My brother, Micah, walked into the Kingdom Hall with an ashen face. Without offering a greeting, the young attendant led him wordlessly toward a seat in the front row. Micah knew the rules. Except for my sister Cyndi and me, no one could speak with him. He wouldn’t have come except that Mother died on Thursday after a long struggle with cancer. She would’ve wanted him here. I watched from the back of the Hall, as I conversed with Sister Ada McHenry, one of Mother’s life long friends. Ada had taught Mom the Truth, as we Jehovah’ s Witnesses call our faith, before I was born. (We later found out that generations ago Mom’s family had been prominent Witnesses back in Pennsylvania.) Dad never joined, but the three of us kids and Mom became steadfast Witnesses; all steadfast, that is, until Micah’s daughter, Lidi, died for lack of a blood transfusion, four years ago. Bitterness led him to begin questioning the Watchtower’s teachings and eventually led to his resignation from the Faith. From that point on, everyone in the congregation was required to shun Micah, except for direct family members and even we were supposed to keep contact to a minimum. My eyes fixed on Cyndi as she walked up to where Micah sat. She greeted him and engaged in her usual animated chatter, as if nothing were wrong. Tears welled up in my eyes. Mother’s death, coupled with memories of Micah’s tragedy, was too much. Foolishly I had agreed to give the funeral talk for Mother, foolish, that is, because I didn’t know if I could get through it without breaking down. Somehow I did get through the talk and the luncheon at the McHenry’s afterwards. Micah was not allowed to attend. Our beliefs do not allow us to eat with disfellowshipped people. This treatment is not out of malice but conviction that his eternal life depends on us disciplining him back into the Truth. I had no appetite and left as soon as I could politely manage it. I went home, shut myself in my study and pulled out the file containing Micah’s letter of resignation. When he wrote it, nearly four years ago, I had only glanced at it. I now leafed through it again, counting the pages. The letter itself contained over fifteen pages and there were an additional ten pages labeled as proof texts. Clearly Micah had put a lot of time and research into this. Previously I had lacked the patience to read through the whole thing. During that unsettled period, Micah had been upset, spewing crazy ideas. Yet seeing him today at the Hall, I gained a renewed compassion for his situation. I wanted to help him. I wanted to learn what made him tick. I could give my brother my attention for an hour or so, knowing he had put his heart and soul into what he wrote. I stretched out in my recliner, turned on the reading lamp and cleaned my glasses.
It is with a sad heart that I am writing to disassociate myself from the congregation. Having been an elder and pioneer for over a decade, I know full well what this letter means. From now on I will be shunned by lifelong friends who will refuse even to say “Hello” on the street. There will be ongoing awkwardness with my mother, brother and sister, who will limit their association with me. Over the years, I have learned much from Jehovah’s Witnesses. There has been real love and genuine support. When Dad died, the sisters in the congregation were a real source of strength. They got Mother through some difficult times. For that, I’ll be eternally grateful. However, my continued study of the Bible has led me to a vision of God’s love that is more forgiving than the view offered by Jehovah’ s Witnesses. Millions of Christians around the world of diverse denominations love and serve God to the best of their abilities, according to the measure of wisdom they possess. They have the same Holy Bible and many seek to live by it. We differ in belief and practice based on various interpretations. Too often we ‘awfulize’ differences so that other beliefs seem extreme or dangerous. In contrast, the Bible emphasizes the need for love, forbearance and unity. We are never told that faithful Christians should split off to form a separate organization from those they believe to be unfaithful. How much less should we cause division based on honest differences of opinion. “Who are you to judge the house servant of another? To his own Master he stands or falls, indeed, he will be made to stand for Jehovah can make him stand.” Different views on God’s dietary Laws and the celebration of holidays were acceptable in the first century Christian congregations. (See proof texts below.) Unfortunately, as Jehovah’s Witnesses, we have taken a hard line. We claim to be spiritually superior— judging ourselves as the only ones practicing “pure worship” and all others as unclean. We seem to have forgotten that forgiveness and humility, not purity and superiority, are the heart of true Christianity. Jesus taught that we will be forgiven as we forgive others. By being harsh in our judgments of other organizations, we endanger our own standing with God and Christ. There was a knock at the study door. Still clutching the letter, I got up, opened the door and ushered Cyndi and Micah in. Cyndi gave me a hug. “I brought over a box of Mom’s old photos for you. I left it on the kitchen table.” I said “Thanks!” Stepping back she looked at me quizzically. “Why are you isolating yourself in here?” she asked. “Just thinking-- I’m quite upset by the way we, as a congregation, treated Micah