It's hard to imagine a reasonable person who would convert to a different religion simply because someone rang their doorbell and gave them a one-minute speech about it, and yet bible pushers still exist, amirite?
I think it's more to give people information that they can think about later on.
But I agree, it is annoying.
Pushing any religion or belief system on someone is annoying. If someone goes up to you and says "Your religion sounds interesting, please tell me more?" or something similar, then by all means, go ahead.
And having a conversation on beliefs is good, although a discussion may turn into an argument quickly. "This is my truth, what is yours" turns into "This is the absolute truth" very easily.
That's cool.
religion plays a LARGE role in society, scary how beliefs in an afterlife and etc can lead to so much warfair.
it's surprising really how people nowadays are allowed the priviledge to choose what religion they want amirite?
I read something about that in a magazine, people who "window shop" religion - that is, read up about multiple religions and decide which one they wish to be a part of.
Bit of an odd method, but I can't say that I disapprove of being informed.
This brought the image to my mind of some ten-year-old standing on a stranger's doorstep: "AND THAT CONCLUDES MY SPEECH ON WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO BAPTISM. KTHXBAI."
lol i answered the door one time on a jahovas witness and i had on my jesus shirt, and onced he realized i had it on he just stood there and talked to me about basketball for the next half hour.
There was an episode of The Chasers, I'm trying to find it, where they went to Salt Lake City, and went door-to-door trying to convert people to atheism.
Ok so cue bashing from all those who don't agree with my beliefs, but I am a Jehovah's Witness and the reason we do it is because it says in the bible that Jesus and his followers went door to door preaching the word of the kingdom and so we follow in his footsteps by doing so also.
Actually alot of people do talk with us and although only about 1% actually listen and less of an amount will become a Jehovah's Witness that isn't the point. The point is to give people a chance to listen. If you never hear you don't even have to opportunity to make your choice no matter what that choice is.
Also please just be nice and say that you are not interested in hearing our message if you don't want us to be there. Don't yell at us and stuff. If you don't want to listen, we are not going to take the time that might have been used to talk someone else that wanted to listen to talk to you.
That sounds really nice. I had an unfortunate experience where a woman tried to push my door open and tell me that I was going to hell because I was wearing a pentagram necklace because said I wasn't interested in what she had to say (I really was nice, I'm not a mean person). So that wasn't pleasant. But I've had others come to my door who were much better. I don't know that they were necessarily Jehova's Witnesses, though.
Yeah, I answered the door and just said, "Oh, no thanks, I've already got a set of beliefs." They said something along the lines of, "You mean your devil pendant that's gunna take you straight to hell?" I laughed and shut the door. Good luck getting people to listen to you when you're saying stuff like that.
wait...then what happens when you die if you don't believe in a hell? I thought jehovah's witness was just a sideline of christianity and stuff. still confused about how the name "jehovah" came
also, I'd wish random strangers would ring my door and beg me to convert hahas.
it'd certainly raise awarness in my religious.. and perspectives...what to do with life...etc
my family is like athiest or buddist or something. It's weird.
Ok so what we believe is that God is going to bring about the Armageddon promised in the bible, sendning the devil and demons into the abyss, and all the bad people will die. Then the earth will be restored to the way the garden of Eden was and everyone will live there. Those who have died will be resurrected and be given the choice to follow the rules or not. Then at the end of one thousand years the devil will be let out and there will be one final test before he is destroyed along with all those who follow him.
There are 144,000 people who do go to heaven however. They are anointed by holy spirit. There are very few on earth now because most of them are already gone.
The reason we are called Jehovah's Witnesses is because we don't believe in the trinity. Jehovah is God(if you have a bible and want to see where we get this from it is Psalms 83:18) Jesus is god's son and helper. The Holy Spirit is God's active force.
Wouldn't that mean umm why's that word?
Like what you do in life won't change if you will go to heaven or not? And yeah I remember this part about only 144000 get to go. But how will this happen? Like out of nowhere and suddenly? And so u mean everyone will live at garden of Eden in the near future except those that get to go to heaven?
well those who are annointed, go to heaven when they die. It's not just like POOF! 'there goes Grandma'...lol. No what you do in life won't change whether or not you go to heaven, its whether or not God anointed you.
So there's going to be a Great Tribulation, which is when the governments will turn on religion and basically everything falls apart fast. During this time theres going to be alot of pressure on people to pick sides whether to serve god or not. This choice would make the difference of whether they got into the paradise(which is what we call the garden like state. that or the New system)
We don't know exactly when it is going to happen, but we live like it is coming soon since we dont know.
