Armageddon's Prisoners 5

After spending three days thinking about it, Jack stopped by the public library on his way home.  Summer was the busy time for his roofing business, Sally would not notice if he was a few minutes late.  He pulled into the new parking structure and found a place quickly.  After pulling the key out of the ignition, a sudden thought struck him.  He had entered a library since leaving high school.  He didn’t even know how to get a library card.

He walked into the large building.  The Bellevue branch was the largest in the King County system.  He walked down a hallway, past conference rooms, computer services, the rest rooms, and even a small store.  Large double doors led into the main section.  Rows of shelves loaded with books, music, movies and who knew what else confronted him.  He glanced up and realized the stairs led up a mezzanine to another floor also loaded with books.

He stepped over to a help desk and explained that he needed a library card.  After a few minutes with a very helpful woman, he left the desk armed with a brand-new library card, a map of the building and a sense of awe that such a collection of information lay at his fingertips.  He climbed the stairs to get to the history section.  At the top of the stairs, he discovered a third floor of book racks. 

How many books did this place contain?  After a few minutes of walking around in this wonderland, he found the section he wanted. The American history section occupied two lengthy aisles.  The Civil War shelves held dozens, perhaps hundreds of books.  After some searching he selected two, what looked like a lengthy history of the whole battle of Gettysburg, and a shorter work on Pickett’s Charge. 

He started to head back down the stairs to check out his finds, but stopped.  Consulting his diagram of the building, he walked toward a flight of stairs leading to the third floor and the religion section. He walked between rows of books, looking at titles, not knowing what he sought or why.

He saw many different Bible translations, and even more commentaries.  The Word taught that all these works were vain, the ramblings of uninspired men.  Only the Apostles conveyed the true thoughts of The Lord. Many other volumes discussed large religions such as Roman Catholicism, and the many Protestant sects.  Could all these scholars be wrong?

He shied from the thought.  A woman a few feet away looked at him sharply, he realized he’d physically flinched at the thought of doubting the Apostles.  He turned and another book caught his eye, “The Crumbling Foundation.”  Fear flashed through his belly.  Every Disciple in the world knew the warnings about that book.  Filled with lies about the Foundation propagated by an unholy alliance of a professor of theology and disgruntled Forsakers – exDisicples – it provided a ready avenue for demonic attack.

He strode quickly toward the stairs and the checkout computers.  He still wanted to read about the battle fought by his ancestor, but did not want to open himself to the influence of Satan.  The Apostles were right, good Disciples did not read the works of demons.  He checked out his two books, returned to his car and headed for home. 

He still felt unsettled when he arrived home, a feeling that grew worse when he spotted the car parked in front of the house.  The last thing he wanted to do was spend an evening with Shari and Hal Covington.  After pulling into the garage, he entered the house, too late realizing he had his library books in his hand.

He found Hal helping himself to a glass of scotch in the dining room, while Shari told Sally what she was doing wrong in the kitchen.  Why his wife put up with this nonsense from her cousin was one of life’s mysteries.  He set the books down, where he hoped no one would see them, and joined Hal.  

At least he could have a drink. 

“Good to see you Jack,” Hal said, “I hope you’re doing well.”

“I…”

“Things have been good to us lately, our Area Servant commended me the other day, because our Gathering’s full-time Discple-Makers met their quotas every month for the last six…”

Fifteen minutes later, Jack was halfway through his second drink and Hal was still talking about himself.  In the kitchen, he could hear Shari and Sally exchanging gossip at full speed. He wondered if either one heard the other.  He excused himself and walked to the upstairs bathroom.  He did not realize until he reached the top of the stairs that he’d left his library books downstairs.

His hope that nobody would notice them was dashed when he came back down.  Hal, sat at the table, the books in front of him.

“What are you doing with this stuff?”

“Just a little research, after that family research Shari did…”

“My wife should not have done that.  You know The Word frowns on compiling genealogies.  It’s a waste of time better spent pursuing The Lord’s works.”

Jack explained that he understood all that, he only wanted to find out more about his family.  Hal replied that war was evil and studying it inappropriate for a Disciple. The conversation ended as the women starting bringing food out of the kitchen.  Jack thought he heard Hal say something about looking into it further, but he could not be sure.

As always, Shari dominated the dinner table conversation. Jack focused on his food, trying to ignore Shari’s inane babbling.  But he could not ignore her when she started discussing disciplinary matters in the Gathering back in Spokane.  Clearly, Hal had been talking to her about Review Committee matters.  It hit a sore spot, too many Servants ignored the Foundations instructions not to discuss confidential matters with their wives.

“So,” Shari was saying, “the Servants had to Cast-out the Johnson’s, that kind of impropriety just can’t be allowed.”

“I don’t see,” Jack said after taking a large gulp of wine, “why the Servants should be monitoring the bedroom behavior of married couples.”

“We don’t,” Hal snapped, “it became common knowledge in the Gathering and we had to do something?” 

“Why not,” Jack said, ignoring the look on his wife’s face, “tell the gossipers to mind their own business?”

“Because every Disciple has an obligation to help keep the Gathering free of sin.  If a couple is engaged in improper conduct, even in their own home, and another Disciple knows about it, they must report it.”

A cloud of silence hung over the table for a minute, before Jack spoke again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to start a fight at dinner, I’m still out of sorts.” 

Polite, and forced, small talk carried them through the rest of the meal.  Later, after Hal and Shari left to go to their motel, Sally brought a blanket and pillow into the living room.  She threw them down, and told Jack she had a headache, he was sleeping on the couch.  Without another word, she turned and stomped off to the bedroom.

  Jack poured another drink and sat in his favorite chair.  He stared into the glass, thinking.  Religion and family, the twin anchors of his life, no longer provided comfort.  He and Sally fought constantly, JJ was ready to leave parents and religion behind.  Since the debacle of 2011 The Word held out uncertain hope, a source of conflict not inner peace. 