today. We’ve lost mother and this congregation enforced estrangement compounds it--” Micah and I made eye contact. He gave me a pursed lipped nod. I held up the letter. “I’ve been re-reading his disassociation letter-- Have a seat.” They came in and pulled up two folding chairs in a circle with my recliner as I closed the door behind them. Micah still had not said a word. “How ya doing baby brother?” I asked. “Pain upon pain,” he answered, eyes cast down, shaking his head. “Mother and I never reconciled. I always hoped that before she died she would somehow come to respect my decision.” Cyndi’s eyes got big. “Respect your decision? Are you loopy? How could you leave the Truth and expect us to respect--“ I gave Cyn a stern look. “Sorry,” she whispered. Micah pointed to the letter. “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we call our beliefs the Truth, but have you read my letter?” he asked. She shook her head no. I handed it to her, which despite a profound frown, she began to read. “I’m going to get us some drinks… Wanna beer?” “Sure,” said Cyndi without looking up. “Meanwhile, I’ll look this over.” I headed to the kitchen with Micah in tow as Cyndi began to read. We gave her some extra time by chatting by looking through a box of Mother’s pictures. Virtually all of them were Witness related-- Mother at the 1973 Convention in a jubilant crowd of thirty, each holding up a new tract, Mother at the 1977 Convention in a similar crowd, each holding up the latest book release, Mother at the 1988 Convention with Sister Kriegmore, her Bible Study who got baptized there. Micah commented that her whole life had been an immersion, a dedication to the organization. He knew as well as I did that Mom dedicated herself to God, not to the organization, but I let his dig pass without comment. When we returned to the study with three cold bottles, Cyndi was staring hard at the wall with the folded letter in her lap. “All this makes my head spin.” She held her ears as if trying to regain equilibrium. “Why are we discussing this now? Mom just died.” “Mom’s whole life was the Witnesses,” Micah said. “How can we move on until we deal with this breach in our family?” “I guess you’re right,” Cyndi sighed. “We might as well get all this out in the open. If Mother was here, she wouldn’t shy away showing you how wrong you are. The breach will heal when you come back to the Truth.” Micah gave her a hug, then sat down, pulling his chair as close to Cyndi as he could. “Sis, I’m not saying that Mom was all wrong or that the Witnesses are a wrong choice in and of itself. What I’m saying is that we, as Witnesses, are wrong in our harsh judgments of others. We need more humility.” Cyndi took a long drink from her bottle. “We spend hours each week studying to learn the Truth. We have the Truth. We are the ones doing Christ’s work, preaching the good news from door to door. We prove it all from the Bible. You make it sound like there’s no truth, just a bunch of optional paths.” “Doesn’t it sound presumptuous for us to judge our organization as the only righteous one, to claim that God appointed the Watchtower Society over all Christ’s interests in the earth in 1918. It’s up to the Master to judge his house servants. Isn’t that what the Bible says?” “The evidence for the appointment of the one true organization in 1918 does seem rather feeble,” I agreed. “It’s one thing to see a tree producing good fruit and another to say it’s the only good tree in the orchard.” Cyndi looked at me with daggers as if by agreeing with Micah on this one point, I had signed a pact with the Devil. Micah turned to her. “I’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s alright.” “Shoot,” she said, steeling her face for battle and taking a sip of her beer. “Is it a sin to misinterpret the Bible?” “Absolutely! Jesus said, ‘It is in vain that they keep worshiping me because they teach commands of men as doctrine.’ Everyone was created to do God’s will and we cannot know his will without accurate knowledge of the Bible.” “Have you ever misinterpreted a verse? Has the organization?” “Of course, but when we learn better we change!” “Is your current understanding perfect? “No, I never said that!” “So, you, I, the organization—we are all imperfect in our knowledge, and therefore practicing sin?” “Maybe—But we have the ransom of Christ to cover our sins.” “That’s right! God forgives in a large way!” “Yep!” “Now then—What about others who incorrectly understand the Bible’s teachings, say about the immortality of the soul or the future of the earth? There are verses that say point blank that the earth will burn up in the last day. What if our explanation seems way out to them? Say we are right, but they can’ t see it. Will God forgive them?” “Maybe--- That’s up to Jehovah to decide.” “Or say that we are wrong about some things and someone shows us their reasoning from the Bible, but we can’t see it. What then?” “I’ll confess to being imperfect. God will forgive me, right?” “Now, knowing that our worship is imperfect and that the worship of say the Baptists or Seventh Day Adventists is imperfect, why do we judge ourselves as pure and others as unclean? Don’t they also pray for forgiveness in the name of Jesus?” “They have way too much wrong. Besides they don’t change when they find out they are wrong.” “So you’re saying that God forgives only little sins, but not big ones?” “Well, no,” she said with a scowl, feeling cornered. “Bible verses