Doesn't that scare you? And you said that it's pre-determined right? so what does it matter what you do to help others? its already determined right? that word "pre-determined" made me question why people still try in life. America used to believe that god had already predetermined who was good and bad, that was why some people got lazy and etc etc. so if it's already pre-determined, what use is it of you to do what you do presently is what i'm asking. and doesn't this drastic change sound scary and unimaginable?
just food for thought.
I think you are misunderstanding me. Whether or not you go to heaven is decided by God. It is still going to be our choice whether to be servants of god. Being in the earthly paradise is going to be wonderful. No sickness or death or anything else that would cause heartache. What do most people think about when they think of heaven? Earthly things. That's why because we have a longing for the earth if you arent part of the anointed.
God is choosing to not to do that. He could by all means, but God is love and wants us to serve him out of love, not because we are forced to.
but in a way, because it is predetermined, why do you choose to try and convert people if it's already known by God whether they get in or not? like what is the purpose of this?
and doesn't this though of goverments overturning scare you or just seem unimaginable? like how would this even work?
Its not like they're coming to your door and demanding that you convert or else they'll chain themselves to your door until you do so. They just want to give you some information and make you aware. 20 years ago my grandma talked to someone going door to door and it turned out to be one the better experiences in her life. You can atleast give them a chance and listen to what they want to tell you.
Haha :D well that's seriously how some people think it is! "ohmygawd the religious freaks are at my door! Maybe if I don't answer they'll just go away!" like no. They're people, not aliens trying to capture you for experimental purposes.
I guess it's like telemarketing - yeah, it doesn't really hurt you to say "Sorry, not interested", but it is a little irratating, particularly if the incident in question isn't the first one.
I don't really have door-to-door people, in my city it's monks - they're outside bookstores and stuff, right where people have to walk past them. And they're a hell of a lot more persuasive than the thousands of other people handing out pamphlets and crap that you also have to walk past.
Like, in Brisbane City (I kinda live in a suburb in South Brisbane, not in the actual city though), there's 2 million people, and on every damn corner, there's people handing you pamphlets and flyers about different charities or causes or events or protests or whatever.
But there's a large Bookstore smack in the middle of the city, and I think th monks actually got permission to be there, because I see them there every day.
And they target me, for some reason, and I feel awkward, because you can't just be like STFU to a monk, but I don't really want to talk with them, I have stuff to do.
And they try to give me free stuff and free food, but I don't feel right taking it, and sometimes they ask for donations.
They don't really push religion, they more push spirituality. Like, they have these books about how the outside of people may change, but the inside stays the same, and I got into an argument with one of them once about how our interior (mind/soul/spirit) changes as well over time, maybe not parallel to our bodies, but it still changes.
Like, if that guy wants to hand out Bibles, that's fine, I suppose, but it would be similar in annoyance to people who thrust pamphlets at you. I reckon a better strategy would be to get a sign and a table/umbrella, and let people who are interested in getting a free Bible come to him.
oh no, he only did it like twice, he didnt look like one of those mean christians with the mad looked-as-if-i-had-been-smoking-crack-the-last-3-days face, just a kind smile and handing them out.
I think he was asian? lol well w.e it was in middle school.
and my friend had this book about spirituality...
act isnt spirituality just like persoanlity...it shapes and bends by our interaction with ....etc etc?
Now that your describing it, he sounds rather nice to me. I think my old high school, even though it's not a religion or private one, has pocket Bibles for students.
Yeah, something like that. I usually try to avoid them, because I always end up arguing with them.
LOL arguing?
Pro Tip: never argue with religious fanatics. It is like arguing with trolls, you can never win. Whatever sound logic you present will be neglected and they will bash you for some artificial cause most likely concerning the devil.
I haven't heard of people converting on the spot, but I have heard of the pamphlets sparking people's interests and eventually leading them to convert.
I think it's more to give people information that they can think about later on.
But I agree, it is annoying.
Pushing any religion or belief system on someone is annoying. If someone goes up to you and says "Your religion sounds interesting, please tell me more?" or something similar, then by all means, go ahead.
And having a conversation on beliefs is good, although a discussion may turn into an argument quickly. "This is my truth, what is yours" turns into "This is the absolute truth" very easily.
you athiest?
No, I suppose.
I attend a Catholic church, since most people from New Zealand/Polynesian islands are some form of Catholism.
To be honest, I'm still undecided on religion at the moment, and my own personal feelings in regards to it.
