First Jehovah's witnesses to knock at my door

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LaughingBoy1503

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So not very long ago The first Jehovah’s witness to try to witness to me, since I became Catholic, came to my door. The interaction when something like…
JW lady: Do you read the Bible? (Or do you have a Bible?)
Me: Yes. I have a Bible. This is a Catholic House. (Actually my grandmother is a non-church-going protestant and my uncle considers himself Christian, though he does not live it. But “This is a Catholic home” just sort of slipped out)
JW lady: Oh, you are Catholic?
Me: Yes
(I think they wanted to give a pamphlet or paper or something)
Me: I am not interested
JW lady But it is the same Bible.
Me: Well, I do not know what translation you are using.
JW Lady: Ok…

I told her “God bless you” I think she did the same to me and they left. Truthfully… I am a little disappointed that she gave up so quickly. And now that I think about it, I should have asked some questions. Not in a mean way, but in a way that maybe would have got her thinking. Has this happened to anyone else, where you wish you would have used such a opportunity to share your faith, instead of just telling someone “I am not interested in you trying to convert me”? I know basic Catholics apologetics pretty well. Catholics apologetic converted me, when I was a protestant.
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
So not very long ago The first Jehovah’s witness to try to witness to me, since I became Catholic, came to my door. The interaction when something like…
JW lady: Do you read the Bible? (Or do you have a Bible?)
Me: Yes. I have a Bible. This is a Catholic House. (Actually my grandmother is a non-church-going protestant and my uncle considers himself Christian, though he does not live it. But “This is a Catholic home” just sort of slipped out)
JW lady: Oh, you are Catholic?
Me: Yes
(I think they wanted to give a pamphlet or paper or something)
Me: I am not interested
JW lady But it is the same Bible.
Me: Well, I do not know what translation you are using.
JW Lady: Ok…

I told her “God bless you” I think she did the same to me and they left. Truthfully… I am a little disappointed that she gave up so quickly. And now that I think about it, I should have asked some questions. Not in a mean way, but in a way that maybe would have got her thinking. Has this happened to anyone else, where you wish you would have used such a opportunity to share your faith, instead of just telling someone “I am not interested in you trying to convert me”? I know basic Catholics apologetics pretty well. Catholics apologetic converted me, when I was a protestant.
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i wouldn’t worry about it too much. doen’st seem like she was trying that hard either. usually jws are pretty anticatholic and really difficult to talk to. it’s not the same as protestants because they consider them restored with a different prophet. same with lds and sda. you can’t just use the bible. i haven’t relaly figured out a good way to do it. they basically thik the church went apostate right after it started so history doesn’t really work so well either.
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
So not very long ago The first Jehovah’s witness to try to witness to me, since I became Catholic, came to my door. The interaction when something like…
JW lady: Do you read the Bible? (Or do you have a Bible?)
Me: Yes. I have a Bible. This is a Catholic House. (Actually my grandmother is a non-church-going protestant and my uncle considers himself Christian, though he does not live it. But “This is a Catholic home” just sort of slipped out)
JW lady: Oh, you are Catholic?
Me: Yes
(I think they wanted to give a pamphlet or paper or something)
Me: I am not interested
JW lady But it is the same Bible.
Me: Well, I do not know what translation you are using.
JW Lady: Ok…

I told her “God bless you” I think she did the same to me and they left. Truthfully… I am a little disappointed that she gave up so quickly. And now that I think about it, I should have asked some questions. Not in a mean way, but in a way that maybe would have got her thinking. Has this happened to anyone else, where you wish you would have used such a opportunity to share your faith, instead of just telling someone “I am not interested in you trying to convert me”? I know basic Catholics apologetics pretty well. Catholics apologetic converted me, when I was a protestant.
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You’re not going to convert one of them on your doorstep…really. Normally they do give up that easy and move on to the next door to knock on. Me? I even chased one down the street with my bible in hand…but that didn’t convert her. The three I got out of the “organization” was done through patience.
 
Yerusalyim said:
You’re not going to convert one of them on your doorstep…really. Normally they do give up that easy and move on to the next door to knock on. Me? I even chased one down the street with my bible in hand…but that didn’t convert her. The three I got out of the “organization” was done through patience.
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My standard response is that I am happy to speak with them if they will promise to come back at least five times as nothing will get accomplished in one meeting. None of them have ever returned after the first meeting.

Something you also need to understand is that these people are not necessarily out to spread the word of their god. They are under a quota system as far as the number of houses that they must visit in order to remain in “good standing”, so to speak. They have to send in a monthly report and provide addresses and a synopsis of the meeting. I had an employee who was JW and she frequently was under pressure to get her quota filled. So its not all out of the sincerity of evangelizing. They have to do it.
 
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
 
Whenever someone comes to my door peddling their religion, I ask them to open their bible to Matthew 7:15 and read it out loud. Then I bid them good day.
 
philv said:
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
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Love the idea of a Parish House Team. Where do I sign up?
 
philv said:
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
Click to expand...
Love the idea of a Parish House Team. Where do I sign up?
 
philv said:
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
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I would have to disagree with you about the lds and jw’s doing a good thing going door to door. They are spreading false doctrine and trying to get you away from our Lords Church.
 
SteveVH said:
My standard response is that I am happy to speak with them if they will promise to come back at least five times as nothing will get accomplished in one meeting. None of them have ever returned after the first meeting.

