BS: Religious door knocking during COVID

Subject: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Mr Red
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 04:18 PM

Is it a COVID bonus? Or are they moving up to the 19c?

Instead of door-stepping me I got a letter, with a genuine stamp on it, addressed to the "householder". Effectively preying on the loneliness that COVID restrictions will have caused some folks.

I haven't seen their campaigning on Fakebook yet. Though I have seen adverts of obscure cultish stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: robomatic
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 04:55 PM

How would you religiously knock on a door. I don't know if I can distinguish "Nearer My God to Thee" from "Shave and a Haircut"?

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: JHW
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 05:19 PM

I got an individual letter last Autumn apologising for non appearance.
I did reply but with true story that I'd been asked and sang at a funeral 'What is the Life of a Man any more than the leaves'.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 05:24 PM

I got a letter a few weeks ago from the Jehovah's Witnesses, I think. Like all of that it went directly into the recycle bin. I have a note on my door expressly turning away sales and religious callers.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 06:09 PM

I am known to be anti-religion, but a dear (very) old boy from the Jehovah's Witnesses, called John, calls at my house once every couple of months with his pamphlets (which I always read) and has done for donkeys' years. He's been missing for the best part of this rotten year, but I know he's OK because he nearly crashed into my car (he didn't know it was me) in Morrison's car park a few weeks ago :-) He knows my views and we always have a laugh, especially when I taunt him with a bit of Darwin... If he comes in September he always goes home with a big bag of apples from my trees. His opening gambit is always to look round my (big) garden, arms a-waving, to tell me how wonderful life and nature are, and to inform me that only God could have achieved all this. I tell him that I agree wholeheartedly, except that it was evolution by natural selection wot did it. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and everyone is entitled to put their beliefs to others as long as they're gentle and non-coercive about it. I've been missing him...

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: robomatic
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 12:41 AM

Kissing Hank's Ass (The video)

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 02:07 AM

i have had six letters two on the same day,[i am obviously a suitable case for treatment], one positive is that it is helping to keep postmen employed.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: BobL
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 02:49 AM

I don't see would-be evangelists as "preying on loneliness" so much as offering (from their point of view at least) a potential source of relief from it.

The JWs stopped bothering me after they discovered my taste for theological wrangling, and that I used their leaflets for textbook examples of fallacious argument. I got the impression though that their preaching is an end in itself, getting converts is irrelevant.

More recently I had a leaflet through my letterbox extolling the virtues of Islam. I wish I had met its deliverer: I'd have liked to invite them in for a chat as I could agree wholeheartedly with almost every point made.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Acorn4
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 03:05 AM

I wondered why those drones landed on my doorstep the other day. You've got to hand it to the JWs or ingenuity!

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 05:05 AM

the jws are making lots of converts in rural ireland why, because they are often the only visitors in lonely isolated areas get other than perhaps the postman, they play a part almost as social workers

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: JHW
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 05:22 AM

Good post from Steve Shaw. I guess the door knockers are missing their normality, like we all are.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 07:51 AM

Religion has suffered set backs in this pandemic as it did in the black death. The Pope is today recovering from intestinal surgury. What this has to do with kissing the Pope's ass is unclear.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 10:22 AM

For those wishing to repel pamphlet-waving missionaries from their doors, may I suggest a mezuzah?

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 11:38 AM

There is a JW church just a few clocks away... and an LDS church not too much further. Oh, how the LDS do get insulted if you mistake them for JWs.

I think I am on the JWs "don't bother" list now after a couple of rounds of my philosophical replies to their theological assertions.
Two young ones had stopped and given me the spiel, and read a couple of bible verses to make their point. I explained politely that I did not accept the bible as some sort of literal truth. They kind of muttered and said "We'll be back with an elder!"
Sure enough, a couple days later they returned with an older gent who proceeded to read me DIFFERENT verses to clarify the issue. I finally seem to have gotten across to the elder that .... IF I don't accept their bible as literal truth, NO amount of verses will help.

   It is an interesting mindset that **TRUTH** is a given and no amount of explaining circular reasoning will change anything....

