If life were complex instead of complicated, we could take a step back, observe, and say, "Look how it all fits together. Very well done, people." As it is there is a greater urge to back away and utter the words, "What a goddamn mess."
Lachlan stood in the doorway amassing a mental arsenal of passages from the Watchtower. Confrontation made him nervous. He was much happier when people shouted, cursed him, called him a bloody lunatic, and slammed the door in his face. He could deal with rejection. Heck, he thought, it's what the Watchtower society is founded on. But the prospect of a debate made his hands turn clammy. He often thought how ironic it was he fell in with the Jehovahs when all he wanted was to be left with his thoughts, alone in his head where he was the narrator, and the story was always straight.
Jamie, however, was a little entertained. Jehovahs had never visited him before, and quite frankly he was beginning to feel a bit ignored. One's first visit by a Jehovah's witness was a milestone, Jamie reckoned; a point of reference for jokes, anecdotes, and cartoons. Since Jamie's visit already comprises of not one but two witnesses (and one who farted), he felt he was being well compensated for years of neglect. He also regretted his earlier reaction to slam the door. Why did he want to shut them out? He didn't even know them.
"The Watchtower Society accepts all kinds of people," Lachlan began, proud of his first move.
"Why?" Jamie shot back, resorting, he knew, to sandbox tactics. He could go on like this for hours, but he wouldn't.
"Because we want to help people who are suffering." Lachlan said.
"What makes you think I'm suffering?" Jamie replied.
"If you are ignoring God, it is because Satan is distracting you. Satan and his demons cause great misery." Lachlan looked as concerned as possible. The sun beat down on the two men. Chris shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His feet were getting hot, and he was looking forward to leaving.
"Satan? I've actually been reading a bit about Satan." Jamie leaned against the side of the house, getting comfortable. Where he stood on the porch was shaded, and he could see the men getting uncomfortable in the sun. He smiled.
"Oh . . . Oh, you have?" Lachlan was suddenly faced with the thought that this man was one of the aggressive atheists he'd heard about during meetings.
"Yeah. A great book. The Origin of Satan, by Elaine Pagels. She chronicles how the idea of Satan, and with it the concept of an eternal struggle between good and evil, changes throughout the Bible." Jamie's heart raced a bit. He, too, felt that he was getting himself into a very long conversation. For a moment he thought about cutting it off and going back inside. He had things to do. There was a pile of dishes in the sink he had been avoiding. Hmmm, Jamie thought, dishes or Jehovah's Witnesses. He turned around and closed the front door, and resumed leaning. After all, it was a beautiful day.
"I see. She talks about Satan's rebellion against God, and how God cast him out of heaven." Lachlan replied, nodding.
"Not exactly. Well, she mentions it, but points out how that particular story comes much, much later. Originally, there were the 'satan,' small 's'. These guys were part of God's angelic entourage and still answered to God. They were adversaries who God sent down to challenge people, to purposefully obstruct their path."
Lachlan drew a breath to speak, but was cut off.
"In fact," Jamie continued, "The word 'satan', or at least its root, literally means 'one who opposes.' And the Greek equivalent, 'diabolos,' simply means 'one who throws something across one's path.'" Jamie was beaming. It helped that he had just read those pages the day before, and they were still fresh in his mind.
"I think you'll find," Chris interrupted, "that Satan and his demons try to confuse God's message." He handed Jamie a copy of Watchtower magazine. "We have weekly meetings, and we'd love you to come along. Have a great day." Chris turned around and walked away. When he reached the footpath, he removed his coat and breathed deeply.
"Yeah, but--Satan's just an idea," Jamie said, getting defensive. He was raising his voice. "People used the idea of Satan to demonize others, but not just any others, others closest to them. It, er he, uh, it--it was an intimate enemy, Satan. It was people closest to us, not some magical demon from another world." Jamie flung his hands wildly, trying to grasp the concepts flying through his mind.
Lachlan smiled politely. While it was not like Chris to walk away like that, he was glad it happened. He said, "We would love to talk to you in the group. Have a nice day," and left.
" . . . but the idea was complicated later on. Hebrews started using the term to describe members of their group they didn't agree with . . . " Jamie was talking to himself now. " . . . and early Christians did the same thing later on when Jesus was executed. Because they couldn't bear the idea of losing. I mean, there was a war going on and this guy was supposed to save them, but he didn't . . . so they rewrote the whole thing, made it this cosmic battle so that Jesus could still be the saviour. They made it up. They made the whole thing up. And now look at it. The most popular religion in the world. Pervasive. Ubiquitous. Completely taken out of context. How did it get so damn complicated?"
Jamie walked back inside. He had dishes to do. That, he thought, was simple enough.
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