So, here we are having our usual Saturday morning, and the doorbell rings. Since we are expecting the repairman for the dryer, we didn't think much of it, since witnesses have never come to our door in the 4+ years that we have been married.
It was 2 women, and one opens up with saying they were witnesses and brings out a tract that said something about the bible on the front - I didn't pay that close attention to it because I was weighing in my head what I was going to say, and how much of a discussion I would get into with them. So I decided to jump in and see where it went. I told them that I was raised as a witness, and that I disagreed with the interpretation of the bible that they teach. I told them that as a teenager, I had sat at meetings and while scriptures were read and felt that they were taken out of context. I said that the bible is clear about what is required and that scripture refers to nothing being added or taken away from them. I told them that I had felt that the requirements were very burdensome and that by what witnesses are required to believe, much had been added in the way of rules and reegulations that made it very burdensome, and that the matters that "Jehovah" wanted us to take as commands were clearly laid out in the bible and that if it was not specifically addressed in the bible, then it meant that it was a matter for individual decision because it was obviously not important enough to get specific about. The woman who was "in charge" of the door glommed on to my use of "Jehovah" and said how nice it was to hear me use his name, to which I replied that I had used it for their benefit and that I felt it to be grossly disrespectful to use his name. I would not disrespect my own father by using his given name, why would I disrespect the creator of the universe by not giving him the respect of his title? On this point the lady in the back piped up and said that she had never thought about it that way and that she would leave my door doing some serious thinking on that line of reasoning. Now she may have been just being polite, but I got the sense that I had really given her something to think about. I hope she does think about it.
So I went on to explain that I was not DF'd or DA'd and that I lead my life based on the principles laid out in the bible. I explained that I left because staying meant that I was required to accept what they taught and teach it to others and that my conscience would not allow me to do that. The lady in back piped up on that point and said that she totally understood that it would have been hypocritical of me to continue ( I agreed with her) I reiterated my point about things not specifically addressed in the bible (such as holidays) were not meant for anyone but the individual to decide for themselves and that I did not see it a correct for a group of men to make a decision on something not specifically addressed in the bible based on their interpretation and require me to follow it under penalty of none of my friends and family being able to talk to me.
I think that if the woman who was in the background had been alone, I might have been able to have a more in depth discussion with her. The other lady clearly was a full blown company gal and I doubt anything I said penetrated the wall she has erected, but I hope that the woman who said she would do some thinking about what I said really does and that it makes a change for her. Maybe wishful thinking, but she seemed to take what I said seriously. The other lady was probably praying for protection from my apostate views!
So in the end, they thanked me profusely for talking with them and being so polite and nice and went on their way, most likely to discuss how sad it is that I am buzzard fodder, but oh well!
Oh, and I happened to be wearing a nice sparkly 1 1/2" CROSS necklace while having this discussion. I had forgotten that I had it on. My husband pointed it out after they left.