Why solicit Religion?

[justhangn]

Originally posted by Heretic
Answer the door in the nude and they will usually leave you alone.

I came to the door shirtless, with my fingers in such a fasion, telling them that Satan loved them. They almost fell off of the porch retreating to their van, screaming scriptures from their book.

They have yet to be back.

 

[RoseRed]

Originally posted by justhangn
I came to the door shirtless, with my fingers in such a fasion, tellign them that Satan loved them. They almost fell off of the porch retreating to their van, screaming scriptures from there book.

They have yet to be back.

and blast Running with the Devil by Van Halen and a Budweiser in hand at 7am. Get's some very strange looks!

 

[pilot]

I think that the thing that would bother me most is just the fact that they came to my HOME. I find that to be very intrusive--and that's true, no matter what they're selling.

In this particular case, the fact that they wouldn't leave even after you told them you weren't interested was incredibly rude. Again, what they're selling is irrelevant.

I work with several people who are religious Christians who have invited me to their churches on occasion. I don't have a problem with that, especially since they didn't push when I said "No thanks". To me, that's the appropriate way to prostlytize (sp?).

 

[jeneisen]

Pilot, I totally agree with you. I can remember another time they came to the door, it was about 830 at night. I was sick, so I was in my PJ's and I didn't feel well. I could barely speak and I looked awful and they still proceeded to push it on me. I am considering putting a no soliciting sign in my yard. It might look tacky but it takes care of the problem.

 

[jazz lady]

What I found disturbing was Jehovah's Witnesses visited my brand-new house BEFORE I even officially moved into it and they left pamphlets on the porch. You cannot see my house from the road and the mailbox wasn't up yet. Almost made me feel like I was being stalked.

I do not have a problem saying no - gently but firmly. If they continue after that, I also have no problem shutting the door in their faces. No means NO - what part of that didn't they understand?

 

[Toxick]

Originally posted by jazz lady
I do not have a problem saying no - gently but firmly. If they continue after that, I also have no problem shutting the door in their faces.

Jehovah's Witnesses are the easiest people in the world to get rid of. This method is assured to work 100%.

Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to talk to apostates.
So, you just have to say:

"Please, come in, I used to be a Jehovah's Witness.
I have a lot of things to explain, do you want to know why I left the church?"


Instant Gone.

 

[willie]

Toxick
Loud and Obnoxious

 

[tlatchaw]

I can see two sides to this coin. First off, who wants to be bothered by door-to-door salespeople of any kind? They're the grandparents of the obnoxious telemarketers that we all signed the "do not call" list for. If you have a firm religious belief, politely state and ask them to leave. If they literally have a foot in the door, remind them that what they are doing is breaking and entering of you home and that you'll call the cops on them. If they still won't leave you be, thats when dogs/cops/kids can be sicced on them.

Flip side is a certain empathy I feel for anyone brave enough in their faith to take a minute to tell you why they feel the way that they do. Think about it - from their perspective they care enough no to tell you to "go to hell." Which is literally what they would be saying if they didn't share their faith with you.

For those of you who think I might be some zealot, please consider this story from my past: When I was a college sophomore I took a minute to speak with a Hare Krishna one day about why he was doing the drum and orange robe routine. We were very rudely interrupted by a small group of bible thumpers that gently pulled me away from the Krishna and asked if I didn't believe in Jesus while their leader unzipped his bible and began loudly to literally smack the pages of scripture and loudly tear into the Krishna fellow. What a turn off. I asked the young lady on my arm whether she felt that Jesus would talk to the Krishna or yell at him and she had no good answer. In the meanwhile the Krishna fellow started carrying on in whiny and sarcastic tones that he was a sinner and needed forgiveness. The whole scene made me sick.

So what's my point? Pick your times to talk to others about your faith. Do so carefully and with the love of the Lord in your heart. If you come banging on my door and I'm not in the mood, my message is thanks for caring and let me alone. Don't be obnoxious because you'lll drive people away from your faith, whatever it is.

End of soapbox. thanks for listening.

 

[RodRugg]

Whew! One time there was these people and they came to our door and they was from the Church of Later Saints and my grandma went NUTS! They was tryin to tell my grandma about some planet people go to when they die and about secret underwear and about how Jesus ain't God. My grandma just started screaming Bible verses at them until she couldn't breathe. All the neighbors came out and were looking. My grandma kicked the screen door right off the hinges with her bare feet, leaped off the porch and kicked one of them right off of their bicycle. She said if they ever came back she would kick them til they stood face-to-face with the Devil. My dad had to tackle her in the yard and hold her til she calmed down. That kid sure looked scared and he almost got his head kicked off. I saw him later on selling candy bars for Little League but he didn't bother coming to our house.

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by Frank
I'm only bothered if they try to pass judgment on me and tell me I'm hell-bound. Otherwise, they're no worse than kids selling Girl Scout cookies or someone stumping for a political candidate. I don't know why people get so upset about religion. If they went door to door telling you about Zen Buddhism or Taoism, I think a lot of people would stop and listen out of curiosity. If they were Jews proselytizing, I think some might be curious, or even if they were Muslims, I think people might ask questions. Why is it that if it's Christian, do people get all upset over it? Geez, most people don't even go to church at all - why is it such a big deal if someone advertises about it?

Good point, Frank. I think you answered your own question with your first sentence. My perception is that most of the door-to-door Christians do pull the "you're going to hell because you don't believe what we believe" crap. It gets people upset because it comes across as "Ha ha, we're going to heaven and you're not!"

