What do you do when religious missionaries come to your door

[Firebird]

Jul 23, 2014 11:21:19 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Well, when Jesus himself comes to my door, I will listen to him. In the meantime, the rest of you who think you're GOD, stay the F away from my door.

How do you know it's not Jesus if you don't answer the door? 

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Hebrews 13:2

[movingforward]

I specifically avoided this thread up until now (slow day at work).  If I don't know you then I don't answer the door - period.  A few weeks ago I happened to be out on the patio reading a book when a couple of people (not sure what religion) came up and started talking to me.  I politely said I wasn't interested and they moved on.  Honestly, I don't get the need to push your particular beliefs onto someone else.  I have never had an atheist come to my door and tell me about why they don't believe in God and I shouldn't either. Even though I am an atheist I probably wouldn't care to sit and listen to them either because they are unexpected, I don't know them and I am probably in the middle of something else at the moment.  I mean, really, showing up at at a person's house to "spread the word" about what you believe is fairly rude IMO.  In short, I try to be polite if caught off guard but they are actually the ones being rude first so I don't really feel bad if they think I am being rude.  Sometimes I come home and there is a pamphlet left on my door.  I don't mind that in the least. Leave your materials and I will seek you out if I am interested, the same way I will order that Philly cheese steak from the restaurant that leaves their menu. 

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 11:40:09 GMT -5 greeniis10 said:

Jul 23, 2014 11:23:41 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Was DSD obligated to follow whatever decision the guy's family made?

In my opinion? No.  But, she was only 22 at the time, was blindsided by the fact that she was pregnant since she believed her doctor about not being able to have children, and of course told the boyfriend as soon as she found out.  Once he told his family, the ball was rolling!  They have a beautiful baby girl and I know they don't regret her, but this ties with with the thread on YM about what would you tell your 22 yr. old self: I think when she gets older she'll see that she could have taken control of the situation, but wasn't equipped with the maturity at the time.

  I hope it all turns out well for her and her family.

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 12:01:51 GMT -5 Firebird said:

Now I hate it, but I feel so bad telling her I'm not interested anymore because I kind of see her as a friend although our entire relationship revolves around her being a JW.

To me, that's a perfect example of why the relationship should PRECEDE the evangelism.  I find it quite sad that Angel has a connection with this lady and yet has to constantly feel awkward around her because she isn't buying the product, so to speak.

If they had met in actual friendship, then she could have told Angel about her religion as part of the getting-to-know-you process, not as a sales pitch.  And then Angel probably wouldn't feel nearly so awkward about being uninterested.

  They aren't supposed to be friends with non-JWs, though.   

[Firebird]

They aren't supposed to be friends with non-JWs, though.

I think that's unbelievably sad for all involved. 

[greeniis10]

Jul 23, 2014 13:00:39 GMT -5 Firebird said:

They aren't supposed to be friends with non-JWs, though.

I think that's unbelievably sad for all involved. 

Sad, but very true! 

[zibazinski]

I would totally freak if someone came around my house and onto my patio. That is not only trespassing, it's casing the joint. They'd be damn lucky not to get shot. 

[zibazinski]

Yes, when someone pretends to be your friend just to convert you and when they find out they're unsuccessful, they will you, it is sad.

[greeniis10]

Jul 23, 2014 12:53:33 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jul 23, 2014 11:40:09 GMT -5 greeniis10 said:

In my opinion? No.  But, she was only 22 at the time, was blindsided by the fact that she was pregnant since she believed her doctor about not being able to have children, and of course told the boyfriend as soon as she found out.  Once he told his family, the ball was rolling!  They have a beautiful baby girl and I know they don't regret her, but this ties with with the thread on YM about what would you tell your 22 yr. old self: I think when she gets older she'll see that she could have taken control of the situation, but wasn't equipped with the maturity at the time.

  I hope it all turns out well for her and her family.

Thank you!  Me too, of course.  I DO believe everything happens for a reason and maybe if she had waited to have kids she very well could have had fertility issues.  IDK, but we all just try to support each other and make the best of it.

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 13:00:39 GMT -5 Firebird said:

They aren't supposed to be friends with non-JWs, though.

I think that's unbelievably sad for all involved. 

  This belief is based on 2 Corinthians 6:14  

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?    NKJV


  Then in verse 17, it says

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  NKJV
 

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 13:19:20 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Yes, when someone pretends to be your friend just to convert you and when they find out they're unsuccessful, they will you, it is sad.

