Does proselyzing hurt or harm people?

[Revoltingest]

Got Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses or shady contractors darkening your doorstep?
Do what I do.
Tell them you're either a confirmed heathen, & then offer to show them you collection of 19th century machine tools.
They'll leave so quickly their shoes & socks often remain behind.

 

[Oneatatime]

I don't believe that proselytizer can hurt anyone, the worst it can do is annoy someone to death.

If they are succesful it can do quite a lot of damage by filling peoples heads with nonsense.

 

[Vinayaka]

Bruce: This is a very interesting link about Bahai's and proseltysing.

Difference Between Proselytizing And Teaching | Baha'i Rants

Its quite the dilemma or controversy, not just within the Bahai, but within many other groups. Just because someone boldly claims he's not proseltysing certainly doesn't mean that by someone else's definition he's not.

My son used to think I was tall. Now, 20 years later, he thinks I'm short.

So we can argue all day about the definition, and get nowhere. But what we can do is accept the right to the other person's point of view. (At least I can.)

 

[lunamoth]

Got Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses or shady contractors darkening your doorstep?
Do what I do.
Tell them you're either a confirmed heathen, & then offer to show them you collection of 19th century machine tools.
They'll leave so quickly their shoes & socks often remain behind.

Got anything for politicians trying to get my vote. I'm concerned outdated tools might not be enough. :-(

 

[Vinayaka]

Got anything for politicians trying to get my vote. I'm concerned outdated tools might not be enough. :-(

Just lie. "Oh, I always vote for you guys. Please don't waste your time with me. Go next door and try there."

Then there are politicians that ASSUME you're voting for them just because you go to the same church or belong to the same faith.

 

[Revoltingest]

Got anything for politicians trying to get my vote. I'm concerned outdated tools might not be enough. :-(

Ask them either....
- Have they found Jesus?
- Would they like to hear about the advantages of whole-life insurance (useful if they've already found Jesus)?

 

[lunamoth]

Ask them either....
- Have they found Jesus?
- Would they like to hear about the advantages of whole-life insurance (useful if they've already found Jesus)?

That might do it for the democrats. The republicans might just be encouraged.

 

[lunamoth]

Just lie. "Oh, I always vote for you guys. Please don't waste your time with me. Go next door and try there."

Then there are politicians that ASSUME you're voting for them just because you go to the same church or belong to the same faith.

I don't think I could pull that off. First I'm a terrible liar (now figure that one out). Second, they might start jawing about how great our guy/gal is, and then I'd be stuck there pretending that I know what they are talking about.

It's easier when they call because I can just hang up on them.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Just lie. "Oh, I always vote for you guys. Please don't waste your time with me. Go next door and try there."

That might just be asking for trouble: "Great! So we can put a sign on your lawn, right?"

 

[Vinayaka]

Let them put up the sign. Then late at night amidst the cover of darkness, sneak out and remove it ... take it to the nearest lake. Don't inform them that 'Someone musta stole that sign!"

Another more devious option, and is one I have done, unfortunately, is to keep them with you for as long as possible discussing as much as you can, fullly knowing they'll never get your vote, just so they can do less campaigning that night.

 

[Revoltingest]

That might do it for the democrats. The republicans might just be encouraged.

Just tune in your radio to Diane Rhem.
Of course, then you'll need some Rush Limbaugh to get rid of all the commies burrowing under your porch.

 

[lunamoth]

Just tune in your radio to Diane Rhem.
Of course, then you'll need some Rush Limbaugh to get rid of all the commies burrowing under your porch.

Hehehehe. Good post, although it needs more bacon.

 

[Revoltingest]

[youtube]bmDobhFj8JE[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Sizzling Hot Bacon Porn‬‏

 

[lunamoth]

[youtube]bmDobhFj8JE[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Sizzling Hot Bacon Porn‬‏

This thread now has its full complement of bacon. And then some.

(This is a family website, so you may want to hide that inside spoiler tags )

 

[ChristineES]

If they are succesful it can do quite a lot of damage by filling peoples heads with nonsense.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have never been convinced by anyone coming to my door. Do you know of anyone who was converted to a different faith just by a missionary coming door to door? I have never heard of it. Besides, if you tell them to go, they will go with no argument. Which means if you get your head filled up with "nonsense", it is because you let them.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don't know about anyone else, but I have never been convinced by anyone coming to my door. Do you know of anyone who was converted to a different faith just by a missionary coming door to door? I have never heard of it.

I think the intended process is more subtle than that: coming to your door might lead to another, longer discussion in the doorway, which might lead to a 15-minute "Bible study session", which might lead to another and another, which might lead to you checking out their church, which might lead to you attending more frequently until you decide to become a member.

