Door to door religion

[yoshirama]

Mainly the Jehovah wittiness religion do this but you occasionally get other groups.

What is your experience with them?

I have never been openly rude to them. I usually pretend to pay attention and take the pamphlet and throw it in the bin later. One time My sister noticed me talking to them at the door and played Tim minchin rather loudly. They went quickly and I haven't seen them since. Maybe they told their whole group to avoid our house.

[Zen Badger]

I'm never here when they turn up.

Kichi tells them to come back later when I'm home but they never do.

[Cinjin]

I invited two into my house. I was exceptionally kind when I destroyed their arguments one by one and used their own bible to do it.

They never came back.

[yoshirama]

cinjin good on you. I wouldn't be able to do something like that. I would just feel awkward.

[KichigaiNeko]

But I gave them both a hug and wished them well.... Oh and told that stupid little 26 year old that I will not shut up, HE (a mere JW male) wasn't listening to me telling him that I was an atheist and wasn't interested.

The 72 year old lady was lovely.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I used to be rather rude to them. It seemed to make it worse, actually. Now (not that it happens much, these days), I politely tell them I'm not interested, wish them a lovely day, and shut the door.

Had a little fracas the last time it happened. I did my bit, shut the door, and one of them shouted from outside, 'Jesus loves you!' I shouted back, 'Then tell him to send me some flowers and chocolates.' I can't be sure, but I think I heard a low voiced, 'Fuck this guy' as they walked off.

Boru

[yoshirama]

I used to be rather rude to them. It seemed to make it worse, actually. Now (not that it happens much, these days), I politely tell them I'm not interested, wish them a lovely day, and shut the door.

Had a little fracas the last time it happened. I did my bit, shut the door, and one of them shouted from outside, 'Jesus loves you!' I shouted back, 'Then tell him to send me some flowers and chocolates.' I can't be sure, but I think I heard a low voiced, 'Fuck this guy' as they walked off.

Boru

Ha That is great. My mother use to hide from them and pretend we weren't home because she didn't want to talk to them even to tell them she wasn't interested.

[Tonus]

I have never been openly rude to them. I usually pretend to pay attention and take the pamphlet and throw it in the bin later.

Having experienced it mostly from the other side, my advice would be to simply tell them "no, thank you" and end it at that. JWs are taught to be polite and not to press the issue when they are turned away (which doesn't stop some of them from being aggressive, but that's not what they are supposed to do).

You can also request that they not knock on your door again, which may or may not work depending on how well they keep their records updated. Some people opt for small signs that state "no solicitors" or even specifically name the JWs. In that circumstance the JWs are taught not to knock on the door. If there is a note in the record but not a sign on the door, they are to make an annual visit to see if the person has changed his mind (or if there is a different resident now).

If you decide to discuss the Bible or their religion, be aware that they are taught to cover any number of issues with a rote explanation backed by several Bible texts, and sometimes additional secular bits of information that they likely cannot verify. That is to say, most of them can put up a pretty good initial defense of their beliefs on any topic, and can become very confident in how unassailable their position seems to be. An honest discussion of a topic that you have a good understanding of may leave them without answers and may leave you with a reputation as someone that they would rather avoid. Like any other person, they become very uncomfortable when their beliefs are undermined and are likely to decide that you are a "stumbling block" put in their path by Satan, and thus unworthy of their time.

[Shaggy]

A guy I used to work with told me he had some people come to his house trying to talk about religion. He had a little bit of conversation, then said he needed to wash his car. He said they were welcome to help him if they still wanted to talk. So about an hour later he's standing there with a beer, listening to these two jehova's witnesses while they scrub down his car lol. When they were done waking his car he told them he wasn't interested, and went back inside.

[No_God]

I am NEVER rude to anyone who comes to my door. I respect them for having the courage to go door-to-door and share what they believe in. Whether I believe it or not, I live in America, and they have the right to share their ideas freely.

I've actually invited some ladies in before. We talked about parenting and they played with my son who was 1 at the time. They were really nice people.