Augustine writes about the sins of his youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity. The tradition of literary confession is thought to have begun with Saint Augustine’s Confessions, written between AD397-400. The admission of a crime within a court of law is the first step towards penance and possibly absolution.įriday essay: how do you measure remorse? Though influenced by its religious origins, confession has become meaningful in secular contexts. But whatever the context for the confession, the listener is essential only they have the power to judge and absolve. In the act of confession, people disclose their sins (by speaking to a priest) or as part of the sacrament of reconciliation. The word confession originates from Latin Middle English via Old French Latin (confession, confiture – meaning “acknowledge”). While these do have the potential to cause harm, they show just how strong the confessional impulse can be. Anonymous social media spaces such as “Reddit” have shown that there is something potentially liberating about sending an anonymous (or semi-anonymous) confession out into the world. While confessions on reality TV programs, on certain current affairs shows, and from YouTubers who thrive on controversy are now quite formulaic, new spaces are constantly opening up for confessional narratives.
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