spread your gospel somewhere else!

[graycie]

first off, i have no problem with people which consider themselves relgious but when you want to start spreading your word of "god" stay away from my house!

about ten minutes ago, the doorbell rings and of course i'm in the bathroom. i rush to wash my hands to answer the door because i thought it was the chimney repair guy, and come to find two middle aged guys in trench coats at my door. now i've been fotunate enough over the past few years to avoid these people but this time i was caught. so one guy who is korean starts talking about these pamphlets the first one is about 'god and marriage' or something of the sort, i say "no one is married". then he whips out a 'god and raising children' pamphlet, i say "we don't have kids" i'm thinking in my head 'YES, i've shot him down twice he will leave now!' then he whips out a 'purpose of god' pamphlet and turns to the section of the 'devil'. at this point i've all ready told him we aren't religious twice and that i'm not interested. then he proceeds to ask me "if you don't mind me asking, what nationality are you?" then i say i do mind and he goes on to say "i'm korean" trying to get me to tell him. he guesses that i'm chinese which i don't confirm, and i just outright say to him i don't like giving out information to people that just come to my house. they finally leave and thanks me for even coming to the door, and i just saw them walking down the street with pair of women looking for the next house to spread the word. freak, next time i'm just going to say that i'm jewish (which i'm not)and hopefully they will leave right then.

this happened on sunday too with one of the candidates running for the school board. i was out raking leaves and this guy that i've never seen before asks me if i'm a registered voter (i'm technically "inactive" right now) i say yes, totally forgetting the inactive part. he goes on about his stuff about running for school board and asks if there any kids in the school system, i of course say no and he is like "oh" he leaves his pamphlet and goes onto the next house.

what the heck do i need to put a sign out on the front of my house saying 'tresspassers will be shot' for people to leave me alone?!!

[lopxtc]

Not to make a pun ... but amen ... I am glad I am not the only around here who thinks this way.

I had a friend make a sign that says "No Religious Solicitors Allowed, all others welcome." just to get my point across.

Aaron

[dansim]

my buddy brought some jehova(sp) witnesses inside once and sat them down on the couch went to get some coffee and came back naked wearing a bowtie with teh coffee he said hes never seen people make up excuses to leave so fast before in his life

[jdev]

Originally posted by dansim
my buddy brought some jehova(sp) witnesses inside once and sat them down on the couch went to get some coffee and came back naked wearing a bowtie with teh coffee he said hes never seen people make up excuses to leave so fast before in his life

hahahhahaha

I work with 2 jehovas witnesses. with the way I talk and think, I contsantly offend them in one way or another. i always make up scenarios for them to answer like, would you do this for a million bucks..

we were talking about something once.. and i came up with the retort of:

"its yahweh or the highway" isint it?

they didnt find that funny. me and another tech guy (whos jewish and understood it) laughed heartily.

:D

[PyRo]

Just tell them you worship sainten and they usually go away.

[beam]

Originally posted by joey d

"its yahweh or the highway" isint it?


LOL! That's a pretty good play on words.

However, I can see how some would be offended...that name is considered a very holy name.

As for the door to door activity, I personally don't believe that that is the way to share one's faith.

[Doobie]

I just tell them I worship my Blender so I don't even need to leave the house to go to church!:p
They tend to leave.
I tell you what...If you come to my door, early on a Sunday morning to tell me about God......you had better be GOD!

[ASDadam]

They came to my house once on a saturday morning and woke me up which didn't make me happy. Of course when us guys typically wake up theres a bit of morning wood. I look out the window see who it is and decide to mess with em. I walk to the door with my barn door open, swing open the door and ask "Can i help you?" They looked like scared little children and go "We're just passing out pamplets about our faith." They pass me one and then quickly walk away.

[PyRo]

What do you mean with your barn door open? :confused:

[ramennoodles]

i am a i do worship god, and they are still annoying to me, they think that since i'm not going to their church that i'm going to hell, i'm like meh, maybe. I don't like religion, it is stupid, its the cause of too many deaths for my taste.

[ASDadam]

Hahaha that one got a laugh out of me...Good one Pyro...
Its when you leave your button or whatever of your boxers undone and you're swaying in the breeze.

