Bible Thumping/Pushing Time again
 

Ah Autumn, time for the kids to back to school, and time for the “missionaries” to go door to door after preparing all summer ;) It’s that time of year again folks – Bible Thumping Time.

So far I’ve had visits from some Jehovah Witnesses, a pair from the Church of Later Day Saints (though I did like the Toronto Maple Leaf tie), an assorted batch of Baptists, a Bob Jones U. guy, and for the first time a Jew for Jesus (guess I look Jewish or something). Of course they all seemed fired up about the “end times”, because ‘obviously’ that’s what Hurricane Katrina heralded :rolleyes:

But this year there has been something new: the random “evangelical” phone call to try and save my soul. It’s a bit like a telemarketer, but instead of a boiler-room dropping me a line, it’s ostensively a concerned Christian worried about my soul – though I do gotta wonder if calling long distance to Canada to “talk frankly with me” about God, the Bible, and Canada’s heathen ways is the best use of their time and money…

All of this of course has made me nostalgic for the days when my street was a “no-go zone” for the fundamentalists coming to convert – thanks to the fact that by some fluke of statistics one block had 2 current Professors of Theology from UofT, and 1 retired Professor of Theology (my old neighbour), Apparently it wasn’t “safe” to discuss doctrine with these folks, mainly because they could dance circles around the door-to-door folks… or in the case of my late neighbour, actively try to undermine their convictions (he always went for the junior of the pair of Bible pushers).


Now has anybody else noticed an increase in the “flock” this year? Or is it just my neighbourhood that has been “blessed” with this Biblical plague
:p

Re: Bible Thumping/Pushing Time again
 

I have never had anyone knocking on my door to try and save my soul, but I'm young and I live in an apt... Maybe they just haven't gotten to me yet.

I just wanted to say that I am always fascinated to talk to people like Theology Professors and the like. It is SO interesting to hear the historical facts and ideas from someone who isn't just speaking on faith. I recommend it! :)

(This could also be why I enjoyed "Angels and Demons" and "The DaVinci Code" so much. :)

Why does anybody think it's okay to try to "convert" someone else to his or her religion? I think it's incredibly disrespectful.

ETA: We occasionally find invitations to various Lutheran services conducted in English and Spanish on our door, but I haven't seen anybody come by to chat.

Where do you live? :confused:

Aside from a few Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on our door growing up (the people who lived across the street from us turned their home into a Jehovah's Witness hall) and when I ran into a few at the gas station a few months ago, I've never experienced what you're talking about.

Maybe you're just special...;)

I have a friend who is a hard-core Southern Baptist, and he explained it this way:

It is his job, as a good Christian, to save others by teaching them this Christian way.

Yes, it is DUMB! It is also pretty contradictory. As a Christian, you're not supposed to be judgemental, yet you HAVE to judge that others are WRONG because they don't view religion the same way you do. :rolleyes:

I personally can't stand people who try to preach to me. I can respect the beliefs of others if they will do the same for me.

Here we go again....:rolleyes: Yet another let's gripe and spread miss-information about Christianity thread.

Peace..... SMH :o

Re: Re: Bible Thumping/Pushing Time again
 

Please tell me you didn't just equate historical facts and ideas with Dan Brown's books :rolleyes:

Is be living in Toronto... however as far as I could tell only the Jehova Witnesses are from the city - all the others were missionaries up from the Bible belt... nothing new really; when I was 12 a Southern Baptist minister and his family moved in next door for 3 years to head up a mission in the area.

I never really had a problem with anyone; the Jehovah's Witnesses would come by once in a while in my hometown, but they were perfectly friendly.

Re: Re: Re: Bible Thumping/Pushing Time again
 

No, I didn't. I just meant looking at Christianity from a historical perspective rather than one that relies simply on faith.

What I mean about Dan Browns books for example, is that after I read "DaVinci Code" I went out and started reading a bunch of the REAL historical books about the topic. It just made me want to learn the story that he got his fiction from. :)

Jehovah's Witnesses used to come to our door all the time when I was younger. My mom would just tell them that we are Catholic and they would leave with a quickness.

The Jews for Jesus movement bothers me, because it seems really disrespectful to distort someone else's religion. It'd be like people going around insisting that believing in the book of Mormon was compatible with Roman Catholicism.

You mean the movement funded by Southern Christian groups that claims they are still Jewish?

-Rudey

Jews for Jesus = Christians in my book.

No one has ever come to my house, but I work downtown and I see the sidewalk preachers from different groups (including Jews for Jesus, who were all over Taste of Chicago this summer) all the time.

Yep, those'd be the ones.

I saw these people all the time when I was in college. I very quickly learned that if I saw a pair of well-dressed young people walking around campus, I should avoid them. ;) Usually they'd accept a polite "no, I'm not interested" but some of them could get quite pushy. I once had to give a fake phone number - I wish I'd known about those "rejection" numbers you can give to guys at bars when you don't want to see them again. :p

Haven't been bothered recently, though.

These people believe it is their job to go around talking to people and trying to save their souls. I don't have a problem with that. I do have a problem when they won't take no for an answer.

Wait, what is this?

Complete hijack:

My cell phone has a different area code from the city I live in, so if a guy I'm not interested in asks for my number, I just give it to him without the area code. Can I help it if they just ASSUME that the area code is 512? ;)

Ok, end hijack, thank you for your time. :)

My boyfriend's dad is a pastor in a veeeeeeeeeeeery conservative Lutheran synod. The Jehovah's Witnesses are at their house ALL THE TIME because they get more "points" for converting a pastor. It's hilarious and he always jokes he's going to tell them his oldest son is dating a Catholic and see if they have any "cures" for it.

Telling them I'm Catholic only seems to add fuel to the fire so to speak...

You can show them the Crucifix above the door, you can show them the photo of you being blessed by the Pope, you can show them the photo of your great uncle the Dominican Friar, and you can even show them the Latin Vulgate Bible in the front room - but still some of these folks will ask me if I've read the "Christian Bible" :rolleyes:

They're phone numbers that you can give out to people you don't want to see again. If/when they try to call you, they get a prerecorded rejection message. There are a few services.

ETA: Oddly enough, this thread in the Zeta Phi Beta forum, about the rejection numbers, just got bumped...

</hijack>

The dreaded "cosign"! :rolleyes:


Btw, you'd just love my street! The Mormon Mission House is 3 blocks away to the north, and the Jehovah Witness' Temple is about a half mile to the southwest! Having grown up with friends who are both, I usually invite them in for stimulating conversation. They usually can't wait to leave! :D

Knowing your scriptures is the best way to handle them!

Wow, I so need some of those numbers lol. Thanks!

Honeykiss, no one's spreading misinformation . . . we're spreading factual information, about assholes that go door-to-door to insult my intelligence and question my faith. What's so 'misinformed' about discussing these douche bags?

What Valkyrie said. I usually just tell the people to leave my property immediately and that they are not to return, or I will ask the police to come and arrest them for trespassing.

Sure, it's a tad heavy-handed, but it must have worked because they haven't come back either.

Now you know how Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Wiccans, and others feel.

Imperial1

My freshman year at Clemson we would have a guy (not sure what his affliation was) who would stand out in Cox Plaza with a microphone and talk about how all girls that attended Clemson were whores and sluts because of the way we dressed and then he'd talk about how bad alcohol was and how basically everyone at the university was going to Hell. He would even talk about certain people he saw walking by.

The Frat quad was right near Cox plaza so my exbf (who is a Phi Tau) and his brothers would get drunk and go down there and egg the guy on. It was a riot.