Jehovah's witnesses talking to my teenager.

[Tau]

This morning there was a knock not the door. My partner was out and I was scrubbing the loo in my dirty pyjamas. so my 15 year old answered the door.
The visitors were Jehovah's witnesses who immediately started asking my son questions about his opinion of the state of patience in modern society, and presented him with a watchtower booklet.

Now I kind of admire the determination of those people, but I think it is completely inappropriate to start blabbering about your religious convictions, uninvited, to a minor in his own home. They couldn't even know if he was home alone or not. So I dashed down the stairs, damp, dirty and smelling of disinfectant, told them to leave and shut the door. Yes, I was a tad rude.

Am I unreasonable? Should I accept that they come to our home and talk to my son? He probably would've been a lot harsher to them than I would ever have been, but that is not the issue. I feel those people were out of line.

We used to have a family friend whose husband converted to JW. She had MH issues and was pressured for years to convert herself. When her DD was born prem, her DM took legal advice re emergency guardianship in case a blood transfusion was needed because after months off her meds and a traumatic labour, our friend wasn't capable of making decisions which left her JW DH to make the decisions. Our friend committed suicide a few years later - we think the pressure had become too much. Those of us who were non-believers had to dig our nails into our hands to stop ourselves from saying something during the service - the person they described was not the friend we'd known from a child.

The last time I opened the door to a pair of JWs, it wasn't that long after the funeral - I couldn't help myself and called them a bunch of murdering b***ds. Never saw them again though...

2 other friends have othe techniques.

1 invites them in for a cuppa - she says that stumps them to start with. She then goes for the kill them with kindness approach; the full tea & biscuits treatment. Keeps them off the streets for a couple of hours (she said she really kept 2 in her living room for 2 hours once!!), and there's no chance of her ever converting. Plus I think her (soft as anything) rottweiler scares them a bit.

The other spotted a pair walking down the street while he was carving something while sat on his DM's front step - btw, he's a pagan but takes a "know your enemy" approach so has a fair knowledge of the Bible. When they approached his DM's house, he engaged them in conversation and asked a question about something. They couldn't answer it, so he asked them to wait for a moment. A few minutes later, he came out holding 7 Bibles and asked them which version would they prefer to check. They left and have never darkened his DM's house again.

Have you read your own link?

Narked you could argue that about any teen raised in a belief household - such as a young woman refusing termination despite her life being at risk because she has been raised to believe life begins at conception.

The OP's son wasn't convinced not to have life saving treatment by having a quick chat on the door step was he?

I get you don't like JW - your right

I believe people have a right to faith and belief even if I may not agree with everything they teach

Narked Yes! and you have to read it without projecting to see what they are saying

How about this bit:

'When a child is born it has no "beliefs", these are imposed upon a child by its parents. In the case of Jehovah's Witnesses, it is estimated that two thirds eventually leave the religion. Is it acceptable for a parent to put their child's life at risk for a belief that the child is statistically unlikely to agree with in adulthood?

A Witness child is trained to say that a court enforced blood transfusion is akin to being raped.

"The judge wrote: ?D.P. [a minor] testified she would resist having a blood transfusion in any way that she could. She considered a transfusion an invasion of her body and compared it to rape. She asked the Court to respect her choice and permit her to continue at [the hospital] without Court ordered blood transfusions.? The Christian instruction she had received came to her aid at this difficult time.?See box.
A 12-year-old girl was being treated for leukemia. A child-welfare agency took the matter to court so that blood could be forced on her. The judge concluded: ?L. has told this court clearly and in a matter-of-fact way that, if an attempt is made to transfuse her with blood, she will fight that transfusion with all of the strength that she can muster. She has said, and I believe her, that she will scream and struggle and that she will pull the injecting device out of her arm and will attempt to destroy the blood in the bag over her bed. I refuse to make any order which would put this child through that ordeal . . . With this patient, the treatment proposed by the hospital addresses the disease only in a physical sense. It fails to address her emotional needs and her religious beliefs.? Watchtower 1991 Jun 15 p. 17

Such a statement is emotionally compelling when uttered by a child, but a minor that has undergone a life of one-sided indoctrination on blood is not in a position to make an informed decision on such a complex subject.

Maybe they didn't realise how old he is?

Next door's 15yo looks an adult to me.

We had some come recently when I was out and they spoke to 11yo dd but said they wouldn't talk to her "as your mummy might not like it" and left.

I tell them I have issues with them and ask them never to return.

It is no lie I do have issues with them, the ones I know are lying hypocritical people, I shouldn't base all, JW on the ones I know but I do not believe in thecult religion the ones I know live. It's all a lot of false shit!

I stupidly let my DS go to 'the meetings' from when he was a baby until he around 6, his head is messed up with 'the afterlife', I bought him the bible I was bought when little. Way too many bibles these days imo I may buy them all for him.

Narked All DC are influenced by their parent's beliefs, religion or ethics.

I wouldn't like it at all. I had a colleague years ago who had a sister drawn into this. And she said it broke her mother's heart and split up the family. And I don't think 15 year olds are fit to make their own minds up. that's why those cults prey on youngsters.

I always get dragged into JW discussions on here. It does my head in. Why is it acceptable to be totally rude to someone for their beliefs? And not just rudeness, insults, assault, having dogs set on them...
If this were any other religion, this would be unacceptable.

Catpuss, you are seeing victimhood whilst leaving out the INTRUSION and boundary crossing which sets those reactions off...

When you are prepared to accept that the goal of JW is to make everyone else be like them, you will find that sense of victimhood is illogical.

It is not as though JWs quietly go off to their temples and quietly go home again, is it??????

Be honest, now...

15 is old enough to be able to make up their own mind regarding religion, and also to learn the skills needed to get rid of people at the door!

Actually, I know JW's very well thank you. I have family JWs. I've been associating with them for nearly 30 years. Hundreds of them.
I am not and never will be a JW. I have no religion myself. But I respect them for their faith. They want to and need to share that faith. I've never met any who wouldn't leave if asked. Nothing I have ever seen a JW do has ever merited having a snarling Rottweiler set on them and their children in a communal stairwell. Or even being told to Fuck Off.

I don't understand what the difference is between a religious person on your door step and a child going to school where religion will be also pushed, every day in every way over and over again in little sutle ways - the dc will make up there own minds and looking at the last census stats poeple in the Wales and England are turning there backs on religion.

JWs are inconsistent about blood IMO. The bible passages deal with blood obtained as a result of using force on an animal (ie in killing for sacrifice or food). Giving blood is a human, conscious choice I make to help other people, it is my gift (44 gifts so far). People donating blood are sharing something important of themselves because we believe in helping others, regardless of which religion we adhere to, or not as the case may be.

Blood transfusions were unknown when the bible was written, so we have a stupid situation of people using a 2000 yr old book to deal with today's society.

Aah, but Ivy, people are getting excellent educations for their child alon with the religious indoctrination. That is ok!

There is no need to tell them to leave and shut the door on them.

Ahem, sorry, but I don't quite get this. Are you suggesting that whoever turns up on somebody else's doorstep, whether they end up speaking to a teen, an adult or the family dog, deserves friendly conversation and the offer of a cuppa?

IMO unsolicited proselytising itself is incredibly rude. I get why some people feel the need to do it, but it is rude nonetheless. Therefore, I really don't see the moral need to treat proselytizers in any other way than others who have just been rude to me.

That having been said: I love a fun debate and I usually invite mine in and try to deconvert them. I quite like When it's Mormons, they're always impeccably dressed around here.

You don't have to invite them in for a cuppa, just say "thank you but I'm not interested". Or "thankyou but I'm very busy" or put a sign up saying "no religious callers please". Shutting the door in someone's face is rude.

My 16yr old would have great fun arguing with Jehovah's witnesses. He's and articulate atheist with a strong biblical knowledge.

Mind you he played nicely with the phone call about internet security too... Had them squirming by asking appropiate questions about which Internet provide they represented etc that after about 30 min they hung up!

Once more for people who fail to understand: It is not my son I worry about. He is a level headed person and more than capable of handling people like this.

It is the principle. You should not bug a child in his/her own home for things like this - when an obvious minor answers the door (and he does not look older than he is) you ask for an adult. It is different if the minor is outside on his/her own, (although even then you have no business trying to force your religion on them)
But in their home a child or young person should be safe from intrusions like this.

There is also the tool my great uncle employs ( he's a church organist)- good on you chaps but just off to high maaaass ( yes he says it like that)