 I have met JWs in social settings where they assumed I was JW too.   I was having a nice chat with a woman and she asked which congregation I attended.  When I stated I was not a JW, she looked at me as though I had just said I like to eat boiled babies for breakfast and I worship Satan.  She immediately walked away and did not speak to me again.   She had been laughing at something I said a moment before, but suddenly I was not worth speaking to.

They will cut off family members, too.   For no other reason than not JW.

In fairness, they are not the only church who follows this practice.  I was raised Church of Christ, and members are supposed to do the same thing.   In my experience, they ignore this doctrine a lot, but it is there in their theology.

[zibazinski]

[movingforward]

Jul 23, 2014 13:18:43 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I would totally freak if someone came around my house and onto my patio. That is not only trespassing, it's casing the joint. They'd be damn lucky not to get shot. 

I live in an apartment and my patio faces the parking lot so it wasn't weird in that respect but I was at a really good point in my book so I was kind of annoyed.  Would I have been annoyed if my neighbor came over to say hello and shoot the bull for a few minutes - probably not, but my neighbor also wouldn't be trying to "convert me."

[movingforward]

Jul 23, 2014 13:49:19 GMT -5 alwaysbeoptimizing said:

A good friend of mine had just walked in the door a few minutes from running an errand and his doorbell rang.

he went and answer it... sure enough, religious solicitors. What struck him was how nervous they seemed. the basically blurted their lines, handed him some flyers and took off.

While happy that he didn't get drug into a 20 minute time waste, he was a bit perplexed. As he walked to the garbage can to "file" their materials, he passed a mirror and did a double take on himself.

He had just returned from a motorcycle ride and had on all his Harley leathers as well as his leather jacket, which was open and had exposed his shoulder holster and pistol!

Best (unintentional) way to get them off the step I've ever heard of.

I would say they thought they had just met a live member of the SOA but they probably don't watch that show

[zibazinski]

Whew! Okay, I get that. That makes sense. For a minute there....

[movingforward]

Jul 23, 2014 13:25:50 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jul 23, 2014 13:00:39 GMT -5 Firebird said:

They aren't supposed to be friends with non-JWs, though.

I think that's unbelievably sad for all involved. 

  This belief is based on 2 Corinthians 6:14  

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?    NKJV


  Then in verse 17, it says

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  NKJV
 

Which is why I find is so hilarious that every religion thinks THEIR particular religion is the right one.  How do they not know they may actually be the ones that are unclean - LOL

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 13:55:40 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Jul 23, 2014 13:25:50 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

  This belief is based on 2 Corinthians 6:14  

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?    NKJV


  Then in verse 17, it says

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  NKJV
 

Which is why I find is so hilarious that every religion thinks THEIR particular religion is the right one.  How do they not know they may actually be the ones that are unclean - LOL

It is scriptural though, can't argue with that.  Scriptures of this sort were a big part of the reason I had doubts that the Bible was really written by a Supreme Being. I just couldn't accept that if a Supreme Being existed, it created people and wrote a book full of hateful rules for them to follow. Once you can see that, the curtain opens and reveals the short middle-aged con man from Kansas operating the controls.

[movingforward]

Jul 23, 2014 14:08:52 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jul 23, 2014 13:55:40 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Which is why I find is so hilarious that every religion thinks THEIR particular religion is the right one.  How do they not know they may actually be the ones that are unclean - LOL

It is scriptural though, can't argue with that.  Scriptures of this sort were a big part of the reason I had doubts that the Bible was really written by a Supreme Being. I just couldn't accept that if a Supreme Being existed, it created people and wrote a book full of hateful rules for them to follow. Once you can see that, the curtain opens and reveals the short middle-aged con man from Kansas operating the controls.

  Same here.  I started having a lot of doubts early in life (maybe around the age of 10) because most of what I was learning made zero sense to me.  My entire family was religious, or so I thought at the time.  The more I learned the more doubts I had.  In college I decided to take a class on Christianity where I studied the bible.  Once I started to dissect the scripture I decided it was complete mumbo jumbo.  After that I ended up taking classes on Buddhism and Hinduism as electives.  I found it so interesting to learn what people believe.  I didn't grow up in an overly religious family but to my knowledge they all believed in a supreme being.  It wasn't until my 30's that I learned that my father was actually an atheist.  Religion was important to my mother so that was just something he accepted and he never really expressed his views when we were kids.  My father was raised in a very religious home and was forced to attend church every Sunday as long as he lived in my grandparents home.  As kids we were never FORCED to attend church as we got older but we were exposed to it and allowed to make our own decision.  My brother is very religious and at times hard to be around because he likes to pick and choose which parts of the bible he wants to adhere to. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My brother is very religious and at times hard to be around because he likes to pick and choose which parts of the bible he wants to adhere to

That is one of the biggest annoyances on the part of my Contemporary Religion teacher. He hates it when people use the Bible to justify political stances because it ignores a large part of Jesus's teachings. They'll pick the 3-4 verses that support their political party and claims of being "Christian" while tossing out the rest of the book that contradicts their stance.

