The other night, shortly after supper, a knock came on our door. When I answered it, I found a young man, college age, standing there with a stack of books. He told me he was earning money for college in the fall.
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(In the interest of full disclosure, this is NOT my door, nor does it look anything like my door...but I like this door quite a lot.)
The first book he showed me was a cookbook. I politely looked through it a bit as he talked. It was a nice book with lovely pictures and great nutritional facts. However, I told him I was not interested as I had a stack of cookbooks.
He then showed me several other books, all religious. I recognized some of them. I told him my husband was my pastor and that I had access to a lot of theological books. He said, "Well, let me show you one you maybe don't have access to." It was a book with a lot of prophesy in it, he told me. I finally just point blank asked him what church he was with. He told me and I told him I really wasn't interested. He politely thanked me for my time and gave me one of their pamphlets as a "free gift".
After he left, I pondered my reaction to this visit. What do you think of it? Even if I don't believe quite the same as him, I didn't mind that he wanted to share his belief. He was polite when I declined his sales pitch. I think what bothers me is that his schpeel started out rather deceptive, acting as though he was selling a cookbook to earn college money. It became very obvious that was just part of the ploy to expose me to his religious beliefs. Hmmm....
I just don't know what I think. What do you think about this technique? I'll be anxious to read your comments.
(In the interest of full disclosure, this is NOT my door, nor does it look anything like my door...but I like this door quite a lot.)The first book he showed me was a cookbook. I politely looked through it a bit as he talked. It was a nice book with lovely pictures and great nutritional facts. However, I told him I was not interested as I had a stack of cookbooks.
He then showed me several other books, all religious. I recognized some of them. I told him my husband was my pastor and that I had access to a lot of theological books. He said, "Well, let me show you one you maybe don't have access to." It was a book with a lot of prophesy in it, he told me. I finally just point blank asked him what church he was with. He told me and I told him I really wasn't interested. He politely thanked me for my time and gave me one of their pamphlets as a "free gift".
After he left, I pondered my reaction to this visit. What do you think of it? Even if I don't believe quite the same as him, I didn't mind that he wanted to share his belief. He was polite when I declined his sales pitch. I think what bothers me is that his schpeel started out rather deceptive, acting as though he was selling a cookbook to earn college money. It became very obvious that was just part of the ploy to expose me to his religious beliefs. Hmmm....
I just don't know what I think. What do you think about this technique? I'll be anxious to read your comments.
5 comments:
It doesn't seem very Christian to start with a lie. We should be proud of our faith, not deceptive about it.
Are you certain it was a full deception?
No, Maria, I shouldn't see it as a full deception, probably. However, I think it would be fair to say it was misleading.
Theresa, I agree, we should be proud. I know, though, that evangelism is often difficult. I probably shouldn't think I have to judge him in any way. At least he was trying.
Sue, At the very least, it's manipulation. I have fine-tuned radar for manipulation. It's why I think some sales people are creepy. They pretend to be something they're not to gain a sale. They pretend to be my best friend when all they want is my money. (not all of them, I have dealt with some fabulous sales people) A hint of manipulation turns me off, pronto. Any religion that manipulates is not for me. I don't think Jesus did that. He was pretty straight forward about His message. Take it or leave it!
Pam, as usual, you stated it perfectly! I think that was what I was feeling, manipulation. I HATE that feeling!
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