Jehovah’s witnesses at the door, what do you say?

[singsong]

I believe in god but not from same pov as Jehovah?s witnesses. I have no complaints about people choosing to follow this religion, I think it?s everyone?s right to make their own choices. Also I?ve nothing against Jehovah?s witnesses as people, we had some lovely family friends once who were Jehovah?s witnesses (although they have now moved away). But I?m not really very keen discussing these issues at the door with a complete stranger. Had a lady come round today (very nice polite lady) who was ?spreading the word? I did what I normally do in this situation which was be polite and have a short conversation with her about the issue in her magazine (avoiding talking about it from a religious pov but just life in general) and then said goodbye. My mum on the other hand is quite rude to them and tells them to go away quite abruptly. It?s really not in my nature to be rude but I?m worried that by engaging in conversation in this way I?m maybe misleading them into thinking I might convert and join them in their religion.
What do other people say?

i know twiglett, the pros and cons of medication scares me at times. when you have drugs to keep heart stable, ones to lower blood pressure, ones to raise it etc etc, its mid boggling. now we have to look at heart transpalnt as well.

miam, I expect JWs vary in what they will accept, but I have been told by a JW that cell-savers are NOT acceptable (as the blood leaves the body before it is filtered and returned- the same argument as pre-donated blood, I believe). We already use cell savers routinely in elective surgery, it's nothing new-fangled.

Without the blood transfusions that I had after having my dd, I wouldn't be here to bring up my little girl. I can't imagine wanting to be part of any faith which would have denied me the right to a procedure which saved my life. Had I been a JW, I would be dead and my dd wouldn't ever have known her mum.

I know that I haven't got the understanding of the faith that might allow me to make sense of that, but it just seems wrong that, having all of my life ahead of me, an emergency surgery which was designed to save my daughter's life could have been allowed to kill me, when my death was not necessary.

one more quick point, miam, you say,"- we are not sitting back and watching our children die!! There are huge advancements being made in the field of bloodless surgery - "

In the case of the 16 yo we treated, that is just what the family did- we respected their beliefs and didn't give him blood, although it would have saved his life. By over-emphasizing the "advancements" that are being made you are effectively saying that we, the medical profession are negligent in not using these techniques. We already do all that we can to prevent blood loss, but when there is no haemoglobin in the circulation, you die!

I was cross-examined (at an inquest, not a trial) by a JW lawyer that the family had brought along to try and accuse our team of failing to treat him in accordance with his beliefs. The lawyer actually had the cheek to suggest that, as he was a JW, he should have had better and faster treatment than Joe Public, and that would have saved him! He sneeringly asked if I was aware of the use of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of acute anaemia- as it happened, I am a diver and knew that the nearest hyperbaric chamber was 30 miles away, and even if he was fit for transfer (which he wasn't) there was only room for one person inside (so no doctors/ nurses then).

Much as I don't like to see people die in front of me, I will accept it, if that is what they really want, but I don't like to then be accused of failing to save them.

Well, Ghandi would have rather died than fight back, so its all part of a belief system. You cant trash it, but if you go to someones door and ask them to believe it, you must be prepared to argue it and argue it well, if you wish to "save" people.

Theres lots of things "in the bible" which have been misconstrued. THe jews dont eat pork cause it is felt it is dirty, hindus believe cows are sacred and chrisitans, well, often they believe whatever gets them through the night. THe most important thing in my bible are the first two commandments, love thy God and do unto others etc. The rest is all gravy

How different is it to not accept blood products than it is to not believe that drugs/operation will help you. We "believe" in all of the medical advancements but often they dont work. This is a belief system too (alopathic medicine etc.) Most things are about belief. Some people "believe" themselves into getting well again. This happens without the use of medicine. We dont know all there is and if a person, in my estimation, dosent want to accept blood products, leave them be. But I dont agree that they should sue afterwards due to alleged shoddy treatment. You gotta take your lumps.

is human insulin accepted by jehovahs winesses? just out of interest

'I'm a catholic' (I'm not)

I wouldn't even mention the blood issue - that would be a perfect invitation to engage you in discussion!

