When they knock on the door, I tell them to go away...if they refuse,
then my little dog with big teeth will assist them in finding their
way off my property. They better pray HARD that my dog doesn't find
their soft asses to sink his teeth into.






On 21 Jun 2005 04:01:49 -0000, er
(CamdenKing) wrote:

At the Door and Into the Home

It's a quiet Saturday afternoon. You're sitting in your favorite
chair, reading the newspaper. The doorbell rings. You answer it
and encounter two bright-faced people. They're well dressed, and
each carries a briefcase. For a moment you think they're going
to sell you life insurance, but they seem too cheerful for that.

You guess that they must be Jehovah's Witnesses, and sure enough
they start talking about a wondrous hope for the future. They
don't actually say they're Witnesses, but when one of them
whisks out a Bible you can see some copies of the Watchtower
magazine in his briefcase.

They ask you for your opinion of world events, and what you
think is going to happen if things continue to get worse. You
reflect that there are a lot of problems, and you do sometimes
wonder where it's leading. You invite them in to talk.

Now, normally you don't invite strangers into your home, but
these people seem harmless enough. You've heard about the
legendary honesty of Jehovah's Witnesses. You decide not to
worry about your possessions or your money.

There's something else you should worry about.


A Single Road to the Promised Land

Jehovah's Witnesses are trained to get people talking about "the
state of the world" and lead the discussion in such a way that
their religion will appear to be your only hope. If you are not
prepared for their indoctrination procedure, you may conclude
that only Jehovah's Witnesses can fill your life with meaning
and protect you from the trials and tribulations of life.

The first thing they do is cultivate your fear.

All of us are afraid of the unknown. What will happen tomorrow?
Will I be fired? What if there's a nuclear war? What if I get
sick? These 'what if' questions are the sparks that the
Witnesses will fan into a flame.

The Witnesses at your door have a purpose in mind: to convert
you to their religion. If you ask them point-blank if that is
their purpose, they will usually deny it. They will say that
they are there to discuss "the state of the world" or "the
Bible" or "a hope for the future". This evasiveness is
understandable; if they blatantly told people they were there to
convert them, they wouldn't get anybody to listen!

In building up your fear, Witnesses can cite countless
statistics to 'prove' that the world is in a dire state. Some of
their statements are true, some are out of date, and some are
wrong.

Anybody can inadvertently deliver incorrect data. The Witnesses,
however, deliver selective information designed to paint a
woeful picture. While there are many things wrong with the
world, there are many good things, too. Most of the people who
read this article live in better health -- and longer -- than
the richest king of ancient times.

Alongside their bleak picture of the future, the Witnesses
present an image of a glorious future, where you will live
forever in a paradise. This is very appealing, and it is hard
not to be tempted. We all yearn for a 'Garden of Eden', and many
people take regular vacations in exotic locales such as Hawaii
or Tahiti to sample a bit of the good life.

At a Disadvantage

How can you throw them out when they're offering you such a
splendid future? Why should you get angry? Wouldn't that be
rude? The Witnesses make the most headway with people who are
polite. Their entire ministry would fail if people were less
friendly to uninvited people knocking at their door.

I am not suggesting that you be nasty to people who visit you
unannounced. However, if you are planning to debate with
Witnesses, bear in mind that they are well trained. They have a
weekly meeting (the Theocratic Ministry School) which is
designed to help them express ideas convincingly. The average
person is not as well qualified to argue such matters.

Even if you are well educated and articulate, you are probably
not well versed in religious matters. Witnesses 'live, eat and
breathe' their religion and can devastate most people in a
debate. They know their doctrine very well, because they study
it continuously. They've been taught answers to virtually every
objection, which brings to mind the salesman's credo: "If you
can answer every objection, you'll make the sale".

If you can answer every objection, it does not mean that you are
right (or that the product you are selling is better than the
rest). It means that you are better at debates than the other
person. Confidence tricksters ply their trade by convincing
people that the seemingly impossible is in fact possible. (I am
not equating Witnesses with criminals, by the way, but
demonstrating the principle that "Cogency is not validity". What
seems too good to be true is usually not true.)

For all their skill, Witnesses are not invincible debaters. It
is possible to poke a hole in their rhetoric -- especially if
you are familiar with their doctrine, or have a good background
in the Bible, science, or history. In such cases, Witnesses will
subtly sidestep the issue. (This debating tactic, and others,
are described in the article "Debating with Jehovah's
Witnesses".)


Watch for part #2


-=-
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