HELP!! Here come the God Botherers.

[buddha]

I used to enjoy a chat with Jehova's, Baptists etc. Of course we'd never agree on the fundamentals, but it was good to have a friendly religion/politics discussion on the doorstep - especially as most people these days seem to avoid these subjects in convesation.

However, one day the usual fella came along accompanied by their regional, pushy 'leader'. Eventually he said something (I can't remember what), and I made the 'mistake' of quoting a passage from his bible that contradicted what he said. Suddenly he went bright red and said something along the lines of "You are the Devil! I'm not coming here again!"

Not seen them since.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

no fairies in the Bible, sorry to disappoint...

umm, the sodomites…?

 

[Jezston]

Once I was having lunch, sitting under a tree in Green Park and there was no one around. Suddenly I hear a voice saying "excuse me" and I look up and as if out of nowhere there are two guys standing above me, identical twins, dressed in 1950s style outfits - brown slacks, white shirts and thick rimmed glasses. They ask me if I'd like to talk to them about God. I say I'm happy with my beliefs, thank you, and they move on.

It was like something out of a David Lynch movie.

 

[Jezston]

Also, could anyone fill out the following survey?

How would you define your religious beliefs?

[ ] Christian
[ ] Jewish
[ ] Islam
[ ] Hindu
[ ] Bhuddist
[ ] Athiest
[ ] Other
[ ] None

If you tick 'none', then you're cool. If, however, you ticked 'Athiest' then you are an incorrigable douchebag and need to realise that all your hateful ranting about religion and how it is the root of all evil, the cause of all the ills in the world, that it needs to be got rid of and anyone who believes in it is at least an idiot and at worst a threat, makes you NO BETTER than the militant religious zealots you hate.

 

[barbie]

Last weekend I had been sunbathing and had come in to get a drink of water when the doorbell rang. I peered through the blinds and saw it was 2 jehova's (blokes). I answered the door as I was-topless.

I greeted them with my biggest smile and watched them turn 30 shades of red whilst the one stammered a greeting and eventually offered me a copy of his paper. I declined of course , but have to say I thoroughhly enjoyed making their day!

 

[swee'pea99]

Also, could anyone fill out the following survey?

How would you define your religious beliefs?

[ ] Christian
[ ] Jewish
[ ] Islam
[ ] Hindu
[ ] Bhuddist
[ ] Athiest
[ ] Other
[ ] None

If you tick 'none', then you're cool. If, however, you ticked 'Athiest' then you are an incorrigable douchebag and need to realise that all your hateful ranting about religion and how it is the root of all evil, the cause of all the ills in the world, that it needs to be got rid of and anyone who believes in it is at least an idiot and at worst a threat, makes you NO BETTER than the militant religious zealots you hate.

Um...'atheist' simply means ' don't believe in the existence of god'. It doesn't mean "ranting about religion and how it is the root of all evil, the cause of all the ills in the world, that it needs to be got rid of and anyone who believes in it is at least an idiot and at worst a threat". That's all in your head. Good luck in there...

 

[martint235]

I just tell them the truth - I am a Catholic

I was brought up Catholic. Went to Catholic schools, learnt the Gospels word for word etc. When the Jehovah's Witnesses come around I invite them in for a coffee. Between school and my parents I picked up a fair bit of theological knowledge supplemented by some extra voluntary reading on other faiths. I find the JW's usually have somewhere important to be after 15 mins or so and then I don't see them again until the next lot of newbies have joined.

 

[BenScoobert]

Nothing like a good religious thread to bring out passionate posts :-)

I used to get JW knocking at my old house, they stood there in the pi** pouring rain, a father and his son of about 8 years old, I just replied with "that boy should be playing out" and shut the door.
A couple of years later I met a JW guy and a sandwich van I frequented, told him about my encounter and he said he enjoyed doing that as a kid.....go figure.

My friend's Mum just calls the dogs when they knock, "lucifer, belzebub, see em off"

As for the posts about Atheists being the cause etc etc, take a long hard look in the mirror, I've never heard so much drivvle.

I am an atheist, as far as commen sense goes I see there is no God, supreme being, tooth fairy, santa, unicorns, minators, etc. However, I'd like to be wrong, because life is short and I think it would be great if there is more to come, but sadly I think there isn't.

My wife is a Buddhist, they make a lot of sense and just accept evolution and new findings. They don't presume we knew everything 2000 years ago and can't change because "it is written".

