I answer a soft knock on the front door a few minutes ago, still in my houserobe because the recent blizzard has driven me into semi-hibernation, to find two soft-spoken and well-dressed men at the door. One is in his late twenties, the other maybe forty, and each carries a handful of literature and a book with the suspiciously self-righteous look of a cheap but well-thumbed Bible, bristling with bookmarks. Even half-asleep, I have a good idea that they aren’t Fuller Brush salesmen.
“Good morning, sir,” twenty-something begins. “I hope we didn’t get you out of bed.” I mentally grant him minor points for noticing my attire. “Do you have a minute?”
“Not really.”
“Oh.” They seem taken aback by this. “Well, if we could just leave something for you to read. My name is Greg, by the way, I didn’t get yours…?” as he tries to urge a Watchtower on me.
“And you’re not going to either. Good day,” as I close the door.
You know, there’s a good reason why door-to-door salesmen have all but vanished. People don’t like having things pushed on them uninvited. But apparently certain groups haven’t quite gotten that. And I’m willing to bet they never will, too.
You’ve got to admit, it works for them. For example, there are about 12-14 million Jews worldwide, a billion and a half Christians, and a billion and a half Muslims. (Disclaimer: source, English Wikipedia – but my own recollections are similar.)
A billion is a thousand million, for the arithmetically challenged (or those living in Britain who have a different numerical system and are at this point scratching their heads). They do missionary activity. Jews don’t, and hence, probably along with other factors, are about a hundredth (1%) the size. Even in the United States, the second largest Jewish population, Jews amount to about 2% of the population. (4-7 million, depending upon definitions and who’s survey.)
The only truly large religion I can think of that doesn’t do a whole lot of missionary activity worldwide (with some exceptions: the infamous Hari Krisnas are Hindu missionaries) is Hinduism, and they are probably a function of the population of the Asian-Indian ethnic group that are the majority of its adherents than anything else.
There didn’t get to be a billion and a half Christians through door-to-door proselytizing. And I have to point out that the door-to-door method pisses a lot more people off than it converts.
The more I think about it, the less I think that the purpose is actually to convert people. It seems more like one of those team-bonding exercises, something to let people think they’re contributing something important, and to bring them together by showing them how widespread a hold “the enemy” has on people.
Either that or they’re being stupid.
No comment. 😉
“Never attribute to malice what can be easily explained by stupidity.”