A Visit to a Church Helped Me See Things Differently

As a former PIMI, I used to feel nothing but disgust for churches and the Christmas season. It was all a lie and a mockery of God. While I still believe Jesus likely wasn’t born on December 24th, the cracks in the Watchtower’s foundation and the corpses in their basement have changed my perspective. I can no longer condemn the churches being known as a JW (I'm inactive).

Recently, I visited a major city in Europe. I stepped into the main church, built around 250 years ago, with its bright, white-and-gold Baroque interior. The organ was playing, including a single Christmas hymn. The atmosphere was peaceful, as were the many visitors. I thought to myself: This wonderful building truly honors God.

Near the altar stood a Christmas tree alongside a nativity scene, a representation of Jesus' birth. I couldn’t find anything unbiblical about it. Afterwards, I wandered to the city’s main square, where the Christmas market was held. Sure, it’s commercialized, like any other festival...

The demanding standards the Watchtower drilled into us for years have backfired. If celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 24th is unacceptable because the date is uncertain, how is it okay to claim Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE when historians know it's definitely false? Why is the Trinity doctrine so terrible, even though no church member is shunned or cast out for not believing in it -- yet a JW is disfellowshipped and shunned for repeatedly questioning 1914 or the "overlapping generation"?

For me, this little city tour helped me put things into perspective.