Witnesses Knock on My Door

Two Jehovah Witnesses stopped by today. I was still working so I couldn't chat with them. They left me copies of their publications Awake! and The Watchtower. The publications contained a mix of human interest stories ("The Plight of the Shark") and sound ethical instruction ("How to Protect Your Children"). I admire the Witnesses for their political neutrality and their refusal to take up arms but not so much their views of end-times and blood transfusions.

Apparently your theism does not push you to believe absurd and readily falsifiable things about the world.

I try to be economically on my beliefs, especially faith-based beliefs. One of my core beliefs is that the great division among world views is not between theism and atheism but between reason and unreason-- uncritical and fanatical thought. One test for reasonable or rational belief is the extent and williness of those that hold that belief to aggressively test that belief in the market place of freely competing ideas, moderating their beliefs in the light of new information. Totataliterian and authoritarian beliefs naturally do not meet that test. I also make a divison between thoughts and actions. I really don't mind how nutty someone's convictions apparently are, but the time to draw the line is when thoughts translate into demonstrably hurtful actions. I had a good example earlier this week when two Jehovah Witnesses knocked on my door. The Witnesses prohibit the transfusion of blood for any reason, and I wonder how many of their flock went to the grave because of that immoral dogma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses_and_blood