What was he to do?


This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, and events are the product of the author's imagination; any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.  To the best of my knowledge no organization called "The Word of God Foundation" exists.

Comments are invited.  Publication of comments is subject to moderation.  If you wish to comment, but do not want your remarks made public, please include a note to that effect.

© Jeffrey A. Thomas

Armageddon's Prisoners 4

Wednesday evening following the fight in the Gathering House, the Servant Committee met for its usual biweekly meeting.  Only four of the Bellevue Gathering’s six Servants Jack, Matt Kesselring, Todd Davis, and Larry McKinnon attended.  Dan Gunther, the Area Servant sat in, an unusual event. Gunther had temporarily removed Isaac Taylor and Arnold Senge from the committee pending instructions from New Jerusalem.  When he announced he would attend the meeting, no one dared object.

The little space at the back of the building, next to the door, functioned as the Gathering House’s library and conference room.  Jack still had trouble breathing through his nose.  He sat sucking stale air through his mouth, hoping he could avoid talking.  His voice had to sound funny.  After a brief prayer, the meeting started with the usual formalities, noting those present, thanking Gunther for filling in, reading and approving the minutes of the previous meeting. 

Jack expected the Committee to immediately take up the matter of the fight on Sunday morning.  Instead, Gunther closed off the line of thought with a preemptive order.

“You need to form a review committee to look into the activity of those two teenagers.  A fistfight between their fathers points to real problems, we need to discipline them before we can deal with the parents.”

He then detailed Matt, Larry and Todd to investigate their conduct, since he didn’t think Jack could act impartially. Jack did not disagree with that assessment.  He thought about bringing up his medical costs but Gunther moved along the agenda before he could speak. 

Travis Wilson had written a note to the Area Servant asking for appointment to the Servant Committee.  Before Gunther could say anything more Larry laughed, a deep booming sound.

“I suppose he told you how much better off the Gathering would be if you put him in charge.”

Gunther, who rarely showed any sign of a sense of humor, smiled for a moment, “He thinks he could do my job better as well.  I take it you don’t want him as a Servant.”

A chorus of agreement swept the room.  Jack nodded in relief, he could not imagine trying to conduct business with Wilson on the committee.  They took up other matters and Jack found himself agreeing to counsel Lewis Johnson for again coming to Gathering without wearing a tie.  The assignment irritated Jack, why couldn’t a man be comfortable at Gathering on a hot morning?  He decided he could truthfully say that some Disciples found the lack of a tie disrespectful, but that he was not one of them.

The meeting turned to shuffling assignments to adjust to the absence of Taylor and Senge.  Until instructions from New Jerusalem settling the matter arrived, they could not serve as Servants.  Gunther noted that they could not expect Jack to do extra work for the few days needed for a response from the religions headquarters. Jack let his mind wander since nothing more required his attention.

He looked over the books lining the walls of the room.  The Foundation had published one or two books and twelve issue of “The Word of God” magazine every year since 1931. Every January New Jerusalem printed a bound volume of the previous year’s magazines.  Every Gathering House’s library contained a copy of all this material.  Curiously, most of the older books sat behind locked doors, only the chairman of the Servant Committee had a key.

Jack noted that he’d never even seen the door unlocked, much less read or even looked at the books in that case.  It suddenly struck him as odd the Disciples took such great pride in all this evidence of Bible research but no one ever studied it. 

“I have one more item,” Gunther announced, pulling a several sheets of paper from his briefcase, “read this letter a week from tomorrow at your weekly administrative Gathering.  I have a copy for each of you.  I’m sure it will create some discussion and questions.  Study it and prepare enforce its terms.”

The meeting wrapped up and Jack headed home, wanting only a drink and a good night’s sleep.  He would read the letter later.

Later that night, unable to sleep, Jack slipped out of bed and down the hall to his office.  A sliver of light showed under the door to JJ’s room.  He paused, thought for a moment, and knocked.  A second later his son opened the door. 

“Can I come in for a minute?”

“Sure.”

Jack looked at an open book on the desk, “Why are you studying?  School hasn’t even started yet.”

JJ explained that with the instructor’s permission he could take calculus at the local community college, adding that it would count as college credit.  At his father’s request, he handed over the text.  Jack looked for a second at indecipherable mathematic symbols.

“Do you understand this stuff?”

“Yes, I do.”

Jack shook his head, not knowing what to say.  His son wasn’t asking permission to do anything, the comment about going to the community college was a simple fact, JJ would go with or without his parent’s consent.  He looked again at the book, he knew the Foundation’s teachings on wasting time on goals in this world.  It just didn’t match up against JJ’s academic ability.  But his training as a Servant overcame reluctance to say what he thought.

“JJ, you know we don’t approve of college or financial pursuits in this world…”

“Dad,” JJ said seriously, “it’s my turn to talk.”

Jack nodded.

“You’re forty-two years old, you’ve been waiting for Paradise for forty-two years.  I’m not going to give up my life for a pipe dream.”

Jack started to say something, but JJ cut him off.

“I know you want to go to Gettysburg, ever since Aunt Shari did that family research.  You’ve never gone because we always had to go the summer Grand Gatherings instead.  Don’t you think you should live before you die?”

The words brought Jack up short.  A few years earlier, Sally cousin, who JJ always called his aunt, had picked up the idea that some ancestor came to America on the Mayflower.  The Word frowned on such research, but Shari’s ego got the better of her.  The Mayflower story did not hold up.  However, a several times removed grandfather had marched into the Union guns under the command of General George Pickett.

The story fascinated Jack. He wanted to visit the battlefield, to try to understand his ancestor.  He could not imagine how the man found the courage to march into battle for such a misbegotten cause. 