are like dots. To get a complete picture someone has to connect the dots. There are different ways of doing so and they can result in different pictures of Bible teachings. One person looks at the stars and sees a Big Dipper and someone else sees a Great Bear. Both love God, Christ and Bible truth. Do you see what I mean?” Cyn’s scowl deepened. “I don’t like where this is going,” she said then emptied her beer. “Don’t you feel that we ought to treat others as we expect to be treated? Take changes in the Catholic Church, the removal of saints, like St. Patrick and St. Christopher, who proved to be historically inaccurate, Vatican II, the admission that modern Jews were not to blame for the death of Christ? Don’t they change their beliefs based on ongoing scholarship?” “I guess so—“ “And when they make changes, we ridicule them for their inconsistency, but we think it’s great when we change things. Be fair. Jesus taught that we will be forgiven as we forgive. If we are hard core, minimize our own imperfections, focus on and ‘awfulize’ the imperfections of others-- what are we setting ourselves up for?” “You’re saying God will not forgive us our errors of our minor misinterpretation unless we forgive the Catholics?” “Think about Charles Russell, the founder of the Watchtower Society. He used the cross which we now understand to be a pagan symbol of sun worship. He celebrated birthdays and Christmas. He taught that the Great Crowd would go to Heaven in addition to the 144,000. He didn’t emphasize Jehovah’s name as we do today. And he died without repenting of any of these misinterpretations. Was he faithful to God? Did God forgive him?” “Surely, Russell died faithful to God.” “There were other Christians at that time who considered Christmas a pagan holiday, a long line of them going back to the Puritans. Russell reviewed their reasoning about the date being wrong as well as their other evidence but felt it was much ado about nothing. Now, today, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe he was wrong in his judgment on this matter and yet faithful to God, right? All this was after having heard the truth and rejecting it, right?” “Uch!” Cyndi moaned. Her face contorted as if she were being tortured. “You’re saying we’re hypocritical—that we judge our own differently than those outside the organization. And that we’re petty-- that we make a federal case out of a lot of stuff that doesn’t really matter— but there has got to be a difference between doing God’s will and not doing it. You’re making the two equivalent.” I jumped in. “What I think Micah is saying, it that there is a right and wrong on every issue, and there are benefits in having the truth--- but not everything is a matter of life and death. Others can be forgiven and saved, despite not having the truth on every issue.” I turned to Micah. “Is that right?” “Pretty close. I’m also saying that we lack humility. We should do our best and leave it to Jehovah to judge us. But we too easily equate our organization’s viewpoint with God’s will. We hardly notice how much human reasoning goes into piecing together our understanding of the scriptures.” “Hmm—“I said. “When we prove something from the Bible by going from one verse in Luke to one in Isaiah to one in Revelation—the way we link those scriptures is like drawing the lines of the Big Dipper? The stars are God’s but the lines are ours. Is that what you mean?” “Yeah, exactly,” Micah agreed. “In reality, we don’t know how imperfect we are or how much more Jehovah has yet to teach us. We can’t assume our sincerity and conviction makes us very nearly perfect. And I’m also saying that regardless of how imperfect our understanding is, we can be forgiven. The only requirement is that we have a humble and forgiving attitude toward the errors of others.” “That view has a certain logic,” I agreed. Cyndi just shook her head. Micah continued. “But there’s more than that.” He looked at us with apprehension, not sure whether he dare to broach the larger subject. He took a drink, than another, wavered as if he were holding an inner debate, shrugged and then preceded. “Please hear me out on this one, OK?” Cyn and I looked at each other. “OK,” we concurred. He reached over and took the letter off of Cyndi’s lap, paged through it to find his place and looked up at us. “I worked on the wording of this for a long time and I’d like to read it to you.” We both gestured our agreement. “This picks up with what we’ve been saying.” Holding the letter flat to capture the light, Micah began to read: Doubtless, there is, Biblically speaking, a right and wrong way to worship. But our study of the scriptures and sincere belief we have found the Truth does not mean that we actually have the full truth on any given matter. God’s ways are higher than our ways. We need more humility in our assessment of our own righteousness as an organization. God promises to forgive even the Roman soldiers who put his Son to death. