A Jehovah's Witness just called me

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A Jehovah’s Witness just called me. I am paraphrasing in this whole post but she said “I would like to know if I could share some stuff from the Bible with you on suffering.” I replied “Mam, what religion do you belong to?” and she said “I am a Jehovah’s Witness.” I said, “I am sorry but I am not interested. I am a devout Catholic.” and she proceeded to talk some more. She said, “What do you know about the Jehovah’s Witnesses?” and I said “I know that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe in the Trinity but I can assure you it is true.” She replied “Well, we don’t believe in the Trinity because there is no support for it in the Bible.” and I replied “Actually there is a lot of support for it in the Bible. If you want, you could give me your e-mail address and I could send you a few links where you could read about the Biblical support for the Trinity.” and she said, “No, I am not interested in that.” Then I said, “Well, I’ll be honest with you and I mean no offense here but I believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion is a cult and that it is not Christian.” and she said, “Well I am sure a lot of people can say similar things about your religion but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.” I then said, “Well, that’s what I believe. Goodbye.” and then I hung up the phone.

So, I am sincerely hoping that I wasn’t too rude to her. I certainly didn’t intend to be rude to her. However, I ended the phone call when I saw that the conversation was going nowhere and I just didn’t feel like continuing to talk if we weren’t going to make any progress as to whether or not her religion was true or mine is true.

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback on my conversation with her. Again, as I said, I did not intend to be rude. I hope I wasn’t. If I was, there is no way for me to apologize because I do not have her phone number because I don’t have caller ID. So, any feedback?
 
a brief and good effort. I likely wouldn’t have much more patience than you did.

You possibly could’ve gone with the tactic, “The Bible is a Catholic book, the New Testament was written, compiled, and discerned by Catholics, I think it’s amusing that you think a Catholic book doesn’t support Catholic beliefs.”
 
Great reply EMSD. I studied for several weeks with a devout JW. Honestly she is lovely and truly believes what JW teaches. I do respect her because she really believes.

However, no trinity, devil was cast out I think she said 1927, well I just can’t believe that. I had to stop. She comes to my work, and we are nice to each other. But she did inform me that there was now no chance I could go to heaven but if I ever wanted to study more or go to service I was Welcome. I thanked her. I didn’t and don’t believer they are the way. Any religion that gives one chance and that’s it, well you get the drift.

I am sure glad God will always be here for me and all I have to do is ask and God will forgive, give me strength, and be a positive influence in my life!

The more I learn, the happier I am!

God Bless!

Monica
 
ESMDHokie77 said:
You possibly could’ve gone with the tactic, “The Bible is a Catholic book, the New Testament was written, compiled, and discerned by Catholics, I think it’s amusing that you think a Catholic book doesn’t support Catholic beliefs.”
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This is my favorite response, however I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I don’t do well with confrontation, argument, or even ordinary daily conversation. But someday, when I’m cool and brave, I will say this. 👍
 
I don’t think you were rude, Holly. You were firm in your beliefs and even gave her the kind courtesy of a brief conversation, which many people would not do. She may have been offended at your calling her religion a cult, but you did not mean it in an offensive way and told her so. Sometimes when a potential customer continues to talk, it gives the salesperson the impression they may be able to make a sale. So she may have been slightly disappointed you hung up; but I’m sure she got over it very soon and went on to the next call.

I once invited a Jehovah’s Witness into my home. I made it clear from the outset that I was interested only in finding out what their beliefs were but was not interested in converting, telling them I already worship G-d the Father. They gave me some literature and we had a pleasant discussion for about half an hour, comparing the beliefs of their religion and mine.
 
I think you did really well. 👍 Far more patient than I would have been–( murmuring to self—Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue…). You didn’t come off as rude to me, very civil, polite, and classy.
 
I think you did just fine. There’s no reason to argue with someone that is unwilling to listen to what you have to say, and in your case it was clear she wasn’t. 👍
 
Consider this: A person could wait 100 years for any Catholic to call on the telephone or knock on the door of a non-Catholic, so as to teach them the Catholic Faith.

So, I believe, at least, any Catholic should honor and respect the desire of J.W.s to be helpful to their neighbors. That is how they see what they are doing. They are trying to SAVE us from ruin. That is not a bad motive.

Catholics do very, very, very, very little as regards to reaching out to lost people. Shame on us.

