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Canelo

Religion On My Doorstep

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Every now and again we are faced with this particular dilemma. We are sitting on the couch on a Saturday watching highlights from Friday nights' NRL games and there is a knock on the door. As you open the door you are greeted with a polite smile and a generic existential question which catches you off guard and challenges our philosophical outlook on life. I have had the liberty of studying western religion and understand where these questions are headed but I still find myself caught between the temptation to provoke argument and jab them with condescending jargon or close the door rudely in their face. I usually end up changing the subject from religion to something less intense and find them wanting to backtrack out the gate to their clan out on the street. I have to admit though that Jehova's Witnesses are a ballsy lot, while I don't buy into their beliefs they certainly put it all on the line and obviously cop a LOT of abuse which is admirable. Ultimately though I don't know if I pity them for wasting their lives and being controlled or envy them for living a life devoted to a cause, whether or not it is real, it must make them happy in some way or they wouldn't do it. That question is exacerbated when I see their kids being dragged along with them, I suppose they know no better so they dont care.

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I have had that knock on the door many times over the years ,usually on a Saturday morning.Unfortunately my wife (God bless her)usually invites them in and I do my usual disappearance act out to the man cave.

One morning I got caught off guard and before I knew it they were in deep conversation with me.

Despite a photo on the wall of my children dressed in Mickey Doolan school uniforms and a photo of myself trying to play rugby for my local Marist team they launched into a tirade against the then Pope.

Several minutes of this was enough to make me bristle (not because of their tirade)but for having the audacity to come into my home and start preaching to me. I duly asked them to leave saying I had my own beliefs and wasn't interested in theirs.

They departed with my wife apologising profusely to them and me feeling happy.

The fear still remains of those Saturday morning calls but now my wife works Saturday's and I just don't answer the door.

The magazines they leave behind are distributed to family members at xmas.

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27 minutes ago, crustyngrizzly said:

The magazines they leave behind are distributed to family members at xmas.

It is better to give than it is to receive my son, however I don't think they would condone this as they do not believe in the celebration or endorsement of Christmas.

Trick is to find out where THEY live and put an Informant in their mailbox every Friday. 

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Several years ago, living on my own, I had downed a couple after work on Xmas Eve and then headed home around 7pm. Came a knock on the door and 2 pleasant , suited young fellows were there on a mission "blessing" houses for Xmas.  "Would I mind if they carried out the necessary for me" ? Feeling quite convivial after the fluid intake and in light of the impending holiday break, I put my atheistic persuasion to one side and allowed them to enter and kneel on my lounge floor to deliver the blessing. I did not adopt the same posture but when they sought to include my name in the dialogue "Mr Chevy's house" I thought nothing of it.

Fast forward 3-4 weeks, Saturday morning and another knock on the door. "Good morning Brother Chevy" was met with a swift riposte that the blessing was a "one-off" and not an invitation to try and corrupt my religious leanings. Some of these boys are the consummate salesmen!!

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I answered the door and was in a convivial mood, so allowed them to talk. They showed me a picture of what their version of paradise looked like, with an Adam and Eve-style backdrop with sheep and giraffes and lions all frolicking in the sun. I asked what the Lion ate when he got hungry, and quick as a flash came the answer 'he's a vegetarian'.

Not my idea of paradise!

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On Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Catalano said:

I answered the door and was in a convivial mood, so allowed them to talk. They showed me a picture of what their version of paradise looked like, with an Adam and Eve-style backdrop with sheep and giraffes and lions all frolicking in the sun. I asked what the Lion ate when he got hungry, and quick as a flash came the answer 'he's a vegetarian'.

Not my idea of paradise!

Well it raises a lot of questions, do we not enjoy meat, sex, competition among peers, risk and reward? The JW alternative fate of non-believers in eternal sleep hmmmm I think I prefer the latter of the 2 if I am being honest. I suppose their annihilation theology is better to accept than the mainline religion doctrine of eternal torture which makes little sense but is always presented in the same way, telling us though God loves he will bbq us forever if we dont sign up-basically they are selling a form of fire insurance.

I certainly know which one I prefer to give 5 minutes of my life to.

 

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I've come to the conclusion that it is all a load of bollocks Canny,  and this from an ex-Altar boy.........

Mum was a devout believer and when she was nearing the end from cancer, she said she would contact me from beyond and let me know what it was really like.....

Needless to say, I'm still waiting.......:rolleyes:

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I always ask them "How will I recognise Mum & Dad, what age will they be?, in the state they were in just prior to their death or in their 20s?.

How will I find them with all the people and life forms there?

What things are their to do? 

Will I remember other things about life on earth?

They just cant answer them, unfortunately its millennium old thinking which was more about setting basic society values which have many times in history been twisted for evil purposes. In the last 50 yrs we have become way more informed they ever in history and any value attached to religion has been exposed as verbal stories way past their use by date.

 

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