I'm not trashing it, mdww, I have every respect for people's faith whether or not I chose to believe it. The fact that Ghandi may have chosen to die rather than fight is one question; whether my child should have been allowed to grow up without me in her life (when I am otherwise fighting fit) is another.

And I must say I think miam and the other JWs on this thread are making their argument very well. I may not believe what they do, but they are putting across their views very clearly without getting angry or abusive (as so often happens on threads when people's opinions are questioned) and I have a great deal of respect for them and for their beliefs. I may not understand them and I may not agree with them, but I'm not trashing them.

If you know your religion really well, its really quite easy to have a civil and even interesting debate with jehovahs witnesses. They arent some freak of nature, they are people just like everybody else. I think deep down they welcome debate cause I am sure they have questions about their own faith too. We all do. Its just, well do you want to get into a debate about religion in the first place.

I answer to the original question, I say that I'm already a member of a church, and very happy with it, but thank them very much for their time, and goodbye.
Nae bother...

Miam, just one more question, what do Jeh. Witnesses believe about getting immunisations? Do immunisations have blood products in them?

I know that, miam. As I said, I may not understand or agree with some of your beliefs, but I have the utmost respect for you and for your faith, and for you as a person.

mamadadawahwah, that is something ihad to question myself. i have to have anti-d during and after pregnancy, and as it is a blood product it weighed heavily on my mind during my 1st pregnancy (i had just left being JW). my mum helped me look into it all, got loads of info etc, and end of the day it was a conscience decision of whether or not i'd have the anti-d. I did have it, and have had it in 2nd and 3rd pregnancies.

I prefer Mormons calling - they're usually handsome young men in dashing suits...

I also had to make a decision when Dd1 was born prematurely, they wanted to give her a jab of something that contained blood products, we weighted it up and decided that she should have it.
I am not sure, but I am guessing that the messages that are deleted were from a JW.
I hate the fact that everyone rips the mickey out of JW, at the end out the day, its just a regilion like every other one. I do believe what the witnesses believe, there is too much truth in it, TBH. If you look into the bible, you will see so much has been true. BUT I am so busy and don't have time for regilion myself. My DS asks about God, and the big bang (it seems they are taught both at school) and I will tell him about God, as I believe that there is one.

miaow - my posts were deleted by accident (my fault, not mn's). It was a shame really because for once I was quite happy with my posts!!!! Anyway, I didn't want anyone to think that I had taken offence or was upset by anything said on this thread. The exact opposite infact - it has been a very calm, informative and interesting discussion. Thanks to everyone. x

do they come round to your house specifically or they go round to everyones houses? as it would freak me if they turned up on my door step

This is to JW writers. I posted this on a separate thread but not much interest. What is JW take on the "mark" of the beast?

But is it a religion "just like any other", Sparkly.

It has been refered to as a "cult", as has LDS.

I'm afraid I haven't read the rest of this thread, but had to share this re the original question:

A friend of mine is an astrophysicist (more common than you might think here in Cambridge) with specific research interests in the use of microwave radiation to investigate extreme far flung galaxies (this is what he calls 'layman's terms!).

He is also an atheist. So you can imagine his joy when on a Saturday morning as he is having a bath, the doorbell rings and he has to go and answer the door, wrapped in a towel, to a small group of Jehovah's witnesses.

Their opening gambit was:

'Do you ever consider the origins of the Universe?'.....

Astronomer friend: 'yes, my office hours are 9 - 5.30, contact me at....' Slams door and goes to finish bath

Joys of being a doorstep Christian in a rather atheist town, I'm afraid!

I think I might try next time : look, this is a bad time, can I come round to yours later?

mamadadawahwah, how do you mean?