When a Jehovah's Witness knocks on my door, what exactly is their ultimate goal?

Question

I am never rude to them but I am offended that someone should knock on my door and force religion on me. No other religion does this so why do Jehovah's Witnesses feel the need to question me and the way I live? I do not condemn their beliefs at all, live and let live, but what are they trying to do? Convert me?

Answer 1

They are trying to Convert you. I used to have Mormons come knocking on my door. I would merely pull my necklace out from under my shirt to show the pentacle and they would leave.

Answer 2

Yes, JW's goals are to do what they are told to do, and also to find those who are interested in also becoming JWs. Most of them truly think they are doing the right thing and don't force their beliefs on anyone. There are those who keep coming back even when the householder asks them not to, but that's because they are always hopeing someone will change their mind. If you really don't want them to keep coming by, ask them to put you on their 'do not call' list and tell them that if you ever decide to learn more you will go to their 'church' (kingdom hall) on your own.

Note: JWs who do not participate in the door-to-door work are considered inactive and weak members and association with them is often discouraged.

If you do get into a discussion with them, just be aware that they will not be completely honest about JW beliefs and they will tell you that anyone who has anything negative to say about the JWs are apostates and condemned by god. They believe that they are the only true religion, and that all other religions (inc. christian) are false. They are not interested in your religious beliefs. They do not celebrate any holidays except for the memorial of Jesus's death, and they do not vote or join the military. They (family and fellow JWs) shun members who decide to leave the religion, or those who THEY judge to be unrepentant sinners. They also protect pedophiles in the congregation and punish victims and those who report molestation. This information is all available on their website and in their literature, but is often sugarcoated, or worded in very deceptive ways.

Answer 3

You say you are Never Rude to them -- what a Nice Kind Person you are --- But what right have these Religious Nutters Got to Knock your door and then start Spouting Religion at you --- which after all is only "Their" Opinion - the other Problem is Listening to them only whets their appetite and they thinkk they are well on the way to "Converting" You -- so they will keep returning ---- they eventually get what they deserve from many, many people and are told to "Go Away" or sometimes Comments which are a Little Stronger --- I Did Have a Similar Problem some time ago - It ended with me Issuing them with a warning that they would be "Most Unwise" to continue Pestering us --- they did get the message --- they didn,t return .......

Answer 4

In what universe does 'knocking on a door' constitute 'forcing religion on anyone'? How do viewpoint questions constitute 'questioning the way the householder lives'? This reminds a fairminded observer of the Shakesperian proverb "The lady doth protest too much."

A common misconception is that Jehovah's Witnesses go from door-to-door because they feel it is their duty to "recruit" a householder, or get him to "convert". In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses would go from door-to-door even if there were no hope that anyone would change their religion, or even if no one would listen to them!

Their ultimate goal is to please Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, who specifically assigned the house-to-house ministry to the Christian congregation, with no regard for specific results.

(Luke 10:1,2) After these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Jehovah's Witnesses are trained to direct attention to the bible, and move on when their message is unwanted. Since each congregation in the United States tries to call at every home in its territory at least twice each year, there is strong motivation for them to move on where little interest is shown. Also, the Scriptures help the Witnesses to expect little interest from most:

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching ...and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://jw-media.org/people/ministry.htm

Answer 5

I'm going to answer this from my personal feelings. My ultimate goal when I go door to door is to share somthing that has brought me joy with the people in my community. I try to present some short thought about my beleifs and take as little time as possible because I know people are busy. Please don't be offended. If you really want us to stop calling, simply ask to be listed as a "Do Not Call". Again, I am not questioning the way other people live or trying to convert. I just want to find those that are looking for some answers about the bible.

Answer 6

Hi. James Moore 22 here. Been a Witness for some time now. Firstly we are not forcing anything on anyone. Were that the case I think we would be involved in Politics or Wars or Inquisitions or Crusades etc. We are offering our religous views. The same as you might offer a recipe, only much more important as we feel we are helping others know God. No we do not Tithe. Yes ours is donation based. Tithing, for the record, is not a donation, or at least not a voluntary one. IF you ever go in a Kingdom Hall you will notice that NO ONE will mention you needing to give money. There are NO collection plates. We do have contribution boxes discreetly placed in the Hall so that those who can AND want to can donate privately without anyone knowing they gave or how much was given. We do not pay our Elders. Most of us have to have some sort of secular employment as food aint free:). No, we are not ALL poor or ALL rich. There are some who are somewhat well to do and some who are not. This is unimportant. One thing I have always loved is the fact that I can be accepted. Yes I am white, young, somewhat fat, not exactly handsome and yet I am still called brother. I live in Georgia. Try going to a school with a 2% white student poppulation. It aint fun. We try to live according to the Bible. We believe it is Jehovah's word and that he sent his son Jesus to us to pay the ultimate price. Also as I am using a computer I hope you realise that we do not think of science as "Evil" as one answerer purported. As to why we come to your door it is to offer you a chance to know Jehovah and the Bible. Even if you do not wish to pursue a relationship with him now please relise things change. That is why we continue to offer what we know. We do not want your money. We just want to make sure everyone has a chance to know Jehovah. "This good news of the Kingdom Will be preached throughout all the inhabited earth for a Witness to all the nations" Matthew 24:14

