Generally speaking…
You did something you felt was bad, you feel guilty, you pray and ask for forgiveness, you feel better inside.
I don't think God makes you feel this way, it is your own mind.
You then deal with the consequences with a balanced mind.
It wasn't something external to the prayer, but the prayer itself. It somehow enables your mind to deal with things in a healthy manner.
At a very basic level and dogma aside – when you pray to a god to forgive you, are you really just forgiving yourself?
Are you just giving yourself permission to move on?
That's what it is basically. But really it let's people do more than they should. If you only have to say sorry you can do all the evils of the world and still come out clean
Repentance is stopping sinning.
Repentance is the solution to the problem, it is not a crutch.
Its just a method of control leved by the religious institutions. self control and common sense eliminates most the problem, but no church preaches common sense and self control. Gee, I wonder why?
No.
Repentance is an act between a person and God. the process of self-forgiveness takes much longer, because it is borne by self-pride which must be removed.
I guess you could say basically the same thing about Gestalt therapy, or any other cathartic experience.
Yeah, pretty much.