OK..So then, as bright as I am (and I am BRILLIANT...just ask me) what line of reasonign did I buy into that obliged me to go DtoD for 22 years, many years as a pio? What was I thinking by way of justifying the behavior, which looking back, now seems a ludicrous way to spend my time.
Trying again for more door to door reasons
by Bang 20 Replies latest jw friends
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Amazing
It is done for market image, not because it is scriptural or effective.
First: The "do not go from house to house" statement in the Bible had to do with helping one family at a time, and not be shifting around a lot. The verse is NOT prohibiting door-to-door evangelizing.
Second: The statements in Acts about going "house to house" is best exaplined by Ray Franz in how the passages are better translated, "go to their private homes" or something close to that ... and had to do with meeting with people after they had been contacted in public. Either way, the Bible neither endorses nor condemns door-to-door evangelizing.
Third: Market image is very important, as it establishes a unique aspect of an organization, and what it offers ... and keeps the advertizing up at minimal cost. Even though the Names or Logos do not directly say what the product or service is, the market image reminds the public anyway. Examples:
Century 21 = Buying and selling homes
Golden Arches = McDonalds = Hamburgers
Gateway = Computers
Microsoft = Windows = Operating systems
Mormons = Latter Day Saints = young men on bicycles in missionary work
JWs = Jehovahs Witnesses = Door-to-door religious sales people
Fuller Brush = door to door sales of cleaning products and devices
Avon = door to door sales of cosmetics
Again, the name does not necessarily relate to the product or service, but the market image of each is very unique and brings to mind a certain activity or product. Jehovahs Witnesses have built a unique market image, and they must keep it up, and this means they have to interpret the Bible to support their marketing image.
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neyank
Even tho there are no commands in the Bible to preach house to house, we thought we knew why we did it. Right?
We thought we were spreading Gods word to the world.
However, looking back at it, we can see that we were not spreading Gods Word, we were spreading the WTS word.
The main emphasis was not to get the householder to listen to Gods Word, but to listen to what the WTS had to say about it.
That is why the Bible study at peoples homes consisted mostly of WT publications.
Sure there were scriptures thrown in to make it seem that we were having a Bible study, when in fact we were studying the WT interpertations of the scriptures.neyank
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NeonMadman
JWs = Jehovahs Witnesses = Door-to-door religious sales people
Fuller Brush = door to door sales of cleaning products and devices
Avon = door to door sales of cosmetics
But in our day and age, both Fuller Brush and Avon have moved away from door-to-door selling into other marketing methods. They've done this because door-to-door marketing is no longer effective, and they are primarily interested in getting results from their efforts. The Watchtower, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to spend billions of hours of its followers' time on this work every year with minimal results (but which cost the Watchtower nothing). As opposed, of course, to using some sort of mass marketing that might actually work, but that would be expensive. Besides, it keeps the drones busy so they don't ask too many of the wrong kind of questions.
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HomebutHiding
Neon...do you think those motives are really spot on? I am not wanting to believe that THEY don't at least think they are really doing God's work. Do you think they don't belive what they told us to do? Did any of that make any sense? I do wonder what happens in my brain at times.
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joeshmoe
I think they individually (and even collectively at a congregation level) sincerely believe what they are doing is right. Does that make it right? No. I think Amazing is correct about the marketing aspects of it, although I think they continue the practice out of respect for tradition --call it status quo if you like-- thinking that to ever change is admit error. That is very much a driving force in everything done at an organization level. At an individual level, I have no doubt of the genuineness of those going door to door.
-Joe
I don't want to be smart, I just want to be honest.
