Christianity and confession.
Begins by reminding us of the way confession is constituted in Xtianity. In particular you must discover your faults and tell them to others. This self–exploration is done in the light of faith. Self–exploration to discover the truth inside oneself. And getting access to the light. Calls them the self and the book. These two things proceeded somewhat differently, ie with different methods and techniques.
He will focus on the obligation in Xtianity to manifest the truth about yourself (170). As far as the sacrament of penance and canonic confession of sins goes these were relatively late. Early Xtians were different, ie they followed penitential rites and monastic life:
1. First, penance was not an act, but a status, whose function is to avoid you from getting expelled from the church if you have sinned. You would be a penitent, with a certain status. It would prevent you from doing certain things.
2. As a penitent you were to manifest the truth (exomologesis). This took place at the end of penitence as an act of faith. See resume du cours 1980 “on the government of the living”. [Lexicon: Exomologeo or exomologeomai, to confess in full, admit. II. To make full acknowledgement for, praise, celebrate. Exomorgnymi, to wipe off from II. To wipe off from oneself: hence to impart to another: to wipe out or purge away a pollution. NT Lex: exomologeo or exomologesa 1. Promise, consent Lk 22:6 “he consented…” 2. Confess, admit Matthew, 3:6 “confessing their sins they were baptised…” exomologesis praise of God or intercessory prayer more generally.] So, F. says it is a big act of penance, sackcloth etc. (172). Lasts from say 2nd C. AD thru to 15th–16th. Was public.
Notes that Tertullian [early Roman Christian, 2nd C. AD] called this publicatio sui, to publish yourself. To exhibit your sinning body.
F. identifies the medical model (showing your wounds if you want to be healed) and the judicial model (appeasing the court thru confession). But more importantly was the model of matyrdom [Tertullian big on this]. The purpose of this was not to establish a personal identity [say in as in the Greek situation of the Stoics he discussed earlier] but rather to break off from oneself, to renounce it (173).
In the audio (1:03:00 onwards, see also essay “Technologies of the Self” p. 242 onwards) he says why has care of the self been replaced now with a preference for know yourself? Because in Christianity we have to renounce ourselves. Second, tech of the self have been integrated into pedagogical techniques of disciplinary structures, or polling techniques etc, so that cul of self is imposed on people by others. 3rd human sciences suppose the major relations to the self has to be one of knowledge. 4th mostly people think what we have to do is excavate the hidden reality of the self, but the self is not a reality which can be hidden, but as the correlate of technologies built thru history. So don’t free the self, but consider how the self could elaborate new kinds of relationships to ourselves.
Moves on to the monastic fashion of confession. Somewhat similar to the Greek, with the exception that it involved obedience and contemplation of God. You examine your thoughts to see if they are good ones and how they are motivated. How do you know? Well, you tell them to others, particularly the master or spiritual father (177). It is a confession of proof of the truth (178). Called exagoreusis. [Liddell–Scott Lexicon: exagoreuo: to speak out, publish, divulge.] A verbalisation of the thoughts in a continuous manner (not just when sinned) to the will of power. 1st Verbalization is an interpretation. 2nd it is not a retrospection about past acts, it is a permanent activity. 3rd it must go as deep as possible in the depth of the thoughts. These thoughts are obscured, secret, and must be excavated. 4th With this excavation one is lead away from Satan to God and converted, oriented to God and not oneself (it is a self–sacrifice). Is different from exomologesis except where the latter has the aspects of matyrdom (both ways of renouncing oneself). You have to sacrifice yourself to get the truth. This is the form which became dominant is still dominant today.
A question might be: where is this exagoreusis in regard to cyberspace? This constant confessional? Perhaps the chatroom? Is there constant confession there? Or actually the construction of self?
REFERENCES
Cooper, J.M. & Procopé, J.F. (Eds.). 1995. Seneca Moral and Political Essays. Cambridge University Press.
A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell & Scott’s Greek–English Lexicon. 1990. Oxford University Press.
Arndt, W.F. & Gingrich, F.W. 1952. Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. The University of Chicago Press.