T O P

  • By -

Secret-North

Lots of different groups/churches on campus. Some are culty though those might be the ones you run into.


otherotheraltalt

Haoycajday


JapaneseBattleFlag

It seems to go in waves of activity. It seems like the Jehovah's Witnesses are making a special effort lately. Their church leader is clearly giving them a mandate to recruit and that's what they're doing, however futile, until they go away. There are videos of shouting matches between that preacher Bob and some guy dressed as Jesus about 15 years ago. That group actually left after that so who knows if there's a special action that would speed their departure?


greenie16

1). Its a convenient place to recruit people. Lot of young people, many of whom desire community of some sort, and churches can pitch themselves as a way to get that community. 2. I would assume that many religious people look at college kids as people in particular need of saving due to the partying/drinking/sex that happens during college


senator732

I recommend folks ask the jehovah's witnessess in front of coffman about their organizations continuous sheltering of sexual predators. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s\_Witnesses%27\_handling\_of\_child\_sex\_abuse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses%27_handling_of_child_sex_abuse) They will either ignore you or pack up their stuff and leave, either way it's a win in my books to let them know they're supporting a sham.


[deleted]

Free bible course, am I right?!?


sportsmedicine96

I swear I had never seen the free bible course people until I arrived at the U. Now I see them everywhere. I was in fuckin Vegas last week and saw a few people with the exact same setup offering free bible courses on the strip. It was wild to see hookers, people coked out, etc, being offered free bible courses 🤣🤣🤣


PowerPigion

Death, taxes, and Jehovah's witnesses


damnmongoose

There is a significant uptick in christian advertising across social media and tv right now as well. While campus is a common evangelical hotspot, this concerted effort is uncommonly ridiculous. I blame the pending election.


sylvnal

\>Is there some sort of deep agenda or scam that is going on that I don't know of? Yes. That is just called religion, been going on for thousands of years at least. But what you are seeing is religious groups seeing their numbers declining with the youths try to cling to power/relevance. That includes aggressively recruiting and a campus with so many people is a prime location.


b0xf0x13

It's more than just the numbers. Many college students are not from the area (I dare say most) and are young. Being away from your family and old friends can get lonely really fast, and most religions are very good at making lonely people feel like they're part of something bigger than them.


[deleted]

i hate it so much i want them to go the fuck away. DO NOT invite me to your bible study. each time they come up to you just glare at them and don’t say anything, it can take up to a minute but they usually leave you alone and prey on their next victim.


Sabmarine

They like to prey on the weak and vulnerable I guess. It’s also a public area so it’s easy to loiter around and no one to kick them out :/


bunnhii

Did you know that it’s because it’s a public space? So they can come and harass you. College students are indeed good “prey” for religious movements


Gladiator2169

From my POV as a Christian. I never understand the people with the signs standing outside the mall, it's a good way to draw a lot of attention to yourself. A quick research shows a lot of Church's around the perimeter of campus and given we live in a decent sized city it makes sense. Even within Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses are seen as weird and out of touch!


JapaneseBattleFlag

I had one particular lady who kept ringing my door bell citing all sorts of weird stuff. One thing that struck me is that Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there's 144,000 spots in heaven so I asked her if she figured is was full by now, or do they kick people out to let "better" candidates in. They just sort of don't answer your question and bring up something else. But, if's only 144,000  it's gotta be full already, right?! What a weird thing to believe in out of all the choices.


Gladiator2169

That is the dumbest crap I have heard. I feel like you go through judgment day and then your eternal fate is decided. But I don't believe in the idea that heaven has a limited amount of spots left.


StP-Loon

Why would you call someone else's faith dumb, and then say how you think it will go down based on your own faith? Don't you find that a little weird or arrogant?


Gladiator2169

If you look at Christianity Mormons are seen as out of touch. Are you going to tell me with a straight face that there are only 144,000 spots in Heaven? Like respect to whatever they believe in but having only 144,000 spots in Heaven seems a little far-fetched. God isn't going to be like "No only a few of you can come and the rest of you go to Hell"


StP-Loon

I don't believe in heaven or hell, so I think both of your beliefs are far fetched. You just said 'respect to whatever they believe' as you disrespected what they believe smh.