That said, life is still too short to waste it praying, think of the extra miles you could get in ;-)

 

[ArDee]

Just tell them you already have an imaginary friend.

 

[ChrisKH]

I was brought up Catholic. Went to Catholic schools, learnt the Gospels word for word etc. When the Jehovah's Witnesses come around I invite them in for a coffee. Between school and my parents I picked up a fair bit of theological knowledge supplemented by some extra voluntary reading on other faiths. I find the JW's usually have somewhere important to be after 15 mins or so and then I don't see them again until the next lot of newbies have joined.

I find that pretty unusual. My experience of Catholicism is they are more interested in the act of Mass, prayer, stations of the cross, etc. as opposed to Scripture which is just trotted out once a week. Now had you said the Baptists I could wholeheartedly agree. Got a shield in Bible reading once when I memorised the miracles of Jesus over a period of 12 weeks during bi-weekly meetings with our preacher. Never did me any harm <shudders involuntarily>.

 

[benb]

Religion should be a personal thing, whether people believe or not. I find all evangelical groups (and anti-religious equivalents) troubling, as if you are so sure that your view of the world is right, then you by default believe that anyone who has a different view is wrong.

(my bold)

You're right, it should be, so why do they insist on pushing it down everyone else's throats. I don't go around trying to convert people to atheism.

I'm an agnostic (the true basic position for a human, not knowing whether a God or Gods exist or not) even though I regularly attend a church. I'm still searching, and it may be that there is no divine being, but to dismiss the possibility that such an entity exists and ridicule or denigrate those who do is as intolerant as the evangelicals, and also lacking the same scientific vigour that many atheists would use to support their non-religious view.

Would you say the same about people who dismiss the possibility of Santa, unicorns, or invisible pink dragons?
I don't "dismiss the possibility": I demand supporting evidence for claims
no evidence = no belief

 

[martint235]

I find that pretty unusual. My experience of Catholicism is they are more interested in the act of Mass, prayer, stations of the cross, etc. as opposed to Scripture which is just trotted out once a week. Now had you said the Baptists I could wholeheartedly agree. Got a shield in Bible reading once when I memorised the miracles of Jesus over a period of 12 weeks during bi-weekly meetings with our preacher. Never did me any harm <shudders involuntarily>.

We didn't particularly study (as in discuss and understand), we literally memorised whole sections of the Gospel. There would be a weekly test* that consisted of points deducted for each word you got wrong when writing them out. Weird. There was also an O level that seemed to follow the same setup but with a little extra about "now you've written it out, what does it mean to you?". Fairly pointless I thought.

*I held an unofficial cheating record for a while which was closed copy of Luke's Gospel on the desk, open copy inside the desk and another open copy on my knees. It was felt that I lost this record when someone else did the same thing but actually in the detention you got for cheating in the first place.

 

[swee'pea99]

*I held an unofficial cheating record for a while which was closed copy of Luke's Gospel on the desk, open copy inside the desk and another open copy on my knees. It was felt that I lost this record when someone else did the same thing but actually in the detention you got for cheating in the first place.

That's class. 

 

[Black Sheep]

As a Christian I've often found comparing beliefs with them just gets them confused and hung up on insignificent things.

telling them that you'd be dead if it was not for a blood transfusion often has them on the back foot.

The reason they say no to blood transfusions is because of a verse that says 'the life of an animal is in the blood' - this (from the view of christianity) means that the blood shed by a life sacrificed to make right someone's sins. They have taken it to mean that you can't do transfusions as you are mixing lives

I want some JW's to come round now so i can ask if a wife can give a transfusion to her husband (or vice versa) as they are ''one flesh'' through being married....

anyone wanna ask for me?

 

[Jezston]

Aha!

You seem to have simultaneously missed AND affirmed my point there.

If you ticked 'none', then you are a true athiest and that is fine with me. Believe (or rather, disbelieve) what you want. However my experience with some friends and colleagues, 'the internet' and some of the more publicly recognised vocal atheists is that they effectively treat Athiesm as a religion, a belief system in itself, bashing people for having beliefs that differ from their own.

Any 'belief system' that puts you in a position where WE are right and THEY are wrong, what we believe is correct and unquestionable, and that THEY are a threat and should be stopped can and will be manipulated as a tool by those who wish to gain power and that is where the problem lies. If you believe that religion is a bad thing and is responsible for bad stuff, just be sure you don't have the same mindset about your beliefs that causes it.