On my day off last Wednesday I was trying to leave home in a hurry to get to an appointment when I walked straight into a Jehovah’s Witness about to knock on my door. Ugh.
The man said “I realise you’re in a hurry, so I just wanted to leave you this magazine…” as he handed me the above (ahem) ‘magazine’. Magazines that i’m accustomed to usually have the word ‘exposed’ next to the phrase ‘celebrities without make up’ or ‘celebs with cellulite’ not ‘Five lies about God’. And on the front cover is a photo of said disgraced celeb trying to avoid the ‘razzi storm. Not a seriously creepy illustration of a perplexed man holding a bible.
Inside the magazine are charming little stories about Lisa or Sarah who used to have a lip ring and be bad-ass but who now wears a twin set and pearls and feels her life has purpose. There’s also a confusing article preaching the importance of staying awake whilst studying the bible or you will fall out of a window and die.
I don’t mind a bit of propaganda. What I do mind is poorly executed propaganda. I realise publications like these need to cater to the lowest denominator but really, at the end of The Watchtower I felt no urge to honour Jehovah God, the Supreme Ruler of the universe. I haven’t felt such a sense of literary failure since reading the Dukan Diet and not feeling the urge to denounce carbs for the rest of my life.
So it seems Jehovah’s Witnesses are no FLDS or Landmark Education. Disappointing.
Your thoughts on organised religion?
My Bloggable Day 
Organized religion is a way for people to try to maintain a certain belief system or culture. It may be effective to keep people from living a chaotic lifestyle, but it could also lead to extreme fanatic rituals. In my personal life, I have learned to rely more on my everyday life in order to grow spiritually. I have learned that I am here on earth to serve those in need, thus living the Kingdom of Heaven. If a Jehova Witness or any other religious person comes to my front door and offers me information about their faith, I may invite them in for a small chat. But I will make it clear that I am open minded and that their faith, as well as other faiths, will be considered, but without serious commitment. The important thing is to be humble, kind, and serve others unconditionally. This is what I believe. Thank you.
Thank you, I appreciate your comment and opinion
I thought you were saying this is an example of disorganised religion not organised religion! 😉
Anyway, Jesus had some pretty harsh things to say against the organised religion of his day. Have a read of this rant from Jesus… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23&version=NLT
I agree with him. I’m not religious, but I do think Jesus is the most important person in history, someone with the power to transform lives. Jesus = the alternative to religion.
PS, over a year now since semester started in Vienna, good memories 🙂
Perhaps ‘poorly organised’ is the way to go?!
I’ll have to do a ‘Vienna: one year on..’ post soon. Man I miss that place!
My thoughts on organized religion? Good for an occasional laugh, I guess… But not much else.
I was a Witness for many years, but now am much happier and far less embarrassed not hustling badly written propaganda for a bunch of suits as a Mahayana Buddhist.
As an ex-Witness, may I say…well done!
Generally, I don’t think the Watchtower Society is intentionally evil. It’s just evil out of negligence and narrow minded incompetence. The goofy stuff you read is typical of their literature and kinda exemplifies the sort of thinking I’m talking about. Everything is black and white. Stay out of the world, be no part of Babylon the Great, be a good little foot soldier for the cause, don’t rely on your own understanding. etc.
Many JWs buy into it hook line and sinker. Not all do, but too many fall for it completely.
Thanks for this.
Another former JW here. Actually I am a happy, successful, educated apostate–their worst nightmare. But anyway just as a FYI, JWs used to claim that a 2 -year subscription to their magazine “Awake!” was the equivalent of a college degree! This was all the while denying individual JWs a college education to avoid associating with “unbelievers” or having their “faith shipwrecked” by “worldly knowledge”. Just thought you might like to know. (If it walks like a cult, and it talks like a cult…you know the rest!)
Oh and BTW–they are not badly organized, on the contrary! But their “literature” (if you can call it that) is written to attract the gullible and easily manipulated (and yes, the UNeducated). They dumb it down on purpose.
Well as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and a regular reader of the Watchtower (you can just call me “the lowest common denominator”) I can only say that you its a good thing that you actually read the magazine and if you didn not appreciate its content that’s fair enough. I appreciate also you didn’t feel the need to swear at the individual that handed you the magazine or blog about ways to insult or abuse Jehovah’s Witnesses. And if you feel that all 7 million of us are gullible simpletons, that i of course your choice.
Bravo for your restraint.