A couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses just came by the house (interestingly two woman – something I’ve not seen before).
The Mormon’s have also been really active in our area recently. I’ve seen them a number of times down our street.
There are two questions that arise in my mind.
1. They are very active – should we be more so?
2. In the past I would have debated with them, which has always appeared, at least on the surface of it, fruitless. Whereas this time around with both the Mormon’s and JW’s I’ve not bothered. Am I missing out on an opportunity? Or is it a general waste of time and I should spend my time with others/doing the other jobs I have to do?
Hmmm…
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August 14, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Steve Mac
Waste of time I reckon. They’re not there to be converted by you and they have such a narrow frame of reference and little understanding of what they say anyway. Just let down their tyres (jokes)
August 14, 2008 at 1:53 pm
John
On one level I agree with Steve Mac… but I wonder perhaps that is not the context to engage them. As I have interacted with many JW’s and Mormons, they have their religious time, when they visit and do their bit to please God. When you meet them outside of that time – often they are more open and ready to talk and discuss things like “normal people”.
We tend to put them in a “those people” box but we must remember that they are not only JW’s or Mormons they are real people with real lives and real concerns too. Perhaps we ought to be thinking of ways in which we can connect with them outside of their religious time and get to know them as people in the context of community. And they can experience the same with us. Then when we speak to one another – it is not as JW vs Christian but as John and Joseph.