BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Pagan when JWs come knocking...

As some of you know I was raised in the Jehovah's Witness cult and left at age 34. Unless you have been "in" you really don't know what it is like to live that life. The next time JWs knock on your door and want to share the "good news" of a paradise earth and everlasting life with you, please do not encourage them. Instead ask them if they would let their child die rather than accept a blood transfusion. Ask them if someone decides to leave JWs will they be shunned and cut off from friends and family as if they are dead? Then turn them politely away and pray (or whatever you do) for them.

(Please read this former JW's story. Have some tissues handy.


Ruth's story:

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I'm sorry for your experience LadyLvsNyt and the experience of Ruth. I'm actually writing an article for the site regarding recognizing cultish behavior.

However, as a member of a minority religion myself I cannot in good conscience call them a cult without more evidence than a website since Pagans are often referred to in such a way.

I don't believe they should proselytize from door to door, but it is part of their belief system. It is part of my belief system to shut the door in their face. To each their own.

I learned the hard way that if you are polite to JW's they keep coming back. So now I just flash my pentacle tattoo and they leave....permanently!

I still try to not be rude, but if you come to MY house, INTERRUPT me in what I'm doing, and then try to cram YOUR beliefs down my throat, I think you're setting yourself up for a rude response. We all know where to find them if we're interested, if we're not coming to them I wish they would leave us alone.

I agree Helen. One woman years ago came to my apartment and I told her I wasn't interested. A few days later she came up to my car while I was going to work and knocked on the window. I told her to leave me alone and nearly ran over her (not on purpose, not consciously anyway).

But a tattoo is a good idea. I was putting off getting one because of finances. I was going to get a horned god on my back, but now you make me want to put it on my shoulder to be easily flashed to types like that...lol.

Dear Trish,
I do not lightly call JWs a cult or do so out of a sense of vengeance. They ARE a dangerous cult according to the "Advanced Bonewits' Cult Danger Evaluation Frame" or ABCDEF. Here is a pagan website that features this professional tool and explains how it works:

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and the only way a JW won't talk to you is if you admit to having been one and left--usually resulting in a disfellowshipping(I just left was not DFd)or a disassociating(offically writing a letter of separation--I did not do that either--why play by their rules?) and then becoming apostate (teaching against them--me!)
however--you can request of the person at your door that they make a note on the Territory Card/Map that your address be considered a "Do Not Call" or you can call a Kingdom Hall and ask for an elder and make the same request. Then it is still iffy-sometimes the publishers who knock on your door do not actually have the territory card with them but were just given a street to work. And every 2 or 3 years they are instructed to ask you if you still feel the same way--in case you moved and it is someone new there.
otherwise, in the US, JWs won the right to knock on your door in the Supreme Court and they are very proud of that. and they are taught not to take NO for an answer. Pentagrams and black robes didn't chase me away. I even had a guy answer the door naked. I gave Watchtowers to priests! I was tenacious. I grew up on stories of the old timers sticking their foot in the doors!
Ravyn

Ravyn,

I have been very well aware of Isaac Bonewits� cult danger evaluation for quite some time and plan on referencing it in my article. On his website even he admits it is flawed. His new version (2.6 or 2.7 depending on which part of his page you look at) is slightly different than the one you posted. Here it is:

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I have several friends who are JWs, but they do not preach to me. And living in the south, everyone seems to think they can leave their religious propaganda on your car, mailbox, front door, whatever. When they knock I tell them that jesus is a lovely story book myth. I then point to the no proselytizing sign on the front door and tell them to be glad my 6' atheist husband wasn't home to answer the door.

I hate getting the glossy "To Current Occupant" flyers from churches. I can't help but think how expensive those are to get printed, and how the money could go to a better use than trying to get me to convert to a religion that I will never convert to. Or to at least come to their church, which I won't do because I prefer my back yard, the beach, the State Parks, etc... It's just such a waste when they could do some humanitarian work with that money instead... :p

I lived in a town in rural eastern TN that allowed a Revival Tent to set up in the Walmart parkinglot and you had to go thru the tent to get into the store. It was like running a gauntlet! This same town's restaurants accepted various church coupons that they gave out with altar calls! And I had a seriously ill kitten and I was calling to find a vet that could help me on a moments notice and the vet actually asked me which church I attended before he would save my kitten! (I lied to save the kitty's life.)
But JWs are consistent in their proselytizing all over the USA, these other churches it was just in the South. I suspect it might also be in the Mid-west, but I don't know.
Ravyn

I live in the UK and occasionally get Jehovah's Witnesses at the door here. I usually just tell them politely that I'm not interested, and they do go away. Maybe it's different in the UK though.

