What's the point of the Memorial?

It's memorial season again and most of us will get an invite.  To JW's it is viewed as the most important meeting of the year and effectively it is the only celebration that they actively encourage.

Witnesses view the memorial as a celebration and as kids growing up in the 'truth' we were taught the significance of the emblems and the importance of the ransom sacrifice.  However, from being a youngster, I have always questioned the whole concept of both the memorial and (apostasy alert) more to the point, the reasoning behind Jesus ransom sacrifice. 

Here is the basic premise of the memorial;  It's a formal ceremony that acknowledges the sacrifice of a perfect man, Jesus. That sacrifice was made as payment to God for mankind to regain the privilege of Gods blessing which had been lost by another perfect man, Adam.

So let's now break it down.  Adam was created by God (apparently) as a perfect creature.  However God, in his infinite wisdom, decided to test Adam by telling him one of the fruit trees in his paradise was not to be touched.

The first question is:  If Adam was created as a perfect man why would God feel the need to 'test' him?

A perfect man would, by definition, make perfect decisions.  The introduction of a test of loyalty leads to the conclusion that God doubted the perfection of his creation in the first place.  In which case who's fault is that?  Surely the creator has to take the blame for a fault in their creation and it's their responsibility to put it right.

Skip forward a few thousand years and (again according to JW's) Jesus comes to earth.  He is a perfect spirit creature that takes human form and his two main objectives are to show mankind how they can reclaim God's blessing and to offer himself as a perfect sacrifice to God to pay the ransom required.

So the next question has to be;  Why would God, who makes the rules, require his own Son to die on behalf of man?  Of what benefit is it to God?

Witnesses point to it as the greatest act of love; that God would sacrifice his own son.  

But he didn't! 

In order for God to pay he also had to receive - he was on both sides of the transaction!  Effectively he paid himself, yet the act of sacrifice means to lose it, to give it away permanently.  

To put it simply it would be like me kidnapping my son, demanding a ransom from myself for his release and paying it to myself.

I asked these questions of an elder before I left.  His reply was; Gods ways are higher than man's and his justice is perfect. After thinking about it for a while I scratched my head and walked away.  What sort of an answer is that?

So, if you go to the memorial this year look around the Kingdom Hall at all the self-important elders and ministerial servants with their slick suits and fake smiles.  Listen to the solemn words as the speaker gives a step by step account of the Last Supper, Judas's betrayal and Jesus slow, painful death.  Listen to the long windy prayers after the bread and then the wine are passed around like some sort of Free Mason ceremony.  Then, at the end, ask yourself:  

What was the point?