[shartley]

If I don’t have time, I simply tell them that I don’t have time and to have a nice day. If I DO have time, I invite them in, ask them if they would like something to drink, and then they find out they entered the WRONG house. HEEHEE!!!!!

Don’t get ME going unless you have the time or knowledge to back it up. :D

Needless to say, I have not had anyone come to my house in a LONG time. :)

[Konigballer]

I'm the same way as you gracie, I dont care if what people believe in just as long as they dont come yackin' to me about it.

I cant stand people who cant think of themselves as anything but a label of what they believe in or support. That go's for anything too, like people who basically come across as "Hi I'm Jack, I'm a Christian" or "Hi I'm Nick, I'm a Punk" or whatever religious, social, or political group they associate themselves with.

Thats so lame, theres so much more to people than just some self assigned label of whatever form of system they choose to allie themselves with. Thats the most 2-dimentional way of looking at yourself or someone else. It also makes it even easier to judge another person on their looks, beliefs, or lifestyle because of your own inability to think for yourself.

Ah whatever, at least they didnt go on a tyrate to you about living in sin or something.

[Miscue]

My family on my dad's side is LDS. My grandma was heavy into it. Everytime we told her where our new place was, the missionaries would come... ALL the time. They would call, ALL the time. My dad used to do the same thing when he was a kid, and I have many LDS friends so we kinda just bare with it. Grandma died though... and the missionaries don't come anymore because they don't have our new address.

But yeah, I agree. I respect people's beliefs, but I do not appreciate it when they tell you that you are wrong for not joining their club.

This reminds me of something kinda funny. An old co-worker was heavy into this stuff, would bring a Bible with him all the time to work. Recently, someone of some other faith would not take off some religious garb when he was going to take her picture for a student ID. He argued with her, and ended up calling her religion stupid. Guess what shows up on front page of school newspaper... with RACISM and stuff plastered across it. :p

He didn't mean anything by it, he's just not bright enough to realize how bad that was to say.

[Wc Keep]

i know that when it gets cold jehovas witnesses go around with their kids and have their kids go without jackets so you take pity on them and let them in. but for some reason the mormons have it out for me........... and i dont care even if she is a cute mormon.............

[beam]

Originally posted by Konigballer
I cant stand people who cant think of themselves as anything but a label of what they believe in or support.

I don't know if I would fall into this category or not. But one thing to note, it isn't a label for me....it's a Worldview. It is the lense through which I view and interact with the entire world around me. Therefore, to someone on the outside, it may seem like I'm one of those, "Hi! I'm Nate, I'm a Christian!" For me, being real and geniune as a friend is a precursor to sharing my faith. In most cases, if I haven't "earned" the right to share my faith with you, I won't. Sometimes, on the internet (even this post as an example) it is too easy to just start proselytizing.

[Konigballer]

well whatever floats your boat beam, I wasnt trying to attack anyone's faith or anything, I just picked christianity.

Just dont become one of the many people that let the "world view" that their system gives them, religious, political or otherwise, blanket their outlook on other people simply because of their allegiance to these often very over simplified or ignorant "world views".

I'm not saying your like that beam, and I cant remember you ever coming off like that, but I'm sure you've met people that are like that.

[beam]

No, I'm with you. There has to be a balance. :)

But there have been times where I have come off too bold, indignant even. But I am growing. More damage is done to a relationship (if one even exists) if faith isn't shared in the context of a geniune friendship and interest.

Otherwise, people just think you're trying to sell them something.

[cphilip]

I was able to get one of them to take some Quaker reading material I had. They didn't want to but I pointed out to them it was unkindly to not accept a gift. They seem scared to even hold anything that has even a slighly different perspective on things

I got no real problem with anyones choices. I do hate a hypocrit though! Just hate em!!!!!

[SlartyBartFast]

Originally posted by cphilip
I was able to get one of them to take some Quaker reading material I had. They didn't want to but I pointed out to them it was unkindly to not accept a gift. They seem scared to even hold anything that has even a slighly different perspective on things

I got no real problem with anyones choices. I do hate a hypocrit though! Just hate em!!!!!

