Protestant rejection of the Catholic implementation of confession

*(Pardon the length - my original post was more concise, but wasn't clearly conveying my question.)* Background: ----------- I am currently studying the Spiritual Disciplines at a Protestant seminary. For those unfamiliar with this term, I will give a very brief explanation. Paul instructs Timothy to: > **discipline** yourself for the purpose of godliness... For it is for this we **labor** and **strive** **- 1 Timothy 4:7-10** For example, one Spiritual Discipline which is generally recognized among Protestant theologians is fellowship (or regular church attendance). > let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, **not forsaking our own assembling together**, as is the **habit** of some **- Hebrews 10:24-25** Basically the idea is that there are certain **disciplines** which followers of Christ are called to **practice regularly**. Despite the overwhelming witness from "Church Fathers" regarding the extreme importance of such disciplines, many Protestant theologians have called this the **single greatest weakness in modern Protestantism**. *(Complete rejection of the doctrine of Spiritual Disciplines is a very modern position.)* For the record, this is not "works-based salvation"; it is not "earning God's acceptance"; it is not church-mandated religion; it is simply a mature personal response to God's call for followers of Christ to be serious and intentional in following Him in all the ways which He has called us to follow Him. **Please note: My question has nothing to do with *whether* we should practice Spiritual Disciplines, or what *value* they have.** Confession as a Spiritual Discipline ------------------------------------ One commonly recognized Spiritual Discipline is **confession**. The following passage is used to draw attention to the importance of confession. > Therefore, **confess your sins to one another**, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. **- James 5:16** Although Scripture does not (to my knowledge) explicitly command us to make regular practice of this, the idea behind the Protestant doctrine of Spiritual Disciplines is that we **practice** right behavior intentionally and **diligently**, including things like confession. Rejection of the Catholic implementation ---------------------------------------- My impression is that: - Luther took issue with how the Catholic Church **viewed** confession. (i.e. working your way into right standing with God, intermediary "Priests", etc.) - Luther did **not** take issue with confession as a **practice** (Discipline) - Luther rejected **practices** which he deemed heretical, while retaining others - Somewhere along the line, the **practice** of confession in Protestant churches took a completely different **form** than in Catholicism. (Perhaps when Luther's band split?) - Protestant theologians have long regarded confession as an important Spiritual Discipline - Modern Protestant believers are generally very undisciplined about confession My question ----------- I began to wonder if there might be aspects to the Catholic implementation which Protestants should have retained (from a Protestant perspective, of course). For example, Catholic confession seems to be **any time**, **any sin** (and indeed **every sin**), **private**, **anonymous**, etc. As a Protestant, this sounds like a very good idea - if Protestant churches had such a "booth" available, I wonder if Protestants wouldn't be more disciplined in this practice. I became very curious... Why didn't Protestants just replace the "Priest" with a Pastor, guard against thinking of it as "working your way up to God", and retain the rest of these potentially valuable elements? Furthermore, if a Catholic Priest was a believer, and didn't think of confession as "earning salvation", what would be wrong (from a Protestant perspective) with Catholic confession in that case? **What I am specifically looking for:** - **When** did the Protestant church reject the Catholic **method** of practicing confession? (Again, not the *views*, but the *elements* I just mentioned.) - **Why** were these **methods** originally rejected? - Are there any reasons why the Catholic **methods** should still be rejected **today** (according to Protestant doctrine)? - If not, would a Protestant find value in participating in Catholic confession today? (I am of course asking about the church's doctrinal position, not personal opinions.) - Are there modern Protestant groups which participate in confession at Catholic churches? Thanks!