He put a hand on his son’s shoulder, “Give me a couple of days to talk to your mother. This will be difficult for me.  They may make me resign as a Servant.”

“That seems stupid, but I won’t say anything.”

Jack said goodnight and walked down the hall to his home office.  He picked up the letter Gunther had delivered and read it.  It contained a strongly worded message to all Disciples, warning them to be aware of attempts by Outsiders to tarnish the Foundation’s image.  It warned that unnamed enemies of The Lord’s Word sought to twist its words to discredit it. 

The letter added specific warnings about use of the Internet, stating Satan wielded it as a tool to deceive The Lord’s Disciples, if possible.  One statement drew Jack’s attention: “We know that we are deep into the time of the end.  Now is the time for all of The Lord’s Disciples to serve Him and His purposes without distraction.  Some critics of the Word of God Foundation, chiefly those that have Forsaken their faith in His Word, claim that the Apostles prophesied the end of the World in 2011.  This is not true.  Admittedly, we speculated that The Lord’s Great Day might occur in that year, but we did not proclaim it as fact.”

Jack turned out his desk lamp but sat in the dark for a long time, pondering that paragraph.  That wasn’t out he remembered it. 

Notes
This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, and events are the product of the author's imagination; any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.  To the best of my knowledge no organization called "The Word of God Foundation" exists.

Comments are invited.  Publication of comments is subject to moderation.  If you wish to comment, but do not want your remarks made public, please include a note to that effect. 

© Jeffrey A. Thomas

Armageddon's Prisoners 3

Unlike the austere Gathering Houses Disciples used around the world, the Apostle’s conference room contained only the best appointments.  Where Houses had cheap plastic chairs and inexpensive carpet, this room boasted deep Italian leather chairs surrounding a polished granite table.  The building, built as a luxury hotel, never saw its intended use.  The First Apostle bought the property to use as the Foundation’s headquarters. The Apostles still preserved the hardwood floors, delicate filigree head rails, and window casings.

Laban Packard looked out the windows for a moment, watching a seaplane speed across Lake Union to take off.  Although he knew the plane made a tremendous noise, no sound penetrated the thick glass, rumored to be bulletproof.  Some days, soundproof glass seemed like a good idea. 

“John,” he said mildly, “could you at least stop swearing, it’s unseemly.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Doug Sadler nod vigorously.  Doug, the oldest of the twelve men around the table, disliked many of John Rodgers’ habits, although they were friends.  At seventy-four, John was only a couple of years younger than Doug.  Eleven of the twelve men were over sixty. 

“I’m Chief Apostle!” Rodgers snapped, “I’ll talk any way I Goddamn well please.”

Laban saw Peter McCarrick, sitting across the table suppress a smile, “John, the office of Chief Apostle no longer exists.”

Rodgers faced turned even redder.  Laban tried to think of reason to excuse himself, he expected the meeting to get even uglier.  Rodgers, as if by magic changed his mood.  The people working with him soon grew accustomed to his sudden mood shifts. 

“You’re right, I really need to keep my emotions in check.”  He scanned the table smiling, “I’m sorry, I was out of hand.”

His attention turned to the empty seats, normally occupied by aides and secretaries, lining the walls of the room. 

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing we’re in executive session, no witnesses.” 

He laughed mirthlessly at his own joke. 

“So let’s get back to work.”

“As I was saying,” David Howell continued, “I think we need to find a way to make the Disciples understand there is nothing fundamentally wrong with our interpretation of Bible prophecy.  It is clear that we are well into the Last Days.  Surely the great day of The Lord is not far off. 

“I regret my part in promoting the 2011 date, I still think the calculations are correct.  I’m continuing my research, perhaps my mistake involves lunar versus solar years…”

“And that brings us back to my point,” Philip Hogeboom snapped, “what if we’re wrong?”

Laban nodded, Phil was the real scholar among the Apostles.  He read Greek, Hebrew and Latin with a reasonable degree of fluency, something none of the others could claim. 

“We can’t be wrong,” Robert Olzak interjected, “clearly The Lord has placed us here to lead His people through the End into Paradise.”

“That’s circular reasoning.  “We lead in the time of the end, we’re leading so this is the time of the end.’  We’ll never get off this merry-go-round if we don’t change our approach.”

Laban looked up in surprise, Peter McCarrick focused on business aspects of the Foundation, he rarely involved himself in theological debates.  His motivation became apparent with his next words.

“I agree, the coming Paradise is a fundamental feature of The Lord’s Word.  However, it is not the only feature.  Our Disciple-making methods are no longer effective in today’s world.  We should branch out into modern media.  Instead of telling our young people to avoid college and career we should encourage them to pursue financially rewarding lives and donate more money to the Foundation.”

McCarrick’s eyes swept the table, taking in the reflexive disagreement of most of his colleagues.  The Foundation had long discouraged education and career as distractions from the commission to make Disciples.

“Look how well it’s worked for the Mormons…”

“Damn it,” Rodgers went off again, “I’m not going to take my example of leadership from a bunch of crazy cultists.  What’s next? Recruit Hollywood harlots like Scientology?”

David Howell grinned, for a moment breaking out of the funk that had consumed him since 2011 came and went with no Armageddon.

“I don’t know John, ‘Hollywood Harlots’ has a nice ring to it.”

For a moment, Laban thought Rodgers’ head would explode.  But after a moment, he too joined in the laughter.

“Well we’re not going to set a new strategic direction for the Foundation today.  Let’s all jot down some thoughts on the matter and we’ll take it up next week.  We can call in the others and start our regular session.”

**

That evening Laban stopped by Phil’s living quarters for a private chat.  Phil’s wife said he was in the library.  Laban took the walkway over the street that connected the Apostle’s space with the administrative annex housing the library.  He found Phil in his favorite location, the ancient language section.  Laban was sure that nobody else used the small room with Greek and Hebrew texts.

