.
Should it be decided to go head to head with Watchtower Society
missionaries, here's some useful tips passed on by Pete, the ex Jehovah's
Witness mentioned in post No.107.
1• Round up a copy of the Watchtower Society's "New World Translation of
the Bible" and its "Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures."
Sometimes these are available in thrift stores like Good Will and Salvation
Army. Both are available online from amazon dot com.
For some useful insights into a variety of Jehovah's Witness teachings, the
little brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures" is a must-have. It's
available online too. Be sure to get the Watchtower Society's version instead
of another book by the same name authored by a different agency.
2• Do not let these people get personal with you. You must never ever
assume they are your friends because first and foremost their primary
interest is in making you a life-long slave to the Watchtower Society. You
can be courteous and you can be civil, but it's highly recommended that you
not let them into your life.
3• Do not accept their literature. They will want to come back later and
discuss it with you; thus taking control of both your thinking and the
meeting.
4• Don't let them get too far into their spiel, but at the first opportunity
begin introducing your own questions; thus denying them control of the
conversation.
5• Do not debate. You're not a salesman pushing a product, nor a recruiter,
nor a candidate running for an elected office: you're not on a quota, you're
not out to win anything, nor are you required to win-- you're a herald; viz: a
messenger. Your information is best presented as a second opinion for them
to think about; and that's all. No hammering and no pressuring.
The goal is to show missionaries that the Society's isn't the only expert
opinion out there. In other words: the Watchtower Society's interpretations
aren't the only option; nor are theirs eo ipso the right interpretations just
because the Governing Body says so.
6• Avoid getting embroiled in trivial issues like birthdays, Easter, Christmas,
Christmas trees, the design and construction of the wooden device upon
which Christ was crucified, saluting the flag, service in the military, and that
sort of thing. There are much bigger fish to fry than those.
The No.1 issue on their minds when they come to your door will likely be
Jehovah's kingdom, in particular, the portion of His kingdom to be on Earth.
7• Make them listen and pay attention to what you say even if you have to
repeat yourself to do it, or clap your hands, snap your fingers, or raise your
voice. Do not let them digress, change the subject, go off on a tangent, nor
get distracted and/or turn their attention elsewhere while you're speaking. If
they start digging through their bags, shuffling papers, tinkering with their
tablets, or looking up a reference; call them on it because there is no use in
speaking when their minds are elsewhere engaged.
8• Do not permit them to interrupt you and/or talk out of turn. Politely, but
firmly, insist that they hold their peace until you've said your piece.
9• Do not permit them to evade and/or circumvent difficult questions. They
sometimes say that they will have to confer with someone more
knowledgeable. When they do that, the meeting is over. Thank them politely
for their time and then ask them to leave and come back when they have
the information. Do not let them stay and start a new topic of their own.
10• Do not react and/or respond to ad hominems, which can be defined as a
logical fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character,
motive, qualifications and/or other attribute of the person making the
argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking
the substance of the argument itself. They will most likely challenge your
qualifications, especially your credibility with the Greek and Hebrew
languages, so be prepared for that.
11• These people undergo hour upon hour of training to refute standard
Christian doctrines, so it's very important to show them the Bible not only in
ways they've already seen, but also in ways they've never imagined.
It is my personal opinion that it's not a good idea to attempt to evangelize a
Watchtower missionary as I can just about guarantee that most experienced
JWs are better at evangelizing you than you are them. If you think that your
own gospel message is some sort of silver bullet; you'll find out right quick
that their silver bullets are quite likely bigger than yours.
_
Should it be decided to go head to head with Watchtower Society
missionaries, here's some useful tips passed on by Pete, the ex Jehovah's
Witness mentioned in post No.107.
1• Round up a copy of the Watchtower Society's "New World Translation of
the Bible" and its "Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures."
Sometimes these are available in thrift stores like Good Will and Salvation
Army. Both are available online from amazon dot com.
For some useful insights into a variety of Jehovah's Witness teachings, the
little brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures" is a must-have. It's
available online too. Be sure to get the Watchtower Society's version instead
of another book by the same name authored by a different agency.
2• Do not let these people get personal with you. You must never ever
assume they are your friends because first and foremost their primary
interest is in making you a life-long slave to the Watchtower Society. You
can be courteous and you can be civil, but it's highly recommended that you
not let them into your life.
3• Do not accept their literature. They will want to come back later and
discuss it with you; thus taking control of both your thinking and the
meeting.
4• Don't let them get too far into their spiel, but at the first opportunity
begin introducing your own questions; thus denying them control of the
conversation.
5• Do not debate. You're not a salesman pushing a product, nor a recruiter,
nor a candidate running for an elected office: you're not on a quota, you're
not out to win anything, nor are you required to win-- you're a herald; viz: a
messenger. Your information is best presented as a second opinion for them
to think about; and that's all. No hammering and no pressuring.
The goal is to show missionaries that the Society's isn't the only expert
opinion out there. In other words: the Watchtower Society's interpretations
aren't the only option; nor are theirs eo ipso the right interpretations just
because the Governing Body says so.
6• Avoid getting embroiled in trivial issues like birthdays, Easter, Christmas,
Christmas trees, the design and construction of the wooden device upon
which Christ was crucified, saluting the flag, service in the military, and that
sort of thing. There are much bigger fish to fry than those.
The No.1 issue on their minds when they come to your door will likely be
Jehovah's kingdom, in particular, the portion of His kingdom to be on Earth.
7• Make them listen and pay attention to what you say even if you have to
repeat yourself to do it, or clap your hands, snap your fingers, or raise your
voice. Do not let them digress, change the subject, go off on a tangent, nor
get distracted and/or turn their attention elsewhere while you're speaking. If
they start digging through their bags, shuffling papers, tinkering with their
tablets, or looking up a reference; call them on it because there is no use in
speaking when their minds are elsewhere engaged.
8• Do not permit them to interrupt you and/or talk out of turn. Politely, but
firmly, insist that they hold their peace until you've said your piece.
9• Do not permit them to evade and/or circumvent difficult questions. They
sometimes say that they will have to confer with someone more
knowledgeable. When they do that, the meeting is over. Thank them politely
for their time and then ask them to leave and come back when they have
the information. Do not let them stay and start a new topic of their own.
10• Do not react and/or respond to ad hominems, which can be defined as a
logical fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character,
motive, qualifications and/or other attribute of the person making the
argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking
the substance of the argument itself. They will most likely challenge your
qualifications, especially your credibility with the Greek and Hebrew
languages, so be prepared for that.
11• These people undergo hour upon hour of training to refute standard
Christian doctrines, so it's very important to show them the Bible not only in
ways they've already seen, but also in ways they've never imagined.
It is my personal opinion that it's not a good idea to attempt to evangelize a
Watchtower missionary as I can just about guarantee that most experienced
JWs are better at evangelizing you than you are them. If you think that your
own gospel message is some sort of silver bullet; you'll find out right quick
that their silver bullets are quite likely bigger than yours.
_
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