So I had a conversation with my brother some time ago. I don't entirely remember how, exactly, but the following subject came up:
"I wonder why God gave his earthly creatures needs... You know, like how we need water to drink, food to eat, air to breath, etc. The angels and other spirit creatures don't have any needs, so why did God create us to 'need' things to live?"
Of course, I don't believe in Jehovah or any God for that matter anymore, but for the time being, family circumstances are making it so that getting out of the org isn't really a good idea right now. So, my brother still thinks I'm a believer...
So, I decided I'd at least use this opportunity to try to get him to think outside the box... Emphasize the only logical explanation I could come up with that would make a supposedly 'loving' God create us with our needs... I said:
"Maybe it's to encourage cooperation between all the creatures on earth. Everything on Earth needs something from some other species in order to survive, plants make air and food for animals and people, then animals and people die and decompose to fertilize the plants, we need other people for emotional and social companionship, etc. This global symbiosis keeps things in balance, since if organisms were entirely self-sufficient, they'd spend their whole lives alone and doing absolutely nothing.
My brother nodded and thought about it for a while before telling me...
"Hmm.... That's interesting... I never thought about it like that before! It could be that...
However, I always thought that Jehovah gave us needs as a reminder of how inferior we are to him."
I was in awe. Something as fundamental as the fact that we need various forms of sustenance, to a witness, is merely another matter that primarily revolves around obedience, submission and self-depreciation. What baffles me is how he would be willing to serve a God like that. One who hard-codes into your very being a constant, nagging requirement simply to remind you that he is superior to you?
The difference between these two perspectives show just how little value logic has to these people and the way that they're programmed to think. If there is a logical explanation for something, that's one thing, but if there's a "because-God-said-so" explanation that emphasizes obedience, it IMMEDIATELY takes center stage. I guess that would explain all those times where the Israelites were required to fast during their festivals and stuff. Utter madness.
