Is there anywhere in the bible that requires the formal act of confession? Can't you just always repent personally? It's not like the omniscient deity can't read your mind.
No. The repentance of each individual sin is not required either as shown in the Lord's Prayer. "Forgive us our debts/trespasses" shows that we can simply ask God to forgive us in general, although it is good to ask forgiveness for individual sins for our own reflection.
There's nowhere in the Bible that it says everything of the faith is contained in the bible. Though it does say that we should cling to tradition even if not written "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." 2 Thessilonians 2:15
That being said, the Church usually points to Jesus as having instituted the sacrament of reconciliation here "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” John 20:23
That begs the question of The Bible being the only source of truth and authority, an assertion to which catholics do not acquiesce and a point of contention between them and many protestant sects.
Yes, you can repent directly to the lord, but most people can't hear the lord and won't get the benefits of therapy from it, they'll only get the benefits of mindfulness. At a confessional everyone can get the benefits of amateur therapy.
More religious memes! I grew up religious so I have quite a bit of useless knowledge accrued about he various monotheistic religions. Would be nice to put them to use for some meme enjoying
I'm simplifying a lot, but: In the Christian faith, Catholics believe that you have to pray through their saints* (which get their authority from the Catholic church), whereas Protestants believe you can pray directly to god. This concept was put forward by the monk Martin Luther.