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” If the largeness of divine forgiveness extends to murderers of Christ, why wouldn’t God grant forgiveness for the sin of misinterpreting the Bible? Cyndi looked impatient. “We’ve covered that!” she snapped. Micah’s face softened. “Hang with me,” he said. “Hopefully, this will make sense to you.” Further, if the largeness of divine forgiveness extends to unrepentant pagans (Christ asked that they be forgiven with no strings attached as far as repentance on their part), how much more so will he forgive those who have a measure of light, such as Jews and Muslims, who worship the same God as we do. The apostle Paul did not refuse to pray with Jews in synagogue and even offered animal sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple. Early Christians and Jews worshipped together. Over time, traditionalist Jews expelled those upstart Christians from the synagogues, forcing Christians to hold separate worship services. Christians did not leave due to fear of being contaminated by any supposed impure worship. Micah looked up from his reading with a pleading look on his face. “What I’m saying is that having differences of belief should not cause divisions among those who worship the God of the Bible.” Cyndi shook her head. “Didn’t Jesus say that he came to cause a division, even between members of the same household?” “She’s right,” I said. Micah had to agree. “True,” he said. “Division does result from following Christ, but it’s not the Christians who separate themselves. It’s opposers who cause problems. It is written ‘As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all.’ I didn’ t leave the congregation. I didn’t argue with anyone or promote my ideas. The elders threatened me and kicked me out when I dared to pray with other Christians who they claimed were not in the Truth. I can’t imagine what they would have done had I gone to a synagogue like Jesus.” Cyndi shook her head again. “How did you get so messed up that you imagine the Truth doesn’t matter?” “You’re asking how I got started thinking along this line?” “You used to be so zealous for teaching the Truth door to door.” “It all started with the case of Sister Flowers. I had just been appointed in the congregation as elder at the time. It was my first experience a judicial committee. Sister Flowers was accused of wrongdoing. She had participated in an interfaith wedding ceremony for her daughter at a New Age Church by praying for Jehovah’s blessing on the marriage as part of the ceremony. When she failed to repent, we disfellowshipped her, despite the fact that she had prayed to Jehovah, calling him by name, and even had a head covering on. We used Bible texts that refer to the worship of pagan gods to condemn her ‘interfaith’ prayer. But she insisted it was not interfaith since everyone there believed in and prayed to the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Peter, Paul and Jesus.” “And you agreed with her? Cyndi interrupted. “Hold on a minute! You’re skipping over some vital Bible truths.” Micah smiled patiently. “No,” he replied. “I didn’t agree with her at the time. However, what she said and did began to open my eyes. Eventually I came to see truth in it.” “Sects and divisions are wrong,” Cyn scolded. “They are works of the flesh that we must avoid. You can’t be saying that the splintering of Christians into various sects is Ok. The Bible condemns divisions and sects.” “She’s clearly right,” I chimed in. “That’s the sticky point you’re avoiding.” “I’m getting there,” he assured. “We sometimes imagine that the true Christianity is based on correct doctrine and that imperfections in other organizations identify them as sects. But this misses the point of what a sect is. A sect is a section, like the section of an orange. Some may be larger. Some have more juice; others more seeds. But basically they are sections of one whole. The household of faith encompasses all who claim to serve Christ. Some teach the Bible more accurately than others, but that same Bible says we should leave judgment up to God. Sectarianism builds walls between sections and denies spiritual fellowship to those it judges as unworthy.” Cyndi shook her head in extreme puzzlement. “How can you possible say that we are anything like the splinter groups of Christendom?” “We’ve focused on the differences between us for too long and overlook hundreds of points of agreement. All those who claim to be Christian believe in the same God, share the same Holy Book, chapter for chapter, verse for verse. We even have the same numbering system for our verses. We all pray for forgiveness of sins based on Christ’s blood, believe in the same prophets and apostles. We all believe in honesty, chastity, reverence, love, joy, peace, a final judgment and on and on.” Cyn’s head snapped. She sat tall, looking ready to do battle. “What about the Church’s involvement with the world,” she accused, “What about the priests abusing altar boys? What about self-glorification of the rich tele-evangalists and their money schemes?” Micah opened his palms, admitting she had a point. “Sure! There is plenty of hypocrisy to go around. No group is free from it. We have our hypocrites too. The Bible contains many warning examples of corrupt kings and leaders of ancient Israel. Those warnings apply to our organization as well, to our elders, to our Governing Body members. Yet, many devoted souls in all sorts of groups genuinely live by Christian morality. It is wrong for us to separate ourselves from others who serve God and Christ with a holier than thou attitude. There is no reason we shouldn’t pray together, just as the Apostle Paul prayed with Jews in synagogues and at the Temple.” “That was just temporary,” I said, “until the Christian congregation got on its feet.” “You won’t find any command for Christians to separate from Jewish worship in the Bible.” Micah insisted. “Not early. Not later. If we want to