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dungbeetle
WT 2/15/87
3 The Gospel record of Jesus instructions to his 12 apostles, and later to the 70 evangelists, clearly indicates that they were to go from house to house preaching the good news of Gods Kingdom. (Matthew 10:5-14; Luke 10:1-7) At Acts 20:20 Paul tells of his going from house to house. Those words have been applied to his making shepherding calls, but
Ac 20 verse 21 leaves no doubt as to the activity meant, for Paul adds: "I thoroughly bore witness both to Jews and to Greeks"not to Christian brothers and sisters"about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus." When making shepherding calls, an elder usually does not urge repentance toward God and faith in Jesus. Rather, he encourages fellow Christians to have increased appreciation of meetings or the ministry, or he helps them with personal problems.
4
Not only is there sound Scriptural basis for our going from house to house but the fruits of that activity show that Jehovahs blessing is upon it. Yes, "wisdom is proved righteous by its works." (Matthew 11:19) Frequently, those going from house to house have seen evidence of angelic direction that leads them to those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness. The householder has said that he or she had been praying for help and that the Witness visit answered that prayer.
I posted this in another thread, BANG this is your second or third attempt at this...I give you credit for effort.
In another thread which I can't find on this board, someone who works , I believe, for the IRS said that Watchtower qualifies for an additional tax exempt status if it is a 'teaching' and/or 'educational' organization.
I'm still researching this, but this is what I have so far:
Watchtower learned the hard way not to put all its eggs in one basket. So it keeps it tax exampt/military exempt staus in at least three ways that we know of:
1) religion
2) minister/clerical
3) public teaching/educational. THIS is a reason JW's must go door to door and THIS is a reason for the Kingdom Ministry schools and even the elder's schools, pioneer schools, MS schools and so on. (that, and the 'special' and 'private' club gimmick which all cults use so well)
From what this poster said, qualifiying for this particular exemption is not public like charity or religious, it is an IRS thing. He even named the particular IRS code specifically and everything. It's here on the board somewhere, way back when I first started posting about a year ago.
A lifetime ago it seems.. <sigh>
Edited by - dungbeetle on 20 June 2002 13:14:44
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NeonMadman
Neon...do you think those motives are really spot on? I am not wanting to believe that THEY don't at least think they are really doing God's work. Do you think they don't belive what they told us to do?
I think many (certainly not all) of the rank and file JW's believe their message and are sincere in proclaiming it. My point above is that I believe that the leadership of the Watchtower is cynical and uncaring, and thinks nothing of making huge demands on the members' time. The Watchtower leaders don't care that the efforts of the membership do not produce results that justify the amount of time spent, since the members' time costs the leadership nothing.
If Fuller Brush or Avon demanded that their people should do door-to-door sales as their primary marketing device nowadays, nobody would work for them, because they would be spending tons of time going from door to door and making very few sales. That's a shame, in a way. Fifty years ago, being a Fuller Brush Man was a very lucrative opportunity for someone with a decent work ethic and a modicum of sales ability.But people soliciting from door to door are just not viewed as favorably today.
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Oroborus21
Ok here is another try.
I thought my first answer was pretty informative. I did mention that Acts 20:20 does not really support the modern door-to-door method and this scripture in Luke does not forbid it either. In fact as I mentioned the holy bible does not either support the modern method of door-to-door explicity nor prohibit it.
There is however scriptural support for the idea to be an evangelizer of the good news about Christ and God's Kingdom and that this should be work that EVERY Christian engages in. So the underlying principle to be a preacher and teacher of the Word and the Good News is scriptural.
The question thus remains as to how this can be done on an individual basis and also (if one wishes to organize a group--although again no direct Scriptural basis for this other than Jesus sending out disciples in pairs) as a group how this may be done.
To more specifically answer your question as to why JWs in particular engage in organized house-to-house work we merely need to examine the history of the organization and the development of this.
Pastor Russell's group had grown substantially and he was sharing what is now "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom" magazine on a subscription basis in which he espoused the teachings of the group. Other publications, tracts, bibles, his Studies in Scriptures, etc. were also likewise made available and the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Inc. arose out of this activity.