It's a standard sales technique: the objective of the cold call isn't to get the prospect to agree to an order right then and there; the objective of that first cold call is usually a face-to-face meeting or maybe just a longer phone discussion.

The fact that the sale doesn't happen at that first moment of initial contact doesn't mean that the contact isn't part of the sale process.

Besides, if you tell them to go, they will go with no argument. Which means if you get your head filled up with "nonsense", it is because you let them.

I once read a sales book that addressed difficulties that salespeople would have. One of the difficulties that it talked about was ethical dilemmas that salespeople would have: "what if I'm selling a person something that they don't really want?" "What if what I'm selling is crap?" The book's response was to brush this aside by explaining that this shouldn't be a concern, because the purchase decision is made by the customer; as long as you don't force him or her to do anything and didn't make any out-and-out lies, whatever happens as a result of the sale is the buyer's own responsibility, so the salesperson doesn't need to worry about shouldering any of the blame for negative consequences.

This approach didn't sit right when I read it then, and it's still not sitting right with me when I read it from you.

 

[ChristineES]

I think the intended process is more subtle than that: coming to your door might lead to another, longer discussion in the doorway, which might lead to a 15-minute "Bible study session", which might lead to another and another, which might lead to you checking out their church, which might lead to you attending more frequently until you decide to become a member.

It's a standard sales technique: the objective of the cold call isn't to get the prospect to agree to an order right then and there; the objective of that first cold call is usually a face-to-face meeting or maybe just a longer phone discussion.

The fact that the sale doesn't happen at that first moment of initial contact doesn't mean that the contact isn't part of the sale process.


I once read a sales book that addressed difficulties that salespeople would have. One of the difficulties that it talked about was ethical dilemmas that salespeople would have: "what if I'm selling a person something that they don't really want?" "What if what I'm selling is crap?" The book's response was to brush this aside by explaining that this shouldn't be a concern, because the purchase decision is made by the customer; as long as you don't force him or her to do anything and didn't make any out-and-out lies, whatever happens as a result of the sale is the buyer's own responsibility, so the salesperson doesn't need to worry about shouldering any of the blame for negative consequences.

This approach didn't sit right when I read it then, and it's still not sitting right with me when I read it from you.

I don't know. If there is a salesperson at my door, I usually tell them I am not interested before they even open their mouths. If they still don't leave, I tell them we have no money to buy anything with. If they still keep going, I close the door. Sales people call me on the phone, too. As soon as I realize they are trying to sell me something, I hang up after saying "sorry, I am not interested".

I don't go door to door to proselytize, anyway. I don't believe it should be done that way. When it comes to buying, I go to the store. When it comes to religion, I go to a Church or a Crusade. When it comes to politics, I go to the polls. That is the way I think it should be. Home is where we want to relax, not chase away strangers. I am a very private person.

 

[Vinayaka]

I know a young recently married couple. During the courtship, (if you can still call it that) the girl's parents switched to a far more fundamentalist group within Christianity. The boy is Hindu, but quite a liberal one.

(On a side note, mixed faith marriages are a whole new debate, but a necessary one, as they are becoming far more common)

So the young couple decided to appease both sets of parents, and have two weddings, a Hindu one, and a Christian one. The kids themselves were liberal and respecting enough to allow for this, despite objections from the bride's parents.

So when the wedding day arrives, the parents of bride boycott, and are a no-show at the Hindu wedding, but the Hindu parents, in support of their son, attend the Christian wedding. I got to attend one wedding that day.

Now, I really don't know how its all going to work out. I'm sure things won't be smooth, despite the sincere prayers from both sides.

So this is just an example, but one that is becoming far more common in our world, of the pain and confusion conversion can cause, and the originating process was proseleytizing.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don't know. If there is a salesperson at my door, I usually tell them I am not interested before they even open their mouths. If they still don't leave, I tell them we have no money to buy anything with. If they still keep going, I close the door. Sales people call me on the phone, too. As soon as I realize they are trying to sell me something, I hang up after saying "sorry, I am not interested".

And that's part of the sales process, too.

Another technique that I've read: if 10% (or whatever it happens to be) of your prospects result in an actual sale, then you can motivate yourself by thinking of every "no" as 1/10 of a "yes". I don't doubt that your hang-up gets counted as another step in the process that will end with winning that next sale/convert.

I don't go door to door to proselytize, anyway. I don't believe it should be done that way. When it comes to buying, I go to the store. When it comes to religion, I go to a Church or a Crusade. When it comes to politics, I go to the polls. That is the way I think it should be. Home is where we want to relax, not chase away strangers. I am a very private person.

I don't doubt it, but there's a reason why people do come door-to-door selling religion or other products: because it's an effective technique. You might not be buying, but enough people are buying to make it worth their while.

 

[Revoltingest]

Try this.....
"I don't have any cash cuz I'm going bankrupt. Do you sell on credit?"