When the Homily is about Immunology

Jehovah's Witnesses on Holy Saturday

Yep, they knocked on my door on Holy Saturday. The family is busily preparing for the feast and I have not eaten since Thursday night...bad timing to say the least.

Anyone ever read my little "ficitional" account of 2nd century door to door evangelists?

Well, I tried to take the same approach and so when they presented me with their magazine with the headline: "Who was Jesus?" I was upfront: "Well I know the answer to that question - He is God, one of the Holy Trinity." And promptly both their Bibles began to be opened and thumbed vigorously through.

But I stopped them and asked: "Where did that Bible come from? Do you know when we first decided what the Bible would be composed of?" The kindly older woman figured that it must have been right around the first century...and I must admit to smiling at the fact that I now would be the one educating them and not what they perceived ought to be the other way around. And I continued to approach them from this foundational issue of authority: they said that the word "trinity" isn't found in the Bible and I tell them that the concept of "Sola Scriptura" isn't either and that furthermore Jesus didn't found a book (in fact said nothing about the need for such a thing), but He did found a Church.

I mean really, how can I take YOUR translation and YOUR interpretation of the Bible seriously, when there are 30,000+ other groups who stand on the same authoritative prinicple but reach radically different conclusions?

It became readily apparent to me that while they were trained to deal with the standard "Bible Answer Man" trained protestant proof-text warrior, they were not prepared to handle a challenge over authority and their foundational assumption of "Sola Scriptura."

It was an intriguing conversation that ended with THEIR decision to call it quits and they declined any future email conversations, but left me with their magazine and the promise that they would return again - no doubt with bigger guns. I welcomed it and their magazine has made for great reading in the bathroom.

If and when they return, I will insist they take some materials from me...after all, I took theirs.