In short order, "colporteurs," which are travelling purveyors of religious publications began to travel around and offer these publications to the public. Initially the goal for these persons may have been more from a subscription and sales perspective then from an evangelizing one, although perhaps some of these did feel they were evangelizing.
In time, although still called "colporteurs," the "reason" for the persons travelling around became more about, at least officially, "evangelizing" than obtaining subscriptions or sales.
The Rutherford era began about this time and in time, all of the other categories developed. WT representives began to travel to groups (congregations) and different branches, etc. The colporteurs were replaced by "pioneers"--full time ministers and the whole organization became more and more of a hierarchy.
My dates are fuzzy and I am work so I don't have the references with me right now but either during the mid-Rutherford period or Knorr period the idea of each person having to engage in the public ministry became the understanding and the "training" of what we now call the Ministry School was set-up and group ministry was organized.
Searching for the best model that can be found in the Bible for how group ministry could be organized we arrive at Jesus sending out the 70 disciples in pairs. A modern modification of that arrangement and voila! we have the house-to-house method appearing.
Again the surface reason is to fullfill the requirement that we be evangelizers of the Good News and to meet persons to start Bible Studies in order to proselytize to them and hopefully get them to accept the truth and become witnesses also. Secondarily, it was a method to distribute WT literature to persons at low cost (no advertisement costs/effective distribution costs).
In time and by the time of the Knorr era and the Yankie Stadium/Polo grounds convention of 1953(?) this facet of ministry and mode of ministry had become associated with JWs by the public. This characteristic was embraced and proudly enhanced by the Society and it has essentially never ceased promoting or expanding on it since so that it is now probably the primary identifying characteristic (even to the point of parody now) of Jehovah's Witnesses.
AS to effectiveness, well obviously many have become Witnesses as a result of this method of ministry and continue, so "effectiveness" is a relative and subjective term. The Society/Organization feels that it is and so it isn't likely to change any time soon (at least until the Great Tribulation is in full force ).
To bottom line the answer as to why the door-to-door/house-to-house method continues today it is due to a little thing called "inertia".
I will add though that at least in the last 20 years or so other ministry methods have been encouraged and are now a facet of the public ministry such as letter writing, telephone witnessing, street corner work, "drive-by witnessing", prison/etc. witnessing, and of course one that has always been around "informal" witnessing.
Unfortunately, as I have said in another forum and another posting, it is time now that we are in the 21st Century for the Organization to leave behind its "publishing model" of the 20th Century and embrace the fact that it is a "religion". Being a Witness in the 21st Century should be more about a personal "way of life" then proselytizing or the public ministry. It is true that by pursuing the Golden Rule and out of Love for God, we will feel impelled to speak of God's Kingdom and to encourage the Bible as mankind's operating manual, but this should be done on a continual private and personal basis. If we have real Bible Studies they should be real studies with persons that want to learn and discuss the Bible. True, we may still choose to share WT literature with people or to encourage them to join us for worship at the Kingdom Hall but the emphasis in our lives should be more about living up to Godly standards, living up to the Golden Rule, and out of love, helping persons to learn God's message of hope for mankind and about the redemptive power of Christ's sacrifice.
It is really just a very slight shift in perspective and mission but it is a difference that makes all of the difference between a new Jehovah's Witness (true) religion of the 21st Century and the old Jehovah's Witness publishing organization of the 20th.
--Eduardo
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dungbeetle
It isn't just about whether there is 'scriptural support' for door-to-door evangelizing, Watchtower is being disengenuous when it filters the issue down to just this, because this is not the whole issue with Watchtower.
Watchtower says "go door-to-door or God will kill you, and that baby you are holding."
THAT is the issue which sets Jehovah's Witnesses apart from other religions. I do not believe any other religion teaches this anymore if any other did. I think the door-to-door work is terrific and there would be much better reception if Witnesses weren't such wackos (blood, shunning, rape resistance, oral/anal sex yadada).
Now, the question is, do JW's really believe that if they stop going door-to-door God will kill them?