I don’t know who you are addressing, but -
They are a cult - they fit the very definition of a “high control” cult based on its absurd teachings (medicine, blood, doomsday, etc), control over the study and lives of its members and its practices of treatment of former members (ostracizing/disfellowshipping, etc).
A good friend of mine is a lapsed JW and told me lots of stories. After they have been on the streets for a week or two, they have already seen it all and I assure you that you won’t have been the first to do or say anything to them.
Give them an anti-JW tract, tell them that you worship the devil, answer the door naked, pretend not to speak English, ask for their address so you can show up at their house, blah blah blah.
Although I concede that this is clever.
Anyway, if you ask them not to come back, they are supposed to put you on a list and, in theory, will not come to your house for five years. They want to convert people and have no interest in wasting their time with people not open to it. They know that they annoy people but they feel that it’s a necessary evil to gaining new members. They also generally enjoy people who want to sincerely engage and debate them. I did that for a while but it got boring for me so I just don’t answer the door these days when they ring.
Was addressing the OP. Sorry it was unclear.
Just to make sure it is clear: My problem is with Jehovah’s Witnesses in particular, not organized religion as a whole.
For a long time I just figured they were slightly odd people who just didn’t participate in holidays. Now I think they are a cult that has harmed people and done a number of questionable things.
If you read the website I mentioned in the OP, you’ll see numerous examples of deceptive and unethical behavior. They have changed their policy on the blood transfusion issue several times. How stupid is it that they have encouraged people to die and to allow children to die over the blood thing when the rules about it keep changing?
As I already mentioned, I also have a big problem with their shunning of members who have left the congregation. I know my in laws are intelligent people, so I sometimes wonder if my in laws know on some level it is BS but can’t consider leaving because they are afraid that they will lose all their JW friends if they try to leave. However, since I know how controlling the group is, I can’t bring up my concerns with my in laws since I don’t want them to feel like they have to stay away from me as a bad influence.
I notice that several posters criticize the Witnesses because of their policy of "shunning, " as it’s usually called on this board, practiced against former members.
Why any person should object to this–it’s plainly expressed in Pauline letters–is beyond me, unless your philosophy is that all people are good and right and it’s wrong to shun anyone.
Unless, of course, the person is someone like Johnny Hart, whom you feel perfectly justified in calling a “douchebag.”:rolleyes:
Nothing you do to a JW can possibly top the epic tale recounted in post 18 of the linked thread.
that happened
I think it’d be easier to shun a dead person. What’s involved in shunning someone, anyway? Don’t speak to them? Don’t eat any meals with them? Don’t invite them to parties? Don’t send them birthday cards? I treat dead people like that all the time, how would shunning them make a difference?
If they make it to my door, I’ll let them know that I don’t even believe a god exists and to not come back. Also, that I didn’t let them in the gate, so if they don’t leave they are trespassing on our HOA property. Don’t care if they’ve heard it before, as long as they leave and don’t come back. (And I’ll find out who did let them in! Having a husband who is VP of the board helps out)
Of course it’s not evil, but it is almost certainly pointless. Back when I was canvassing for the Mormons, I had more than one Jehovah’s Witness hand me a special “Mormon Facts” issue of Awake! (an official JW magazine). We collected them like trophies. I’ll admit I did actually read the pamphlet and was briefly disturbed by its contents, but not enough to push me out of the faith. None of the other missionaries bothered to read except to mock them.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons thrive on hostility from outsiders during proselytizing to cement an in-group bond. Don’t help them; be polite but firm.
You are real good at missing the point. I alluded to a thread that was active when Hart was very much alive. I have never called anyone a "douchebag. "
I’ve never had a Jehovah’s Witness come to my door, but Mormons seem to be attracted to me like moths to a flame. I politely explain that I’m an atheist, and not interested. If it’s hot out, I’ll invite them in for ice water, and not once have they ever continued to proselytize. We usually talk about where they’re from, etc. for a few minutes, and then they head off to the next house. It’s actually quite pleasant, and breaks up the monotony of the day.
Oh, right, Paul said it, so how could anyone object to it? Paul, Mr. “wives, be obedient to your husbands, and STFU in church, bitches, while you’re at it; if you have any questions, ask a man, who knows better than you, anyhow.” That guy?
That’s all I know and all I want to know. Why do you ask?
Considering:
I would not waste time quibbling over this issue with you–as I see it, your attitude is firmly fixed.
Fine with me. Same as someone at the door saying “I’m not interested.” I drop the matter, with that person.
If there ever was a time when the idea “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with Facts” applies, it’s this.
I tell them I’m a pagan, and ask them to debate that. Since most JW’s know nothing about paganism, it ends quickly.
You do realize that not everyone thinks the things written in the Bible are a good idea, right? The mere fact that it is expressed in Pauline letters makes me inclined to reject it out of hand.