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I don't believe the person you quoted mentioned barging in. I'm not sure ANYONE on this thread has mentioned barging in. That came from your own imagination (and exaggeration).
The question I responded to was if I ever listened to "no". I don't know what that would mean, except that I would ignore the person's wishes to engage in conversation. They have every right to say "No", or even slam the door in my face if they'd like.
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The person you quoted said you and your kind don't take "no" for an answer (to paraphrase). Perhaps you can assert that you, personally, would take "no" and literally just say thank you and leave quietly. Indeed, some proselytizers do. But MANY of us have had the experience of continuing to be pursued, and the continuous counter-interrogation. "Have you accepted Christ into your heart?" "No, I am not religious. Thank you and good-bye." (Door starts to close) (person talks through closing door) "I used to feel as you did but..." or "In that case are you aware of the dangers of..." or whatever. Person finally goes away...then returns the next week and the next and the next, to knock-knock-knock while you either ignore, or eventually stick your head out to loudly say, "Please leave and don't return to my house," then feel like YOU have to hate YOURSELF for having asserted your own privacy.
And for some, if you don't actively start closing the door they WILL just keep cross-firing at you until you do just slam.
I consider that not taking "no" for an answer, while not physically barging in. I think you're exaggerating with that in order to suggest a claim that NO proselytizers are pushy. And THAT would be ridiculous...full stop.
Some, yes. I've met vacuum salesmen that did the same thing. Do you have the irrational fear of vacuum salesmen, too, to the point that you go on internet message boards to complain about them? Or do you simply say "no" and shut the door?
The person you quoted said you and your kind don't take "no" for an answer (to paraphrase)...
To be fair (and I am not sure who made the initial comment or even if it was phrased as "your kind") that is, again, a broad brush. Not all believers believe or act the same. It's the same as saying "all you ignorant, god-hating atheists!" or whatever.
Not all Christians proselytize. Of those who do, not all cold-knock on the doors of strangers. Of those who do, plenty would be respectful and non-pushy enough to leave if asked.
In my opinion the image of a wild-eyed Christian getting really obnoxious and in-your-face and demanding is the exception, not the rule.
Do you have the irrational fear of vacuum salesmen, too...
Where is this "irrational fear?"
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...to the point that you go on internet message boards to complain about them?
Well, it's a public forum on which someone specifically began a conversation about this. Do you feel the need to apologize for and defend pushy proselytizers on the internet or something?
We've got 18 pages so far of people expressing that irrational fear. I'd encourage you to go back and read some of the statements.
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Well, it's a public forum on which someone specifically began a conversation about this. Do you feel the need to apologize for and defend pushy proselytizers on the internet or something?
If anything, I've been quite clear that I am not pushy and I am not advocating anyone being pushy. Yet, on the other hand, some people need to get some intestinal to learn to tell people "no".
We've got 18 pages so far of people expressing that irrational fear. I'd encourage you to go back and read some of the statements.
Well, you are engaging in a relatively adult discussion. You should know how this works. You make a claim ("Ooh! All these nasty nonbelievers with their irrational fears of us baaad ol' Christians coming and knocking on their door!") so now you get to either admit you're just talking out your behind or you can post some quotes of what you consider people expressing "irrational fears." You claim there's 18 pages of them, so it should be easy.
Your job now is to either back up your claim with proof and evidence (two things you clearly reject and fail to understand) or admit you're just full of hype and BS. Again.
Waiting to see what you provide for examples of all these irrational fears people have expressed. Thanks in advance for putting forth the modicum of effort needed to prevent yourself looking like a simpering liar. Not calling you a simpering liar--just saying if you want to avoid looking like one, based on the claims you made, here's your chance.
For goodness' sake. Not wanting to be bothered in my own home is not the same as having an irrational fear.
They have to have a common enemy: "the gays, uppity wimmens, the brown people, believers in other faiths, the non-believers" etc., etc. to rally around. First off, it helps GIVE them something to rally around as their baseless, nonsensical beliefs become less and less relevant to most people, and it helps with their groundless, paranoiac "we're so persecuted" line of bool sheet, which, along with the Republican party somehow being "small government" is among the biggest heaps of putrid nonsense regularly foisted off on the public.
My grandma used to invite in door-knockers. Salesmen, JWs; whomever they were, she'd let them in, serve coffee, and politely listen to their spiel. I, on the other hand, have an active deterrent system in the form of an intimidating-looking superintendent, who deeply abhors any kind of solicitation or unwelcome proselytizing in his apartment complex. One whiff of people in suits knocking door to door, and he's on it. Not a calm man by any stretch of the imagination, he just about flipped his lid when he caught them leaving watchtower literature in the laundry rooms.
Other than that, the only incident I can think of is a bunch of parents were livid when a local church started dropping off fliers to be distributed to the students; not necessarily because it was a church, because because they sneakily disguised the fact that it was a church, in order to get it past the principal. For example, their Trunk or Treat flier stated it as a "Fall Block Party" and their VBS flier was rebranded as a "Summer Kid's Club" with no indication that it was church event.
The question I responded to was if I ever listened to "no". I don't know what that would mean, except that I would ignore the person's wishes to engage in conversation. They have every right to say "No", or even slam the door in my face if they'd like.
I just told you what that would mean: continuing to talk, and interrupt, to the point that the unwilling listener has to do something uncomfortable and against his/her desire to be polite...closing the door WHILE the person is talking, as one example. It's not like this is going to ruin the listener's day or cause some sort of long-term distress or anything, but that's what "not listening to no" means in this case...which is pretty obvious. We've practically ALL run into this experience at least once; some of us, many times...a few, on a regular basis.
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Originally Posted by Vizio
Some, yes. I've met vacuum salesmen that did the same thing. Do you have the irrational fear of vacuum salesmen, too, to the point that you go on internet message boards to complain about them? Or do you simply say "no" and shut the door?
No, and I don't have an irrational fear of proselytizers, either. I'm not sure what you mean by that? Are you still going back to that one obviously facetious comment (which wasn't made by me, BTW) about how scary such people can be? I answered that too, though my take is that they're more off-putting than actually scary, but again, as the original comment was so obviously tongue-in-cheek, that hardly matters.
And yes, it's uncomfortable to have to get aggressive with people coming door-to-door for sales reasons (not religious ones). Why wouldn't it be? What would the difference be? They're both intrusions and in the examples/lengths given here, both ignore the unwilling listener's cues and hence, cross boundaries and may ultimately cause the listener to feel s/he has to do something rude. There IS no difference, why would you think there is...or, why would you think we WOULDN'T think there is? Same thing. (Except I've never been told I'll go to hell for not buying a Dyson.)
But if they surround me in the yard, i thank them politely for their efforts, and tell them that I have my own personal belief system. Which I am quite comfortable with, but have no interest in discussing with strangers.
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