Odë:hgöd
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 1,538
- Age
- 80
- Gender
- Male
- Religious Affiliation
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
- Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
- Yes
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Should it be decided to go head to head with Watchtower Society missionaries,
here's some useful tips passed on by Pete, the ex Jehovah's Witness mentioned at
the first.
1) Round up a copy of the Watchtower Society's "New World Translation of the
Bible" and its "Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures." Sometimes
these are available in thrift stores like Good Will and Salvation Army. Both are
available online from amazon dot com.
For some useful insights into a variety of Jehovah's Witness teachings, the little
brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures" is a must-have. It's available
online too. Be sure to get the Watchtower Society's version instead of another book
by the same name authored by a different agency.
2) Do not let these people get personal with you. You must never ever assume they
are your friends because first and foremost their primary interest is in making you a
life-long slave to the Watchtower Society. You can be courteous and you can be
civil, but it's highly recommended that you not let them into your life.
3) Do not accept their literature. They will want to come back later and discuss it
with you; thus taking control of both your thinking and the meeting.
4) Don't let them get too far into their spiel, but at the first opportunity begin
introducing your own questions; thus denying them control of the conversation.
5) Do not debate. You're not a salesman pushing a product, nor a recruiter, nor a
candidate running for an elected office: you're not on a quota, you're not out to win
anything, nor are you required to win-- you're a herald; viz: a messenger. Your
information is best presented as a second opinion for them to think about; and
that's all. No hammering and no pressuring.
The goal is to show missionaries that the Society's isn't the only expert opinion out
there. In other words: the Watchtower Society's interpretations aren't the only
option; nor are theirs eo ipso the right interpretations just because their Governing
Body says so.
6) Avoid getting embroiled in trivial issues like birthdays, Easter, Christmas,
Christmas trees, the design and construction of the wooden device upon which
Christ was crucified, saluting the flag, service in the military, and that sort of thing.
There are much bigger fish to fry than those.
The No.1 issue on their minds when they come to your door will likely be Jehovah's
kingdom, in particular, the portion of His kingdom to be on Earth.
7) Make them listen and pay attention to what you say even if you have to repeat
yourself to do it, or clap your hands, snap your fingers, or raise your voice. Do not
let them digress, change the subject, go off on a tangent, nor get distracted and/or
turn their attention elsewhere while you're speaking. If they start digging through
their bags, shuffling papers, tinkering with their tablets, or looking up a reference;
call them on it because there is no use in speaking when their minds are elsewhere
engaged.
8) Do not permit them to interrupt you and/or talk out of turn. Politely, but firmly,
insist that they hold their peace until you've said your piece.
9) Do not permit them to evade and/or circumvent difficult questions. They
sometimes say that they will have to confer with someone more knowledgeable.
When they do that, the meeting is over. Thank them politely for their time and then
ask them to leave and come back when they have the information. Do not let them
stay and start a new topic of their own.
10) Do not react and/or respond to ad hominems, which can be defined as a logical
fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive,
qualifications and/or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons
associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument
itself. They will most likely challenge your qualifications, especially your credibility
with the Greek and Hebrew languages, so be prepared for that.
11) These people undergo hour upon hour of training to refute standard Christian
doctrines, so it's very important to show them the Bible not only in ways they've
already seen, but also in ways they've never imagined.
It is my personal opinion that it's not a good idea to attempt to evangelize a
Watchtower missionary as I can just about guarantee that most experienced JWs
are better at evangelizing you than you are them. If you think that your own gospel
message is some sort of silver bullet; you'll find out right quick that their silver
bullets are quite likely bigger than yours.
_
Should it be decided to go head to head with Watchtower Society missionaries,
here's some useful tips passed on by Pete, the ex Jehovah's Witness mentioned at
the first.
1) Round up a copy of the Watchtower Society's "New World Translation of the
Bible" and its "Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures." Sometimes
these are available in thrift stores like Good Will and Salvation Army. Both are
available online from amazon dot com.
For some useful insights into a variety of Jehovah's Witness teachings, the little
brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures" is a must-have. It's available
online too. Be sure to get the Watchtower Society's version instead of another book
by the same name authored by a different agency.
2) Do not let these people get personal with you. You must never ever assume they
are your friends because first and foremost their primary interest is in making you a
life-long slave to the Watchtower Society. You can be courteous and you can be
civil, but it's highly recommended that you not let them into your life.
3) Do not accept their literature. They will want to come back later and discuss it
with you; thus taking control of both your thinking and the meeting.
4) Don't let them get too far into their spiel, but at the first opportunity begin
introducing your own questions; thus denying them control of the conversation.
5) Do not debate. You're not a salesman pushing a product, nor a recruiter, nor a
candidate running for an elected office: you're not on a quota, you're not out to win
anything, nor are you required to win-- you're a herald; viz: a messenger. Your
information is best presented as a second opinion for them to think about; and
that's all. No hammering and no pressuring.
The goal is to show missionaries that the Society's isn't the only expert opinion out
there. In other words: the Watchtower Society's interpretations aren't the only
option; nor are theirs eo ipso the right interpretations just because their Governing
Body says so.
6) Avoid getting embroiled in trivial issues like birthdays, Easter, Christmas,
Christmas trees, the design and construction of the wooden device upon which
Christ was crucified, saluting the flag, service in the military, and that sort of thing.
There are much bigger fish to fry than those.
The No.1 issue on their minds when they come to your door will likely be Jehovah's
kingdom, in particular, the portion of His kingdom to be on Earth.
7) Make them listen and pay attention to what you say even if you have to repeat
yourself to do it, or clap your hands, snap your fingers, or raise your voice. Do not
let them digress, change the subject, go off on a tangent, nor get distracted and/or
turn their attention elsewhere while you're speaking. If they start digging through
their bags, shuffling papers, tinkering with their tablets, or looking up a reference;
call them on it because there is no use in speaking when their minds are elsewhere
engaged.
8) Do not permit them to interrupt you and/or talk out of turn. Politely, but firmly,
insist that they hold their peace until you've said your piece.
9) Do not permit them to evade and/or circumvent difficult questions. They
sometimes say that they will have to confer with someone more knowledgeable.
When they do that, the meeting is over. Thank them politely for their time and then
ask them to leave and come back when they have the information. Do not let them
stay and start a new topic of their own.
10) Do not react and/or respond to ad hominems, which can be defined as a logical
fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive,
qualifications and/or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons
associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument
itself. They will most likely challenge your qualifications, especially your credibility
with the Greek and Hebrew languages, so be prepared for that.
11) These people undergo hour upon hour of training to refute standard Christian
doctrines, so it's very important to show them the Bible not only in ways they've
already seen, but also in ways they've never imagined.
It is my personal opinion that it's not a good idea to attempt to evangelize a
Watchtower missionary as I can just about guarantee that most experienced JWs
are better at evangelizing you than you are them. If you think that your own gospel
message is some sort of silver bullet; you'll find out right quick that their silver
bullets are quite likely bigger than yours.
_