Have JW's changed their tactics for talking with atheists?

by SickofLies 14 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Nathan Natas

  When CTR began his ministry, he saw his role as gathering together the few true Christians distributed throughout the churches of Christendom. Although that mission has expanded over the years, especially under Knorr, it would not be an error to say that JWs see their role as gathering together "god-fearing, god-loving" people from all the religions of Babylon the Great to the true worship of the True God who lives in a desk drawer in Brooklyn. So today's JWs will talk with Jews, Muslims, Taoists, Sikhs, Buddhists, Santaria-ists, practitioners of Voodoo, Mormons, Hindus, Sufis, B'hai, -- anyone who shares their basic belief in invisible people. Maybe not scientologists though.

  The JWs response to the announcement "I'm atheist" is not that uncommon. Witness (pun intended) the reaction of some here on JWD to the same declarative sentence. Yikes! You'd think someone just painted their dog green or something.

  I have been surprised even when talking with medical professionals that when they ask "religion?" and I reply "atheist" there's a momentary lull in the conversation, as though I had just uttered the unspeakable oath.

  It's fun.
• 

  VoidEater

  in the 70's we were told to respond to atheists with the question, "But don't you see what a terrible mess the world is in today? Don't we need God to sort things out?" But then they started answering, "It doesn't really seem that bad, and I think we can make things better without God". Kinda ruins the strategy..."oh, OK, sorry to have bothered you" *shuffle away with guilt for not traying to make the world a better place*

  "The end of the world came and all I did was try to sell a bunch of magazines"
• 

  kwintestal

  I think it depends on the witness. I was called on for quite some time earlier in the year by an elderly lady and I said right from the start that I was and atheist, had no beleif in the bible or religions at all. She called on me about a half dozen times with the second last time leaving me a brochure on trusting the bible. I used stick-it notes through out and cut the brochure apart (figuratively). The last time she called I gave it back to her and she said that it was for me to keep. I said, "You wanted my opinion of it, I left my opinion throughout." She never came back, but left me a card in the mailbox (she didn't knock on the door) saying how she now understands me better and loved talking to me and hopes to talk to me again. I'm sorry, I lied, she did come back once after that, to give me the Awake! on Keeping your children safe, but she didn't give me the Watchtower, and didn't talk anything JW.

  I'm waiting for her to come back as I remember hearing somewhere that there's a new special Awake on the way that's supposed to prove the bible true, yet again.

  Kwin
• 

  undercover

  It's also a reflection of their poor training.

  I remember when I was a youngster, all the elders and those in the "truth" a long time really knew how to "debate" an issue at the door. They could look up a dozen scriptures off the top of their head on any given subject. They may have been wrong, their logic may have been skewed, but they were trained to really believe what they were taught and they could back it up with their own logic and reasoning.

  As I grew older, I never gained that ability...I never tried. I was too lazy. But I was in the majority. The vast majority of my peers knew even less than I did about doctrine or how to use the Bible.

  It seems that we learned through osmosis instead of actual hands on experience. We learned by having things repeated over and over at the meetings and then when we went door to door that's all we knew how to do...was repeat what we were told. When somone presented a theory that we were unfamiliar with or couldn't overcome, we shut down and excused ourselves. We fooled ourselves into thinking that we were right and the householder was so wrong that it didn't justify wasting our time on him since he really didn't want to learn the "truth".
• 

  SickofLies

  I agree with you kwin, it probably depends on the person.

  Personally if a JW came to my door, asked me if I believed in the bible and after I said no they tried to walk away I would stop them in their tracks. I would probably say something along the lines of 'wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that the only people who you are trying to talk to our ones that already believe in the bible, you exclude all other religions like hindus, muslims and non-religious people like atheists? Are you that unsure of your beliefs that you only feel comfortable talking to those who share an identical world view as yourselves?'

  Actually I'd like to hear more about what MikeA said to make those witnesses cry, to bad you didn't get that one on tape my friend.