The Ill Timed Visit

'They said they were Jehovah’s Witnesses
They know how to change people’s lives
Three American men in suits
And no sight of any wives'

I'm a Jehovah's Witness and I can tell you two things. We don't try going around changing people's lives because WE, as humans, don't have the power to ever truly do that. The reason we go and talk to people is simply to encourage them to read the Bible as it is a truly exceptional book with great wisdom as, in our belief, it is inspired by God.

I don't get the fourth line in that stanza. Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for being very family-oriented. My congregation alone consists mainly of smaller and larger families, so I don't understand what 'no sight of any wives' is meant to insinuate.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not being all defensive here, nor am I trying to impose anything on you. All I'm saying is- how can you make certain assumptions about a group of people that you don't really know?

Again, I really don't want this to stir anything up. I'm just showing you what it's like from a Jehovah's Witness point of view ;-)

Overall, this is actually an entertaining poem and I did enjoy reading it ;-)

Nathan.

'the world would be a better place if the parents had to eat the sprouts'

what can I say? I wrote a poem about doorstep converters who in my view have no right to impose their religious views on strangers.

Sorry if you found this piece offensive it was a personal view that's all.

Well, this is of course your personal opinion and I'm not questioning that. However, at least speaking for myself and fellow Jehovah's Witnesses, we certainly don't want to 'impose' our views on anybody. We are merely sharing our beliefs with others, because we genuinely feel the Bible has an enormous, positive effect on people. I apologise on behalf of anyone who may have spoken to you in a tactless way, maybe even 'imposing' their view o you. That happens occasionally. Again, most of the time, we just share a good word or two with others, but we respect others' right for making their own decisions. Unfortunately, though, we are all imperfect, so occasionally we make mistakes.

Anyways, I'm glad you replied. I think there's no point dragging this out, so I'll just say that I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.

Nathan ;-)

'the world would be a better place if the parents had to eat the sprouts'

Tactless isn't the right word it's the principle of assumption that because of what a religious convert believes therefore we should all believe. It's a 'my god is better than your god' attitude that eats at my soul.

You believe in your faith Nathan I have no problem with that it's the catch all theory that troubles me.

I've had countless debates with faith driven folk over the years and no one can convince me that their way is the true path.

Let me ask you this

Is all religion that is true to Jesus a left wing organisation (no)? Because surely Jesus was a socialist(as am I)?
Yet the right wing fundamentalists have stolen christianity as ther own and somehow the poor of the world are to blame for the capitalist devouring of this world. How can a banker do god's work?

Thanks for the compliments anyway

In our belief, all of spirituality boils down to the two greatest commandments given to us by Jesus himself:

'37 He said to him: “‘You must love Jehovah your God (New World Translation) with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.”'

The same commandment can be found in all other translations of the Bible in Mathew 22:37-40.

These two commandments motivate us to fulfil a task left for us by Jesus:

'19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”'

Matthew 28:19, 20.

This is basically why we do what we do and why Jehovah’s Witnesses carry out this task pretty much everywhere on earth. It really is as simple as that- Love for God and other people motivates us to go and speak to others about the Bible.

Thanks for an interesting question. I understand why in this world certain things are just hard to accept or believe in. Everyone makes their own decisions ;-)

'the world would be a better place if the parents had to eat the sprouts'

'Love for God and other people motivates us to go and speak to others about the Bible.'

And there it is! That complete belief that your way is the right way. And no doubt Mormons, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, sikhs etc all love their gods too and feel his/her word should be spread to the masses. The trouble is there isn't one god is there? (if there's any at all)and if any other religious group knocked on your door I doubt you would be persuaded to join up because you belong to a different order.

You refer to the Bible for guidance but what if the Bible is simply a work of philosophical fiction? How do you judge who's moral order is the right one? Am I the devils work because I don't believe? What are the politics of Jehovah's? You can't say that Jehovah's Witnesses are apolitical.

How can a parent refuse to allow a child a blood transfusion that could save their lives because the bible won't allow it? There has been plenty of coverage in the media and proven cases where this actually happened. To me that's a sin and moral dereliction and those parents should be prosecuted do you agree?