 

[darkriver4362]

I really threatened to turn loose Roofus (my 130 lb lesbian female yellow lab) if they didn't leave, they are so persistant *Jahova's Witnesses* When they identify themselves be like, I didn't witness nothin...I'd like to witness you getting the f*ck away from me.

 

[SamSpade]

Originally posted by Tonio
Good point, Frank. I think you answered your own question with your first sentence. My perception is that most of the door-to-door Christians do pull the "you're going to hell because you don't believe what we believe" crap. It gets people upset because it comes across as "Ha ha, we're going to heaven and you're not!"

Not always (BTW - SamSpade is just "Frank at work"). I had some folks come to my door, and all they wanted to was invite me, let me know it was *there*. Of course, they did also want to get to know me, yada-yada. It turns out I was thinking about joining a church. I took their card, and a year later, I went. One time. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for either.

I know all about this - this was my daily routine for close to ten years. Yeah, the friendship angle may be just a come-on to wangle your way into their life, but the fact is, I thought I was helping people. When people said 'no', we took it at that. *Sometimes* we'd press if our gut instinct told us 'no' meant 'not right now'.

YES, we thought we were saving souls. But if you really grasp the point of Christianity, it's not a judgment on your character. Your average person buys into a works mentality that says "you're going to hell because you're WICKED" when that's not true. Goodness or badness hasn't a thing to do with salvation. If it did, we'd ALL be screwed. It has to do with how good Jesus is, because we all start our lives headed to hell to begin with. That's why it's "salvation".

It doesn't help anyone's case to say "yeah, I'm a Christian, I'm saved, please get the hell off my property, a**hole!" because truth be told, you couldn't possibly be Christian any more than you are Santa Claus. Christians don't treat their brethren that way.

So if you're NOT a Christian, I can understand why they're annoying. But consider this - if you ARE a Christian - and THEY are - isn't the Christian thing to do is to welcome them into your home? They're fellow believers. And if you think YOU are - and they aren't - isn't it STILL the Christian thing to do, to welcome them in?

I do the one thing I can do, and wish done to me, should I be in their shoes, because I *was* in their shoes. Thank them politely, and wish them well, and say no thank you. If they press further, they don't have your best interests in mind.

 

[darkriver4362]

When they come back every other Sunday, and even week nights, I tend to lose my temper easier since they are the same friggin group of people.

 

[Kirsten]

Hey I am not a Christian, not even close, but my mother raised me properly. I politely say no thank you, have a nice day and close the door. If they keep coming back I get a little firmer and usually drop the Have a nice day. And I admit I have a big ferocious looking mutt of a dog that if they keep showing up I usually bring with me to the door.

But in the original case that was posted a year and a half ago, I think I would have been blunt and probably rude when they don't get the hint of you not being interested.

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by Kirsten
Hey I am not a Christian, not even close, but my mother raised me properly. I politely say no thank you, have a nice day and close the door.

We're teaching our children to say "please" and "thank you" from a very early age. Our goal is to never fall back on "Because I said so," but instead to be both firm and honest.

Getting back to this thread, that's what I never liked about the doctrinaire part of religion. So much of it is "Because I said so," with the assumption that humans are not capable of responsible behavior.

 

[BadGirl]

It's as simple as this: if I wanted information on a particular religion, I have several means to get it:

(1) visit any one of the churches in the community;
(2) speak to any friends who have made their religious convictions known;
(3) go through the phone book and research different religions without ever leaving the comfort of my own home; or
(4) research on-line any religious group that catches your eye, still again in the comfort of my own home.

Churches are the ones that should have an Open Door Policy. But not my house - unless I initiate it.

 

[darkriver4362]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Warron]

I've noticed an interesting trend when the religion pushers come to my door. Every single time it has been an older woman doing the talking with a younger (upper teen) female just standing in the background. I used to think that the teen was just there to see how it was done or some such, but after about the 5th visit with this same style (different people every time), I am starting to think that they are trying to suggest the social possibilities of joining their church. It wouldn't really surprise me if this is the case. I usually just tell them that I am not interested and close the door though.

 

[SamSpade]

We DID do something LIKE that. We would try to pair men and women, and if possible, a kid. The idea was, we're not some weird group where everyone is the same age or race. You know, it never occurred to me that someone might interpret that as "if you come to OUR church, this is the kind of babe y'all be sitting next to". Never occurred to me. But yes, sometimes the mix of ages is intentional, and yes, sometimes a more experienced door-knocker will bring along a newbie to show them the ropes.

 

[Hessian]

I've never done door to door...

I believe our church invites guests to fill out a welcome card and if they check the box"I would like to hear more..." then somebody will call and schedule a visit. Most of the time a kindly pastoral letter says "Thanks for visiting..."
There ar some in my church who are major tract pushers but they do not wish to offend so they back off if faced with an abrupt NO.

My neighbor is devoted JW but he is so screwed up from Vietnam, Drugs, or Racism that he's almost incoherent when trying to push his quirky version of the Bible.

My POINT: Times have seriously changed....I feel sorry for those churches that have to send out the pairs weekly or even the ones that promote the annual "REVIVAL" tent meetings which likely should have faded away in the 1940's.

I would much rather see churches reaching out with socials, sponsoring community events, picnics, and filling in where people slip through the cracks (IE "Christmas Angel" gifts for families of prisoners,...help for families of service personel based overseas...help for teen pregnancy crisis centers.--that is where faith converts into action.)
I tutored in a Max sec. prison for four years....not the Bible either...just GED prep-it was worth it.