Reply #52: According to my religious education... [View All]

[Nobody]

Having graduated from a Catholic HS and having been required to take a class called "Morality" in 9th grade, one of the things that stood out was what we were taught in this class.

Some of it was very questionable. I've mentioned the other thing on this board already.

Here is the other one:

Not going to church each Sunday is a mortal sin.

So I raised my hand and asked the obvious question. What if you have two people: One is a kind, generous, person who spend a great deal of time assisting the poor, volunteering with senior citizens, donating to food shelves, helping out stranded motorists, etc but skipped church on occasion, some of the occasions to do these things. The second is a serial killer who never misses a single Mass. Who would get to heaven first?

The answer according to the instructor was that the first person had committed a mortal sin and if he/she died unforgiven would go to hell. But the second, if he/she confessed his/her sins would enter the kingdom of God.

It certainly gave the class a great deal to think about.

To be fair to other Catholics, I mentioned the class to my mother, who was and is very devout, and she didn't agree with the instructor. My family always said that God doesn't take attendance.