Religious Rules

It's 2:50pm, it's been a long day, I should leave work but I'm still here. My last class was interesting. I let my kids have discussion day which means they can ask questions pertaining to religion and we talk about them. It gets loud and interesting and really, at points, it is enjoyable. Today was ok. We covered the normal stuff, abortion, pre-marital sex, condoms. I, of course, gave them the Church's view on all of those things as it is my job. Then I had a student tell me that another teacher and he were talking and this teacher said that if you did not read the Bible and go to Church you will not go to heaven. This is also the same teacher that informed my students that I was wrong regarding Adam and Eve and that they are, in fact, 100% real. (Or were) I was floored. How do you tell young people that? How do you tell a person that is most likely struggling with their belief in God and their faith, as most teens are, that if they do not read the Bible or go to Church there is no hope for them getting into Heaven?!?! GOOD LORD?!?!? I'm not going to heaven then! I am at a loss for words on this one. Part of our contract states that we must uphold the teachings of the Catholic church. DUH! We are CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL teachers!! The Church teaches that not going to church is a sin but we can ask for forgiveness. We can say that we are sorry. God can be gracious and forgive us this wrongdoing. I don't believe in a God that would deny a good person heaven. I don't believe in a God that would say if you didn't read Scripture you can't get in to heaven. I don't believe in a God that is seemingly that arbitrary. I don't know many people who do believe in that type of God. I just can't get over that this teacher felt it was ok to tell a student that. I felt terrible for some of my kids because they believe this teacher. They believe that if they don't go to church and don't read the Bible they will not go to Heaven. How sad? How sad that a teacher, an adult, someone these kids respect has used knowledge to really hurt a child's life. Those are words that could make an insecure and unsure young adult or teen completely give up on God and faith. I just can't get over it. I am truly truly bothered by those words and by the fact that they were spoken with such sincerity and "authority".

Other than that it's Friday. I'm going out tonight. I'm looking forward to it. The husband is staying home to do schoolwork so I'm going out with a friend to check out a new bar by us. I'm pretty excited. Maybe I'll bring my Bible along so that I can kill two birds with one stone....you know reading the Scripture and taking a break. Bars and bibles? They go well together? Yes? Oh and really it's three birds because whenever two or more are gathered in Jesus' name we have church...I bet I can convince my friend, on the promise of heaven, to bring her Bible, too!
Good thing I'm getting this out here, otherwise I'd be saying it to the teacher and God knows that wouldn't be a good thing!