Being motivated for the love of people is a wonderful asset Nathan, being controlled by a specific religious faith that instructs you to tell complete strangers they should be part of your team isn't.

Feel free to have the last word but as I said I could talk for months on the subject of religion. Enjoy your life.

''Love for God and other people motivates us to go and speak to others about the Bible.'

And there it is! That complete belief that your way is the right way.'

Perhaps that is our belief, but at what point during this discussion did I IMPOSE or FORCE my beliefs on you, suggesting that you should believe in them also? At what point did I say- we are better than other Christians, Muslims, etc? If you can find me a quote where I say that I will put my hands up. The fact is, I didn't, and any Jehovah's Witness would tell you that the way we view people from other religions is in no way prejudiced or discriminatory and that really is true. Again, and I used this word a couple of times now, we don't 'impose' or 'convert' anybody, we simply 'share' what we believe in. Illustration: one person supports one football club and another supports a different one. After a match they exchange views about all that happened during the match, but does that mean that one individual is expecting the other to have the exact same opinion. Of course NOT! Why? They are merely exchanging or 'sharing' their views as their own, but not imposing them on the other person. I can assure you that when I go door to door, I don't think 'I'll convert the next person’ or 'My beliefs are better than his'. What I think is this 'I found a very positive or interesting scripture and I want to share it with you. How you view this scripture is completely up to you.'

That's just how it is.

BTW, there is something a lot of people don't know about Jehovah's Witnesses. 1. For us it is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to baptise babies or children at a very young age. Why? Because it is not our right to make THAT decision for them. The parents may raise the child as a Jehovah's Witness, but the decision to be baptised belongs only to the child as an individual when they are mature enough to make it on their own. 2. When somebody decides to get baptised they are asked a number of questions by the congregation elders. Why? Because the elders want to make sure that this person UNDERSTANDS their decision and that it was genuine, PERSONAL decision, rather than influenced by others.

Belief in God is supposed to be based on KNOWLEDGE, not some kind of manipulation by humans with authority.

'Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.' Hebrews 11:1

Such faith would not be possible if one had no knowledge of God. Perhaps the reason why certain people don't believe in the God is because they never tried learning about him to see whether any of it makes sense to them. Should assumptions about, for example, the Bible be made even though an individual doesn't really know it?

I don't understand this...

'You can't say that Jehovah's Witnesses are apolitical.'

...because we are apolitical. Jehovah's Witnesses are very clear on staying neutral on political matters. You will never see a faithful Jehovah's Witness going to war, or even voting for one political party over another.

The blood thing is a very extensive subject, but there are many scriptures in the Bible that indicate that any kind of unholy use of blood is a serious sin against God. I hope you won't mind that I won't go too far into this subject. Again, it is VERY extensive, but feel free to ask one of our brothers or sisters about it the next time you see them ;-) OR, if you feel like it, have a read of this http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article01.htm#accept – it explains our view on the issue of blood transfusion. I’m not asking you to believe in it or accept it. This is merely for information.

'Being motivated for the love of people is a wonderful asset Nathan, being controlled by a specific religious faith that instructs you to tell complete strangers they should be part of your team isn't.'

Even though I am raised as Jehovah's Witness, there was a time in my life when I pretty much wasn't. I did terrible things that even people that don't believe in God would frown at and I say this with honesty. The reason I threw all that away and decided to become a faithful Jehovah's Witness never had anything to do with 'control' or 'instruction'. Nobody ever made this decision for me and I would be extremely offended if they tried. It is the same when we go and speak to others about our faith. Of course we are delighted if somebody DECIDES to become a Jehovah's Witness, but if not, we're just as happy to simply have a chat about these matters, exchanging views. Just like me and you are having a simple discussion now. For me, this is a good thing. I don't feel attacked, or provoked, not even offended. Nor do I intend or think that you HAVE TO join us or at least believe in a God. I personally found this whole discussion very interesting and uplifting, because I was able to learn something about another individual's point of view. That's all.

You're right. We could talk about this for months. You have your convictions, I have mine. Is that a bad thing? Nope. I do enjoy my life; I hope you do too ;-)

Nathan.