I am a christian. Mainly raised Catholic...but I am open to other's opinions as long as they believe that Jesus is our Savior and God's son. I want to learn and the more I talk to others, it seems we are all bogged down by details when the main message in all our denominations is salvation through believing in Jesus Christ.
I work with a woman who is Jehovah Witness, and she seems to know a LOT about the Bible. She explains that she believes that only 144,000 will actually go to heaven but goes on to explain that the other believers will live an eternal life here on Earth and Earth will be made perfect and harmoneous.
When I asked people why they think Jehovah Witnesses are evil, they always mention the 144,000 thing. To me, that's just a detail. Personally, I don't care whether I'm in heaven or a perfect Earth as long as I'm allowed to live with God for eternity.
So, my question is why are they considered bad? Would really appreciate comments.
Sincerely,
Robin
2006-10-09 13:33:18 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Dear Robin,
I have known JWs all of my life. I even studied with them at various points in adulthood. Some of the things they said sounded "nice" but when I actually read the Bible I saw that so many things their books and magazines say are not true.
I've heard that story about the people who will live an eternal life here on Earth but that is totally false when you take the time to read the Bible.
Check Deuteronomy 18:20-22 in your Bible. So many things that the JWs have prophesied have not happened. They have repeatedly prophesied Armageddon but it has not happened so then they change their story. That is one of the ways to know they aren't speaking God's Word.
They talk repeatedly about using Jehovah's name, however the Bible tells us that we are to pray in Jesus' name. When I talk to JWs they constantly berate me for not showing respect by calling God Jehovah. I only use God when I talk to them but when I talk to God I use Father, because He is my heavenly Father. I showed respect for my dad by calling him Dad.
Anything or anyone who doesn't tell the Truth about God and the Bible is bad for your spiritual well-being. The JWs make issues about things that are non- issues but they ignore the things that are issues. Stay as far away as possible. They are nice people BUT ...
You say that you don't care where you will be so long as you are with God. Well I can assure you that there will be no JWs with God, however I know there will be former-JWs with Him and I certainly hope there will be lots and lots of those.
Edit:
Good Morning, Robin,
After I signed off last night I realized that I had not commented on the use of the name Christian in reference to JWs. But after reading You'll Never Outfox the Fox's response this morning I realize that he covers that topic very well.
But another point I want to make is that Christians do not refer to JWs as being evil, deceived and deceiving maybe, but not evil. It is ONLY the JWs (when speaking about what Christians think of them) who say that Christians call them "evil".
These things just go to show how very important it is to become familiar with what the Bible says.
2006-10-09 13:50:34 · answer #1 · answered by JOYfilled - Romans 8:28 7 · 7⤊ 1⤋
I know for a fact that JW's are not evil because my relatives re and I used to be under there watch care. Their beliefs seem illogical because they say that JW's are the only ones that are going to heaven like the 144,000 but they are over the amount. Some are aggressive when they come to ur home to evangelize. They cannot marry outside their faith. They believe also that Hell is now on Earth and that paradise will come when God destroys the Earth which is their truth.They don't believe in celebrating Holidays and such. They believe Jesus to be a great teacher only. In the JW's bible which is totally different from KJV it is says in John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the word and the word was (A) god." The KJV says "In the beginning was the word and the word Was God" This is correct and in their version they denounce Jesus divinity. I respect their beliefs but they are a misinformed false cult.
Vij
2006-10-09 20:54:48 · answer #2 · answered by Pashur 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The 144,000 mentioned in Revelations are 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel who will remain on earth during the tribulation to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelations actually names the number and tribe from which these people are from and interestingly, they are all males, unmarried so I don't know what the women of the JW movement are going to do. The JW movement could only be described as a cult and we are warned in the Bible to be on guard against any one who delivers to you a Gospel which is other than the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bible states that they are cursed and so is any one who receives a Gospel which is other that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. May I suggest you keep to the simple Bible truths and this will help you to discern what is true and what is not. I have a King James Bible as it has remained the same since it was first translated into English in the year 1611 and is fabulous when it comes to doing a good Bible study. JW's believe that it takes works to get into heaven but no so states the Bible as we are saved by grace and not works as God's plan of salvation for us totally excludes our works. You will be able to immediately identify a cult by this means as cults will always tell you that it takes God's grace as well as our work in order to be saved. I wish you well as you seek the truth and I have remembered you in my prayers too!
2006-10-09 21:37:31 · answer #3 · answered by mandbturner3699 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know that they would be considered bad, just decieved. However, neither could you call them Christians.
To qualify as Christians, they would have to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, but if you look closely at the New World Translation, when it comes to particular verses that point to Christ's deity, they will slightly alter the translation (with no contextual reason for doing so) to leave the door open for their belief that Jesus Christ is not "the son of God", but "a god" (little G). I don't know all the ins and outs of that, but I do know that if you take away the deity of Christ, you are a cult.
The reason they seem so knowledgeable is because God's Word (from the NWT) is ingrained in them. Their study habits should be a real challenge to Christians, many JW's could quote circles around a vast majority of Evangelical Christians today. Of course, part of this is encouraged because the Watchtowers publications, by which JW's are to interpret God's Word, ensure that the Watchtower society ingrains in them the particular bent they are putting on scripture.
While they will never say they are doing this, essentially they put their publications on equal footing as the Bible, as you need them to "interpret" scripture.
As to the 144,000, I bet they didn't tell you that JW's used to look at that as a literal number, until their membership went beyond that. Then they had to reinterpret their prophecies to say the 144,000 is a "spiritual" number. The Bible is clear as to the test of a true prophet of God....100% accuracy.
