"It seems to me you folks are worshiping the teapot instead of drinking the tea."

BabaYaga

A friend just shared this quote with me. He read it in "Pass The Jelly; Tales of Ordinary Enlightenment" by Gary Crowley, in which the narrator makes witty Zen observations as he wanders through his day. While having a discussion with some Jehovah's Witnesses who came to his door, he tells them, "It seems to me you folks are worshiping the teapot instead of drinking the tea."

I love that.

snowbird

I love it, too.

What a waste!

Being so concerned with without instead of within.

Pity.

Syl

not a captive

Brilliant. That says it in such away that no one could respond to that idea without having to think what it means. It creeps up on you slowly, Baba.

daniel-p

Tea = spiritual nourishment/enlightenment/relationship with God/etc.

Teapot = The religion or organization itself

Is that how you see it?

snowbird

Ray Franz on WT organization:

While producing people who were outwardly moral, they subverted the essential qualities of humility, compassion, and mercy ...

So true.

I hated the expression, "JEHOVAH'S CLEAN PEOPLE."

No such animal exists.

Syl

White Dove

Yeah, clean people until you get to know them. As I grew up, my eyes opened to the fact that everyone in the org. seems good and clean until I spent a little more time with them. I began to see how they had the same problems that they said the world had but they didn't have.

AudeSapere

Without the teapot, would we have tea? Or would we just have a handful of soggy leaves?

Does the teapot make the tea or is it the other way around? If the teapot makes the tea then maybe...

...Then maybe the tea is the creation and the pot is the creator???

-Aude (playing Devil's Advocate)

..... [[Formatting is off for me. OP may have been created in Firefox??]]

maninthemiddle

Daniel what if:

teapot= Jehovah

tea=Jesus?

superpunk

This implies that there is ever any practical difference between the teapot and the tea.

Cagefighter

Here's my way of explaining it to them...

Number of times Jesus mentioned the Watchtower in the Bible - zero

Number of times Jesus mentioned homosexuals in the Bible - zero

Number of time Jesus said to love my neighbor- several

Number of times Jesus said I didn't have to be perfect just accept him as my saviour- several.

Now, who wants a beer?

-Cage

"It seems to me you folks are worshiping the teapot instead of drinking the tea."

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