| The vast majority of people in the world | | | | "How do you know?" |
| automatically and unquestioningly inherit their religion | | | | "Because I like the way my Toyota looks and drives, |
| from their parents. For something as important as | | | | plus it was inexpensive and gets good gas mileage." |
| religion, why are we so reluctant to shop around? | | | | I nodded toward my Toyota sitting in the driveway |
| One Saturday morning I was sipping my coffee and | | | | and agreed. "How did you know that about your car |
| reading the newspaper when the doorbell rang. This | | | | when you bought it?" |
| was an unusual occurrence as we lived in a | | | | "I test drove different cars and talked to my friends |
| somewhat isolated log cabin in the mountains outside | | | | about their cars." she said, increasingly exasperated. |
| Denver. At the door stood two attractive college-age | | | | "So you checked out lots of different cars before |
| girls who wanted to talk to me about becoming a | | | | deciding on your Toyota," I gently summarized, "but |
| Jehovah's Witness. | | | | your religion, which is much more important, you |
| Normally I would politely say, "No thanks" and return | | | | inherited from your parents without knowing anything |
| to my paper, but that morning I decided to engage | | | | about the alternatives?" |
| with them. After hearing their initial pitch, I asked one | | | | "Yeah," she replied rather sheepishly, catching my |
| of them, "Are your parents Jehovah's Witnesses?" | | | | drift. |
| "Our whole family is," she replied. | | | | "I'll tell you what," I said. "Spend the next five years |
| "Do you think religion is an important thing for people | | | | investigating and studying the other great religions of |
| to have in their lives?" | | | | the world and then if you still want to talk to me |
| "Very," she replied, and I agreed. | | | | about becoming a Jehovah's Witness, we'll talk." |
| "How many other religions have you studied and | | | | The girls, realizing they had a hopeless case on their |
| investigated?" | | | | hands, thanked me for my time and left. |
| "None." | | | | The vast majority of people worldwide inherit their |
| "Is a car an important thing in your life?" I asked. | | | | religion-one of the most important things in their |
| "Well, yes, but not as important as religion." | | | | lives-unquestioningly from their parents, without ever |
| Again I agreed. "What kind of car do you drive?" | | | | investigating the alternatives. Religion is invaluable in |
| "A Toyota." | | | | that it provides moral codes for societies to live by. |
| "Is that what your parents drive?" | | | | Yet they can also be devisive--many people are |
| "No." | | | | convince their religion is the only way to God, believe |
| "Why not?" I inquired. | | | | that other religions are heresy, and some will fight |
| "Because I like Toyotas better." She was starting to | | | | and die for it. Did you inherit your religion? |
| get impatient but politely continued to humor me. | | | | |