My experience at the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Kingdom Hall
A Kingdom Hall is the equivalent of a church or temple.
Today at the Kingdom Hall, in which started at an unusual 1:00pm, was an odd experience.
On the way to the church, the girl who proselytized to me was talking with an elderly lady, of whom she called her spiritual grandmother, about… alcohol. This raised a couple of eyebrows. The lady said “there’s nothing more refreshing than to have a nice cold beer at the end of a long hot summer day, don’t you agree Charles.” At this, I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I’m not use to Western Christian churches supporting alcohol. I told her I’m not a heavy drinker. Awkward silence ensued until we arrived at the church.
It started out with the usual song and prayer. But when a speaker came up in the front of the room to give his speech, he finished and was applauded. Odd. The entire speech and Sunday School lesson took place within the choir room (the largest room in the building).
Then on to the Sunday School part of the service, called Watchtower study. It was led by a Kenyan, with the reader reading in a very condescending, 1st grade voice. It wasn’t comforting at all. And to top it all off, the study was about wife obedience. Sexist, I know, but it is in the Bible. During the study, two elders moved around the room, for a question-and-answer session with the Watchtower magazine itself. They carried the mikes, so members could answer the questions. Children were among the most to answer the questions.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses
Oh boy, I got a visit by the Jehovah’s Witnesses yesterday, and oh my fucking god. It was sad. I received a couple of Watchtower magazines and a booklet entitled “What Does the Bible Really Teach?”
So what do they believe?
- In 1914, Jesus resurrected the 144,000 to Heaven to serve under him. It is the birth of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the beginning of the last days on earth.
- “Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh.” (From http://www.evangelicalbible.com/jw.htm.)
- That Revelation has a lot of symbolism, and is not to be taken literally (except for the New Jerusalem part).
- That Adam and Eve died. Completely obliterated from existence. And did not pass over to the spirit realm.
- That Jesus is now the Archangel Michael. (Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah…s#Jesus_Christ.)
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