That's cool.
religion plays a LARGE role in society, scary how beliefs in an afterlife and etc can lead to so much warfair.
it's surprising really how people nowadays are allowed the priviledge to choose what religion they want amirite?
I read something about that in a magazine, people who "window shop" religion - that is, read up about multiple religions and decide which one they wish to be a part of.
Bit of an odd method, but I can't say that I disapprove of being informed.
inb4 crappy, stupid memes -- oh wait.
This brought the image to my mind of some ten-year-old standing on a stranger's doorstep: "AND THAT CONCLUDES MY SPEECH ON WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO BAPTISM. KTHXBAI."
.... was it april's fools day?
inb4 overlysensitive people get offended by this post
lol i answered the door one time on a jahovas witness and i had on my jesus shirt, and onced he realized i had it on he just stood there and talked to me about basketball for the next half hour.
There was an episode of The Chasers, I'm trying to find it, where they went to Salt Lake City, and went door-to-door trying to convert people to atheism.
link?
Ok so cue bashing from all those who don't agree with my beliefs, but I am a Jehovah's Witness and the reason we do it is because it says in the bible that Jesus and his followers went door to door preaching the word of the kingdom and so we follow in his footsteps by doing so also.
Actually alot of people do talk with us and although only about 1% actually listen and less of an amount will become a Jehovah's Witness that isn't the point. The point is to give people a chance to listen. If you never hear you don't even have to opportunity to make your choice no matter what that choice is.
Also please just be nice and say that you are not interested in hearing our message if you don't want us to be there. Don't yell at us and stuff. If you don't want to listen, we are not going to take the time that might have been used to talk someone else that wanted to listen to talk to you.
That sounds really nice. I had an unfortunate experience where a woman tried to push my door open and tell me that I was going to hell because I was wearing a pentagram necklace because said I wasn't interested in what she had to say (I really was nice, I'm not a mean person). So that wasn't pleasant. But I've had others come to my door who were much better. I don't know that they were necessarily Jehova's Witnesses, though.
That def. wasn't us because we don't believe in hell.
See, that's what I thought, so I was really confused.
Maybe mormons or Later Day Saints?? Baptists sometimes do too. I dont know what they believe though.
Not too sure as I didn't give them a chance. When they started going on about my "Devil pendant" I shut the door.
Yeah That's really weird that they did that. If they want people to listen to them, they should probably not insult them.
Yeah, I answered the door and just said, "Oh, no thanks, I've already got a set of beliefs." They said something along the lines of, "You mean your devil pendant that's gunna take you straight to hell?" I laughed and shut the door. Good luck getting people to listen to you when you're saying stuff like that.
wait...then what happens when you die if you don't believe in a hell? I thought jehovah's witness was just a sideline of christianity and stuff. still confused about how the name "jehovah" came
also, I'd wish random strangers would ring my door and beg me to convert hahas.
it'd certainly raise awarness in my religious.. and perspectives...what to do with life...etc
my family is like athiest or buddist or something. It's weird.
Ok so what we believe is that God is going to bring about the Armageddon promised in the bible, sendning the devil and demons into the abyss, and all the bad people will die. Then the earth will be restored to the way the garden of Eden was and everyone will live there. Those who have died will be resurrected and be given the choice to follow the rules or not. Then at the end of one thousand years the devil will be let out and there will be one final test before he is destroyed along with all those who follow him.
There are 144,000 people who do go to heaven however. They are anointed by holy spirit. There are very few on earth now because most of them are already gone.
The reason we are called Jehovah's Witnesses is because we don't believe in the trinity. Jehovah is God(if you have a bible and want to see where we get this from it is Psalms 83:18) Jesus is god's son and helper. The Holy Spirit is God's active force.
Wouldn't that mean umm why's that word?
Like what you do in life won't change if you will go to heaven or not? And yeah I remember this part about only 144000 get to go. But how will this happen? Like out of nowhere and suddenly? And so u mean everyone will live at garden of Eden in the near future except those that get to go to heaven?
well those who are annointed, go to heaven when they die. It's not just like POOF! 'there goes Grandma'...lol. No what you do in life won't change whether or not you go to heaven, its whether or not God anointed you.
So there's going to be a Great Tribulation, which is when the governments will turn on religion and basically everything falls apart fast. During this time theres going to be alot of pressure on people to pick sides whether to serve god or not. This choice would make the difference of whether they got into the paradise(which is what we call the garden like state. that or the New system)
We don't know exactly when it is going to happen, but we live like it is coming soon since we dont know.
