How hard would it be to twist witnesses in knots as an xjw?

by AK - Jeff 28 Replies latest jw experiences

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  lisavegas420

  I've done it....

  I'll start from the beginning. Several years ago, two witnesses came to my door. A husband and wife. The sister, Julie gave her presentation and offered me the mags. I gave her a dollar and she left. A week later, she came back with a younger sister. Julie showed me a brochure about JW's, and we read and discussed the first two paragraphs. Then she came back every week after that for two years. She invited me to the meetings, and the assembly, but didn't I always was too busy. Anyway, over the next two years Julie came every week or two. Sometimes, I had other things to do, so I'd call her and let her know I wasn't going to be home, see you next week. I think this is one reason that the study lasted so long. Over time, I found out that the younger sister that came with her, used to be Julie's daughter's best friend and pioneer partner, but had quit going to the meetings. I'm not sure if her daugher's was df'd or ds'd, but I always asked about her. I wanted her daughter to be in the forefront of her mind.

  I questioned everything. For instance we discussed birthdays, and she read me the scriptures and explained to me the reasons why they don't celabrate. I would do something like this....Ummm...Julie, I don't think that those scriptures mean you shouldn't celabrate birthdays, I think if anything, it tell you how NOT to celabrate birthdays. Furthermore, there has never been a beheading at any birthday party I have been to or given.

  Another time she was trying to get me to stop questoning everything, and said, do you trust your husband? I said yea. She said "do you question everything he says." I said, "you better believe it! He isn't perfect he makes mistakes."

  Once she brought the PO or DO's wife, we were on the part about the 144000. I said how do you know that scripture is a literal number. Julie was all excited and looks at the sister that was with her and said..I told you she was an exciting study! The PO's wife said...We know the number is literal because it is mentioned twice. I gave her one of those looks...and said..um...alrighty then

  The last time they were here, I showed them the letter about the UN. The younger sister that comes with her, got mad and said why are you even studying? ...I looked at her all innocent and said..well I want to be sure of ALL THINGS. I could tell that they were visibly shaken and upset. (I did feel bad for them at this point)

  They never came back.
• 

  blondie

  Well, if your goal is really to get past their WT conditioning, I like stilla's approach because it uses a Bible account with principles that anyone can appreciate and understand whether they have a religious affiliation or not. It helps people to reason on the scriptures which really in a JW mind they claim is the basis of their beliefs.

  I will say that some of your comments seem to be said in jest to entertain on the board here, but I doubt you would use them if you were really concerned about the individual.

  Remember, folks, we were all fooled once.

  Blondie
• 

  zagor

  I was i sutuation several times while talking to "spiritually strong" where I had to stop asking question in order not to shake their faith. Some people can actually go nuts if they lose faith.
• 

  Room 215

  Er... tetrapod: I've no doubt you would have little trouble twisitng the run-of-the-mill JW and his/her prepackaged half-baked creationist argument into knots, but I'd temper your smugness a tad -- it isn't as though there aren't cogent, even compelling pro-ID arguments and articulate, well-qualified proponents in the scientific community out there fully capable of twisting you and your ilk into knots.

  So notwithstanding the billions of factoids written, spoken and hurled at the other side across the battlements -- and intellectual capital lavished (some might say squandered) -- on this subject, the unassailable fact is that the question eludes a definitive answer.
• 

  AK - Jeff

  I like stilla's approach

  Blondie - who is stilla? I can't put the name to any of the posters to this thread. Is this a person's name?

  Thanx Jeff
• 

  TheListener

  I like this thread.

  I have two comments:

  First, the witnesses are never prepared for service; beyond reading the current magazines (which they have to be reminded to do in service meeting parts) and carrying their reasoning books. I mean really the general feeling is that all you do is get not at homes so what is the point of gettin' all brainied up to do nothing. Most witnesses can only give the most basic answers to doctrines and may have to resort to the reasoning book to do that. In my opinion the reasoning book was a mistake - it has made the witnesses lazy.

  Second, I can think of nothing more frustrating than a study that really was interested and put time and effort into the study but just didn't agree with things. You expect someone not to agree the trinity is wrong during one study, but birthdays? come one how can they not get it!?! Even something like the 144,00 can be so frustrating for a witness when the trusted study just doesn't get the simplicity of the scriptures. 'See, one lamb and 144,000 others. All literal' - BaaaaaaaaBaaaaaaaaa

  I go the other route. I go to the doors and make the potential studies run away. I save them before they realize they need savin'.
• 

  blondie

  stillajwexelder

  the post right after yours
• 

  AK - Jeff

  Thanx Blondie - I was not looking for an abreviation I guess - too early in the morning I suppose.

  Jeff
• 

  AK - Jeff

  I go the other route. I go to the doors and make the potential studies run away. I save them before they realize they need savin'.

  Listener - you mean you go out in service and scare them away from the witness organization? Or you go to your door and scare the witnesses away?

  If you mean you are a clandestine apostate - I love that idea. I wish I had the guts to do that. But it would mean the whole thing about going back to meetings and so forth to show I should be out in the service - just can't go that far. Be careful though if you are a 'secret fader' and doing that. Someone will get wind of it and poof - you are on the outside looking inside.

  Jeff
• 

  HappyDad

  How would you assure that you could keep them a captive audience so that you made your point?

  
  

  
  I don't think you really could.

  About 1 out of 100 JW's would stand there and debate if they think they have some knowledge. The other 99% would high-tail it from your door like Speedy Gonzales because they don't know how to refute anything with the "rote" knowledge most of them have. They close their ears and minds in a matter of seconds when hearing anything contrary to what Brooklyn teaches them.

  HappyDad