Since most of us here are ex-JWs I'm sure we all have been scared of demons at one time or another as their touted reality is a basic cornerstone of the Watch Tower philosophy. Gossip and rumors dealing with demon attacks are encouraged by the Society in local congregations and such stories frequently appear in Watch Tower publications to further strengthen the argument that demons are real and are ready at any opening to "demonize" us if we fall short of deserving "Jehovah's protection" or foolishly venture beyond the protection of "Jehovah's Organization".
Since belief in demonic beings is so widespread inside the JW community, current or ex, many have reported encounters with these minions of Satan. I take these reports seriously, for the most part, knowing how real demons once seemed to me I can easily believe that someone with a similar JW background may think that they really are the victims of such supernatural forces. I am not with these persons when such events occur so I could not say for sure that their experiances are real or unreal. However, like any information I might recieve that did not come directly from my own observations, I am left with only my logic and skeptcism to test against this information's validity. If, for instance, I was told by a stranger that Chase Bank was going to give away a million dollars to anyone who shows up at their home office in New York City on Christmas Day I would first measure this possibility against known parimeters of probability before I bought my plane tickets, made hotel reservations, and stood in line to get my share. Most of us would probably discount this give away as improbable since Banks are not in the habit of giving away money to people for no good reason and taking this stranger's word might cause us to lose time, energy, and money on a long shot which will more than likely prove to be untrue. I would call this a wise and cautious use of skepticism and would warn others about my conclusions until I had better proof. This isn't rude and I'm not calling the stranger a liar I am just applying healthy skepticism. Why not apply this same common economic saavy to religion?
Reason informs us that the JW brand demons are most likely NOT real based on the information the Society itself provides. The WTS claims demons are fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion against Jehovah. If these angels were intelligent super beings (which the WTS says they are) why would they do the stupid things JWs say demons do? Why would they waste their time inhabiting old pieces of furniture, books,toys, nick knacks, or clothing on the off chance that someone might buy them just so they can scare the crap out of them? What purpose is served by such events? If anything, making their presence known scares people into worshipping God. How does this further their goals? Surely evil angels on missions for Satan's great rebellion have more important things to do than scare little kids and old ladies. These stories fly in the face of logic, even internal WTS "logic". Did highly trained Nazi spies hide in cabnets and jump out at random enemy civilians to scare them in furtherance of Hitler's war plans? Of course not. Such a waste of resources is beyond silly yet this is what we are expected to believe about spirit beings of even greater intelligence than humans. What great things are accomplished when demons cause random and mostly unimportant people to froth at the mouth, utter curses, or have sex with them? If I had more time to go into it I'd describe 100 other reasons why the Watch Tower's world view makes NO sense from Satan and his demons to Armageddon and everywhere in between. Use your reason and the Watch Tower's version of "reality" melts away like the nightmare it is. It has all the substance of a dream.