“Good evening, Phil, what are you doing in here?”

“Thinking.”

“Do we still do that?”

“Well,” Phil said sarcastically, “somebody has to.  We’ve  trained the Disciples not to do it for themselves.”

For several minutes, the two men talked about the current state of affairs at the Foundation without discovering anything new.  Both expressed concern over the rot and disinterest in the religion’s core.  The failure of the 2011 prophetic interpretation provided ample ammunition for the Word’s critics, and the Disciples had no idea what happened to the hope they had chased for many years.

“I’m hearing about more and more problems in the local Gatherings,” Laban noted, “people are getting crazy.  Just this morning I got a letter about three Servants in New York running an investment scam.  And another letter about possible wife swapping in a Gathering in California.

“That’s not how the Lord’s people are supposed to behave.  And it’s our fault.  We told them the world was about to end, that they would be living in Paradise with a thing to worry about.  We told them we had all the answers, now they have no idea how to live.”

Laban had no idea how to answer that.  It was all true.

**

John Rodgers and David Howell sat in the corner of John’s living room, a small conversation nook nestled between two large windows with panoramic views of Seattle. 

The city blazed with light, which shimmered on the water of Lake Union.  The Space Needle towered to the west.  Neither man looked at the view.

The two sat on small couches facing each other over a low coffee table.  Two glass of scotch sat on coasters.  John preferred to talk over drinks late at night.  His associates were used to it.  Although officially the position no longer meant anything, most Disciples still thought of him as “Chief 

Apostle.”  Certainly he thought of himself that way.

“David, we need to get the Disciples whipped back into shape.  None of this ‘lighten the load’ nonsense weaklings like Packard and his friends keep prattling on about.”

Howell nodded, but said nothing.  These conversations went better if the “Chief” did most of the talking.

“I mean it, and this is no criticism of you.  They got all worked up about this date and forgot about serving the Lord.  We never said 2011 would see Paradise restored.  We only suggested that it would be a logical time.  Next thing you know, people are selling houses, cashing in retirement plans and going to Timbuktu to make Disciple.”

He took a drink and continued.

“David, we need a plan to get the Disciples focused on the important things again.  I think we’ve let in too many people who are not truly dedicated to The Lord.

“It’s time to thin the heard so to speak.”  


Two notes:
1) This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, and events are the product of the author's imagination; any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.  To the best of my knowledge no organization called "The Word of God Foundation" exists.

2) comments are invited.  Publication of comments is subject to moderation.  If you wish to comment, but do not want your remarks made public, please include a note to that effect.  

Armageddon's Prisoners 2

Jack’s nose still bled two hour after he got home, nothing helped.  He’d plugged with tissue, pinched the bridge of his nose, applied ice; the blood did not stop.  Now his neck hurt and he had a headache.

“Dad, you look terrible,” JJ asked, concern in his voice, “I think you should see a doctor.”

Jack looked up from where he lay on the couch.  JJ looked fuzzy and kept trying to turn into two people.

“I’m not sure I can see well enough to see a doctor.”

“Bad joke, your eyes are swelling shut.”

After a few minutes of discussion Jack let his son talk him into going to a drop in clinic a few blocks away.  Sally wasn’t answering her cell phone, probably indicating she’d joined a group in Disciple-making, the groups public preaching work.  As JJ drove him to the clinic, Jack fumed internally.  He wouldn’t say anything to his son, but it annoyed him that his wife put saving Outsiders ahead of checking on her husband.

The doctor poked and prodded, made noises and asking questions.  Jack thought some questions were none of the doctors business and refused to answer them.  The staff took an X-ray, after examining it, the doctor concluded that Jack’s nose was broken, but the headache wasn’t serious.

“Mr. Thornton,” he intoned, “I know you don’t think some of my questions are any of my business, in this business we get pretty good at putting puzzles together.”

Jack sat silently.  After a moment the man continued.

“I’m curious, what kind of church service involves fist fights.”

“I’d rather not answer, and it isn’t a church service.”

The doctor nodded, “so you’re a Disciple.”

“Well… yes,” Jack spoke hesitantly, he didn’t want to say or do anything that would give an Outsider a reason to criticize The Lord’s Word.  Then it occurred to him that he’d done nothing wrong.

“A couple of guys got mad, and it got out of hand. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jack left the clinic with a bottle of pain pills and tape on his nose.  He felt foolish and his head still hurt.  The reception when they arrived at home didn’t help.  When they came through the door Sally looked up from reading a Bible study aid.

“What is that on your face?”

“My nose is broken.”

“You should have stayed out of that stupid fight.”

Jack explained that he didn’t think he’d been in a fight, he’d been trying to stop one.  Sally ignored the remark, turning back to her study.  After a thirty seconds of dead silence, Jack said he had a headache and wanted to lie down.  Sally continued to ignore him.  Jack turned and walked silently to the bedroom and lay down.

“So what does she think I should have done,” he said to the ceiling.

Jack woke up with a start.  The pain pills must have done their job, a glance at the clock told him he’d slept for two hours.  Although the headache had dissipated, he still felt lousy.  He walked to the kitchen where Sally was sautéing onions.

“Smells good.”

She stirred the pan vigorously without answering. Pulling a can from the cupboard she slammed it on the counter, utensils rattled as she yanked a drawer open to find the can opener.

 “What did I do?” Jack snapped.

Sally took a deep sighing breath before answering through clenched teeth.

“I can’t believe you got in a fight at the Gathering House. Everybody is talking about it.  And your name keeps coming up.  You’ve humiliated me in front of all our friends.”

Jack protested the unfairness of the remark.  He’d only wanted to calm down the situation, to defuse the argument.  Arnie and Isaac were the ones in trouble.

“Well, you know they’re going to appoint a review committee, they’re going to ask you questions.  They could even remove you as a Servant, it’s a major setback for our standing in The Word.”

