I think I'm turning into a crank.

[Ami1984]

I have no idea if it is there area I live in our what but the JW that come to our house are extremely push like I mean try to prevent us from shutting the door, so of course I avoid answering.

As for tele-marketer's if they make a ridiculous call like do we need our eve trophes cleaned when we live in an apartment I play along to waist their time( they should do their research lol), but if it is something that just not interested in I just tell them to take me off the list

[Darth Penguin]

It's 12.50 and I just got that "your pc is sending us a attack message from" Roger the Indian who works for Microsoft....again...

And again I tell him I have no computer......and take me off your list....unless you wanna buy me a pc...sighs....

[marstec]

This is somewhat related, in the sense that doing so may prevent some aggravation...If you are using Firefox for your browser, I suggest you use the add-on Adblock Plus. It prevents a lot of popups and has made my life so much more bearable when browsing the 'net.

Darth,
I can't believe that happened to your children. Gives the polite ones a bad name, that's for sure.

[Poirot]

A couple of weeks ago, JWs knocked on the front door and my oldest girl opened it.....She and her sibs were bombarded with " How it was Really really utterly important " to get Mr Penguin and I out of bed at 7.30 am on a Saturday ...

Dh was less than impressed by the bullying of a 14 yo, 10 yr and a 7 yo who were told we would be in a very hot place soon....It's one thing to say that to me because I've read the Bible as well and can quote out of context too. But another to go all Jack Chick on children...

Someone told me recently her about brother dying in an accident as a child.Their neighbours were JW and a few days after he died they told their mother that her son was in hell because he wasn't JW.I was shocked and horrified about this story.She just hates JW's.

[kazm-l]

i feel you.i had jw's coming continuously and i was too nice to tell them anything.i would sit quietly and listen to them tell me how i am lost in the world and i should teach my children now before later the truth.this went on for a year until finally i told them "i can't accept your literature anymore.can you please add me to your not call list?" haven't been back for 6 months.i have the thought that if i seek anything...business,religion,etc..i will look it up.being "peddled" doesn't sit well with me.your home is your sanctuary.people should respect it.

One time,when i was out!, my dh opened the door to a JW woman and stood and listened to the speech. He even told her his name...why, i will never know!
She kept coming back , asking to speak to him - eventually i had to tell her he just wasn't interested but he was to polite to tell her so.
Luckily they haven't come back since and i know for sure they've been in the neighbourhood cos they stick out like a sore thumb!

[MortgageQueen]

Okay. ..just to clear a few things up. JW’s are exactlythe same earthwide in their beliefs. I say this because it will help you understand why I know some of thestatements below are misunderstood or inaccurate for whatever reason. That’snot to say every single JW is perfect. We’d be the first to admit that!Everyone brings their own personality/culture/upbringing with them andsometimes they may express themselves inappropriately.(it’s that darnimperfection thing again!)

So . . . .. .. . here’s some answers to your rants. J Iencourage you to look it up in your own Bible because I know that a lot ofpeople think we “made up” our own Bible.

Poirot “Someone told me recently her about brotherdying in an accident as a child.Their neighbours were JW and a few days afterhe died they told their mother that her son was in hell because he wasn't JW.”

Poirot, I’m really struggling to understandthis statement. JW’s unequivicably, vehemently and absolutely DO NOT believe inHellfire! Or a place like Hell that many religions promote. After a serious andthorough (and believe me. . and I mean thorough) examination of theBible, we have found nothing to substantiate such a horrible thing. God is aGod of love.

In regards to the “idea or theory” ofHellfire or continuous torture. .Ithink the Bible explains it best in even this just onescripture.
Jerimiah 7:30,31- ‘For the sons of Judah have done whatis bad in my eyes,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘They have set theirdisgusting things in the house upon which my name has been called, in order todefile it. ³¹ And they have built the high places of To′pheth,which is in the valley of the son of Hin′nom, in order to burn their sons andtheir daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had notcome up into my heart.’

Noticethe last sentence. . . . God says he didnot command such a thing nor did it even come up into his heart. . . . or you could say, it hadn’t even occurredto him!