Answer 7

I also like you understand the live and let live thing, I am not a Witness myself but have an ex boyfriend that was but who had left the faith and began to live how he felt he wanted. They have very strict views on the world both moral and financial. I'm sure that many of the ones who knock on you door (as well as the ones who knock on mine) have true belief in what they say. They really do beleive that their way of thinking is the way God intended Man to live. They would like to to have a mutual agreement in their word from God and become a Witness. I'm assuming that they would like to spread the word although I may be wrong. They definatley want financial support because their churches/places of worship don't get built for free.
I have found that most of the Witnesses that come to your door are not the weirdos or freaks that people will talk about. People talk about all the ways to get rid of them ie: I give blood/I worship the Devil etc etc. I have found that if you are really not interested then a polite but firm 'no thank you I have my own beliefs', works fine. I hope this has helped in some way

Answer 8

Hi! They are bring a message of hope through the use of the Bible. Telling that there is a future hope, where all the problems engulfing this planet won't exist. If you really want more answer just ask them next time they knock on your door, why are Jehovah's Witnesses always knocking on my doors?

I guaranteed they will explain why!

If you want more information on Jehovah Witnesses, what they belief, their teaching, and etc.

go to the link below:

Answer 9

First, it should be noted that every church has tried at one time or another, even the Catholics, to do door to door preaching and failed. Even the Mormons can only get their young to do it and only as a requirement before marriage. Even the Muslims are trying it and failing. I have a brochure on their ministry work which specifically refers to the successful rates of preaching by JWs.

I was disfellowshipped in 1982 by the Corning, CA congregation for cause, but not the ones some ex-JWs want you to believe. As noted by the JWs above, the Watchtower does not have tithing. That is a practice of many religions of Christendom, Mormons, and Islam. All the witnesses have is a simple donation box in the back of the Kingdom Hall.

People think they have to be tithing because of how large they are, on an international basis. They also can't believe people work the printing plant or run the many levels of the organization without getting paid. In Christendom, most everyone from the elders in a church on up want to be compensated for their efforts. Those in the Governing Board of the Society live in the same two-bedroom apartments in the workers residential buildings as the plant workers. In fact, New York has been complaining about the new residential buildings. They want them to allow retail businesses to open on the first floor of the buildings bordering major streets, but they refused. If they needed money, they would act like every other religion and allow retail businesses to pay the rent to do business on their property. But, they don’t as they believe such things should be separate.

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2003/12/15/dumbo_doesnt_want_jehovahs_witnesses_to_be_neighbors.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/nyregion/thecity/21witn.html?ex=1305864000&en=c8a45ccafc624a5b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Finally, it should be noted that witnesses don’t actually convert, but revert. Their religion is an earlier form of Christianity, from the time when the Apostles were trying to spread the word, especially to their brethren who considered them to be a cult, going house to house telling people that the beliefs, rituals, and observances of holidays dating back hundreds of years were no longer valid. There were many well educated individuals in religion who could clearly prove that Christians were a cult, among them Saul of Tarsus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_of_Tarsus

Answer 10

I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. There have been alot of negative comments about us on this question, but the ONLY thing that bothers me is the accusation of being after people's money.

I am a third generation Witness. My grandparents NEVER tithed. My parents NEVER tithed. My husband and I not only NEVER tithe, we don't donate on a regular basis. We barely have enough money to feed our children, so we don't always have enough to put in the box.

Any donations are done anonymously. Nobody knows who does, who doesn't, or how much. The box is in the back, nowhere near the front door.

It really is an afterthought. We are there to learn about God and his Son. We go door-to-door because we are commanded to. If we never found 1 single person from here forward, we would still be witnessing.

Answer 11

I was a JW for decades.

Yes, their goal is to convert you. But that is secondary.

Their ultimate goal is to buy their salvation and escape destruction at Armageddon. They are relentlessly reminded by their Watchtower that unless they preach the Watchtower message (which they call the Bible's message) , He will not find them worthy of eternal life.

You may notice the denial of some of these Witnesses who say that they aren't there to convert you. They aren't actually lying to you - they're lying to themselves. They most certainly are there to convert you, and if they see you won't, they will stop calling on you. (Unless they need some "time" so they can report more "hours", in which case they might stop by.)