Atheists & Jehovah's Witnesses

[Dr H]

This is a continuation of a thread I started on The Thinking Atheist. I would like to hear about and discuss any recent or past encounters that participants here have had with JW's who showed up at your door or who you have met in public places.

JW's usually ring my doorbell twice a year. There are two Kingdom Halls within a half hour's drive of my house. I seldom see the same faces more than once and it has been well over a decade since any of them have been willing to come inside to discuss and debate religion. I let them know immediately that I'm an atheist and present them with atheist tracts and my atheist business card, which they always refuse to read.

Y'know, I don't believe I've ever given you one of my better JW stories.  

One afternoon, I was improvising electronic music against some pre-recorded tracks, preparatory to a gig I had coming up.   The music was of jazz-fusion character, and very loud.  It was a hot day, and I had the windows open, and was wearing next to nothing -- just some gym trunks.  In a pause, I hear a determined knocking at my front door.  Since the neighbors are all cool with the music (some musicians themselves), I thought maybe it was a delivery I was expecting.

The walkway up to my front door hosts a number of concrete icons made that friends have donated over the years.  These include:  a grasping hand holding an egg; a skull; some basic geometric shapes, and an inverted pentagram.  On my front door, at eye level for an adult of average height, is a Darwin fish.

On the living room table immediately in front of the door were the remains of a visit I'd had the evening before with some buddies -- a sea of empty beer cans and shot glasses, and a half bottle of single malt.

Given the prevailing sights and sounds, I personally can't imagine a less promising place for the JWs to make their pitch, yet when I answered the door, there they were.  They tend to travel in pairs, and I was faced with two conservatively dressed women, one in her early twenties, the other perhaps nearer forty, with an armload of stuff.  Apparently undeterred by my near nakedness or the litter on the table, they asked if they could have a few minutes of my time.

I said "sure", invited them in and offered them a seat on the couch, which they accepted, and a shot each of single malt, which they declined.  Poured one for myself, and sat down.  They then produced booklets and leaflets and notebooks, and began earnestly informing me of the "crisis in our schools regarding sex education".   We chatted for a while, me assuring them that I was as concerned about the matter as they, although my priorities might be somewhat different.  They handed my a "Watchtower" with several passages underlined in red.  

I told them that I would need to read the document carefully, but that if they would leave it with me I would give it my full attention.  I then invited them to come back in a week so that we could discuss what I had read, and they seemed to think this would be a great idea.  

I offered the single malt again, which they refused again, and on the way out I handed them printed copies of the Noble Eightfold Path, as interpreted by the Hwa Yen school of Buddhism, and suggested that when they returned the following week, we could spend come time meditating on the ramifications of the issues they had raised.  They seemed a little uncomfortable about this, but thanked me for my time, got in their car -- without even visiting my neighbors -- and drove off.

They failed to show up the following week, and for some reason, I never saw them again.  In fact, this was several years ago, and I've not had a JW come to my door (at least while I've been home), since.  I do spot them in the neighborhood occasionally.

Do you suppose they've forgotten about me?  

Should I try approaching them and renewing our acquaintance?

I'm sure there are still some poor JWs who haven't heard the Good Word of the Buddha.

Or Lagavulin.