Chapter 2

"Jehovah Is a Jealous God"

The school year was over, and I received the best grade in religion along with the congratulations of the commission. In all other respects I was then an ordinary Catholic boy who was tired of having to go to Mass every Sunday and who thought that the Bible, at least the Old Testament, was only a collection of myths more or less akin to those of other religions, but the Vatican had determined which elements of them were true and which were false.

The first "witnesses" come

When two of Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door in August, in the middle of the summer holidays, it was not me who opened it. I remember, as if it were yesterday, when my mother exchanged a few words with them as they entered, and when I showed up, they were ready to leave. I then took an interest in talking to them, and my mother left us alone, no doubt hoping that I myself would get rid of them alive.

Two boys, Edward and Augustine—I recognized their names at once—tried to hand me a magazine which I had no desire to take, for I was going to put Father Santos's theory into practice at once.

I told them that their Bible was false, but that I could not give them any Bible passage (for Father Santos had not given us any). Then one of the two "witnesses" asked me to clearly indicate which teachings of their Bible were false. I answered them by mentioning the Most Holy Trinity. The guy smiled with courtesy mixed with condescension and asked me to get my Bible.

Then I went into the dining room and took my Bible on the shelf. I was convinced that these guys were just braggarts, and that I would get rid of them very soon. At that moment, I could not even suspect that it was at these moments that a relationship was being established, which was to last for many years.

When I returned to them with the Bible in my hands, one of them asked me to read Mark 13:32. Scarcely had I read the passage when he said to me, "If Christ were God, He would have to know everything, but if He did not know the date of the end of the world, then He is not God, is He?" Without giving me a moment to think, the boy added, "Won't you read John 14:28 now?" And as soon as I finished reading, I heard again: "If Christ is less than the Father, He cannot be God, can he?" that I thought it would be worth listening to them again.

So I invited them to sit down and began to question them about the weak points of their doctrine.