Jack didn’t see how they could have grounds to do that.  But he didn’t see any point in continuing to argue with Sally as long as her mood continued.  He turned toward the living room, maybe he could find a ball game or something on TV.

“Matt Kesselring called,” she said as he walked out of the kitchen, “I told you they’re setting up a committee.”

Jack flopped onto the couch, pulled out his cell phone called Kesselring, the current chairman of the Servant body. Matt answered immediately and asked Jack how he was feeling.

“Terrible.  Arnie broke my nose, I’m in pain and the trip to the clinic cost me three hundred and fifty bucks.”

“That’s too bad,” Matt said, sounding sympathetic for a few seconds, “I’m trying to organized a committee 

to look into what’s going on with those two kids. I could use your help.”

Matt’s comments left Jack nonplussed, “What about Arnie and Isaac?”

“Well, we don’t have any instructions in the manual for such a situation, so we had to kick it to New Jerusalem.  In the meantime we’ll look into our problem with the teenagers.  It probably isn’t just those two.”

Jack sighed.  As a Servant, the Word required him to help take the lead in keeping up Godly standards.  But sometimes, it just sounded ridiculous.  In reality, “New Jerusalem” meant the twelve Apostles at the world headquarters across the lake in Seattle.  It seemed silly to involve the leaders of four million Disciples in a fight between angry dads.  But eventually New Jerusalem settled all questions.

“Ok, but give me a day or two to recover.”

Later that evening, as he and Sally prepared for bed, she continued with the silent treatment. For a moment, fear gripped Jack.  If New Jerusalem, or even the other servants, thought he acted incorrectly, he would be Cast-out.  No one would even speak to him.  This would be his life.

“Sally, I was just trying to stop that fight.”

She sighed, “My cousin called, they already heard about it in Spokane.”

Jack wasn’t surprised.  Shari Covington having lived in the area for many years, had numerous contacts.  

She was also the biggest gossip in North America.  He decided to just give up for the day and climbed into bed.

 Sally flipped out the lamp as soon as Jack was in bed, and turned facing away from him.  Then she rolled back for a moment.

“I don’t understand why you think it’s odd that Matt wanted to call the Apostles.  They are our spiritual leaders, The Lord speaks through them.  Of course they will know what to do.”

“You’re right I guess.”

Jack didn’t really think she was, but his head hurt again and he wanted to go to sleep.  He would say anything at the moment to kill a late night pillow talk session.

“Good, you’ll see, they will provide the direction the Gathering needs to move past this and promote The Lord’s will.” 

Armageddon's Prisoners 1

Jack Thornton suppressed a yawn, not wanting to look disrespectful of the Lord’s Word.  But the temperature inside the Gathering House rose with the summer sun outside.  The austere, windowless building had fans, but no air-conditioning.  This did not pose a hardship on most Seattle Sunday mornings.  The fact that he’d heard this morning’s Message, or one just like it, hundreds of times did not make staying awake any easier.

Jack, his wife Sally, and seventeen-year-old Jack Junior occupied their usual seats on the outside of the left hand aisle, halfway down.  He didn’t think anything of it when he heard Arnold Senge get up from the seat behind him.  His assumption that Arnie was heading to the men’s room dissolved when Arnie started shouting at the speaker, Isaac Taylor.

“How can you stand up there and lecture us about raising fine children when that brat of yours is always chasing after my daughter.”

“Maybe you should tell your daughter to stop encouraging him,” Taylor shouted.

“My daughter,” Senge yelled, “is a good Disciple.  She knows how to act around the opposite sex, unlike that pervert son of yours.”

Jack heard gasps from the rest of the audience. Issac’s face turned red. Jack stood up intending to tell Arnie to sit down and be quiet, they could talk about it after the Gathering ended.

Issac shouted something about Martha Senge being a tramp and stepped off the raised speaker’s platform.  Arnie started toward Taylor, pushing Jack out of the way when he tried to block the aisle.  Jack realized he needed to do something, the two men were only a few steps from each other.  He looked for the other Servants, none was close enough to get to the two men before they reached each other.  The rest of the Gathering sat in stunned disbelief.  Disciples didn’t get into fights.

“Arnie, let’s take this…”

Jack never finished the sentence.  Already unbalanced by the push, Arnie’s fist knocked him into Sally’s lap.  Sally screamed as blood from her husband’s nose sprayed her blouse.

An older Disciple tried to block Taylor’s path, who rudely pushed him out of the way.  Jack waved his arms and legs, trying to get up and feeling like a turtle on its back.  Before anyone else could react, Taylor and Senge collided in the aisle and started throwing punches at each other. 

As he struggled to stand up, Jack thought he heard JJ laugh.  When he did gain his feet he saw why.  Two middle aged, balding, sweating men in suits throwing badly aimed punches at each other made a ridiculous sight.  Larry McKinnon, one of the Gathering’s other Servants, jumped between the two men.

“Stop this you idiots,” he snapped, “this is The Lord’s House.”

A big burly man, Larry pushed between the two fighters and shoved them apart.  Matt Kesselring, coming up the aisle behind Jack got his arms around Arnie Senge, and pulled him back.  Todd Davis came around the front of the House and pulled Isaac Taylor back.  Larry, always known for his jovial personality, managed to find his sense of humor again.

“When was the last time either of you knuckleheads was in a fight?  Fifth grade?  Come on, let’s go to the library and talk about this.”

Larry and Todd pushed the two men toward the small library at the back end of the auditorium.  Somebody suggested to Jack that he clean up.  The rest of the congregation looked perplexed.  Nothing in their experience told them how to act after such an event.

“Who’s going to finish the Sunday morning message?” Travis Wilson asked.

“I think,” Matt responded, “that we should skip the rest of it and just go into the Study.”

