You have probably heard the excerpt in a talk at your Kingdom Hall. It has been inserted in more than one outline, and although it sounds pretty dated by now, it is still in use. We started attending in 1995 (we're out now), but I can recall hearing this same story told at least 5 or 6 times by different brothers in their Sunday morning talk:
It goes something like this:
"...the rock bands of today are inspired by Satan and under his demonic influence. One famous rock band which became popular in the late 1970s, KISS, has a name that means "Knights In Satan's Service."
As one very familiar with rock n roll before I became a Witness, that statement threw me when I first heard it uttered from the platform, but I dismissed it. Later, I came to believe it was probably true.
But, was it? Did the name of the rock band KISS really mean "Knights In Satan's Service"?
The answer can be found in Gene Simmon's own autobiographical book, "KISS and Make-Up", which gives readers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at this world famous rock group. While I am no longer a KISS fan, (as I admit I was for a brief period when I was 16 years old and KISS were at their peak), I still believe that the truth is important, even in the least of things. Note what Gene Simmons, bassist and founder of KISS states about this matter in his book:
"At that time, misinformation about the band began to spread in the southern Bible Belt states, including a rumor that the name KISS stood for Knights In Satan's Service, and that the four of us were devil worshippers...this rumor started as the result of an interview I gave in Circus Magazine after our first album...the comment seemed to ignite the whole idea that in some way KISS was aligned with devil worship."
"When I was asked whether I worshipped the devil, I simply refused to answer for a number of reasons: the frist reason, of course, was that it was good press. Let people wonder. The other reason was my complete disregard for the people who were asking. The religious fanatics who were asking these questions didn't deserve the time of day..."
So, once again, the Watchtower society has been using a rumor- false information- to drive home yet another of their points to the flock. Once again, they failed to get their facts straight first, even in the littlest things. What do you think?