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I still remember the day God saved me.
First, a bit of background. As Jehovah's Witness (JW) kids, there were a few rules which we all knew: no blood transfusions, no holidays, no birthdays, no swearing, and no reading apostate literature. Apostate literature is anything which is anti-JW, or anything written by someone who used to be, but no longer is, a JW.
Now, I wasn't the only fundy at my school. No sirree. The school was smackdab in the middle of a substantial Bible belt, and the religion of choice was the United Pentecostal Church (UPC). You could tell the UPC girls apart from everyone else because they all had long hair and long denim skirts. Their rules were just as screwy as the JWs'. Although UPCs could celebrate holidays, they couldn't wear jewellery or makeup.
One day, a UPC girl came up to me, impressed with a dimestore ring I was wearing. "May I try it on?" she asked.
"Sure!"
So she put the ring on, and from around the corner walked Reggie. Reggie was a minister's son, and very religious. When he saw her wearing a ring--a garment of Satan himself--he shook his head both sternly and worriedly and said, "Your father shall hear of this."
The girl cringed, tore off the ring, threw it in my hand, and fled.
Another day, Reggie approached me and said, "Your religion is wrong, and I can show you why."
Even though I knew I wasn't allowed to say such things, I asked, "How so?"
And that's when the Devil took over Reggie. He pulled a slim book from his satchel and handed it over to me. It seemed that things were happening in slow motion, and I reached out to take the book.
I don't remember the title. It was something generic like, "Preaching to Jehovah's Witnesses" or "Why Filthy Jehovah's Witnesses Will Burn in the Pits of Hell".
I knew I shouldn't even look at such a book, but I was compelled. I took the book from his hand, and was just about to open it when Jehovah intervened.
Reggie yanked the book from my trembling hand and said, "Uh, maybe my minister wouldn't want you to see that, after all."
And he walked away, taking my doom with him.
Of course I prayed many great praises to my God after my deliverance. I'd been saved!
How was I to know that years later, I would gladly read the evilist, nastiest apostate book of all: Raymond Franz's Crisis of Conscience?
First, a bit of background. As Jehovah's Witness (JW) kids, there were a few rules which we all knew: no blood transfusions, no holidays, no birthdays, no swearing, and no reading apostate literature. Apostate literature is anything which is anti-JW, or anything written by someone who used to be, but no longer is, a JW.
Now, I wasn't the only fundy at my school. No sirree. The school was smackdab in the middle of a substantial Bible belt, and the religion of choice was the United Pentecostal Church (UPC). You could tell the UPC girls apart from everyone else because they all had long hair and long denim skirts. Their rules were just as screwy as the JWs'. Although UPCs could celebrate holidays, they couldn't wear jewellery or makeup.
One day, a UPC girl came up to me, impressed with a dimestore ring I was wearing. "May I try it on?" she asked.
"Sure!"
So she put the ring on, and from around the corner walked Reggie. Reggie was a minister's son, and very religious. When he saw her wearing a ring--a garment of Satan himself--he shook his head both sternly and worriedly and said, "Your father shall hear of this."
The girl cringed, tore off the ring, threw it in my hand, and fled.
Another day, Reggie approached me and said, "Your religion is wrong, and I can show you why."
Even though I knew I wasn't allowed to say such things, I asked, "How so?"
And that's when the Devil took over Reggie. He pulled a slim book from his satchel and handed it over to me. It seemed that things were happening in slow motion, and I reached out to take the book.
I don't remember the title. It was something generic like, "Preaching to Jehovah's Witnesses" or "Why Filthy Jehovah's Witnesses Will Burn in the Pits of Hell".
I knew I shouldn't even look at such a book, but I was compelled. I took the book from his hand, and was just about to open it when Jehovah intervened.
Reggie yanked the book from my trembling hand and said, "Uh, maybe my minister wouldn't want you to see that, after all."
And he walked away, taking my doom with him.
Of course I prayed many great praises to my God after my deliverance. I'd been saved!
How was I to know that years later, I would gladly read the evilist, nastiest apostate book of all: Raymond Franz's Crisis of Conscience?
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 09:27 pm (UTC)From:Not so much because I was some sort of craftsman or artisan, but because he struck me as the least popular Greek god, and I didn't want him to feel left out.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 01:47 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 04:30 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 03:05 pm (UTC)From:I remember seeing him give a talk at a ginormous assembly in Montreal in the 70s. I couldn't tell you what he talked about, though. I never paid attention to anything but the dramas, really.