I have had some trouble with them. Any suggestions

okay so last week i asked if anyone had trouble with JW's, and no
answer, and no reply. Today, i went to jinbx, and there he was again,
and this time I was ready. he yells, i havent't seen your friend PAM,
where is she. i kept reading. then, it came you, in the red sweater
reading the magazine, and i was reading still. then again he made some
comment to his friend LAWNBOY, and i never missed a beat, just kept
reading. Only if you want to know the truth, i heard every dammed word,
and star me if you want to, but it still means the same. ignore.so much
for JW's.

Just ignore the JW's. I would not get into any dialogue with them as you cannot take them seriously.
Especially since the failed 1914 Watchtower Prophesy. They predicted Armageddon would occur around 1975 and again in 1994.

I am not sure how anyone can "get in trouble" with the JWs. Just don't talk to them and they will go away. Make it clear to them that you are not interested.

You did the best thing - ignored them. You are not required in any way to talk to them or answer their questions
. IfPam wants to talk to them then they should not be bothering you with it.

Witnesses are trained to keep personal records on all people hey talk to. They will han
Be your name if you gave it, your address if they came to your home, as well as what topics seemed to interest you. They willthen track you down and restart the conversation in the hopes that you wuill eventually agree to their free home Bible study which is actually an indoctrination program.

As a person gets more involved they are led along and then “encouraged” to get baptized. At that point they OWN you.

This is not just another religion. It is a high control group that uses lies and half-truths, a lot of manipulation and indoctrination to get people to join, keep them under control and punish people who break the rules. They even want to continue to control you after you leave or are thrown out.

Ex-Scientologist Leah Reminijustdid a program onthem. She was astounded by the amount of control the leadership has on people

I treat JW th same as I treat any religious sect.
I allow then to speak, then I start asking questions.
I find no matter the denomination, none can actually answer any of my questions.
What's more, every one seems to play on my non-existent fears of tomorrow.

Seems no matter the denomination, all are afraid of something and try to offer me comfort for some type of hell they feel is imminent?

When I tell them that I don't see the world that way, they are at a loss?
Frankly, I look forward to them knocking at my door. It gives me satisfaction when a few simple questions tests their faith to the limits.

Their argument reasons that the world is out of control and that their faith will be the saving grace.
It really messes them up when ya don't agree with their idea that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.
Its rather comical.

LOL, my world went to hell a long time ago.
I survived.
I don't watch TV, worry about he said/she said, concern myself with things that I have no control over. I live in the reality of the here and now. Fanatics don't know how to deal with those of us that live in the here and now, that don't have delusional fears about things they can't control.
Some of us are beyond the society manipulations that others base their lives on. So, when I place my reality to their delusions they crumble.
But, isn't that how it always happens?

"Seems no matter the denomination, all are afraid of something and try to offer me comfort for some type of hell they feel is imminent?"

Of course, we all know that the JWs don't believe in "hell." I doubt this poster has ever actually talked to one.

Took me a few beats to figure out what in the world "JWs" referred to.

Anyway. Religious proselytizers are identical to all other pushy salespeople, and I deal with them all the exact same way.

Step one, tell them that I do not want to interact with them;

Step 2, if they persist intrusively, I give them a second warning of my disinterest;

If they continue, I explain that I will report them to the police for harassment unless they immediately leave me alone.

Bottom line, people are people. Just because someone is a member of a religious group that I don't care to know much about, doesn't make them magically different from any other human being. And all the same basic rules and procedures apply the same.

I have a very solid front door. It unequivocally states "NO THANK YOU", when I slam it closed.

When I read that I did not think the poster was saying JWs believe in a literal “hell” but rather a symbolic one I know plenty of people who have talked to Witnesses any the topic of hell never came up.

Individual Witnesses should be respected just like anyone else. Tell them you are not interested and close the door. If you talk to them you can be assured they will be back.

They haven't but if they did I would still talk with them.
I'll talk with anyone about religion and while I don't really have an issue with how their beliefs give them peace, nearly all have a problem with how my beliefs give me peace. Especially because my beliefs don't follow their religios guidelines or require my fear or dread of the unknown.

"Witnesses are trained to keep personal records on all people hey talk to."

If that is true, I am sure that once they have talked to me they are told to avoid my house. I can respect someone's religion, but I have little patience for lies, mistranslations, and misinterpretations.

They will never agree with you. Their sole purpose is to try to convert you. If you ask them, "Are you trying to convert me?" they will deny it but that is what they are there for.