Doesn't that scare you? And you said that it's pre-determined right? so what does it matter what you do to help others? its already determined right? that word "pre-determined" made me question why people still try in life. America used to believe that god had already predetermined who was good and bad, that was why some people got lazy and etc etc. so if it's already pre-determined, what use is it of you to do what you do presently is what i'm asking. and doesn't this drastic change sound scary and unimaginable?
just food for thought.
I think you are misunderstanding me. Whether or not you go to heaven is decided by God. It is still going to be our choice whether to be servants of god. Being in the earthly paradise is going to be wonderful. No sickness or death or anything else that would cause heartache. What do most people think about when they think of heaven? Earthly things. That's why because we have a longing for the earth if you arent part of the anointed.
God is choosing to not to do that. He could by all means, but God is love and wants us to serve him out of love, not because we are forced to.
Does my reasoning make sense?
but in a way, because it is predetermined, why do you choose to try and convert people if it's already known by God whether they get in or not? like what is the purpose of this?
and doesn't this though of goverments overturning scare you or just seem unimaginable? like how would this even work?
I wonder if a group of atheists would ever do this kind of thing.
Its not like they're coming to your door and demanding that you convert or else they'll chain themselves to your door until you do so. They just want to give you some information and make you aware. 20 years ago my grandma talked to someone going door to door and it turned out to be one the better experiences in her life. You can atleast give them a chance and listen to what they want to tell you.
the "I REFUSE TO LEAVE THIS DOORSTEP UNTIL YOU CONVERT" image in my head made me laugh.
Haha :D well that's seriously how some people think it is! "ohmygawd the religious freaks are at my door! Maybe if I don't answer they'll just go away!" like no. They're people, not aliens trying to capture you for experimental purposes.
I guess it's like telemarketing - yeah, it doesn't really hurt you to say "Sorry, not interested", but it is a little irratating, particularly if the incident in question isn't the first one.
U Mad bible pushers?
No one has ever done this to me.
I don't really have door-to-door people, in my city it's monks - they're outside bookstores and stuff, right where people have to walk past them. And they're a hell of a lot more persuasive than the thousands of other people handing out pamphlets and crap that you also have to walk past.
what do you mean?
an example? that sounds interesting though hahas.
Like, in Brisbane City (I kinda live in a suburb in South Brisbane, not in the actual city though), there's 2 million people, and on every damn corner, there's people handing you pamphlets and flyers about different charities or causes or events or protests or whatever.
But there's a large Bookstore smack in the middle of the city, and I think th monks actually got permission to be there, because I see them there every day.
And they target me, for some reason, and I feel awkward, because you can't just be like STFU to a monk, but I don't really want to talk with them, I have stuff to do.
And they try to give me free stuff and free food, but I don't feel right taking it, and sometimes they ask for donations.
sounds more like pedofiles
"free food, they talk to me"
hahas nah jk jk
but I can see how that really is pushing religion.
I remember there was a guy outside my middle school passing out free bibles. kinda weird.
but let them decide what to do. If you confront/challenge them about it..well we've all seen on tv what religion does.
I just see it as irony, what was made for one to seek out hope and protection turns into war and conflict.
They don't really push religion, they more push spirituality. Like, they have these books about how the outside of people may change, but the inside stays the same, and I got into an argument with one of them once about how our interior (mind/soul/spirit) changes as well over time, maybe not parallel to our bodies, but it still changes.
Like, if that guy wants to hand out Bibles, that's fine, I suppose, but it would be similar in annoyance to people who thrust pamphlets at you. I reckon a better strategy would be to get a sign and a table/umbrella, and let people who are interested in getting a free Bible come to him.
oh no, he only did it like twice, he didnt look like one of those mean christians with the mad looked-as-if-i-had-been-smoking-crack-the-last-3-days face, just a kind smile and handing them out.
I think he was asian? lol well w.e it was in middle school.
and my friend had this book about spirituality...
act isnt spirituality just like persoanlity...it shapes and bends by our interaction with ....etc etc?
Now that your describing it, he sounds rather nice to me. I think my old high school, even though it's not a religion or private one, has pocket Bibles for students.
Yeah, something like that. I usually try to avoid them, because I always end up arguing with them.
LOL arguing?
Pro Tip: never argue with religious fanatics. It is like arguing with trolls, you can never win. Whatever sound logic you present will be neglected and they will bash you for some artificial cause most likely concerning the devil.
I haven't heard of people converting on the spot, but I have heard of the pamphlets sparking people's interests and eventually leading them to convert.