Bad Religion

Following on a previous blog on math, at least the math teacher does not have to "unlearn" you from bad math taught when you were younger.  Math is progressive, one year building upon another.  You don't have to unlearn physics 101 to learn physics 201. Algebra comes nicely after arithmetic.  But in religion, we teach simplistically to youth and then later we have to deal with that when we are trying to teach adult spirituality.  For instance, we tell children that God is in heaven, a place that is up, as in the sky.  We go to mass or else God will punish us.  We confess to a priest or else God cannot forgive us.  Communion is a reward for being good.  Prayer is our words and thoughts to thank God and then to ask for things.  Many people, when they grow up, drop out of religion because a lot of this early age teaching is wanting.  We have a buried treasure chest of wisdom.  I try to dig it up, unlock it and then make connections where possible with their past religion lessons.  And not fall into heresy.  That leads to purgatory, at least.