So what do you tell them when they come to your door?

[CarrieH]

No offense to any of the posters on this subject, I just thought it was necessary to recite the golden rule “Do unto others ans thou would’st have them do unto you”.

And I wouldst have them refrain from answering the door if they didn’t want my intrusion. I don’t show up uninvited at **anyone’s **house, with the exception of my closest family members.

 

[CarrieH]

But in either case, we should be receptive to all who knock on our doors and handle any given situation with tact and politeness.

Now there’s a thought. Never mind that my elderly mother was receptive to some strangers who knocked on her door, and they robbed her once she let them in. And they weren’t even trying to preach to her! As a woman who is alone much of the day, I don’t let anyone into my house unless I know them or unless they have a reason to be there (i.e., the furnace repair man, etc.), especially after what happened to my mother. She suffered such post-traumatic stress that she ended up in the psych ward three times before she got over it, but praise God, those awful people didn’t physically harm her.

My big beef with the missionaries and evangelists is that they show up unannounced and uninvited and then expect you to give them your time and attention, and can be very persistent when you try to turn them away. As I see it, I owe them no more of my time and attention than I do a telemarketer on the phone. That isn’t an excuse to be rude, “sic” the dogs on them, or hose them down, but it IS an excuse to ignore the doorbell if I’m busy or not in the mood to engage them in conversation.

 

[Bayley]

CarrieH, you raise a very important issue. I, too, am a woman alone, during the day. Add to that the fact that I am partially disabled, which makes me feel somewhat more vulnerable. I am very careful when someone comes to my door.
I am sorry for what your mother went through and can certainly understand your position.

 

[yessisan]

Exactly!! Some people here (myself included) have family or friends caught up in this cult. I have no problem with anyone criticizing their religion or trying to “witness” back to them but c’mon people…opening the door in the nude , turning water hoses on them , and all other sort of nonsense. How is that being a good Christian witness to anyone especially to people (like the JWs) that really need to learn about the true nature of Jesus? How would you react if you knew someone that was your friend or family member being subject to some of the actions so far in this thread?

Sometimes it feels like for every prayer I say for all the JWs I know to meet someone who will be a true witness for Jesus to them is counteracted by some person that feels like its necessary to do some stupid act they think is cutesy. This doesn’t help the salvation of the person doing these actions or the salvation of the JWs at the door.

Thanks for this dawgfan! As much as I hate it that these missionaries go knocking on people’s doors, many don’t realize how un-Christian it is to behave in the way they actually do with these poor misguided souls.

Even though my DH hasn’t preached in a long time, it kills me to think people would do that to him. The last time (and only time) he went preaching (as soon as he was reinstated back to the JWs), some latino men yelled at DH and his companion JW brothers and told them off and insulted them. In the insults, they included “Why don’t you get an %^&$(@ job and get your ^%&$ to work and do something &% productive instead of (&(% with people’s heads and time!” How dare they speak to them this way???

THEY ARE PEOPLE just as you and me. Yes, they are lost w/in the WT, but they truly love God, they love Him the way they think is the right way. It’s not their fault they were misguided by them. Not all decided to just switch over to that religion. My DH didn’t, he was brought up in that religion even though one of his parents was a Catholic. But his dad, as a Catholic didn’t prohibit the mother from taking him along w/her to KH. So, some think the WT is the only true way that leads to eternal life.

Please be kind to them. You wouldn’t want some guy hosing your mother down the street, or throwing your dog at your son, would you? I sure don’t want that to happen to my DH.

 

[po18guy]

C’mon guys and gals. Why can’t we show a little compassion and friendship to these door knockers. They are people like we are, and they are all brothers and sisters in Christ like we are. They may have difference of opinion in their respective religions, but that doesn’t mean we should demean or be abusive to them.

You know, by being polite to them we can better show them that we are true Christians who respect others even if they don’t agree with us. Let’s not slam the door in their faces - but rather, let’s be frank with them in a polite way and, if you want, just tell them you want no discussions about religion with them. Then politely exuse yourself. Kindness goes a long way. They are not our enemies.

No offense to any of the posters on this subject, I just thought it was necessary to recite the golden rule “Do unto others ans thou would’st have them do unto you”.

AMEN! How on earth are we going to spread the Gospel if we fail to engage them? LEARN the faith and be not afraid to turn the tides on them, weilding the sword of truth.

“For as often as you failed to tell the truth to these least brothers, you failed to tell the truth to me” (Po18guy 1:1)

 

[Lorrie]

I actually had a couple of them come to my door a few weeks ago, hasn’t happened in forever. Anyway, I look through the peep hole and I automatically thought that they were from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (our newspaper) seeing if I wanted to subscribe. I opened the door and immediately told them that I was already a subscriber. Then I glanced down and saw one of them holding the “Watch Tower” publication. My eyes got huge and I said, “Wait, are you those people who think that only 144,000 people are going to heaven?” He stuttered and said, “Yeah”. I simply told them that I was Catholic and not to come back.

Maybe I should have “witnessed” to them but honestly I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the topic at the time. Bad I know, but at least I’m honest.