Jehovah's Witnesses and going door to door

[twf]

This new form of “cart” or “metropolitan” witnessing, as they are calling it, is partially due to changing circumstances facing the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Fewer people are at home and many have definitely complained that they feel harassed by home visits from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Thus this form of activity has been added to their preaching activity.

However their door-to-door activity has not stopped, but it has diminished greatly. In countries like the United States there has been no significant growth of new members converting to their religion. The majority of newly converted/baptized members consist of children who are raised by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Unfortunately the largest numbers of those leaving their religion are also made up of children raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses. And the army of Witnesses who used to visit you once a month or more are either too old to do it or, unfortunately (despite being told that it would never happen to them), have died.

Add to this that the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not expect the world to be here in 2014 with themselves still in it. For a half of a century they preached that God would end this world (except for the Witnesses) before people who were old enough to understand the events of World War I in 1914 passed away in death. When that did not happen, confusion and disappointment set in, and the religion has not been the same dazzling preaching machine it once was since.

This has contributed to a stalemate among them with large numbers leaving and donations dropping so severely that around 90% of volunteer workers at all world branches had to be let go. The Watchtower has virtually stopped printing hard copies of literature and almost exclusively distributes only electronic publications (despite the fact that e-book sales have dropped worldwide while sales of printed religious literature, especially Bibles, has soared). The last few years have also seen their leadership introduce a plethora of new changes in doctrine, and major changes are still ahead. It is the last days of the Worldwide Church of God all over again, except the fuzziness of mind is now happening to the Witnesses. Like it happened among the WCG after Armstrong passed away, there is vast confusion among the JWs now with strong and sometimes venemous denial over what is happening from others who refuse to see the writing on the wall. All this is contributing to less and less time spent by Witnesses in participating in home visits.

Very interesting. Thanks.

 

[spedteacherita]

My pastor told us a story of a couple JW’s coming to his door. They evidently didn’t know that he was a pastor and knowledgeable in Biblical Exegesis. As they were conversing, one of them referred to the conversation at hand and said something like, “In the Greek it says…” Pastor said he smiled and looked very excited at them and told them, “Wow, you know Greek, too? Let me go get my Greek scriptures.” He said he never saw them again.

 

[John_Lazarus]

My pastor told us a story of a couple JW’s coming to his door. They evidently didn’t know that he was a pastor and knowledgeable in Biblical Exegesis. As they were conversing, one of them referred to the conversation at hand and said something like, “In the Greek it says…” Pastor said he smiled and looked very excited at them and told them, “Wow, you know Greek, too? Let me go get my Greek scriptures.” He said he never saw them again.

Hmmm…I wonder how they deal with the Greek Orthodox and the Greek Catholics.

 

[CeelosDeznos]

Hmmm…I wonder how they deal with the Greek Orthodox and the Greek Catholics.

From what I remember (and I was just a youth then when they were trying to convert me, so I am going back a bit), Jehovah’s Witnesses have an extremely limited and incorrect view of Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

Most of what they believe comes from the book The Two Babylons: The Papal Worship Proved to Be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife by Alexander Hislop, published in the late 1800s. It was a favorite of anti-Catholics for 100 years, and was even widely read and distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses until about 1985. Much of their current ideas are still based on this book, even though the Watchtower no longer makes direct references to this publication or even publishes much of anything regarding Catholic doctrine (though a limited article will still pop up from time to time).

Generally, Jehovah’s Witnesses view Catholics and Orthodox Christians as Biblically illiterate. They often speak a bit condescending to us as a result, but it isn’t due to always being malicious on behalf of the Witnesses. They are just mostly misinformed and refuse to be corrected unless their Governing Body changes their views (which it has not about Catholicism).

But I had the opportunity to visit one of their popular pro-JW sites not too long ago as a guest. It was a forum in which Jehovah’s Witnesses speak freely among themselves. The time period was when Pope Francis was visiting the United States, specifically Washington D.C.

The comments the Jehovah’s Witnesses were making about the Pope were unfortunately typical. To paraphrase:

“Did anyone notice how Pope Francis didn’t even use a Bible when he addressed Congress?”

“How could he? His religion has nothing to do with the Bible.”

“He probably couldn’t find his way through a Bible.”

“Find his way? The Pope probably doesn’t even own a Bible.”

Now before you get mad and start fighting with a JW about this, not everyone among them talks like this. A lot, sadly do. Too many in fact. I have heard some of their members, including the full-time preachers, elders, and traveling overseers make similar comments about leaders among the Orthodox, about Jewish rabbis, and famous Protestant preachers like Billy Graham.

One of the reasons for this attitude is their belief that the entire world outside the Jehovah’s Witness religion is under the influence and control of Satan. While they don’t expect anyone outside their group to have a real knowledge of the Scriptures, if you do show them up in knowledge or can visibly demonstrate something before their eyes, I have seen some Witnesses attribute this to a “trick of the devil.”

This might explain why the Witnesses left the door of the pastor who knew Greek. I have had some Witnesses act in similar fashion by my reading Hebrew, even claiming: “You have to be wrong because only the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses can be right.” With this view that no truth can possibly come forth from any outside source since all outside is of the devil, it can be very trying when attempting to discuss things.