imitate first century Christian worship, we need to broaden our outlook and be less about our organization and more about forgiveness.” Cyndi chimed in. “What about all the scriptures concerning accurate knowledge? What about—“It’s in vain that they worship me, teaching commands of men.” What about-- ‘I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to accurate knowledge. Because of not knowing the righteousness of God, but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God’?” “OK! First, these clear statements were directed at the corruption of the Pharisees, yet none of this prevented either Jesus or Paul from worshipping along side Pharisees at the Temple or participating in synagogue services with Pharisees. Jesus read aloud from the scroll of Isaiah during the synagogue service in Capernaum, isn’t that true?” “I guess.” “Second, the issue is not black and white. We all lack accurate knowledge to some extent. There are shades of gray, some lighter, some darker. To whatever extent we fail to worship in God’s way, we miss out on blessings and to that extent our worship is vain. If it were an all-or-nothing situation, then any slight inaccuracy in our understanding would condemn us.” “That’s ridiculous! God promises to forgive his faithful servants who love him and do the best they can.” Micah said nothing. He just smiled and leaned back in his chair, feeling that Cyndi had made his point. I leaned forward in my chair. “You’re still ignoring all those verses that warn against hypocrites and false teachers.” “OK! As we’ve said, I’m connecting the dots in a different way. And there are a lot of dots. Let me make one more point first, then well talk about false teachers, OK?” “OK,” I consented, but thought he was just trying to avoid the tough questions. “In Jesus’ parable, the one of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus deals explicitly with this question; how should we handle false Christians in our midst. He describes himself as a sower of seeds, who has planted wheat in a field. The wheat seed represents his teachings. Weeds start to grow in the field. The weeds represent false teachings. His disciples then asked, “Should we weed your field and pull out whatever does not belong?” Jesus surprising answer-- “No! Allow the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest. In the end times, the angels will separate them.” I stared at Micah with unbelief. “You’re saying it’s wrong to kick out habitual sinners and hypocrites? There are a zillion scriptures that command us to keep the congregation clean.” Micah sat up, looking me in the eye. “No, I’m not saying that at all with regard to conduct. Fornicators, thieves, extortioners are to be reproved and removed from the congregation. Titus mentions those who disown Christ by their works. The congregation is empowered to deal with habitual sinners in its midst. I’m talking about differences of belief. The lists of sins that warrant disfellowshipping, such as in 1 Corinthians, do not include apostates, heretics or the sin of misinterpretation.” “At least we partially agree,” I said. “At least you acknowledge that some sins warrant congregational discipline.” “Yes, but in Jesus’ parable of the wheat, we is talking about different ideas and teachings. The seeds represent teachings. The good seed God’s Word, the poor seed human ideas. Jesus said, ‘Don’t uproot anyone based on the sowing of a different seed, a different doctrine. Let them grow together until the harvest. God will judge. He did not say that the wheat should clear a patch of the field and keep separate from the weeds. It is presumptuous of us to judge others on matters of faith.” Cyndi shook her head. We both did. “There’s a lot that you’re overlooking,” I said. Opening his raised hands, he pleaded, “Feel free to lay it out. What am I overlooking?” “The Christian scriptures instruct, ‘Reject the man that promotes a sect after two or three admonitions.’ False teachers transform themselves into angels of light. Such men were to be avoided, as their words are like gangrene. Christ, in Revelation, says that he hates the sect of Nicolaus. The letter of 2 John states that we should not entertain in our homes or even greet false teachers who cause divisions in the congregations. How are you going to deal with all that?” “Flip that issue on its head,” Micah smiled broadly as if he had just belted one out of the park. “The one who promotes a sect is the one who establishes a separate organization. The sectarian is the one who divides and leads away disciples after himself. It’s the sectarian who calls into question the faith of others and denies their salvation. It’s not wrong to have differences of opinions about meanings of Bible verses, but it is wrong to allow such differences to cause divisions. Sectarianism is running ahead, trying to separate ourselves from the weeds. God tells us to allow wheat and weeds to grow together and to wait for his angels to do the separating. The non-sectarian thing to do is to remove barriers to spiritual fellowship and to worship openly with those in other organizations. In the Bible, there is only one exception, one doctrine which is so fundamental as to merit shunning its advocates, but we’ve created hundreds.” “So you think Russell did the wrong thing when he left the Adventists and started the Watchtower Society?” I asked. “That’s a really good question.” Micah grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Apparently