Jehovah's Witnesses

[EcclesCake]

I know witnesses do not celebrate Christmas or birthdays, but what about Easter? I need to ring one and am conscious of intruding at Easter time.

I'd appreciate some guidance on the top five subjects to avoid when in a group of witnesses too.

I think this will win the prize for my most bizarre post.

[starone]

I didn't think they clebrated anything, including birthdays. I always feel sorry for the children, who miss out on such a lot of things their contemporaries have. My brother was one for a short while, until they expected him to stand on the corner of the street in the middle of town and sell the Watchtower, their magazine. He rapidly retreated then.

[FredPuli43]

I'm with mighty WBA on this. They are not going to take offence; it doesn't seem that they could. They understand, anyway, that few people know a lot about their faith and, indeed, they may have spent a lot of time meeting people to explain it.

(Most bizarre post? But you didn't mention owls, for the bonus points).

[wiltsman]

Just stick to talking about the food, and the weather of course, but let them take the lead on any other subject!

[DTCwordfan]

just be honest with them, say you don't know much about them and apologise in advance if you did by chance offend- and to let you know if something is off-limits.....

[beso]

The original Easter fertility festival predates all surviving religion particular upstarts like the Witnesses. Is meaning Not such a is based on the same roots as Oestrus and its many variants in many languages.

The first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox was the original New Year. Not such a bad thing to celebrate. At least it has some logic rather than the completely arbitrary January first.

But forget the downer stuff about the guy being crucified so we don't have to be responsible for our behaviour.

[beso]

vetuste_ennemi // I think I can remember the Jewish month Nisan 14th//

I have always preferred Toyota to Nissan but apparently the Zoroastrians were keen on Mazdas.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Thanks for that, Beso. Etymology's a wonderful thing, isn't it?

[NCGuy]

No we do not celebrate Easter. Jesus commanded that we commemerate his death, which was being done, oddly enough, as you were posting this. Nor do we celebrate most holidays. Many ppl have a biased opinion about us, that praticing our religion is the only thing we have any interest in and I can assure you this is not the case. We have many interests, just as everyone else does. In fact if you were in a group of Witnesses in an everyday setting, you wouldn't know us from anyone else. Yes, we realize that Christianity is a way of life and we take the practicing of it more seriously than most ppl, but we are normal everyday folks, just like you otherwise. I know you will be pleasantly surprised after you do your engagment and realize this. We don't take offense at your beliefs. We are all free to do as we choose; all humans have the gift of free will. If you prefer not to talk about religion, a kind statement to that fact at the beginning of the show/gatheing will be honored. As far as subjects to avoid, remember we take the Bible's view of morality very seriously, and maintain complete political neutrality, no matter where in the world we live. So whatever you choose to talk about, I'm sure you will have a wonderful day.

[percypineapple]

my mate mick toms had them knock on his door, He is a famous talker, goes on and on for hours, most boring bloke on the planet. He let them say their bit, then started asking them questions about their religion and beliefs, kept them listening for ages, eventually they said THEY had to go, as they had other people to visit. bet that was a first, also whilst on the subject of nuisance calls, A lady in peacehaven sussex, waited until they were all in the kingdom hall, then went in handing out leaflets to all the witnesses and said
" you annoy me, so I am annoying you" they called the police. can I call the police next time they knock at my door with a blind person in tow and a very pretty girl making eyes at me?

[EcclesCake]

NCGuy, thank you very much for your reply, it really is appreciated.

And I've learned something, I had no idea about the political neutrality.

And taking other aspects of your answer I can safely stick to my mainstay of avoiding sex, politics and religion at the dinner table!

[goodlife]

Jesus said that you could recognize whether a man practices the true religion by his “fruits,” that is, the things he does. (Matthew 7:20)

[naomi24]

Goodlife, in that case I think Jesus might say quite a lot of Atheists practice the true religion. ;o)