That's why you'll never convince me to become a religious person. When your given the hard sell it's all about learning, when in reality it's all about conforming.

If religion was all about learning the various world religions would be working on emphesising the common ground and accepting the differences in opinion and interpretation.

However, world history and current events seem to indicate that the majority are currently doing the opposite.

[Restola]

For me, nothing in religion "adds up". Listening to people try to convert me while side-stepping issues I think are important is frustrating.

I have, though, learned how to be polite, listen briefly, and make an appropriate exit from the conversation.

Used to happen a lot more in high school. High school kids seem much less secure in their beliefs (well, high school kids are probably much less secure in everything).

All I can say is...ugh. Freedom of religion is awsome, but it comes at a small price :)

[SlartyBartFast]

Originally posted by Restola
Freedom of religion is awsome, but it comes at a small price :)

Yup. And it's a price that a number of religious folks can't seem to live with. And that's the right to freedom FROM religion.:p

[Miscue]

Personally, I don't care what someone believes in. What matters is that a moral life is led... and religion for the most part tries to steer towards this... just the details being different.

[SlartyBartFast]

Originally posted by Miscue
Personally, I don't care what someone believes in. What matters is that a moral life is led... and religion for the most part tries to steer towards this... just the details being different.

Absolutely and completely in agreement with you on that.

One of the biggest inexplicable stupidities in my view is the belief of some that the results in the end don't rest with how you behaved but in what you believed.

Mafia bosses going to church, the born-again crowd saying that confessed Nazis will go to heaven because they 'discovered' their religion before dying, etc.

[Miscue]

Yes, I find that annoying as well. "Because I believe, I am moral." I find people who have that religious "air" about them with their attitude and all that, but do things in contradiction, to be quite obnoxious. I am also irritated when they infer or directly come out with the idea that I have an inferior notion as to what morality is because I am not a member of their club. What I do appreciate is being known as a "friend of the church," although I am not a member. We may have different ideas but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. :p

[Blonde Bomber]

Everytime I check into a Hotel I open up the Bible. Ya know sometimes people use paper money as bookmarks and forget its in the book?


Give me a few $ and ill praise whatever you want for a few minutes:D

[Miscue]

Haha. There are churches that pay new members to show up, you just have to find them. :D

Something just seems really wrong about that though...

[than205]

When I was a kid (a billion years ago). Some Jehovahs pulled into our driveway. We were working in the yard so we saw them right away. They asked my father if they could speak to us. My dad replied that he was agnostic and his wife and children were Mormon. They left quickly.

There is no love lost between the two religons.
So that's what I tell people to do. Find out who's at the door. Then tell them your the opposite, and watch the dust cloud as they leave.

[Miscue]

I've thought the same thing, it's probably more effective to do that than to just say you aren't interested or don't have time.

"I am an ordained minister for a religion not of your own." Hehehe.

[1stdeadeye]

The LDS/Mormans are fun!:D

We used to love messing with them. Offer them coffee or a beer. Ask them how many husbands/wives they had, etc...

The JWs are bad though. They don't quit, plus they have those crappy comic books.

I agree with Miscue, practice what you preach. Lead a good life and you'll be fine.

[beam]

This has really changed into a cool conversation. I hope it stays that way. :)

With regards to morality, I have been pondering something lately...let's see what you guys think.

I have been studying the Old Testament, and in doing so, I have been learning about the formation of people of Israel, their captivity, exodus, entrance to Promised Land, apostasy, repentance, apostasy, repentance, apostasy, repentance...you get the picture.

Anyway, in some of the accounts, when the people of Israel went into possess the land, they were ordered by God to destroy the people. All of them. Men, women, kids, didn't matter.

This got me to thinking...doing this would not be considered a moral thing to do. However, not doing it would be disobeying God. So what is the determining factor in what is moral?

Just something I was thinking about.

[SlartyBartFast]

Not that I like bashing the Jehovas, but they do make an easy target.

When they come to the door, grab one by the hand, shake their hand vigorously and give-em a hug if you can.

Then you say:"It's so good to meet you. Haven't talked to a Jehova since I was kicked out of my last temple."

