Witnessing a Confession

Last updated on: May 18, 2010 at 3:02 pm by J. Ryan Parker

Witnessing a Confession 2010-05-18T15:02:48-07:00 J. Ryan Parker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I looked forward to reading Tony DuShane‘s Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk because I felt like, according to the blurbs on the back, it would give some insight into a somewhat secretive religious group, Jehovah’s Witnesses. This coming-of-age novel, while not necessarily full of specific, insider info on the theology and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, does provide insight into how problematic extremely conservative social and theological worldviews, especially with regard to sex(uality), can be for teenage believers.

DuShane’s lead character, Gabe Dagsland, is a teenage Jehovah’s Witness living in Millbrae, California, during the early ’80s. A devoted member of his congregation, Gabe’s greatest concern is his budding sexuality and its accompanying desires and erections and how they will impact the status of his soul after Armageddon. As he progresses through junior high and high school, he moves in and out of a series of potential relationships and navigates how he will or won’t publicly express his faith on campus and how he will maintain good standing in his community of faith.

Author Tony Dushane.

Limited though they may be, DuShane’s glimpses into the life of Jehovah’s Witnesses are quite disturbing, especially their practice of disfellowshipping believers who transgress. This process lasts for an entire year, and during this time, the disfellowshipped believer must avoid contact with any other Jehovah’s Witnesses, family included, unless he or she is under the age of 18 (teenagers can have contact with their parents, though it is apparently strained). During this time, fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses must ignore the disfellowshipped as well. As DuShane points out, this might not be too problematic for people who join the Jehovah’s Witnesses later in life after they have established other “worldly” (non-Jehovah’s Witness) friends. However, if a person has been raised in that community for their entire life, thy lose virtually every friend and relationship they have. After the year has passed, should the believer choose to do so, he or she can apply for re-instatement into the community and, if accepted, will gradually re-gain what leadership roles, if any, they possessed beforehand.

Gabe’s greatest temptations are almost laughable: worldly music (some but not all…jazz is o.k.), inappropriate contact with the opposite sex (he gets in trouble for holding a girl’s hand while the elders remain ignorant of the conduct between him and his cousin Karen), and drunkenness (he hides this from his parents and the larger community). Gabe faces a major conflict with the elders of his congregation when they find out that he slept in the same house (not the same room or bed) with another teenage girl without an adult present. As such, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ approach to sexuality, or at least the ways in which DuShane presents them, are highly archaic. Such conservative views will no doubt lead to troubled relationships and unspeakable amounts of guilt, even among adults who eventually leave the faith.

“Good” or “normal” Jehovah’s Witnesses appear to be few and far between in DuShane’s text, but Gabe seems to be one, even if he is wrecked by fear and guilt. As such, I feel like the title is a bit mis-leading. Gabe is not a Jesus jerk. In fact, he tries to minimize potential offenses to non-Jehovah’s Witnesses and reaches out to his friends who have crises of faith and moments of disbelief, even as he entertains his own doubts as well. In the end, Gabe simply wants to live a normal teenage life, yet in a community that won’t allow teenagers to hold hands with the opposite sex, normal is simply impossible. The crises of faith that teenage Jehovah’s Witnesses endure do not disappear in adulthood as the actions of Gabe’s father reveal towards the end of the novel. Though such crises are often humorous throughout DuShane’s novel, in the end, they prove to be heart-breakingly tragic.

Previous Post

May 17, 2010

Atoning for Trouble

Next Post

May 19, 2010 Painfully Precious

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Classics DVD Film Music News Pop Culture Events Print Sports Television Uncategorized Video Games

Select a Month March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Matthew's Gospel begins with a genealogy tracing Jesus' lineage back to King David.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE