Back when I attended West Catholic High, religion was my last class of the day in sophomore year.
The teacher, Sister Eileen, had us go around the room on Fridays and give a short talk on something related to religion. Then there was a Q&A, but there were never any Qs, because no one really put a lot of thought into it.
Finally, one day it was my turn. I gave a nice little talk on reincarnation, and there were so many questions, it took almost the entire period. I thought Sister Eileen would be pleased with my effort but no.
She stood there with her arms crossed and her mouth tight as I finished. She said, "That's all well and good, Susan, but belief in reincarnation is a heresy and a mortal sin."
Being the slightly autistic kid that I was, I was puzzled. "Well, ACKSHUALLY, Sister, my research shows that reincarnation was an accepted part of church doctrine, until the fourth century when the Council of Nicea ruled against it." * Because I was trying to help, right?
Once again, the tight mouth. "Well, I have a masters degree in theology, and I'm telling you it's a mortal sin."
"Have you ever read anything about reincarnation?" I asked. She said no.
"Sister, with all due respect, if you know nothing about the subject, and you've never read anything about it, your masters degree may as well be in tap dancing," I said. "It's just not relevant." Again, trying to be logical.
She did not appreciate my help. Fortunately for her, the class was over.
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English (US) ·