“I don’t think we can just skip part of the Lord’s Gathering…”

“Look,” Matt said sharply, “you’re not a Servant, just an assistant.  In special circumstances, we can skip a Gathering if we have to.  Now go sit down.”

Jack, holding his handkerchief to his nose told his wife he thought he needed to get home. 

“I don’t want to miss the rest of Gathering,” she answered, “I can get a ride home with Sarah Davis.”

“Dad, I’ll drive you home,”  JJ said helpfully, as he tried, and failed, to look like he’d rather stay.

“Thanks, let’s go.”

“Well,” Jack said a moment later as he slammed the car door shut, “I have to admit that was more interesting than our usual Gathering.”

JJ laughed, “do those guys realize how stupid they look?”

“They did, didn’t they?  JJ, do you know anything about what’s going on between Martha Senge and Frank Taylor?”

JJ pursed his lips as he pulled out of the House parking lot onto the arterial.  Jack realized his son knew something and didn’t want to talk about it.

“JJ, I’m sure there will be Servants meetings about this.  I’d like to know what’s going on, but I promise you 

I won’t tell anybody where I get the information.”

“I thought the Servants are always totally honest with each other.”

JJ looked like he did not expect his father to keep a promise of confidentiality.  Servants had a habit of poking their noses into other people’s business no matter what the actual rules said. 

“Some man-made rules don’t need to be followed, my family comes first.”

JJ shrugged, “they’re both lying to their parents, she calls him, he goes over to see her.  They don’t care what the Foundation tells them to do.  Or not do.  After what happened two years ago, lots of u… lots of kids don’t care about the Word.  They talked up 2011 for as long as I can remember, and nothing happened.”

Jack sat in silent thought for several minutes.  What could he say? For a dozen years, The Word of God Foundation told its Disciples to expect the great Day of the Lord in 2011.  There had been nothing but trouble since that year came and went.  His own son now had doubts about The Word’s message. He mulled over several responses suggested by the Foundation and rejected all of them.  How could he say something he didn’t believe to his son? Before he could say anything more JJ broke the silence.

“Dad, as long as I have you here without Mom, I need to talk about something.”

“What?”

“I’m going to graduate in a little over a year.  I want to go to college.  I know the Word says it’s a waste of time with Paradise coming so soon and all, but it didn’t show up when they said it would, why should I believe them now?”

“JJ, I can’t say that I blame you for having doubts.”

He paused, gathering his thoughts and strength.  He’d never said what he was about to say aloud.

“I have my own doubts.  Stuff like what we just saw doesn’t help.  I won’t say no but let me think about it.” 

Thoughts on the Convention, and a change of direction

I have decided to take a break from my reviews of this summer’s District Convention.  I listened to several talks since my last post.  What I heard was too simplistic to analyze in detail. I may try again soon, but another idea has grabbed my attention.

I’ve formed an overall impression of the current state of the Watchtower.  The Governing Body built a trap and caught themselves.  Listening to the convention talks, I realized how formulaic they sound: here is a question, here is the answer.  Rather than provide its membership with the tools they need to examine the Bible and express themselves on matters of conscience, the speakers provide endless Talmudic rules on specific issues.

Of course, the Watchtower cannot provide such training, its followers would see the logical flaws and factual errors in the Society’s publications.  For decades, the Governing Body declared itself the final judge of all religious matters.  They must now pass judgment on every matter, nothing remains for individual decision.    

Additionally, I think that Watchtower leadership has, consciously or unconsciously, abandoned the idea of making converts of nonWitnesses.  By this I don’t mean abandoning the door-to-door ministry.  That activity serves a useful purpose in keeping the flock busy and providing a source of self-identification.  The convention program seems aimed entirely at an internal audience.  Talks disparaging education, career involvement and limiting contact with nonWitnesses will not attract any reasonable nonbeliever.  These subjects to reinforce Watchtower culture to the conventions attendees.

As I said, I do not know if this is intentional.  The Watchtower leadership now focuses on controlling its members, while living in its own world.  They do not understand the effects of their words on the public.  Or perhaps they simply don’t care. 

A new 250 acre headquarters compound is under construction in upstate New York.  I will be watching this project with interest. It is bigger than anything the Society needs for administrative purposes.  It looks like it might be a good place to retire. 

I decided last night to reassemble the pieces of another novel I started for last year’s NaNoWriMo.  I’m going to serialize a chapter a week, starting Sunday the fifteenth.  I need to impose some order on my writing efforts and this seems like a good way to get going. 

Chairman’s Address: How We Know God’s Word Is Truth.

The Chairman’s address is the first talk convention attendees hear.  I would think they would want to start the program with a bang, and fire up the audience about what they will learn over the next three days.

I’ve tried three times to listen to this talk, I managed to do get through it only by fast-forwarding in places.  It is insipid, uninspiring, shallow, and illogical, dull as dishwater.  I know, that’s a cliché, but it’s difficult to explain how boring this speech is. 

According to the speaker, the Truth is immutable, it does not change. There can be only one truth. The speaker points out many books claim to be the inspired word of God, to be “the Truth.”  He sets out to prove the Bible is the only book that correctly makes that claim.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a problem in this discussion, the innumerable times they have changed doctrine and prophetic interpretation.  They try to explain this with the idea of “progressive interpretation,” the truth does not change; our understanding of it does.  Scriptural support for this idea is based on Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” (New World Translation)

I have been unable to find any nonWatchtower commentary that supports the Jehovah’s Witness interpretation of this scripture.  Witnesses believe this verse supports the idea that God will reveal “new light,” new interpretations of scripture as it suits Him.  All other commentators, reading the verse in context say it describes the growth of an individual, not organizational changes.

Given the Watchtowers habit of altering its interpretations, it needs some a scriptural fig leaf to cover its errors.    