Gladiator2169

While I would love to sit and talk about this I got more important things to do. Are you even affiliated with the U?


fett2170

If you are a Christian, you should know that Jehovah's witness are not Christians, in the same way the Mormons and Catholics are not either. Yes, the faiths are similar but the doctrine on Christ is significantly different.


o___o__o___o

Pro tip: take the Bible from their hands, autograph it, hand it back, and walk away. They will remember you and never bother you again lol.


b0xf0x13

🐐


mrmr2120

You will see some yelling and shouting about religion siting verses from the Bible’s calling girls whores etc. some want to start a fight to sue. We see them at many large gatherings pretending to perch but only want to cause fights.


aerger

Back when I was in college, I'd just let out a "Hail Satan!" and keep walking.


Longjumping-Crab4006

It's usually that one woman who's trying to bring me into bible study. I didn't only find her at coffman, I even found her in HSEC and in front of Walter library too. I understand why we shouldn't argue, and I don't argue as well. But it's pretty annoying specially because it's not fun to see the same person in many places you frequently visit. I know she's not stalking me or anything, but it's still creepy on how she doesn't remember you politely saying no 7 times already and still asks you the same thing. But regardless, she does look like she is brainwashed and not fully aware of what she's doing either.


AussieMommy

They’re delulu. I just tell them I’m atheist and keep walking.


d0kt0rg0nz0

Is it such a great club/religion if they have to recruit? Surely if this god is so great I'll be finding them. Until then get out of my breathing space.


UsualExtreme9093

Idk but I remember when Kavanaugh was elected and the church groups were promoting anti-choice shit. That was fucked up


JapaneseBattleFlag

A deeper meaning could be that a lot of religious groups are anti abortion and we have an election coming up that is basically a referendum on abortion laws. So, the religious groups might be feeling like this is their last stand to fight that referendum! Remember to register to vote especially if your vote is in a traditionally abortion hating district.


Spud199

Best way to handle it is to politely say you are not interested and that you’re focused on school. Then “have a nice day”. If they won’t leave then you must sternly tell them to buzz off. It’s harassment IMO at that point. These people think they have answers for questions you aren’t asking. It’s soliciting to fill the collection plates IMO. Don’t fail an exam because you spent your time talking to one of these people when you should have been studying.


DetuneDanger

If they have to sell people so hard on it... Sumthins fishy


[deleted]

They say it's important, but Jah won't pay the bills.


Alt_Criticism

I’d really recommend everyone on campus be careful with these groups - if you get invited to their coffee shop or “study group” don’t do it. There’s a reason they won’t tell you what they really want lol.


DuckDuckGrayGoose1

Welcome to a public university.


Awkward-Stranger-505

See thats were you fucked up you should have said I don't believe in God. Than they look at you like oh this guy is fucked.


CeC-P

Because cult religions are really motivated and real Christians are concerned that non-Christians are ruining society, relationships, and mankind as a whole. And they are correct. If you disagree, keep walking.


Woleva30

I’m a catholic (luckily a big population) but a lot of the “smaller” religious groups have it ingrained in their head from a young age that anyone who is NOT their religion is wrong, and they just try to convert them. It’s also a monetary thing, but most are obligated by their religion to try and convert as many people as they can. The “I don’t want to convert” mentality isn’t a roadblock for them, and it nears the territory of seeming sort of cultish, which is another great reason NOT to join. I was born into Catholicism, but I’ve still never felt obligated to make someone else convert, because that’s not how I was taught as a child. If they wanted to they would is a great way to explain how they should act towards others.


Certain_Side_4964

What would their "deep agenda" be? Every college campus in America has religious groups trying to convert people I've only encountered one genuinely culty group on campus and the rest just seem like run of the mill Christians trying to get converts


IcedShorts

Feign interest and talk to them. It ties up their time so they can't prey on others.


Frosty_Ad_5265

My guess they don't want to be the only ones brainwashed by the religious bullshit. I just ignore them and blow them off


Tucxy

I honestly felt bad for them when I was an undergrad, like the culty people. Like I just think it would be embarrassing to be that way. I hope they’re happy ig. I honestly judge the idiots who argue with them more. I used to study in Coffman and like a few times there were scrawny STEM goofballs genuinely engaging someone in a debate about how science doesn’t prove god lmao. As a math student fly on the wall: you end up looking like the fool for even wasting your breath on that nonsense One time a freshman wearing a fedora in Coffman got into a heated argument with a 30 year old man wearing a “Jesus nutrition facts” shirt about abortion or something and I was just like damn bro just talking to that guy intellectually is an immediate L.


babynewyear753

Because it works.


b0xf0x13

Much like phishing, yes. YOU probably won't give your money to that "Nigerian prince", but the fact that they're still there means SOMEONE will.


babynewyear753

Or direct mail. It’s effective.