Dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses. I found a way.

[bma1983]

You're are defending them. I get your upbringing, but you can't seem to look past that. You come back to wasting my own time, I wasn't I was wasting their time.
I don't expect them change their beliefs, nor do I expect them to change mine. You think what I did was mean; It wasn't , it was expressing my beliefs to someone who would not hear what I believed.

A standoff.

You're right, as I said before, I am defending them. Not their beliefs but them as people. Why should I look past my upbringing? I had a great upbringing. If anything it made me a more compassionate person. Is that a wrong way to be?

And you're right, we're at a standoff. C'est la vie.

And I thank you for keeping this civil.

 

[bankside]

I think the act of showing up to preach a message of hate is incredibly discourteous. I just respond in a matter of fact way, like this:

No, I don't wish to hear about it. Why? Because it's pointless and hateful. Your group promotes shunning of members who try to think for themselves, and it tears families apart. Moreover I'm atheist. Why? Because there is no god for you or I to believe in. Ahh. You'll be going now? Lovely. Have a nice day. And don't set foot on my property again.

 

[FuryOfFirestorm]

I once answered those pesky JW in nothing but a towel around my waste (precariously wrapped, might I add), and since they were accompanied by children, they did not insist...

The chance of seeing you in nothing but a towel makes me want to rejoin the Witnesses!

(Raised as a JW- left as soon as I could)

 

[FuryOfFirestorm]

I almost persuaded one she was wrong, once. It was a younger gal with an older one -- veteran and trainee. I used three things: their tactic of not quitting no matter what sign the other person gives, never pausing enough to let the other talk, and my Hebrew and Greek Old & New Testaments. I'd memorized their favorite "proof" verses and a set of ones -- often in the same Bible chapter -- showing their reading was wrong.

The older one finally literally dragged the younger bodily away, after about the third time the younger expressed agreement with my points.

I may not agree with all your viewpoints, but I hace to give you mad props for almost breaking a JW free of their brainwashing.

That's one reason they travel in pairs- to ensure that the other doesn't actually learn something outside of their spoonfed dogma. I'm pretty sure the poor girl is going to get a "shepherding call" from the elders soon...

 

[FuryOfFirestorm]

How about acting like adults and simply tell them you're not interested. No need to act like immature dicks.

JW's don't take no for an answer. If you say no, they come back next week. If you pretend not to be home, they come back next week. They keep trying in hopes of catching you at your most vulnerable, like after the death of a loved one- that really gets their panties extra moist. As soon as they sense some sort of weakness, they swoop in and go for the fresh meat.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

Back when I was a kid, my grandmother lived out on a farm... she'd answer the door with a very visible revolver in her hand. Oddly enough, the religious recruiters didn't stick around long.

 

[navidzurender]

Jehovah's witnesses: Hello sir

Me: muy buenos días, me gustaría que te vayas ahora

and they go away lolz.


But if he's a cute guy, I can make exceptions lolz

 

[gsdx]

Full disclosure, my mother is a Jehovah Witness

For what it's worth, I've had JW in my family, too. I'm the 6th of 7 children - 4 older brothers, one older sister and one younger sister. We were all born Baptist and attended Sunday School and church each week until we were old enough to decide for ourselves if we wanted to continue.

We had a Kingdom Hall near our town. It was a small town and the JWs toured the town every few months looking for recruits. My next oldest brother got married and had 2 kids. When my nephew was 7 and my niece was 5, my brother's parents-in-law joined the Kingdom Hall and suckered my brother and his wife into joining as well.

All of a sudden - Whammo! No more birthdays for the kids. No more Hallowe'en. No more Christmas. No more nothing. Everything they used to love was suddenly gone and they were forced to sit back and watch everything still happening around them. They couldn't even visit their aunts and uncles and grandparents. The JWs wouldn't let them. The kids couldn't understand.

After a few years, it finally sank into my brother's brain that he wasn't part of our family anymore. He was part of the JW family and he began to see what it was doing to his own family. They walked away from the JWs and never looked back.

The JWs drove a wedge between members of my family and walls were build between us. My brother and his family were alienated from everybody not of the Kingdom Hall. We were lucky, though. The wedge was removed and the walls came down. I know of other families which weren't as lucky as mine. The JWs preach the Gospel, but they certainly don't practice it.

 

[Chip12414]

The JWs drove a wedge between members of my family and walls were built between us.

