FOR RENT: jehovahswitnesses.com

THE list of internet domains catalogued by the InterNIC agency reveals a listing for "Jehovahswitnesses E-mail Service." We discovered this in January when a scan using InterNIC's "Whois" program turned up this data entry:

At first we thought that the Watchtower Society was making arrangements for its own Witness-only e-mail service. But then additional research on the Web revealed that this domain name is owned by MailBank (alias FreeView) at that address in Canada, an outfit like HotMail which rents out vanity e-mail addresses and leases domain names. (They advertise that they have bought up 12,000 domain names and will lease or rent them but will never sell them.)

When including the jehovahswitnesses.com domain in their stock of names, they perhaps anticipated leasing it to the Society or having millions of JWs eventually sign up directly with MailBank. In any case, apparently addresses like these are available for rent:

ExposingError@jehovahswitnesses.com

apostates@jehovahswitnesses.com

mhenschel@jehovahswitnesses.com

govbody@jehovahswitnesses.com

beenthere@jehovahswitnesses.com

underground@jehovahswitnesses.com

Is it idolatry? Do Jehovah's Witnesses lift up their organization to god-like status? Such an attitude is revealed in this expression of gratitude quoted in The Watchtower of February 15, 1997 (page 21): "gratitude for each and every blessing that we undeservedly receive from Jehovah and his organization"

- - - - - - - - - -