On? S?turday morn?ng I was sipping m? coff?e and reading the newspaper wh?n th? doorbell rang. T?is ?as an unusu?l oc?urrence ?s we lived in ? somewhat isolated log cabin in the mountains outside Denver. At the do?r st?od t?o attractiv? college-age g?rls w?o ?anted to talk to me about b?coming a Jehovah’s Witness.
Normally I would politely say, “No thank?” and ?eturn to my p?per, ?ut that mo?ning I dec?ded t? engage with th?m. Afte? he?ring t?eir initial pitch, I asked one ?f them, “Are your par?nts Jehovah’s Witnesses?”
“Our whole family is,” sh? replied.
“Do yo? thin? rel?gion ?s an ?mportant thing fo? peo?le to ?ave in the?r lives?”
“Very,” she replied, and I agreed.
“How ?any ot?er religi?ns have yo? studied and investigated?”
“None.”
“Is a c?r an ?mportant thing in your l?fe?” I asked.
“Well, yes, but not ?s important ?s religion.”
Again I agreed. “What kind of car do y?u drive?”
“A Toyota.”
“Is that wh?t your parents drive?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I inquired.
“Because I like Toyot?s better.” Sh? wa? starting to get impatient but politely continued to humor me.
“How do you know?”
“Because I like the w?y my Toyot? looks and drives, plus ?t ?as inexpensive and gets good gas mileage.”
I nodded toward ?y To?ota sitting in the d?iveway and agreed. “How d?d yo? kn?w t?at about your ?ar when y?u b?ught it?”
“I test drove different ?ars and tal?ed to m? friends about their cars.” she said, increasingly exasperated.
“So yo? checked out lots of different cars before deciding ?n you? Toyota,” I gently summarized, “but yo?r relig?on, whic? is much ?ore important, you inherited fr?m your parents wit?out knowing anything about the alternatives?”
“Yeah,” sh? replied rat?er sheepishly, cat?hing m? drift.
“I’ll tell yo? what,” I s?id. “Spend the next five yea?s invest?gating ?nd studying t?e other great religions ?f the world and t?en ?f you still want t? talk to ?e about becoming ? Jehovah’s Witness, we’ll talk.”
The girl?, real?zing th?y had ? hopeless cas? on their h?nds, thanked me f?r ?y t?me and left.
The vast majority of people world?ide inherit their religion—on? ?f the most important thing? ?n their lives—unquestioningly from the?r par?nts, without ever investigating the alternatives. M?ny a?e con?inced it is the only way to God, believe that oth?r religi?ns ar? her?sy, and some will fight ?nd die for it. D?d you inher?t your religion?
John Penberthy is t?e autho? of To Bee o? N?t to Bee, A boo? for be?ngs who feel there’s mor? to life than just ?aking honey, an illustr?ted, inspirational allegory—fun yet de?p—about the spiritual jou?ney of ? w?rker ?ee entrenched in th? mindl?ss tedium of life ?n ? hon?ybee colony. Endorsements from Dan Millman, Stephen Le?ine ?nd Ram Dass. S?e t?e unique and creat?ve 60 second audio-vis?al flash P?eview at http://ToBeeBook.com/preview.html
About The Author
John Penberthy ?as b?rn with an ?nsatiable curiosity whic? ?as ?ade him an ardent student ?f Life and Spirit. H? grew up in south Florida, ea?ned an MBA and spent 12 years consulting fo? proposed real estate developments in th? Ro?ky Mountain reg?on. Subsequently John coordinated a vitamin A fortification (blindness prevention) pro?ect f?r Helen Keller International in Ind?nesia and m?naged t?e Cac?e River Bioreserve for Th? Nature Conservancy in southern Illinois. John’s ?triving to s?e the Divine in all thing? led him to write To B?e o? Not to Bee, A ?ook f?r beings w?o feel th?re’s ?ore to life than j?st making hone?. He lives in Boulder, Colorad? with h?s w?fe and daughter.
jrpenberthy@comcast.net
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