What we DO believe:
I thinkthis scripture sums it up nicely. . . . Eccesiastes 9: 5,10

⁵ For the livingare conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious ofnothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance ofthem has been forgotten. Vs.10. “All that your hand finds to do, do with yourvery power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in She′ol,the place to which you are going.”

Soyou see. . . no hell fire. Even Jesus referred to it as a deep sleep.


Darth Penguin “A couple of weeks ago, JWs knocked on thefront door and my oldest girl opened it.....She and her sibs were bombardedwith " How it was Reallyreallyutterly important " to get Mr Penguin and I out of bedat 7.30 am on a Saturday ...

Dh was less than impressed by the bullying of a 14 yo, 10 yr and a 7 yo whowere told we would be
in a veryhot place soon....It's one thing to say that to me because I've read the Bibleas well and can quote out of context too. But another to go all Jack Chick onchildren...”

Darth. . Well, Heck! I’d be cranky if someone got me out of bed at that hourtoo!, however. . . . we have reallystrict guidelines on that sort of thing. The absolute earliest we wouldgo to a door would be 9:30 on a weekday or preferrably 10am on the weekend. Didit perhaps just “feel” like 7:30? lol !

Of course, someone could’ve taken it uponthemselves to “break the rule” as it were. . .but I have to say, that would be extremely rare.
In regards to telling you and your childrenabout “being in a very hot place soon” I would have to refer you to the infoabove. It is so NOT one of our beliefs that I would daresay anyone that wouldsay such a thing would be an imposter. . .NOT a witness.

Marstec “Are you able to say why people inthe JW faith need to go out and spread the word?”

So the question of the hour. . .. yes, I can tell you why we do this. Jesus commanded his followers to do this.

Matthew 28:19,20 “Go therefore and make disciples ofpeople of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the holy spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observeall the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the daysuntil the conclusion of the system of things.”

He also foretold in Matthew 24:14: “¹⁴ Andthis good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for awitness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”

If youstop and think about it, that is exactly what Jesus himself did in his adultlife after his baptism, that’s what his apostles did, that what all hisdisciples did. The bible also has tons of references where it was not acceptedwell nor was Jesus looked up to by the majority and neither were his followers.

My point: Preaching was never popular and it never will be.

I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “WHY must you come back if I TOLD youI wasn’t INTERESTED?!” Right?. . lol

Sorry about that, but time and timeagain, even 100’s of thousands of times people change their mind.
I can even give you a personal example:my father-in-law
When the Witnesses came to his door(back in the early 70’s) he actually punched the gentleman! (laws were a tadlooser back then about physical assault) So you probably know what I’m gonnasay. Yep, after many years, he eventually changed his mind and later became aJW. I could tell you tons of other examples that I even know personally,so. ... . .. that’s why we come back

Sorry for the long post. Just was easier to answer to all the objections this way.

[lekate]

I don't answer the door unless I know someone is coming by. It was much different when I was a kid though and kids from all over the neighbourhood would drop by unexpected, but that doesn't really happen anymore... I don't even answer the house phone, if someone were trying to get a hold of me they'd use my cell...

I'm not a big fan of any religious types giving me stuff or talking about how I need to find God in ANY capacity (at home, on the bus, walking downtown, etc). More so when I'm at work and it's happened TWICE in the past two weeks! I just want to sell you pet food and supplies, gees.

It was funny though when, one year at university this Mormon group straight out of Utah descended upon campus. Oh so funny. My friend who I was hanging out with, a gay Jewish male definitely got into some arguments....

[Lynn49]

I just ignored the door yesterday. Unless I know someone is coming over, of if I know it's the time our newsboy is coming, I don't answer it. Period. I don't feel I'm cranky, I just feel that I'M in control of MY own time, no one else is.

MortgageQueen, I appreciate you taking the time to clarify some issues or questions that were asked about your religion....I respect all religions, and actually have had some interesting conversations with Jehova Witnesses in the past...keeping it clear from the start that I had no intention of changing mine....

As for phone calls, same thing: if I don't recognize the phone number on the display, we don't answer it.
Again: my time is mine alone to share with whom I choose to share it with, and when.