I'm sure this lady of which you speak is very nice....but remember that the devil does his best trappings of Christians not with fear, but with enticement. Of course this looks good, on the surface....but I've just pointed out 3 things that identify them as not of God. You can claim to follow Christ without doing so. Cults often use the same terminology as Christianity, but you will find they have a different definition of terms.
go online to the Christian Research Institute at www.equip.org, they have some good resources of questions to ask your JW friend and possibly witness to them.
2006-10-09 20:57:01 · answer #4 · answered by You'll Never Outfox the Fox 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Many people feel they are evil because Jehovah's Witnesses' views of the Bible are so different from "mainstream" Christianity. For example: Jehovah's Witnesses feel the Bible teaches that there is only one true God, whose name is Jehovah. See Ps. 83:18. Others think the Bible contains the trinity doctrine of one God made up of three co-equal, co-eternal persons. But try as they will, they will not find such expressions as "God the Son" or even "God the Holy Spirit" in the Bible. Some think Jehovah's Witnesses are evil because they refuse blood transfusions, even though the Bible says at Acts 15:29 to "keep abstaining from ... blood." The funny thing is that some of the same people who accuse Jehovah's Witnesses of being evil for refusing blood for themselves and their children think nothing of smoking cigarettes, abusing drugs and being involved in sports that endanger life and limb, such as boxing, wrestling, and auto racing. Go figure.
The fact is that many people are misinformed about us. The person before me will have you think that Jehovah's Witnesses have changed our views about the 144,000 that will be ruling with Christ in heaven. The truth is, our views have NOT changed. We still view that number as a literal number.
If you want to know the truth about God, would you ask Satan? I hope not. So, to get the truth about Jehovah's Witnesses, go to them.
2006-10-09 21:00:52 · answer #5 · answered by LineDancer 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you researched a little further, you'd find that the behavior of most JW's would classify it as a cult. JW's are encouraged to disown family members and friends who are not a part of the faith, and JW's who leave the fold are treated extremely harshly by those who remain. Children who are JW's are generally discouraged from matriculating after high school or having a family or a serious career, and instead are encouraged to peddle the word of the JW's, The Watchtower, and prepare for what they believe is the imminent end of the world. An end that has been prophesied by the powers that be in the JW church many times over the past century. And each time that end hasn't come to pass, rather than own up to it, the church has insisted that the overzealousness of the JW's themselves caused the end not to happen. The people who write the Watchtower are constantly tinkering with and changing creed, much in the same way Napoleon kept changing the Commandments on the barn in the book Animal Farm. It's a cult, bent on control of its members.
2006-10-09 20:44:33 · answer #6 · answered by Tommy 4 · 5⤊ 2⤋
I'm a Christian and I don't consider them to be "evil" I consider them to be deceived by the Devil. The 144,000 thing is merely a matter of interpretation. They deny that Jesus is who the Bible says that He is, the Word who was with and and who is God. They reduce Jesus to the status of a created angel. Any religion, whether it be the JW's of the Muslims who preach a different Jesus than the Bible teaches are deceived and they damn many souls to hell. So I guess in that respect they are certainly evil as an organization.
2006-10-09 20:44:16 · answer #7 · answered by Martin S 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is true that Jehovah's Witnesses are not loved by everyone.
http://jw-media.org/newsroom/human_rights.htm
Some people hate Jehovah's Witnesses out of ignorance, or over some misunderstanding. A few may have had a bad personal experience with an individual who claimed to be a Jehovah's Witness, and prejudicially extended their animus to this entire Christian religion.
However, it seems that the majority of anti-Witness hatred is motivated by religious intolerance and bigotry. A few may even be motivated against their Christian worship by the unseen 'god of this system of things', Satan the Devil.
(2 Corinthians 4:4) the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers
Interestingly, such "hatred" should be expected by true Christians in this time of the end, and it actually helps identify Jehovah's Witnesses as Christ's true disciples:
(John 15:19) If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on this account the world hates you.
(Luke 6:22) Happy are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and reproach you and cast out your name as wicked for the sake of the Son of man.
(1 Peter 4:4) Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you.
(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.
It seems signficant that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are the ones best known for their worldwide preaching work. Yet Jesus commanded that ALL who would call themselves "Christian" perform this public work:
(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/jt/index.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2003/3/1/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2002/4/1/article_01.htm
2006-10-09 23:10:38 · answer #8 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I think it is mostly a matter of their radically different doctrines. But I have known a number of JW's who were weird and down right ornery. Yes, I have had a lot of personal experience. Too much really. I like a lot of their doctrines, as a matter of fact, but their organization is run like a dictatorship or a concentration camp. Some of them seem to be mentally unbalanced. But evil? No, not necessarily. Just maybe a bit screwy. I could not advise anyone to study with them, based on my bad experiences with them. Yes, they DO know a lot about the Bible, enough to convince many a person to change their religion to their's. I can see why many would think their organization is evil, because it is so weird and dictatorial.
2006-10-09 20:48:14 · answer #9 · answered by harridan5 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
To me that sounds really practical. Because I believe that the bible says people will live on this earth forever. Jesus said; "The meek will inherit the earth." Psalms 37:9,10,11 Says that God will once again destroy all wicked people and the righteous will live forever upon the earth. I asked a lady what she was going to do in heaven? She said ride a horse through a green meadow.
feel the wind in my hair. Swim and just be with friends.
Isn't that earthly things. The bible says flesh and blood cannot inherit the heavens it belongs to spirit creatures.
They hate them because they are right. Wouldn't the true religion be hated.. Didn't they hate Jesus?
Most of them are poor, minorities and very self sacrificeing.
Doesn't that sound more like the people Jesus preached to.
2006-10-09 20:41:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