Apologetics
Ray and I just got visited by the JW's. The older Asian man, dressed in a business suit, drove up to our house and brought his daughter with him this time. Last time it was Ruth and Ray who spoke to him, and they were each given a little booklet entitled 'Knowledge'.
Poor old Ray was in her pyjamas, and I thought she may need my support, so I raced downstairs to join the 'discussion'. "Hello Ruth", the man said to me.
He had come to tell us that the time of God's blessing was near. So I asked him if there would be times of disaster first... This was akin to getting out my can opener and passing him a can full of earthworms.
Apparently Jesus was crowned King in 1914, according to the spiritual realm or something.
Anyway the JW and I got into a big discussion, and after a while he stopped saying "thankyou for your opinion", or "good question"... and I excused myself for a moment, ran upstairs to get my bible, and came back to join the discussion.
By crikey he didn't like that. Within a moment he said to me "oh look, Rachel, I have to go, I have an appointment at 10 (it was about 1 minute to ten), can i come back this afternoon?" I said "I'm Michelle, and we're both going out", and he said "how about Monday?" Ray and I told him we had class, and he said "how about Monday evening"
A very persistant man.
I managed to get his phone number, but refused to give him mine, and he and his silent daughter drove away.
If anyone is keen on getting together sometime, going through the 'Knowledge' booklet, and refuting the bits that dont line up with the Bible and Christianity, let me know. I'm also interested in inviting the guy back sometime, and praying for 1/2 an hour beforehand so we're anointed, and then debating with him...
Any interest?
8 Comments:
Sounds like a plan... you must have new JW's. The ones that visited us (every week for like 3 or 4 weeks!!) when I was in 7th form were a lot more bolshy and didn't even let us open our mouths to speak, they just wouldn't shut up. You couldn't even shut the door in their faces, even when you were trying to leave because you were running late for something because they just wouldn't... OK gonnna take a breath. Yeah. We can smite 'em :D I mean... "show them the love of Jesus" ;)
Why do you so want to debate with him? If to show Christian love, you'd be better off just giving him a cup of tea.
On the other hand, if you're trying to "prove him wrong," I'm not sure that that's a real good spirit to talk to someone with. If you're not open to what he has to say (and I imagine you're not) then "debating with him" is in fact just an attempt to make him agree with your point of view.
I'd call that interpersonal violence, and I'd say it's not a very effective *or* Christian way to go about things. And he'll be trying to do exactly the same thing, which makes it even more pointless and graceless than some of the flamewars on Nathan's blog.
But hey... if it's out of love...
Aah Matt, why indeed I will offer him a cup of tea...
I'm not trying to "prove him wrong", just to make him open to another point of view. Although in saying that, he is completely wrong.
It probably is pointless, but at least it will strengthen my evidence for my own faith, and I know he's coming back at some stage, so the least i can do is be prepared.
Oh yeah, and Christina, you're right... he didn't like it when I tried to talk, especially when he tried to butt in and i just kept talking.
Oh and Matt, I figure if we turn take (like with the hare krishna guy that time) and i ask a question to him, and he asks one to me, then at least its fair. I managed (lovingly) to show the hare krishna guy that he didn't have much evidence for his faith, and that he had some big disillusions about Christianity.
I guess we all have our areas in which we feel successful... and maybe one of mine is talking with others who are on the wrong path.
i spose i should add that i'm not one of those arrogant people, who act like 'i'm the only one who's got the true religion'..
i prefer to try and make the other person find their own holes in their religion..
and generally i'm willing to hear what they have to say =)
You should come door knocking sometime, Matt, and i'll test my strategy on you and you can evaluate it ;)
look just wanna say, when I said "We can smite 'em I mean show them the love of Jesus" I was, in fact, joking. JW's annoy the [insert expletive] out of me, wouldn't mind comparing differences though.
according to the pocket guide to the apocalypse, my new favorite book, the JWs have a history of predicting the second coming of Jesus, and when he does a no show claiming he was invisible and you had to be truely spiritual to see him......
....I think 1914 was about the 5th or 6th time they claimed that......
come over for a cup of tea and read the book.... it's really funny...
I was given a little booklet by some JW's a while back which I've also gone through and sorted out what I believe and what parts of their beliefs are just wierd - it's a really good exercise to do I think!! : )
I'd be keen to go through stuff maybe - but not talking to the guy, I'm honeslty terrible at that - I can't get a comprehensible train of thought going!! : )
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