ac3p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Alison R. Carter) (11/09/90)
OH PUH-LEEEAAASSSEEE!!! YOU IDEOLOGISTS JUST TICKLE MY FANCY NO END. @@@@@@@@@ conversation between myself and a (cult deleted) on my doorstep not too long ago. "...so you believe that 144.000 true believers will be delivered to heaven at the end." "uh-huh." "and joining the (truth of the word believers) will guarantee me a place in heaven." "uh-huh." "how many (truth of the word believers) are there?" "well, in the u.s. alone, two million." "sounds like two million is a hell of a lot more than one hundred and forty-four thousand. do your arithmetic." *SLAM* the poor soul remained on the doorstep for two hours doing one subtraction problem. i concluded that it took that long because his brain had atrophied. ...the antichrist :-) [In all fairness, this is somewhat oversimplifying the role of the 144,000 in JW theology. Like every other group, they may have overeager but underinformed members. Of course adopting policies that put such members in contact with the public as representatives of the group may not be entirely wise... --clh]