Treated As Fools

In the last few years, I’ve encountered the following treatment twice so far. At first, I found it confusing and could not understand why the person was acting the way they were. The second time it happened, again I felt very uncomfortable. In fact, it has taken about 2 months of reflecting on the experiences for me to make sense of them. What is this treatment? It is one of mock sympathy. In both cases, the men treated me as if they felt sorry for me -- that I was some poor deceived sap that didn’t have the mental capacity to reach a correct decision on my own. They attacked the teachings and methods of Jehovah’s Witnesses as if because of my low mental state (the assumption of those feigning pity, not the actual facts), I had been deceived by the crafty ways of the organization. I have to wonder if this is something their churches and religions are teaching them, to wit: “The people who come to your door are just simple-minded common folk who don’t have the ability of critical thinking. Pity them, feel sorry for them.”

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised by this treatment. Paul wrote “For you see his calling of you, brothers, that there are not many wise in a fleshly way, not many powerful, not many of noble birth, but God chose the foolish things of the world to put the wise men to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world to put the strong things to shame; and God chose the insignificant things of the world and the things looked down on, the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no one might boast in the sight of God. But it is due to him that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who has become to us wisdom from God, also righteousness and sanctification and release by ransom, so that it may be just as it is written: ‘The one who boasts, let him boast in Jehovah.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31) Yes, those who arrogantly think they are so much better than Christians who are, in their mind, “foolish” and not “wise,” react to us in the way I described in the first paragraph.

Really, we are in very good company. Even Jesus was belittled as being nothing more than a carpenter’s son and from Galilee (not a prophetically significant town). Also, Paul, who is credited with writing most of the letters and by far the greater part of the content of the Greek Scriptures; who was educated at the feet of Gamaliel; and whose advancements were at the forefront of his peers, after becoming a follower of the Christ was belittled as being nothing more than a “chatterer.” So if the son of God, and a very intelligent man like Paul can endure belittlement, surely we can also.

(Note that I didn't even address the claim that our organization uses tactics that are twisted. That claim is so completely absurd, it is laughable. I immediately recall how even to this day the Jewish religion's official position on the person of Jesus Christ is that he was absolutely the biggest Jewish apostate of all times and his effect on the world has been despicable. So it is no surprise that the Christian group known as Jehovah's Witnesses would be treated the same way.)