It seems it's very forbidden for a Jehova to come into contact with a excommunicated Jehova.

Or, you can do what some friends did. They were in the basement playing a role-playing game. Can't remmeber which, but it was like D&D only your characters were travelling in the depths of hell or you were in fact a demon. (and by the way these guys played in full costume)

Well, the gamemaster heard the door ring, so he goes upstairs to answer. Before answering the door he removes his "High Priest" robes.

On seeing the Jehovas or Mormons, he invites them downstairs saying he was looking forward to talking to them and he and his friends would love to have a discussion. So he sends them down stairs. Before he follows, he puts his costume back on.

Now the others, being who they were, didn't miss a beat and stayed in character during the "discussion" that followed.

I think that was the last time anyone religious showed up at that doorstep.:D

[SlartyBartFast]

Originally posted by beam
Anyway, in some of the accounts, when the people of Israel went into possess the land, they were ordered by God to destroy the people. All of them. Men, women, kids, didn't matter.

Rule 1 - Thou Shalt Not Kill.
It didn't say Thou Shalt Not Kill Unless.

If He's ordering you to kill, you're not talking to the Original Big Guy. IMO

Possibly offensive, but highly funny:
http://www.theonion.com/attack_issue/news4.html

[Miscue]

I think the word of God is what is moral, which makes things confusing and complicated... particularly when there are contradictions.

Matthew 10:45
"I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

This one is confusing to me, as well as several other excepts. Although it would be consistent if this means that he is taking up a fight against evil... perhaps a solution in the pursuit of peace. But regardless, there's a lot of "odd" things in various texts that makes it difficult to figure out what the word of God is exactly.

You'll notice in different translations that some try to fix common things that come up in discussion, to improve or fix the meaning and thoughts that are trying to be conveyed. I like what St. Augustine had to write on these matters... he had a very good approach to this problem.

[Miscue]

Originally posted by SlartyBartFast


Rule 1 - Thou Shalt Not Kill.
It didn't say Thou Shalt Not Kill Unless.

If He's ordering you to kill, you're not talking to the Original Big Guy. IMO

Possibly offensive, but highly funny:
http://www.theonion.com/attack_issue/news4.html

I thought the connotation of the original text was: "Thou shalt not murder."

"The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists."

Haha, that's funny. Well, not the killing of course, but how it is presented.

[SlartyBartFast]

Originally posted by Miscue
This one is confusing to me, as well as several other excepts.

But that's entirely the problem. It's an excerpt. Like a sound bite taken out of context it's useless and meaningless without and understanding of the circumstances.

Chopped into meaningless little snippets and quoted back unthinkingly the Koran, Bible, or Tohrah can be used to back any opinion. Much like the dictionary really.:p

[Miscue]

Agreed, it is VERY easy to conveniently take certain things out of context to further some agenda. I think this leads to great difficulty in interpreting various writings, it takes a big brain to really sort things out.

[Konigballer]

Of course theres alot of "odd" and contradictory verses in the bible.

Thats what happens when the "word of God", if you believe that thats what the bible is literally to be taken as , is written down and compiled by people. People with their own agendas, opinions, personalities, ets. Your bound to get a pretty mixed bag of philosophies when you have that many story tellers, writers, editors, and people of power assembling and tailoring the text over many, centuries. Of course all the other major religions "books" went through similar processes.

The bible, tora, koran, etc. did'nt fall out of the sky. Just try to take in the over all message, whatever you take it to be, without getting bogged down in the details.

[Miscue]

I figure it this way... the more you learn, the more ideas you gain on how to live a better life. The "truth" of a text to me is unimportant and is not worth challenging, and what problems there are I think are forgiveable. Each has a collection of well-thought out ideas that I believe can help refine one's notions of morality... and I think can be of value regardless of your beliefs... so long as what underlies is the desire to live a good life.

[cphilip]

Sorry but for some reason we forgot this kind of thread is offensive to some and we really should not have continued it. I think everyone for the most part was lamenting against forced beliefs and intrusions. But it did end up religeous. So its something we should not continue here.

Closing now.