That's what they do....they fit every definition of a cult. When they dare to come by my place, that is what I tell them. I say I do not support *any* cult and tell them I work to have their tax exemptions denied. They divide families, brainwash, are always collecting money from their membership and are always recruiting.

All the characteristics of a "cult".

 

[bankside]

Jehovah's witnesses: Hello sir

Me: muy buenos días, me gustaría que te vayas ahora

and they go away lolz.

In my neighbourhood they will send back a spanish-speaking jehova if they've got one.

JW's don't take no for an answer. If you say no, they come back next week. If you pretend not to be home, they come back next week. They keep trying in hopes of catching you at your most vulnerable, like after the death of a loved one- that really gets their panties extra moist. As soon as they sense some sort of weakness, they swoop in and go for the fresh meat.

They may not take "no" for an answer, but they will take "gay atheist" for an answer. They fucked off, and stayed that way.

 

[Yooper]

The JWs preach [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] a 'Gospel,' but they certainly don't practice it.

Fixed that for you.

 

[diamondstar]

With the exception of myself, Jehovah Witnesses are nothing like the creeps U guys are describing. Maybe U guys are running into the bad ones, but Jehovah Witnesses are generally good people and want to save as many lives as possible through their religion. Simple, if you're not interested in hearing any of the "Good News" just say no thanks and I'll take my chance.

 

[gsdx]

They divide families, brainwash, are always collecting money from their membership and are always recruiting.

I think the worst thing they did was to steal the childhood from my niece and nephew and to steal my niece and nephew from us. We had to watch them grow up at a distance.

 

[FuryOfFirestorm]

I think the worst thing they did was to steal the childhood from my niece and nephew and to steal my niece and nephew from us. We had to watch them grow up at a distance.

The JW's soured my grandmother against my mother. My mom is a lesbian, so my grandmother talks about my mom as if she was diseased. She thinks my mom is doing chicks to "get back at her", as if my mother is eating a chick out and saying, "TAKE THAT, MOM! OM NOM NOM!".

Despite this, I do love my grandmother very much and I haven't divulged my sexuality to her, nor do I plan to. What would be the point?

 

[jwa007]

You have a black velvet Elvis hanging in line of sight opposite the door with a small wooden table beneath that with some candles on the table, lit is best. Just let them see that and tell them you are with the First Church of the Elvi.

 

[asu1117]

It's been years since one has showed up at my house, usually I get the Mormon's instead.

 

[gsdx]

It's been years since one has showed up at my house, usually I get the Mormon's instead.

I rarely get Mormons here, but at least they are polite and announce themselves as Mormons at the very beginning. I had to ask the guy yesterday if he was JW. He didn't have any Watchtowers, but he had this pamphlet about the speaker. They're not even upfront with us anymore. It's like they're trying to sucker us in before we realise who they really are.

 

[lambdaboy]

Recently from some evangelical church in my area people came to my door I said hello they said Have you found Jesus. I said I did not know he was missing and closed the door in there face.

I have seen them in the area they have not bothered me since

 

[treanir]

Step 1: "No thanks, I'm not interested"

If they persist...

Step 2: "Seeing a bright young woman being forced to quit school so she can work at home and preach door-to-door is offensive to me as an educator. Your stance on homosexuality is deeply offensive to me as a gay man. Now go away." *close door*


(note that I have also, when I felt like it, tried to enter in a discussion with them. It's an effort in futility for both sides, of course, but sometimes you just have nothing better to do)

 

[FuryOfFirestorm]

Seeing a bright young woman being forced to quit school so she can work at home and preach door-to-door is offensive to me as an educator.

When I was teenage JW, a successful married couple in their 20's started attending the Kingdom Hall. Both had high paying jobs and would go door-to-door when they had the time. HOWEVER, this wasn't good enough for the Governing Body. The elders and brothers would make passive-agressive remarks in order to make the couple feel guity for not Witnessing 24/7. Eventually, the young couple quit their jobs and became full time pioneers. Pretty soon, they had to sell their house for a dinky shithole and barely made ends meet. They had to put their plans for children on hold, since they couldn't afford them. (Plus that would take time away from Witnessing!) But it's OK- "God will provide! (tm)". Then the wife got cancer, couldn't afford treatment, and died. But at least she handed out a lot of pamphlets, and that's what matters!