Oh, the Dogma!
Growing up Catholic, I learned a litany of jargon. Tis a testament to the myriad reasons young children are simultaneously frightened and skeptical about religion.
Let us review:
GOD -- Our Great Creator, Infallible, Omnipresent and Supreme; given male persona, also referred to as He or Him.
Sins -- Venial and Mortal. Venial sins, like Life Infractions, are redeemed by serving "penance". Mortal sins, like taking someone's life, are a serious matter for which greater penance is required.
Penance -- as consequence of actions, it is required compensation; usually consists of praying 5 Hail Mary's and 10 Our Father's after making confession to a priest.
Priest -- purveyor of all things Catholic; he who serves God by ad'ministering' to the poor and rich alike while also serving Mass and other duties like presiding over marriages and funerals.
Mass -- the ritual or liturgy of turning wine into the blood and bread into the Body of Christ in order to give Communion to the people.
Communion -- the ingesting of wafer bread and wine for healing and redemption.
Confession -- one of the Sacraments enabling a parishioner to purge missteps (aka sins) in order to clean spiritual plate, by revealing 'sins' in private.
Heaven -- a place of eternal peace, happiness and joy bestowed upon those who live a righteous earthly life determined by God at The Pearly Gates on Judgement Day.
HELL -- a VERY HOT place where all evil-doers are damned forever.
Purgatory -- a middle sphere between heaven and hell where a soul goes to do penance for sins not deemed serious enough for HELL.
Limbo -- an ether world where babies go if they die before being baptized.
So, you see, that's a lot for kids to understand. Nowadays, I have a more androgonous view of God. I prefer to believe G.O.D is an acronym:
General Omnipotent Deity.
Genderless and Autonomous.
Has anyone come back to report Otherwise?