he welcomed this particular question. “Actually Russell was vigorous in his support of interdenominational unity. He taught that Lutherans, Calvinists, Methodists, etc. were all stages in the unfolding of the Divine Plan of the Ages. He wrote vigorously against any group that claimed that it had the only Christian Truth.” Cyndi glared at Micah wide eyed. “That can’t be right,” she said. “It’s plain truth!” Micah assured. “Judge Rutherford, the Watchtower’s second president, is the one who turned us down this sectarian road, claiming that we were God’s organization, God’s only earthly organization, and that all others were part of Satan’s organization. Russell must have been rolling over in his grave. He hated sectarianism.” “You’ll have to prove that to me,” Cyndi said cynically. Micah reached over, took his letter from Cyndi and began to page through it. “Here are the quotes I’m looking for,” he mumbled. “Should we read them?” Cyndi looked apprehensive. “We’ve been warned against reading old literature,” she said sternly. Micah set the letter in his lap. “The Bible is noted for its honesty and transparency. It does not hide the sin of God’s servants. Rather it openly depicts the errors of God’s faithful servants, Moses, David, Elijah, the apostles.” “What’s your point?” Cyndi snapped. Micah’s face contorted. I could see him consciously trying to remain calm. He spoke in a slow, subdued voice. “Isn’t it written, ‘Let God be true, though every man prove a liar?’ Why shouldn’t the Watchtower Society be just as candid as the Bible writers? Why should it hinder us from learning of the changes and errors of its own history? Hiding facts about the past is a bad sign—a sign that our faith is in men instead of God, that if we know the truth about these men, somehow it would cause us to lose faith.” “Yes, we could lose faith in the organization as God’s people,” I explained. Micah nodded. “For that very reason, in the early years, the Brothers were strongly anti-organization. Somehow, over time, we have become strong promoters of our organization. This devotion to our group is a stain on our dedication to God. We need to understand how this happened.” “Read your quotes,” Cyn acquiesced. Micah picked up the letter again and began reading aloud. “We are in fellowship with all Christians…“Micah looked up to see if we were following him. I nodded. Cyn glared stony faced. “… fellowship with all Christians in whom we can recognize the Spirit of Christ—“ “I fellowship with all Christians. I recognize the Spirit of Christ only in my brothers and sisters of like faith at the Kingdom Hall,” Cyndi remarked. “Russell’s definition of Christian was more gracious than just our own group,” Micah explained. “Listen to the rest of the quote. ‘… all Christians in whom we recognize the Spirit of Christ and especially with those who recognize the Bible as the only standard. We do not require, therefore, that all shall see, just as we do in order to be called Christians; realizing that growth in both grace and knowledge is a gradual process….’ That’s from Zion's Watch Tower, April 1882.” Cyndi’s reaction was puzzling. There were tears in her eyes yet her voice was steady and calm. “Are you OK?” he asked. “Oh! I’m full of emotion today. If Mom were here—If Mom were here-- Anyway I’ m glad we’re getting this out in the open.” She dabbed at her tears with a Kleenex. “You read something about ‘Especially, but not limited to those who recognize the Bible as the only standard?’” Micah looked at her closely to see if she were really OK. “Yes,” he agreed. “Russell was against creeds. Once we get set in our beliefs, thinking we have the Truth-- our capacity to reason on the scriptures and adjust our thinking is diminished. Now listen to this--” He handed me the letter and pointed to the middle of the page. “Would you read this?” I took the letter from him and began reading a question that a Watchtower reader had submitted to Russell. “Question: ‘Would not an earnest, aggressive organization (or sect), built upon Scriptural lines, be the best means of spreading and publishing the real Good Tidings? We must have fellowship and sympathy. Union is strength. It is not the skirmishers that win the battle, but the disciplined and solid battalions.’ “Answer: ‘We believe that a visible organization, and the adopting of some particular name, would tend to increase our numbers and make us appear more respectable in the estimation of the world. The natural (fleshly) man can see that a visibly organized body, with a definite purpose, is a thing of more or less power; therefore, they esteem the various organizations, from which we have come out, in obedience to the Master's call.’ The Watch Tower, March 1883.” Micah interjected. “You see, all organizations are part of Babylon the Great— to come out of Babylon means leaving organized religion.” “It doesn’t really say that here,” I said. “Ugh? I guess that’s mentioned somewhere else,” he replied. “Please go on with the reading.” “Here’s another quote,” I resumed. “Beware of ‘organization.’ It is wholly unnecessary The Bible rules will be the only rules you will need. Do not seek to bind others consciences, and do not permit others to bind yours. Believe and obey so far as you can understand God's Word today, and so continue growing in grace and knowledge and love day by day.’ The Watchtower September 15, 1895.” Micah excitedly took the letter back. “You see how we have returned to the sectarianism of the world, claiming spiritual superiority?” He didn’t wait for our response, but plunged ahead reading the next quote. “‘Some have consecrated themselves to a sect, and have received a sectarian spirit of love for the sect, devotion to the sect, service and sacrifice for the sect, etc.’ Studies in the Scriptures, volume 5, page 194. Remind you of anyone you know?” His sarcasm irked me, but I tried not to show it. “Pretty strong stuff,” I admitted. “We’re not dedicated to the organization. We’re dedicated to God,” Cyn objected. I tried to explain, “That’s what we say, alright. But too often we equate the organization’s view with God’s will. Obeying the organization is said to be obeying Jehovah. Leaving the organization is said to be leaving Jehovah. We deny any truth from the Bible unless it is confirmed in the Watchtower. We feel guilty and unsteady in faith if we disagree with anything in Watchtower.” “That’s not true!” Cyndi cried. “Really? Name one thing that Mom ever disagreed with—or that you disagree with.” The room was extraordinarily quiet as we waited for Cyndi’s response. We all knew that nothing could be said. Disagreeing with the Society on the smallest of points would have set off WWIII in our family. After a minute, Micah let her off the hook by changing the subject. “There is one last quote I’d like to read. Russell was speaking about qualifications for sharing the Lord’s Evening Meal. Quote “There is here a clearly drawn line of distinction, not only between the believers and unbelievers, but also between the consecrated and the unconsecrated. However, the line is to be drawn by each individual for himself… so long as his professions are good and reasonably attested by his outward conduct.” Micah looked up to make sure we were listening, then proceeded. “It is not for one member to be the judge of another, nor even for the Church to judge… the elders, or representatives of the Church, should set before those who assemble themselves these terms and conditions—(1) faith in the blood; and (2) consecration to the Lord and his service, even unto death. They should then invite all who are thus minded and thus consecrated to join in celebrating the Lord's death and their own. This, and all invitations connected with this celebration, should be so comprehensively stated as to leave no thought of sectarianism. All should be welcomed to participate, regardless of their faith and harmony on other subjects…’ Studies in the Scriptures, volume 6, 473.” “’Regardless of their faith and harmony on other subjects.’ Hmmm-- That’s quite a change from our current understanding,” I said. “Clearly Russell was more open minded then we are today.” Cyndi was still shaking her head. “I just can’t believe it,” she said. “You should read the first chapter of Russell’s Millennial Dawn, volume 1 and read the section of volume 7 on the letters to the Churches from Revelation chapters 2 and 3, that’s where the Lutherans and Methodists come in.” “I’ve got copies of those books on the shelf behind you,” I said. Cyndi turned around to spot them. “Can I borrow them?” she inquired. “Sure,” I nodded then turned back to Micah. “You mentioned an exception, one doctrine that you did feel merited making an issue out of.” “Right!” “So you do acknowledge some limits on what makes a person a true Christian,” I said, trying to get him to see some weakness in his argument. “Right! There are actually two errors in teachings mentioned in the Christian scriptures, serious errors that impact faith. One is denial of the resurrection. The promise of eternal life based on the resurrection of the dead is essential to Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote that certain teachers who denied the resurrection were overturning the faith of some and their teachings spread like a disease, like gangrene. Paul instructed Timothy to vigorously oppose this teaching and to give correction, but never said that its proponents should be expelled from the congregation.” “And the second?” Cyndi asked. “The second was to deny that Christ had come in the flesh. This is from 2 John. Apparently it refers to an idea circulating at the end of the apostolic era that Christ was a demi-god. False teachers were traveling from congregation to congregation, intent on causing division and leading away disciples after themselves. According to 2 John, they were not to be given any entrée, not greeted, not invited in. Such intentional campaigns to divide are much different, however, than discussions of different viewpoints where love, respect and honest searching after truth abide.” “Do you then admit that sometimes divisions are necessary?” Cyndi perked up. “Right, there is a need to avoid those who would intentionally corrupt us. But we have to be careful not to expand its scope as some do. When the elders first met with me to express their “concern” about my interest in ‘interfaith,’ Brother McHenry read this verse from 2 John 9. It’s the verse that sectarians love to quote most because it is the only scripture that cites doctrine as the basis for limiting fellowship. While discussing 2 John, Brother McHenry held up the Bible, claiming that ‘this teaching’ refers to everything in the Bible. He said that anyone whose belief differs from the Bible on any point would be a false worshipper before God. He forgot, of course, that all of us from Brother Russell down to today are imperfect in our understanding--“ Cyndi shifted in