[glowworm2k]

I tend to open the door to all comers at my place. We live in the city, but my neighbourhood - well, my street at any rate - is a very friendly place. Several times a week my neighbours will ring the bell out of the blue to say hi, ask about something, etc. I always find time for them because I believe that I have to foster the kind of neighbourhood I want. For me, I want a neighbourhood where I know my neighbours' names, can trust them and feel comfortable knowing that folks will keep an eye on my property when I'm not around, etc. I make sure I am open and approachable, even though it's not always convenient because that's the kind of neighbourhood I want. (I should also say that 90% of my neighbours are awesome folks). We also get very few door-to-door salespeople, etc. because my neighbourhood has a reputation as being dangerous/full of prostitutes and drugs; I've never found it to be that way, but I guess maybe it's more "dangerous" than the 'burbs.

Telemarketers, on the other hand, are a different matter: I tend to try not to answer the phone when they call. When I do answer, I politely tell them that I'm on the do-not-call list and that I'd like them to stop calling immediately. I have had a bunch of calls in the last few weeks (I guess some company sold my number to someone), but normally only get a handful each year. If I do get repeated calls from the same firm, then I start getting nasty and turn in to quite the curmudgeon.... (I like to walk softly, but carry a big stick )

[Speckled28]

It drives me crazy to have people trying to spread their religion at my door! Don't get me wrong....I'm equally as irritated by any religion doing it.....not just JW! lol I am not part of any specific religion, but do have my own beliefs and values. I'd also consider myself to have a good head on my shoulders....and therefore, if I am interested in a religion of any kind...I have no problems taking the appropriate avenues to find out more about it. Heck.....I don't even mind if you leave a flyer in my mail box (though the last few that have been left I've found extremely offensive....but hey....I'm trying to meet in the middle here....). Even leave that contact information on the pamphlet so that I can contact you if I have any questions or would like more information.....I just want it to be my own choice.....with no pressure to sway one way or the other.

As for telemarketers......I TRY so very hard to be nice.....because I know it's their job.....and almost certainly not their dream job......BUT if they get rude or pushy with me I have no problems hanging up on them. There are many comical lists online that cover ways to "play" with telemarketers......some of them are absolutely hilarious and I only wish I had the courage to try! LOL

[iceblueraven]

There are several signs in up my neighbourhood that range from "no solicitation" to "no religious solicitation" to "no religious solicitation, please leave religious reading materials in the mailbox and we will recycle them for you". We've had the same two ladies for years now, I just open the door, they hand me the pamphlet and we wish each other a nice day.

If the telemarketers get me, I just say "thanks for calling, we're not interested, have a nice day" and hang up. I try not to be too rude (I try to remember that all people are people, regardless of what they have to do to try to earn a living -- LOL I fail often at remembering this, but I try!). Then I call block the ones I can. The ones I can't, I just hit answer/answer so it answers and hangs up.

PS -- I am VERY rude to the obvious scammers (you've got a virus, etc), that's not a job, it's predation on the vulnerable.

[Darth Penguin]

PS -- I am VERY rude to the obvious scammers (you've got a virus, etc), that's not a job, it's predation on the vulnerable.

But...but...but...I donthavaputerherehowcanahavavirus???

Next time I'm gonna ask for a PC just so they can wipe the virusesesesss for me...

[princesskimmi]

ONe sunday morning we had JW's knock on the door - I could see them from where I was laying and just didn't feel like listening that day so I remained in my seat - We'll the man started waving at me like to point out the fact that he could see me I didn't know what to do lol So I just pretended I hadn't seen him I mean really peaking in my window thats a bit much.

[anisa]

hey, if someone thinks they can come to your door or call your house and bother you when you are trying to rest, relax, cook dinner, pay with your kids, watch a movie etc, then tough on them.

they are bothering you on your time. no excuses needed.

if someone comes onto your property, and knocks on your door just so they can proceed to tell you about their religion because they assume you are some heathen who is destined to be lost for eternity, isn't that the height of rudeness?

if someone thinks they can call you in your home and try to sell you something because they assume you are an impulsive buyer who doesn't know how to make a decision based on your personal wants and needs, isn't that totally rude?

[TaraF]

Okay maybe my Husband is odd (alright I know he is lol) but he actually SEEKS OUT JW's. He's very much into learning about all religions and debating religion as well and he was happier than a kid in a candy store when he came across one the other day. Disappointed they didn't have a watch tower though. lol