Goodbye to Jehovah's Paradise

WHAT was it like to be a young Jehovah's Witness living in Britain in the 1960s? Members of the faith aged in their teens and twenties were constantly warned by their leaders that the world was shortly to be destroyed in the Battle of Armageddon. They were told that if they wished to be saved and live forever on a paradise earth they would need to conform to a strict code of conduct. That meant preaching from door-to-door to warn of the coming destruction, avoiding sex outside marriage, not undertaking higher education, not celebrating Christmas or birthdays, and only mixing socially with people who were Jehovah's Witnesses. The book follows the life of a fictional young man named Luke Fairweather from the age of 18 to 30. For several months he is given a thorough indoctrination in the beliefs of the Witnesses. He accepts the claim that Armageddon is only a short time away and devotes his life to preaching. But as the years go by and the end of the world seems as far away as ever he suffers a crisis of faith. About the author JOHN RIPPIN retired in 2004 after 27 years as editor of the Loughborough Echo, an award-winning weekly newspaper in Leicestershire. He joined the paper at the age of 16 as a trainee reporter and rose through the ranks, putting in a total of nearly 50 years' service. He still works as a freelance journalist. He is a member emeritus of the Society of Editors and during the days of the old Guild of British Newspaper Editors served as regional chairman and also sat on the national council. He is married with three children and one grandchild.