After skating past the Watchtower Society abysmal track record on advancing “truth that does not change” the speaker lists several “proofs” the Bible is “the truth.”  This part of the talk sounds like something written by an earnest sixth grader.  Among these proofs are:

-   The Bible describes the earth as a sphere long before astronauts went to space and saw this. 

-   A prophecy that the city of Babylon would never be rebuilt has proven true.

-   The Bible predicts that Satan would kill Jesus and sure enough, he did.

This talk does not merit more attention, and I could not bring myself to listen to more of it.  I am formulating a theory about the current state of the Watchtower.  This talk supports my ideas, which will be presented in due time.

I have been away from this blog.  I did not intend to take this much time between posts.  However, I was working hard on a special project – editing a manuscript in preparation for submission to a publisher.  Looking at every single work in four hundred seventy page manuscript occupied my full attention.  You’ll hear more about that project at the appropriate time. 

Keynote Address: Follow the Governing Body

A keynote speech sets the tone for an event, laying the foundation for the main points of discussion or an underlying theme; outlining core ideas and key pieces of information.  Americans are most familiar with the keynote speeches given at political conventions.  No matter what one thinks of his position on the issues, everyone recognizes that Barack Obama’s 2004 keynote address propelled him onto the national stage and into the Oval Office four years later.

Giving a district convention keynote address will never propel a Jehovah’s Witness anywhere.  Like the use of the term symposium, Jehovah’s Witness conventions feature a “keynote address.”  This year’s keynote address (I have not listened to one since 1988) offers a revealing look at the Governing Body’s thinking.

The talk starts with a description of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, with huge columns supporting the roof.  The speaker quotes 1 Tim 3:14-15 “Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” 

“Like a pillar, the congregation of God holds the truth up,” by preaching, supporting the organization, and maintaining good conduct. This talk does not say much about preaching.  Organizational refinements support the truth (the Organization), and enable Witnesses to become better Christians, it lists ten.  These are

1) A separate study edition of the Watchtower

2) Introduction of a public edition of the magazine

3) Reduction of the Awake magazine to sixteen pages

4) Combining midweek meetings, leaving a night free for personal or family study.

5) Arrangement for Pioneers (full-time preachers) to attend the Pioneer school twice

6) A Bible School for Christian couples

7) Greater use of audio and video productions

8) A redesigned website

9) Expanded efforts at preaching in Public places

10) New “Research Guide for Jehovah’s Witnesses

My comments:

The “study” edition of the Watchtower originated after an article on disfellowshipped family members produced negative publicity (family members aren’t supposed to talk to them).  Apparently, somebody figured out the need to keep some aspects of the religion out of public view.

The smaller Awake magazine is almost certainly a cost cutting measure.  I don’t know what the School for Christian couples entails.  If you’ve attended one, I’d like to hear about it.

Item four, “family study night” featured an interesting speaker comment.  He stated that many Witnesses expressed frustration at lack of time for personal or family study.  “Well, the Governing Body heard you” and cut out one night of meetings each week.  Funny, I thought the Governing Body listened to, and passed along God’s instructions. 

The last item, including demonstrations of its use, took up about one third of the talk.  It is a “simplified” reference list of Watchtower articles on various subjects.  “Simplified” means “most recent.”   In other words, it helps hide older, incorrect information.

The discussion then moves to a “Christian” (JW) duty to uphold the truth, through good conduct. It includes demonstrations on using the new Research Guide to determine, for example, how to dress for the convention. It also provides information showing why “worldly” dancing is bad.

The address ended by calling the congregation a “bulwark against false teaching” and encourages Witnesses to “be determined to keep working in harmony with the congregation.”

Several thoughts stuck me in listening to this.  I did not once hear the name Jesus.  There is no mention of Jehovah except indirectly, for example when speaking of “Jehovah’s Organization.”  In a talk that ran about half an hour, I only counted seven scripture references. 

The talk focused entirely on the Watchtower organization and its writings. In discussing good conduct, the talk demonstrates researching through Watchtower publications, not the Bible, to answer questions.  Nowhere does there appear to be room for conscience or individuality.  The Governing Body serves as final authority in even the most mundane matters.

I believe the Watchtower intended this talk for an “in-house” audience. People with no prior connection to Watchtower may be put off, offended, or disturbed by its content.  The overall impression it gives is that in Watchtower theology, the Bible, Jesus and even Jehovah, are subordinate to the Governing Body.

District Convention Symposium “Reject What is False!

I have attended many scholarly conferences over the years, including scientific, religious and industry group gatherings.  I sat through fifteen years of Watchtower Society conventions of various sizes.  Contrasting the differences between the Watchtower’s convention methods and the standards of an academic conference is in order.  Typically, organizers of an academic conference issue a call for papers.  Independent researchers submit their work and a committee chooses those they think best represent their planned meeting.  At such a conference, multiple sessions occur at the same time, participants select what they want to hear. 

“Symposiums,” consist of shorter presentations on related subjects.  Frequently, several symposiums occur at the same time, convention participants pick the ones they want to hear.  The program usually includes time for question and answer sessions with presenters.

Watchtower conventions appear to follow this format, but this is deceitful.  The Watchtower’s leadership produces all information, speakers read the material from manuscripts.  In fact, observers follow every presentation to catch any deviation.  All convention “delegates” hear all the information.  Separate sessions, and question and answer periods do not take place.  The Watchtower has grown fond of the word symposium, although their version does not follow the typical academic format.      

Nevertheless, Witnesses treat these events as important occasions.  Many travel hundreds of miles to hear the program.  In the past, the summer “district conventions” lasted four or five days with thousands present. Current events are shorter and smaller. The use of terms like “keynote address” and “symposium” in the program provide a veneer of scholarly work.  Speaker introductions feature proud listing of their credentials as Witnesses, which hides the scripted nature of the performance they deliver. 