Something you also need to understand is that these people are not necessarily out to spread the word of their god. They are under a quota system as far as the number of houses that they must visit in order to remain in “good standing”, so to speak. They have to send in a monthly report and provide addresses and a synopsis of the meeting. I had an employee who was JW and she frequently was under pressure to get her quota filled. So its not all out of the sincerity of evangelizing. They have to do it.
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My ex-wife WAS a JW…she and two of her sons are now out. For the JW’s it’s not so much how many doors they knock on…it’s simply a matter of how much “time” they put in “knocking.” If they get rid of some literature, even better for them.
 
philv said:
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
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I have a soft spot in my heart for the Mormon missionaries. When I was overseas with the military I always adopted these kids and kept in touch with them to make sure they were ok, eating well, and not having trouble with the locals. My dad invited two LDS missionaries in one day because it was over 100 degrees outside when they came knocking. He told them up front he was Catholic and not interested in hearing about their religion…then gave them some lemonade. After that they stopped by once every week or so just to talk…never brought up religion again…mostly they talked about my Dad’s experiences with NASCAR (he worked on a pit team for a while). There are Catholics that have a door to door ministry…MOST do not…the damning difference is between them and the JWs is that the JW’s seem to think it’s required.
 
Yerusalyim said:
You’re not going to convert one of them on your doorstep…really. Normally they do give up that easy and move on to the next door to knock on. Me? I even chased one down the street with my bible in hand…but that didn’t convert her. The three I got out of the “organization” was done through patience.
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Perhaps I should clarify that I did not mean that I might be able to convert one of them. But I can defend my beliefs (Our beliefs as Catholics) and by defending our faith effectively, we can plant seed’s that people can remember. Like the first time a Catholic told me, when I was a protestant, that my understanding of Catholics praying to saints was incorrect. Though it did not change my views much at that time, that planted a seed in my mind that I later contemplated when I became more interested in The Catholic Church.
 
philv said:
I think Mormons and JW’s are doing a good thing going door to door, if not just to introduce God and hope in their lives. Mormons helped my dad move into his apartment once too, just for walking in the same area. I’d like to see strong-faith and knowledgable Catholics be encouraged in doing the same thing (without the point system, but just volunteering with a parish house team). At least we have radio and tv going on in their houses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone came to your door, and you opened it expecting a Mormon or JW, and he says, “I’m actually a Catholic”? What a great light and shock that would be!
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And you know, it was a great thing in my case that they preached their beliefs to me. I was a relatively inactive and uninformed Catholic at the time and they forced me to become knowledgeable about my Catholic beliefs.

But I’ll admit, as a Catholic, it’s not a good thing if they get people who are already Catholic to leave the Church.
 
kimg901 said:
I would have to disagree with you about the lds and jw’s doing a good thing going door to door. They are spreading false doctrine and trying to get you away from our Lords Church.
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I agree about false doctrines. But my point was if it’s just to spark that inner self to learn of God more, then this is good. It’s a start of a new journey. I wasn’t Catholic when I started either, but God led me. I’d rather see Catholics (House Volunteer Team) go door to door so the correct doctrine is shared though with joy, not because of assigned work to be in good standing.

We’re generally - though not all the time - a growing sedentary church, at least in the US culture, but we can change that, or the Holy Spirit can get us going again like on Pentecost.
 
signit said:
And you know, it was a great thing in my case that they preached their beliefs to me. I was a relatively inactive and uninformed Catholic at the time and they forced me to become knowledgeable about my Catholic beliefs.
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👍 me too and I thank them every chance I can!
But I’ll admit, as a Catholic, it’s not a good thing if they get people who are already Catholic to leave the Church.
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Especially at the expense of breaking up family,😦
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
So not very long ago The first Jehovah’s witness to try to witness to me, since I became Catholic, came to my door. The interaction when something like…
JW lady: Do you read the Bible? (Or do you have a Bible?)
Me: Yes. I have a Bible. This is a Catholic House. (Actually my grandmother is a non-church-going protestant and my uncle considers himself Christian, though he does not live it. But “This is a Catholic home” just sort of slipped out)
JW lady: Oh, you are Catholic?
Me: Yes
(I think they wanted to give a pamphlet or paper or something)
Me: I am not interested
JW lady But it is the same Bible.
Me: Well, I do not know what translation you are using.
JW Lady: Ok…

I told her “God bless you” I think she did the same to me and they left. Truthfully… I am a little disappointed that she gave up so quickly. And now that I think about it, I should have asked some questions. Not in a mean way, but in a way that maybe would have got her thinking. …
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Oh shame. Sorry you are disappointed.
You can ask me some questions if you like! I am one of Jehovah’s Wintess’. But so long as they are “not in a mean way.” (to quote your cool post) Ha! 😃
 
Logically said:
Oh shame. Sorry you are disappointed.
You can ask me some questions if you like! I am one of Jehovah’s Wintess’. But so long as they are “not in a mean way.” (to quote your cool post) Ha! 😃
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Greetings & hello again Logically, I hope you are well.

I has been a little while since our last exchange and since I saw this post I thought I would ask if you might answer the question on post #20 here or any of the other questions posed on the thread…
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=11494774#post11494774

I’m sure I will have many other questions so I hope you can stay with us. 👍

Peace be with you!!!
 
adf417 said:
Greetings & hello again Logically, I hope you are well.

I has been a little while since our last exchange and since I saw this post I thought I would ask if you might answer the question on post #20 here or any of the other questions posed on the thread…
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=11494774#post11494774

I’m sure I will have many other questions so I hope you can stay with us. 👍

Peace be with you!!!
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Hello! How are you?

Was that the question about if bowing to flags or a crucifix is worship? I thought I had answered that one.

What is the question?
 
Logically said:
Hello! How are you?

Was that the question about if bowing to flags or a crucifix is worship? I thought I had answered that one.

What is the question?
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Yes. If you click on the link on my previous post it will take you to the thread in which we were discussing. I didn’t see the answer. Let me know if you did answer.

Thanks.
 
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