pronounces us accursed if we violate His law, refuse to submit to Him or believe in Him, or if we become a walking anti-law... read more from source