He SAID he talks to ALL kinds of religious people:

"Seems no matter the denomination,"

" same as I treat any religious sect."

Not just Witnesses.
Where *I* live..we get Mormons, the Pentacostals, even the Baptists sometimes bring a van and drop people off to knock on doors..

They will still come back just in case you change your mind or maybe you moved and they can contact the new resident.

They have small sheet of paper called record sheets. It records the address who they talked to and a name if given and what was discussed. The sheet might also include whether you have children, love gardening, live in a high crime area or anything else that they can use as a talking point for their next visit.

Every single area in the country is broken down into small areas often with about 300 homes per territory card. Witnesses are given a map of the area and are expected to make contact at least once ever 3 months. When they have completed the card it is handed in and passed to another Witness. Information they gathered on anyone they talk to may be kept so they can go back or it might be handed in with the card for the next Witness to deal with.

Witnesses are trained to do this "preaching" work. They attend a class once a week that prepares them for just about any topic you might discuss. They are not there for open discussion. Or for friendship.

Right now they are targeting certain populations, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, people who have had a death in the family. Yes they go through the obituary notices in the newspaper and show up at a person's door to preach to them.

I know. I was one for 22 years until I managed to get free of them.

I guess I am different. For me, people are people, regardless of religious beliefs. I generally speak to them based on how they speak to me, individually. I have sat down over a lemonade with Mormons, I have done bible study with Jehovah's witnesses.

If they have manners, I have no problem listening and making clear my own questions and beliefs. I have not really had any problems, to be honest. In Ohio I had a JW family that would come to my home and we would have Bible study(at their suggestion) where I was free to comment and ask questions, so I did so, from a place of respect and not disdain or ridicule or condescension.

I even went with them to Kingdom Hall a couple of times. Im pretty patient, but they eventually stopped coming round when it was clear that I was not likely to join up with them.

Same thing with the Mormons, the elders came around weekly for a year, took me to their services a few times, and everyone was very friendly and worked alot of charity, which I was impressed with, it was still some core beliefs I could not quite get past and I told them this honestly. Eventually, they also stopped coming around. But it was always respectful and never any problem, at least not for me.


Its funny though the stereotypes we all hold. Even when I was at a mormon education class (they hold them after their service). I sat and listented to a woman that had gone on vacation talking about her HORROR of having to attend a Baptist church and how intolerant 'they' were ... et cetera. You should have seen her face when I revealed I was actually raised up Baptist. She clarified, of course, she didn't feel this way about ALL Baptists ...lol.


I think honestly that they learned as much about me as I did about them, and I do believe there was mutual respect of each other.

See, there is the issue: As long as they think there is a possibility they might convert you they will keep talking to you or visiting you. They have an agenda.

You also mentioned how intolerant the Mormons were of Baptists. Witnesses are the same. And it isn’t just Baptist’s. It is every faith that isn’t theirs. This is not respectful. It is condescending to other faiths and to the people in them. You are only worth spending time with IF there is a possibility you might join them. Refuse to do that and you aren’t worthy of talking to.

I have always wondered why...when you go to a different church Baptist..(of which there are *numerous* types, none of which agree), Church of Christ, Pentacostal, Assembly Of God, etc....why they're all pushy and try and baptise you....when you were *already* baptised years ago just fine, thanks..

*I* thought once you are baptised..that was it..it didn't need to be "re-upped" every so often...or redone if you change churches...

Because they are not baptizing you in the name of God but rather in the name of their church.

A few years ago the Witnesses changed the baptismal vow to include that you are dedicating yourself to them.

The newest baptismal questions, from the June 1, 1985 Watchtower:

(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?

(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?

Agreeing to this means they now have control over every facet of your life - where you can't work, what you can and cannot do, who you can and cannot marry, how you treat family members who no longer want to be JWs, your sex life, whether you smoke, or vote, or belong to a union or political party, what you read if it goes against what they say, how you deal with a fellow JW who has sexually abused your child or your JW husband who abuses you or whether you are guilty if a man rapes you. Everything goes through the elders (congregation leaders). Nothing is your own. And from the baptism day forward they have the right to determine if you still believe everything they teach even if it makes no sense and could change tomorrow.

Believe me I am not angry at individual JWs. I was one too and I have some family who are members. But the leadership controls everything. I am totally against anyone who attacks individual Witnesses.

Most mainstream churches are not like this. You don't attend every Sunday no one will question you. You don't do the required amount of hours preaching, no one will bother you about it. No one will even bother if you are having sex with someone or are living with someone of the opposite sex. But not if you are a Witness.