by redvip2000 16 Replies latest jw experiences
Being challenged when i was door knocking is one of the factors why i left. The guy just hit me with clear logic that put a huge maggot in my mind. I think challenging JWs is of vital importance and has considerable success. ~ Giles Gray
Giles, what was the subject that got you thinking?
Just curious.....
Doc
Maybe the little old lady will brush it off, but something may have stayed in the girl's mind. It may not be obvious today or tomorrow, or even a year from now but its possible a tiny baby doubt is gnawing at that girl's brain. I had a few doubts started in my head when I was kid from things people said at the doors. It took years for them to grow up, but they eventually did.
a good bit of anti-witnessing, the subject matter may have been slightly too deep for the hard nosed elderly woman but never give up a chance and I never do, the UN membership/ARC/doomsday predictions that have failed does really wake them up, their haemorrhaging membership continues to confirm this.
Anti-witnessing is just like what we were doing when we were witnessing .
You never know when a seed will sprout.
You never know when a person is ready to hear TTATT ,persons circumstances change all the time.
So my philosophy is never miss an opportunity to give an anti-witness
You never know where it will lead or end up .
DOC-" Giles, what was the subject that got you thinking?
Just curious....."
My apologies DOC. I totally missed your query to the causation of my exit.
It was such a long time ago so you'll have to forgive me for not being able to recall all the specifics.
The conversations we had were very long and deep. He was heavily into philosophy, and even though he was a young chap, he had an impressively sharp mind, able to cut straight through any religious fallacies.
The subjects that had the biggest impression on me were the relative aspect of truth and the obvious predictability of biblical prophecy.
He taught me (quite ironic really, being that we were supposed to be there teaching him) about the fact that truth is relative and that the only real 'truth' is abstract. A very powerful concept that was totally misunderstood by the hard nosed elderet, diehard pioneer sister whom I was accompanying. Her totally inappropriate response was to quote the scripture that says "your word is truth", as if it had any significance to the conversation at hand. Quite laughable and considerably embarrassing at the time.
He also deconstructed the prophecies of Revelation and Daniel that up until that time I had been very impressed with and were largely the bedrock of what little faith I had.
All I was left with was to challenge him with future prophesy. If prophesy was so obviously predictable, as he claimed and had adequately substantiated, then what did he think was going to happen next. I went onto explain the then current 'Generation' teaching with full confidence. Then came 1995.
No one likes to admit defeat but what choice did I have? I had been well and truely beaten. The rot set in...
I had already been doubting certain aspects of the religion but this chap on the doors hit at the parts of my faith that were the strongest. Nearly every JW I know walks around with similar doubts. That is why I think it is important to engage them whenever possible.
But thank you for asking.
I also agree that anti-witnessing is a great way to start seeding doubts in people. Also, staying respectful and friendly helps a lot too. Yelling and slamming the door in witnesses faces does nothing except affirm that they "have the truth". But respectfully discussing things can cause the doubt to grow. I remember encountering a few people in service who managed to seed some doubts in me that I'm certain led to me later waking up. Like the humanist who knew a lot about religion, he might have actually been an ex-JW thinking back on it, who raised a lot of questions I couldn't answer. Now I see myself as a humanist. Funny how things work sometimes.
From my experience as a born in JW, raised, baptized at 19yo and woke up at 31yo - i did love a good bible discussion. But the one thing that would knock me is people USING the bible to prove me wrong.
When they come to knock on my door i have 2 approaches to use:
1. Show me in the bible (no WT magazines allowed) the 1914 teaching and the overlapping generation.
2. Show enthusiasm then ask "if i join can i preach to my family and hope to being them in to? I can?! But then what if years later i dont believe in it anymore? Can i leave? And still talk to my family? How about my daughter, if she gets baptized at 14 and stops believing when she's say 19 can i still talk to her? No? Bye!
