Pondering

So, my brother Travis says "it should be a crime" that I haven't posted on here in so long. We've been busy and I just haven't really felt like posting lately, so it's been a while. But for Travis, here's a post...

I met one of my neighbors in the laundry room the other day. I've never seen him before, but apparently he's lived in our apartment complex for a while...weird that I've never seen him, but whatever. So we started talking (he was taking clothes out of the dryer, I was loading clothes into the washer), and he seems like a nice guy and all. We were just making small talk, and then he asked if I'm religious. Russell and I don't go to church on a regular basis, but we're Christians and we do have beliefs and opinions and such. So I told him yes, I'm a Christian, etc., etc. He then asks if I'm familiar with the Jehovah's Witness beliefs. I'm not a huge fan of Jehovah's Witnesses (I don't really think of religion, or beliefs in general, as something that should be a door-to-door salesman's pitch), but I honestly don't know that much about exactly what they believe (or how it's any different from what I believe). So I just told him yes, I've known Jehovah's Witnesses, but I'm not very familiar with their beliefs. He then starts going into how my belief focuses on guilt and fear of death (fear of going to Hell at death), and his doesn't. How they interpret the Bible "figuratively," rather than literally, as I do. They believe that there's no Hell, so we don't need to go through life worrying about every little mistake and if it'll end up landing us in Hell. He was a nice guy, and one of those types that seems like they'd be a great motivational speaker because of how enthusiastic and committed they are to what they're saying when they want to persuade you about something. So I listened and nodded to be polite (and couldn't really get a word in edgewise), and he went and grabbed a copy of the Watchtower newsletter from his apartment titled "Should You Fear Hell?" I took it from him and said okay, I'll check it out, but I really don't see the logic in their belief system. I read some of the Watchtower just to have a better understanding of it, but it seems like a skewed way of thinking, to me. If there's no Hell, why did Jesus say there was one? The Watchtower explains that he wasn't really meaning literally when he talked about the lake of fire and all that, but I don't see why he would've said that if he didn't mean it, you know? And where's the motivation to become saved, if there's no Hell for you to go to if you don't? Not that Hell is anyone's only motivation to become saved, but it doesn't make sense. Also, how do they believe in Heaven if they don't believe in Hell? It's like believing in light, but not in darkness (the absence of light)...it doesn't make sense. I guess it's all about how we interpret the Bible. It amazes me how many different "religions" there are who all base their beliefs on one little book, but they all take what it says in completely different ways. I believe if God didn't want us to interpret it literally, he wouldn't have had it written it the way he did. Like, for instance, if there wasn't a seven-day creation, he wouldn't have said there was. Anyways. To each his own, but as I said, it's strange to me that so many people read the Bible and get completely different things from it. What do you guys think about this?

I'm hanging out with Travis tonight and my co-worker Angie tomorrow! I don't usually have so much planned for my weekend (plus, I don't have to babysit tomorrow), so I'm quite happy.

PS- We're selling my old truck, so check it out and let me know if you know anyone who'd like to buy it!