Know what you claim to believe.

[ruksak]

Quote by: Foxfyre My impression of the video is that I strongly suspect it was staged. 1. I have never encountered Mormon missionaries who pushed the Book of Mormon before they had a person fully engaged and cooperating in a conversation. 2. The black man was addressing the camera as much as he was addressing the two 'missionaries' while the two 'missionaries' never glanced at it and were seemingly oblivious to its presence. Also, what is the odds that a camera will be running on the street or in a parking lot and be in perfect position to record a 'chance encounter'? 3. Mormon missionaries are generally young, at most early 20s, and may not be stellar Bible scholars, but they don't go out with so little information that they are caught flat footed as these two appear to be and they are trained to steer the conversation into an easy-to-discuss area. They didn't even attempt to do that.

Those pasty white boys were every bit as Mormon as the ones I've seen.

They were subjected to an overtly aggressive retort that contained information that they weren't capable of handling.

"Chance encounters" and accidents are recorded everyday, all the time.

People that spend $400 on a video phone are probably gonna be inclined to use it often.

[Foxfyre]

Quote by: ruksak Those pasty white boys were every bit as Mormon as the ones I've seen. They were subjected to an overtly aggressive retort that contained information that they weren't capable of handling. "Chance encounters" and accidents are recorded everyday, all the time. People that spend $400 on a video phone are probably gonna be inclined to use it often.

Maybe, but the 'camera man' was cocked and ready as the "Mormon guys' were approaching and he never repositioned himself; never even moved that I can detect. And wouldn't you think they would have glanced at the camera? Especially when the black guy turned, approached and/or leaned into the camera and addressed it?

Sorry, I'm not buying it. It just doesn't ring authentic to me. I am in no way questioning that the black guy is a devout Christian, knows his Bible, and is an exceptional speaker. I'm just think the event that was videographed was a staged event/camera op.

[ruksak]

Quote by: Foxfyre Maybe, but the 'camera man' was cocked and ready as the "Mormon guys' were approaching and he never repositioned himself; never even moved that I can detect. And wouldn't you think they would have glanced at the camera? Especially when the black guy turned, approached and/or leaned into the camera and addressed it? Sorry, I'm not buying it. It just doesn't ring authentic to me. I am in no way questioning that the black guy is a devout Christian, knows his Bible, and is an exceptional speaker. I'm just think the event that was videographed was a staged event/camera op.

Thats always possible. I thought the Mormons looked shell shocked. Thats why they kept their gaze downward. As if to signify that they were searching for answers. When people break their eye contact and start starring around aimlessly, it signifies that they're trying to process the information and think of an answer. Much the same reaction is notable and a proven occurrence when people are lying and being grilled about it.

As to the act of videotaping itself. Who knows? Maybe they were video taping their truck or just jacking around?

I know what you're saying though. I've seen so many "videos" of people painting their house and they fall into a bucket of paint or some dumb sh*t. I always think "Why would someone video tape a guy painting"?

[Foxfyre]

Quote by: ruksak Thats always possible. I thought the Mormons looked shell shocked. Thats why they kept their gaze downward. As if to signify that they were searching for answers. When people break their eye contact and start starring around aimlessly, it signifies that they're trying to process the information and think of an answer. Much the same reaction is notable and a proven occurrence when people are lying and being grilled about it. As to the act of videotaping itself. Who knows? Maybe they were video taping their truck or just jacking around? I know what you're saying though. I've seen so many "videos" of people painting their house and they fall into a bucket of paint or some dumb sh*t. I always think "Why would someone video tape a guy painting"?

Good point. And it seems odd that so many people would be taping somebody doing completely mundane things and have the perfect angle when something happened wild enough to make "Funnest Home Videos".

I did look at this video again and one of the two "Mormons" did look toward the camera one time. The other one never.....and he was in full view and never followed the black guy's glance or movement as the black guy approached or was zoomed in and talked right into the camera. That just doesn't seem real no matter how shocked he might have been.

These guys do run into a lot of people who know their Bible though and who are more than a match for the missionary training and tactics. The missionaries have called on me on a slow day too and yeah, as I'm rarely at a loss for words, they really got a workout.

[freedom13]

Oh, you Christians are always so ready to judge others. Here's another way to look at that question; I certainly don't believe that any Christian, Mormon, JW or any other type, accepts reality. In that sense you could say that I believe what they say are lies. But are they intentionally lying like a kid who has taken a cookie and says he didn't? No. They believe what they say is the truth, so from their perspective they are speaking the truth. In that context they are not lying. Yet they fail to appreciate that their context is not a universal context. So they are speaking the truth within their context, their belief system. But to me, outside that system and context, their statements are not accurate or "truthful".

I am not a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon and I am not a member of any other Religious Organizations, including Christianity. I also believe it is just their Belief System. The whole purpose of the video and the thread is to ignite a fire between Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christianity. It has nothing to do with Atheists or what I believe in.

[Suburbanite]

Quote by: freedom13 Are you saying Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians are guilty of spreading lies?

I don't even believe in truth, and I think Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians are guilty of spreading lies. haha

[phoenix_fire]

Well, if it was a camera phone, there's a distinct possibility that the missionaries didn't notice. People mess with their phones all the time, and people are used to ignoring it. If the guy just had his phone flipped open and was staring at the screen, then the missionaries may not have known that that is what he was doing.

[Foxfyre]

Quote by: phoenix_fire Well, if it was a camera phone, there's a distinct possibility that the missionaries didn't notice. People mess with their phones all the time, and people are used to ignoring it. If the guy just had his phone flipped open and was staring at the screen, then the missionaries may not have known that that is what he was doing.

It's possible. But if you were having a conversation with somebody and that person completely turned 90 degrees to speak to another person, can you imagine that you wouldn't even glance to see who he was talking to? I could be completely wrong of course, but I would bet a nice steak dinner that it was staged.

[ruksak]

Quote by: Foxfyre It's possible. But if you were having a conversation with somebody and that person completely turned 90 degrees to speak to another person, can you imagine that you wouldn't even glance to see who he was talking to? I could be completely wrong of course, but I would bet a nice steak dinner that it was staged.

Just a few points to address this. First off, judging by the fact that these people seem like complete polar opposites (pasty white boys and big ol black dudes), I have a hard time picturing these guys working in collusion. Also, thats a lot of trouble to go through for such a short lame video, ain't it? I mean they'd need to work out a script. They'd have to get those cool looking official Mormon suites together. The official Mormon helmets. The matching official Mormon bikes.

It seems like a bit much, logistically speaking, for this short video.

I'll see your steak dinner, and raise you a baked potato.

[freedom13]

Suburbanite: I don't even believe in truth, and I think Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians are guilty of spreading lies. haha

What is your point? Explain......