her seat. “I see what you are saying. A line has to be drawn that allows for some measure of imperfection,” she grumbled. “You’re saying agreement on only a very few doctrines is required. I’m saying we should agree on everything. Even if our understanding is imperfect, we still need to agree with the organization. They will correct things in due time.” Micah continued, “I’m saying that God will judge us individually, not by membership in the organization. We’ve all had ideas and beliefs that we’ve discarded because we now see them as false. As long as we live, we’ll continue to learn. When we die, we’ll be judged by God with our remaining misconceptions and misinterpretations intact. If any and every false idea makes one spiritually unclean before God, then we’re all in a fix, regardless of what other humans agree with us. To broaden the application of 2 John, as sectarians do, to encompass any and all misconceptions about what Christ taught, is to go beyond what is written.” Cyndi put on her best kindly face. “I’m worried about you,” she said. “I’m worried about you, too!” Micah voice grew louder. “I’m worried that you’re harsh in your judgments. By making so many issues into matters of life and death, you are setting yourself up for a harsh judgment. Remember that we will be judged as we have judged. You… ” I took a loud, sharp breath, air rushing between narrowed lips, hoping he would take the hint. “There is need for calmness and balance here,” I said firmly. Micah stood up, took an equally loud breath, and walked over to the window. The late afternoon sun glared in deepening yellow and orange off the window panes. “Soon stars will emerge. Hundreds of them,” he said. “If it’s a clear night, you’ll be able to see how many different sources of light there are in the heavens.” Micah’s analogy was transparent; various planets and stars were independent sources of light, various organizations and scholars were similar independent sources of truth— all created by Jehovah. Cyndi and I looked at each other and shrugged, not really knowing whether his comparison was appropriate or not. He sat back down, speaking softly and slowly. “Basically, I’m saying that creating separations, sectarianism, fighting about words is the major pitfall here, not every difference of doctrine. I’m not saying 2 John is the only false doctrine,” Micah acknowledge, picking up the thread of the conversation. “As far as I know it’s the only example in the Bible of a false doctrine so pernicious that we are instructed not to worship together. Those teachers were intent on causing division. In the case of other errors, such as the denial of the resurrection, the prescribed remedy was less drastic. Paul told Timothy to vigorously and publicly refute this false teaching. He never commanded that its advocates, Hymenaus and Philetus, be kicked out of the congregation, even though they were said to be caught in a snare of the Devil.” “I’ll have to reread the scripture text to see,” I replied. “Think of the ancient Israelites. They underwent all kinds of tests and made plenty of errors, but they didn’t cease being brothers. They continued living together and praying together at the Temple despite any differences.” “Who then do you say 2 John applies to today?” “Unlike first century Gnostics, to my knowledge, no Christian denomination today denies that Christ came in the flesh.” “So then all of Christendom is clean?” “Those who are unclean, spiritually speaking, are so primarily because of unchristian conduct, not belief. Both good and bad people exist out there in the Churches. All those who serve Christ to the best of their ability and pray for forgiveness based on Jesus’ name are Christians.” My head felt full. This was enough for today. “I think I see how you are connecting the dots,” I said. “I’m not sure I agree, but I see what you’re saying.” “All I’m asking for is a little respect,” he said. “Please, don’t treat me like one who has betrayed God.” I smiled. “I respect you, kid.” “From where I sit,” Cyndi said, as she got up from her chair, “that’s a tough request. Mama wouldn’t be happy with any of this.” “You’re right about that,” Micah conceded. Cyndi walked over to the book case, pulled the first volume of Russell’s Millennial Dawn from the shelf and tucked it under her arm. “I’m going home to go check on the kids,” she said. “See you later.” Then blew a kiss and walked out. Micah collected up the beer bottles and followed her out. At the door, he turned and mouthed the words, “Thanks, bro.” I nodded. “Call you tomorrow.” When I didn’t get up, he quietly closed the door behind himself. I looked at my watch. It was past 8 o’clock. During our conversation, it had grown dark outside. I turned off my reading lamp and sat there quietly for a long while. Picking up the folded letter, I thumped its edge against the table top, making a hollow sound. Suddenly, there came a flickering light from the window. I rose from my armchair and gazed out at the night sky. Through the dusty glass I could make out an array of stars of varying brightness. I couldn’t tell what had flickered. Micah, Micah, what have you done to yourself? I waved his letter in the air. I knew the Watchtower wouldn’t respond to his questions, but would simply view him as a rebel. The problem seemed unfixable. There was nothing I could do for him. I had to leave the matter in Jehovah’s hands. |
| The Story |
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