I now have, and will review, audio of most of this year’s program. I expect to make several posts at least providing my analysis of the speeches. My review starts with the first symposium presented on Saturday, just because it follows up on my last post so well.  Under the title “Reject What is False!”  The symposium consists of four talks, each about ten minutes long.

The first, “False Gods” contained a common theme in Watchtower literature.  It takes several scriptures about God and applies them to the Watchtower Society.  For example, both Hebrews 3:12,13 “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God,” and Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name,” are applied to accepting Watchtower teachings as an article of faith.  In other words, anything from non-watchtower sources is wrong.

The last part of this talk struck me as funny in light of what I wrote in my last entry. It ended with a dramatization of a Witness studying an unnamed publication.  He turns off his internet to avoid distractions.  Yes, don’t let the greatest pool of knowledge in human history distract you from your research!  See my previous post about deliberate ignorance.

The next brief talk concerns “False Hopes.”  From the title, I expected a discussion of false prophecy. Instead, the “false hopes” discussed center on hoping to get away with violating Jehovah’s (the Watchtower’s) standards.  This talk features a dramatization of a single sister turning down a dinner invitation from a non-witness co-worker she apparently likes.  Can’t have any association with “worldly” people.

Part three, “A False Front” highlighted the Bible’s condemnation of hypocrisy and false faith.  The material, while simplistic, at least covered a worthwhile topic.  However, the message apparently has not reached the right target.  If the Watchtower intends to curb a two-faced attitude among its followers, it needs to correct the problem at the top.

The Watchtower counsels its members to avoid material pursuits and concentrate on the impending destruction of the world.  Meanwhile, construction continues on a multi-million dollar, 253 acre administrative complex in Warwick, NY.  While touting the cleanliness of its congregation, the Watchtower attempts to cover up a major pedophile problem within the organization and pays out millions in settlement claims.  The Watchtower leadership has its own problem with a “false front.”

The final talk is “The False Stylus.”  There is a brief discussion of Jeremiah 8:8.9 which speaks of men using a false stylus to circulate wrong teachings.  In the first few minutes of the speaker states that dishonesty is rampant in the world, and paints the media as spreading false information, as opposed to always honest Witnesses.  The talk then turns into a lengthy discussion of keeping integrity in personal affairs, and provides a demonstration of witness business owner debating, and then rejecting the idea of cheating on a contract.

Throughout listening to this symposium something struck me as odd, I did not fully grasp it until listening to the fourth segment.  I expected some in-depth scriptural and theological information.  Instead, we are treaty to simplistic and shallow reasoning about ignoring outside information sources, and staying away from relationships outside the witnesses.  While listening to the second half of the symposium I realized what was wrong.

I thought a talk about protection from dishonesty in business to explore recognizing that someone is cheating you.  Then it struck me the Watchtower can’t instruct its members in such methods, they might apply the analytical techniques to the Watchtower itself! Within weeks of starting our independent research, my wife and I began the process of mentally leaving the religion.  A Witness, with moderate training in recognizing propaganda espousing a false hope, might quickly connect the dots in promises that college education is unnecessary because the end of the world is coming. 

This is the first time in years I’ve listened to a District Convention part in full.  It is obvious these events subtract from, rather than adding to, the knowledge of the Jehovah’s Witness flock.  

You can lead an ignorant person to a library, but you can’t make him read a book.

I do not fault anyone for lack of education or knowledge., We cannot know everything.  However, we can always be willing to learn; willing to examine new facts, and consider differing points of view.  Refusal to challenge our own assumptions, to reevaluate what we think we know is willful ignorance.   

An abundance of information exists to support the idea that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not teach “the truth.”  As noted in an earlier post, I did my earliest research on the Watchtower at the public library.  The dozen or so volumes available to me proved sufficient to convince me to leave the religion.  That was in 1988.  Today the internet provides more information than anyone can absorb.  Typing “Jehovah’s Witnesses” into Bing produced nearly three million results.  “Jehovah’s Witnesses errors” produced 945,000.  While doing my library research, I constantly watched over my shoulder in irrational fear of discovery.  An internet search takes place in the privacy of one’s own home. 

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society elevates willful ignorance to a moral and educational virtue by discouraging such searches. My own experience provides an excellent example.

In 1979, the Watchtower magazine printed two statements on the nature of Jesus’ relationship to His disciples.  The first, a short “Questions from Readers” comment in the April 1st edition stated, “Jesus is the ‘mediator’ only for anointed Christians.”  The November 15^th issue carried a seven-page study article “Benefiting from ‘One Mediator Between God And Men’ that elaborated on this theme.  According to this article the “great crowd” of nonanointed Jehovah’s Witnesses benefit from Jesus’ role as mediator by associating with the anointed class.

At the time, I did not appreciate the full implications of these articles.  In fact, I don’t remember studying them at all.  I did not grasp the significance of this information until I began my independent research eleven years later.  So for ten years, I lived in willful ignorance of my own religions true teachings. Contrary to published Watchtower doctrine, I believed Jesus was my mediator with God. 

I’m not alone in this.  A few years ago, two Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on my door.  From their age and manner, I believe they were Elders.  I told them that as a Christian, I could not believe a religion that taught that Jesus was only the mediator for a small group of people.  They told me the Watchtower did not teach that.  My response “when did that change?” confused them.  I told them to look up the 1979 articles and come see me again.  They never came back.

For many years, I lived in willful ignorance of the history and teachings of my religion.  Breaking free of that ignorance took time, hard work, and a willingness to challenge my own assumptions.  Some people, caught up in high-control groups seem unable make the effort.  Some people eventually do break loose from the bonds that hold their minds.  Having made the journey, I will encourage them whenever possible. 

A note about future posts. This post started as an analysis of information from this year’s District Convention Program, the content of which got me to thinking about willful ignorance.  I intend to launch a detailed review of the Convention program.  Stay tuned!