Quoted:"I learned the hard way that if you are polite to JW's they keep coming back. So now I just flash my pentacle tattoo and they leave....permanently!"

I used to have an every-weekend issue with Mormons and JWs at my door. I realize that they believe what they are doing is right, but I feel violated to have my time and energies wasted with something I'm not inteested in. (I'd feel the same way about a cobra salesman -- just not interested, try next door.)

Luckily, my altar is set up in the living room, perfectly visible to anyone at the front door. The sight of Cernunnons the Horned God usually prompts a quick about-face. Problem solved.

I've had the same interaction as Gillian. I have asked that they not return and usually they listen. It was the out of towners who were either new to the area or didn't know better that showed up. On those, I would simply answer the door in a towel (that i conveniently grabbed on the way to the door) or my underwear. Seeing a fat man in his undies did the trick. They haven't really returned since then LOL

Now the Giddeons.. they are anoying

Jase! You had me rolling on the floor with this one!!! HA HA HA!!!

The JWs don't bother me.... I had a really nice group stop by many years ago. They had a little boy about my boys age, and they played together. The mom asked me if we could talk about the bible. I said "sure!" Then I promptly asked her where the stories of Lucifer came from because I couldn't find them - and I thought that Satan was a whole different character indeed LOL! She said "are you mocking me?" I said "No, seriously, check it out" and I pointed to her bible. She flipped through it for a few moments and then looked at me and said "So, you said you homeschool your kids, right? How's that going?"

We then got into a discussion of homeschooling that lasted about 10 minutes and then she left. After that I'd see her and her family occasionally walking up our street. We'd always wave at each other, but she never came back to my home.

I recently had some come to our house (we haven't seen any in years and years) and I said "would you give me your blessing brother?"

As they can't, they told me to have a nice day and left.

I think all religions have their good points and their bad points. It just depends on what extreme someone takes it to. I think fundementalism in any religion takes the beauty away.

LadyLvsNyt,

This is a sad and terrible story that's nothing short of a tragedy. I couldn't even finish reading it....

I have a cousin raised as a Christian Scientist who lost an eye because his parents refused medical treatment. He's still a CS that I know of.

well Deanna it turned out as good as it could be for the mother and two brothers in that they were able to break free and leave. Of course they will always have a void there losing their brother, but they do not have to fear living under those conditions any more.
and yes I agree with you--it is the extremism that ruins the beauty (of anything).

Ravyn

I have glass panes around my front door...stuck inside the edges around the glass I have 3 upside down stars.. they are tin stars I had on the yule tree and just stuck them up there to see what would happen...I haven't had any show up.

As far as propaganda...my husband has gone so far as to write letters back to them about the rudeness of littering our house. He has also dropped off copies of Sam Harris' book "End of Faith" on churches doorsteps.

We are on the local chapter's "Do Not Call" list. I had an extremely bad experience with a JW situation after hiring an employee that was a JW. I hired her at work then she in time found a way to have her girlfriend come over to my house and before I knew it I was studying with this woman. My husband warned her that she better not have intentions of converting me. She assured him she didn't. But several months later, they started using control tactics on me and wheeling me in. They told me my artwork was unchristian and should be destroyed - so I destroyed it. I threw away my cruxifices in the house. They then told me that God would send me messages. One afternoon I found a rolled up page from the book "The Exorcist" in a hole in my front lawn. They had me convinced at that point that I was demonized. I wrote a 7 page letter to the Catholic Church and at that point I was mad at my own religion. Then they told me it was time to divorce my husband because he wouldn't leave the Catholic Church. He threw the woman out of our house (not literally). After that I had a nervous breakdown at work and guess who got my job? Yep, my JW employee that I hired on a good reference from my husband.

One day when I was home someone came to the house and put a JW flyer on my door last year. I went into a state of rage and ran outside and clipped it under their windshield wiper.

I have complete respect for all people and all religions and I only ask that people respect me the same.

I knew a guy in the '60's that opened the door to the JW's and stood there naked aiming a bow and arrow at them while screaming, "Whaddaya Want??" at the top of his lungs.