Lastly, I know some J.W.s. If you want to be helpful, never argue with them, never point out the flaws in their theology. Never argue at all. Never call them a “cult.” If you want to be helpful, and if you have time, let them teach you something, and listen respectfully, and try to understand their point of view. Always respect them, and thank them. Don’t join their religion. But let them continue to call you, or visit you, for brief periods of time, if you have time. Listen, don’t argue, don’t criticize. Over time they will come to see a beautiful, good and honest person who is NOT one of them. That will do more than anything to lead them doubt all the odd things that the J.W. organization demands that they believe.

I would say that you can gently point out verses in the Bible and facts of history that seem to disprove their doctrines, with the idea of asking them to explain. Be in the role of the student. Be patient. Let them teach. Do all if this you want to be helpful, if you have the time.

The truth is that J.W.s know their erroneous religion much better than Catholics know their true religion. Shame on us. The truth is that J.W. reach out to neighbors to teach them religious doctrine for the purposes of salvation much more than Catholics do. Shame on us.

So, I say we should be more like J.W., in terms of studying and knowing our religion, and in terms of reaching out to neighbors with offers of teaching them the Faith. Perhaps God views JWs as a prick on our conscience, and so, in that way, they are serving God.

Those are my views. I am not a great person. I am a nobody in the world. So, there is nothing in my biography that should lead you to respect my views. If what I’ve written seems off track to you, then I am sure it is off track.

Thank you and best wishes.
 
I have a nasty little sweet spot for JW’s. It’s accepted that they re-engineered the translation of their bible to conform to their doctrines. They did seem to miss John 2:21 though. It’s amusing in a bad, self indulgent way, to ask them what Jesus was talking about there.
 
Layman_F said:
I have a nasty little sweet spot for JW’s. It’s accepted that they re-engineered the translation of their bible to conform to their doctrines. They did seem to miss John 2:21 though. It’s amusing in a bad, self indulgent way, to ask them what Jesus was talking about there.
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How about Matthew 22:41-45?41 And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying: What think you of Christ? Whose son is he? They say to him: David’s. 43 He says to them: How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying: 44 The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
 
sedonaman said:
How about Matthew 22:41-45?41 And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying: What think you of Christ? Whose son is he? They say to him: David’s. 43 He says to them: How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying: 44 The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
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They edited that passage. They added a Jehovah in there, and altered some stuff like footstool.

I still find it odd that their bible says to be witnesses for Jesus, but they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, but Jehovah isn’t Jesus…
 
Wow, I didn’t know they were telephoning now! When they come to the door, I am gentle, but firm, as I’m sure most are. But I do not get into a long discussion with them as they love to try to trick people up with circuitous “logic.”

I usually state that I am very much at peace with the Church which Christ Himself founded in handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, and that that is the Kingdom of Heaven for me. Sometimes I’ll add that the Divine continuity of the Church Christ founded is greater than one that mere mortals founded. If they persist on trying to argue this point, I say , “I’m sorry but I don’t wish to argue. I’m rooted firmly in the Faith.” :heaven:
 
There is nothing immoral about being firm with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I try to be both friendly and firm in my encounters with them.

Unless you have read a bunch of their writings and then understand the flaws, I would advise against getting into any discussion with them. They are trained with canned quotes that make them sound very knowledgeable about the Bible. If you don’t understand where it is going, it can be very convincing. After all, quite a few were led out of the Church and into the Kingdom Hall. In fact, the last one with whom I spoke at my door seemed proud of the fact that she was a former Catholic.

I usually let them state their case without allowing them any information that would let them tailor their attacks against my faith. Just before they were here the last time, I re-read a book about their faith and read some material on CA. Perhaps God was directing me. I hope so. Because I happened to be especially prepared, I told them my beliefs and we had quite the talk. The younger of the two did no speaking at all and seemed quite rattled when my discussions with the older Witness, the former Catholic, ended. I pray a seed was planted.

As we started talking, the Witness smiled broadly and told me that she had been Catholic for X number of years, but that she had happily become a JW and was one for the last twenty-plus years. I replied that I was deeply sorry to hear that. It was a sincere statement. Was it wrong? I don’t think so. It reflected my true feelings.
 
Georgia said:
As we started talking, the Witness smiled broadly and told me that she had been Catholic for X number of years, but that she had happily become a JW and was one for the last twenty-plus years. I replied that I was deeply sorry to hear that. It was a sincere statement. Was it wrong? I don’t think so. It reflected my true feelings.
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We all should feel deeply sorry for the failures of men that have come before us; afterall all men fall short of the glory of God. God created the old covenant with Moses and the Israelites, and one of the biggest things people during those days had to overcome was their belief in pagan gods and the worship of idols. Notice how God inspired the prophets of the OT who lived out his teachings, and after preaching these teachings they penned these teachings down as inspired scriptures. We did not see different sects of Judaism come out of this one true religion at the time, but we did have people who broke away from the faith because they could not accept/abide in the truths that were taught.