He's an interesting guy, he got you thinking.

[Angel!]

This thread has been moved to Religious Discussions due to scripture quotes


Angel / Moderator

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 14:57:36 GMT -5 Angel! said:

This thread has been moved to Religious Discussions due to scripture quotes


Angel / Moderator

  I'm sorry Angel, I didn't realize it was a rule violation.

[Firebird]

My pet peeve is when some people talk about how their religion draws clear lines in the sand that other moral systems don't.

Ask ten Christian churches (who are claiming to follow the exact same rules from the exact same book that they all claim is the inerrant word of God and easy to interpret) if it's okay to marry again after a divorce, and you'll get ten different answers. 

Some line in the sand. 

I have nothing against religion anymore but there was a period of my life where I was furious with the whole thing, mostly due to the hypocrisy of the contradicting beliefs. 

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 15:12:12 GMT -5 Firebird said:

My pet peeve is when some people talk about how their religion draws clear lines in the sand that other moral systems don't.

Ask ten Christian churches (who are claiming to follow the exact same rules from the exact same book that they all claim is the inerrant word of God and easy to interpret) if it's okay to marry again after a divorce, and you'll get ten different answers. 

Some line in the sand. 

I have nothing against religion anymore but there was a period of my life where I was furious with the whole thing, mostly due to the hypocrisy of the contradicting beliefs. 

The Bible is honestly confusing, though.   That is another reason I don't believe it was divinely inspired by a Supreme Being.

[Firebird]

The Bible is honestly confusing, though. That is another reason I don't believe it was divinely inspired by a Supreme Being.

Sure it is.  That's why it's somewhere between "naive and unwise" and "total arrogant asshat" behavior to think that you (or your church) has the One Correct Interpretation of something.

[ArchietheDragon]

May God have mercy on all of your souls.

[Deleted]

If you YouTube "door to door atheist" it's pretty funny.

[Angel!]

Jul 23, 2014 15:03:40 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jul 23, 2014 14:57:36 GMT -5 Angel! said:

This thread has been moved to Religious Discussions due to scripture quotes


Angel / Moderator

  I'm sorry Angel, I didn't realize it was a rule violation.

Not a problem at all.  Scripture quoting is fine, but we prefer the threads with scripture quotes be under the Religious Discussion Board.

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 15:24:30 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

May God have mercy on all of your souls.

You kill me, Archie.  I love your dry humor. 

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jul 23, 2014 15:27:30 GMT -5 @aj said:

If you YouTube "door to door atheist" it's pretty funny.

  I'll check it out later at home.  Thanks!

[sesfw]

I just couldn't accept that if a Supreme Being existed, it created people and wrote a book full of hateful rules for them to follow.

I whole heartedly believe in a Supreme Being ..... no matter how it's spelled. 

Through the years the Bible has confused me also ....... until I realized the words written down in the OT are stories and legends about wonderful people that tried to live good lives.  So many of these stories came from a time that had no written language and were passed down through the generations.  Just like the stories of our American Indians ..... explanations on how things occurred and started.

The New Testament:  Jesus was born into a good Jewish family and grew up to be in iterant preacher/teacher.  The message He taught was one of love, compassion, peace ....... and following the Ten Commandments.  I am very happy to follow Him and His teachings.  He was killed by crucifixion by a community that feared His teachings.

It's amazing how many laws are on the books world-wide trying to enforce the Ten Commandments.

Religious dogma ....... meh <shrug> .......... I look at all of them, including the church I belong to, and wonder how any of them know what God says or wants.  However I find my church family to be very loving and supportive.

I believe in life after death.  If I'm wrong ... absolutely nothing will happen.  If I'm right, then there is a chance I'll spend eternity with DH#! ......... and DH#2 will spend eternity with his DW#1.  These things I will not know until after my death.  I'm willing to wait ...... and believe as my heart leads me.

I'm babbling now ........ but this is what I believe.

Edited to add:  I would rather believe in God (Supreme Being, etc) and be wrong ..... than NOT believe in God and be wrong.