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: JHW
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 05:47 AM

I went to a Christadelphian 'show' once. Their belief comes from the bible but varies from the JWs. Back to the thread title I wonder if they will return when covid rules allow, I assume door knocking is a requirement.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 06:26 AM

BACKWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
Zander Nyrond
(Tune: fairly obvious really, no?)

Backward, Christian soldiers,
Backward from my door.
Take your sales pitch elsewhere,
Trouble me no more.
Christ and Hare Krishna,
Also Joseph Smith--
These are merely archetypes
From the realm of myth.
CHORUS        Backward, Christian soldiers,
Backward from my door.
Take your sales pitch elsewhere,
Trouble me no more.

Come no more with leaflets
In your outstretched mitt:
Biblical quotations
Neatly trimmed to fit.
Nineteen fourteen was the date
Everything would end.
Now with every passing decade
See the schedule bend.
CHORUS

Tell me, Christian soldier,
Do they pay you well?
Serving God and Mammon,
Saving us from hell?
Do they buy your raincoats?
Do they pay your fare?
Do they buy you fancy cars
To get you here from there?
CHORUS

"Talk about the Bible"?
Oh indeed, let's do.
Many things confuse me:
Do they bug you too?
If the children mock me
For my lack of hairs,
Should I, like Elisha, have them
Eaten up by bears?
CHORUS

When the mob confronts me,
Thus I save my head:
"Here are my young daughters,
Gangbang them instead."
If my foe commands me,
"Tote my bags one mile,"
Two miles should I carry them?
Would that make him smile?
CHORUS

Maybe I've been hasty.
Won't you come inside?
Step around the circle.
'Scuse my naked hide.
Make yourselves quite comfy.
Have a cup of tea:
If it makes you sleepy,
Close your eyes, feel free.
CHORUS        Valiant Christian soldiers,
Stalwarts who believe,
What a double sacrifice
For our Hallows Eve!

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 06:43 AM

The organ swells and crowds cheer! Rabbi Swartz sqeaks a squelched "oy".

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 07:34 AM

I don't see would-be evangelists as "preying on loneliness" so much as offering (from their point of view at least) a potential source of relief from it. - Knowing your market?

When I was quite young, my widowed mother was searching for something in life, and joined the JWs. I only remember two things, one was their venue, and the other was their US preacher had come over for 3 months and we housed them, free of charge. Then my mother went into hospital for an operation, a benign growth I think. Anyway she had many visitors, and even an old school friend who she had not seen for 20 years. No JWs. End of story immediately.

I re-enforce (sic) the cynical but experiential "preying".
And their rules and methods are legion. THEY are not benign. Pyramid selling is as close a description as I can come up with because money hierarchy are key motifs.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 04:16 PM

The biggest challenge in the God business is that God is forever flat broke. Some say God was swindled with a 14 billion year balloon mortgage. My advice to God is, rent.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 04:44 PM

Maybe she will.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Acorn4
Date: 08 Jul 21 - 04:22 AM

Jehovah's Windows

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: JHW
Date: 08 Jul 21 - 05:26 AM

Just heard a knock at the door. Was white van man with my bird seed.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 Jul 21 - 05:31 AM

Wot? a case of "you gone to seed" ?

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: JHW
Date: 09 Jul 21 - 05:55 AM

Anyone know the link to God's FAQs?

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Mr Red
Date: 11 Jul 21 - 01:56 PM

I think it's called a buble** or something.


** other bubles are available

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Malcolm Storey
Date: 11 Jul 21 - 07:13 PM

Les Barker has a poem called "Jehovah's Witness at the door".
Can't find it at the moment but it's here somewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Religious door knocking during COVID
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Jul 21 - 02:45 AM

a true experience from a friend who came to Australia the 80s. Well he said it was true, I'd hate to find it was a common myth/joke/story/Les Barker poem/other

He had an interesting experience with a Jehovah's witness family one snowy winter's day back in Wiltshire. He was having a bath - knock, knock, knock, knock, so he puts on his dressing gown & goes to the door. The visitors wouldn't go away even tho he said he was having bath so eventually he opened his dressing gown. Screams, & the bloke grabs his wife (carrying baby) & off they run. It was a very cold day ...