We see that the exact same model was put in place with the new covenant. The original 11 preached the word of God across the earth as they were commissioned to do by Jesus, and then we had the New Testament penned down as inspired scriptures. Jesus and his disciples prayed and hoped that the flock would remain one and united. They knew that division would naturally come within the One True Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, but Jesus nor his apostles ever said that it would be okay to leave the One Church established by Jesus Christ and go and create a new denomination/sect with beliefs that differ than those held by the CCC.

We all should feel sorry for anyone who has been led away from the One Church that Jesus Christ is the head of, and it should be our duty to bring those with and without Faith back home.
 
Georgia said:
… As we started talking, the Witness smiled broadly and told me that she had been Catholic for X number of years, but that she had happily become a JW and was one for the last twenty-plus years. I replied that I was deeply sorry to hear that. It was a sincere statement. Was it wrong? …
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No. Breathes there a Witness who is not a former Catholic ? I think it is one of their standard sales pitches.
 
asia53 said:
I think you did really well. 👍 Far more patient than I would have been–( murmuring to self—Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue…). You didn’t come off as rude to me, very civil, polite, and classy.
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I have to admit that patience isn’t a virtue I possess. I’ve never had one call me but they’ve come to my door. I just don’t answer it. They’ve also mailed me something a few years ago, a long handwritten letter saying something about the world ending. I had DH throw it out. Then last week the were at the door, and again, I didn’t answer it but they left some pamphlet which I didn’t read, but just threw away. They are persistent.
 
  1. Jehovah’s Witness are generally respectful towards non-Jehovah’s Witnesses. That’s what I’ve witnessed about them.
  2. But some Jehovah’s Witnesses are not respectful, and can be quite rude, insulting and aggressive. I’ve seen such behavior by some of them with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears. Such behavior is upsetting, and invites and provokes rudeness in return. Rudeness really is never right, but when one is sharply provoked, it is understandable.
  3. It is really upsetting to have a stranger tell you to your face that your religion is demonic. That IS what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about the Roman Catholic Church. To them, it is THE MOST EVIL of all the religions in the world.
  4. Yet, didn’t Jesus command us to love our enemies, and to do good to those who persecute us? Matthew 5:44.
  5. So, shouldn’t we try to be respectful and kind to J.W.s even as they are saying that we are hated by God due to our being in the Catholic Church? Won’t such respect and kindness go a long way to win J.W.s over to the whole truth about God and Christ, more than arguments (which they well trained to rebut, deflect or ignore) and insults (which just ratifies their belief that all people outside their J.W. organization are unloving and spiteful, just like Satan).
  6. As I understand the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, we must ALWAYS be more cognizant of OUR OWN PERSONAL SINS than we are of the sins of other people. I think the way of Salvation lies in doing that. I love to find faults in others, and do it a lot! Alas! Woe is me! Lord have mercy! The Catholic Church has taught me that the way of Sainthood lies in seeing the faults in me and ignoring the faults in others (except where I have an appointed responsibility to correct the errors of certain other people).
  7. I say let J.W.s be a Godsend to us! Let the J.W.s inspire us Catholics to KNOW and LOVE the Holy Scriptures even more than J.W.s do. The Catholic Church teaches “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” We are not Sola Scriptura Christians, but we ARE exhorted to know and love the Scriptures! When J.W.s come to our doors, or talk to them elsewhere, we can gently and respectfully have dialogues with them that will honor God and bless everyone.
  8. I have NEVER heard of J.W.s doing their witnessing work over the telephone. I am about 99.99 % certain that J.W.s never use telephone calls for their outreach to strangers! Beware! Anyone doing that might be an impostor who is trying to rob your house or commit some other crime!
 
ESMDHokie77:

“The Bible is a Catholic book, the New Testament was written, compiled, and discerned by Catholics, I think it’s amusing that you think a Catholic book doesn’t support Catholic beliefs.”

This is actually brillant. If you don’t mind I am saving this statement to use the next time I have JW’s and also the Baptists come to my door. I am always respectful of them until they get a lttle critical of my Catholic faith and my St Francis statue. 🙂

I may also save this statement for a long time friend that is Born Again and so very convinced that I need to be saved from my faith. I am always kind to her and change the subject but there is coming the time that I will just have to tell her, “The Bible is a Catholic book, the New Testament was written, compiled, and discerned by Catholics, I think it’s amusing that you think a Catholic book doesn’t support Catholic beliefs.”
Thanks, 👍
 
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