They never take part in any inter-faith activities, even when those activities are for charitable purposes. They only inter-mingle with anyone other than JW's. Are they Christians? No disrespect meant, just wondering what the deal is.
2006-11-11 21:22:53 · 7 answers · asked by Pastor of CoRCS 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
JWs in a nutshell
http://www.carm.org/jw/nutshell.htm
2006-11-11 21:23:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Unlike other churches which better represent cults by having a single person to tell them what to do or believe, JWs all study the Bible, offer opinions, and are an active part of what it means to be a Christian.
At this point, you should know that I was disfellowshipped in 1982 by the Corning, CA Congregation, for cause. Too many females in bed with me and not married to any of them, not that it would have mattered.
I've been approached numerous time by people to join their efforts to abolish the JWs. They say that I could just say that I disagree with their beliefs and thought they were a false religion. I refused. I've never known a person to be disfellowshipped for those reasons. Even in my case, I could have appealed the ruling.
What are their philosophy? This will take a few minutes and I will try to stay away from anything from the Bible, but that other churches don't follow.
They believe in the family and that a divorce should be the last thing to consider. An Internet search will show that their divorce rates are 6% compared to a minimum 26% for all other religions.
They believe children learning the Bible is as important as adults, so the children are not segregation to learn just Bible stories. By the time a child reaches the age of understanding, they already have a basic knowledge of the Bible and can even quote the prophesy of the Bible that will be the last one to be fulfilled. Can you do that?
They believe that immorality should not be found in God’s Congregation, so they have the lowest rates of out-of-wedlock births, STDs, and especially AIDS.
They believe that a Kingdom Hall should compliment a neighborhood, not overwhelm it.
They believe the individual is important, so congregations never get so large that the individual gets lost in the crowd. When a congregation reaches 200 “active” publishers, they split and form a new one. Since everyone is taught the same, it is simple to come up with elders for a new congregation. No other religion can come close to doing that, as only the elite hold positions and few followers even want to learn to be a leader, let alone learn how to preach.
When they hold conventions, everyone attends, and not just the elite. They have more than 250 district and several thousand circuit assemblies every year, the planet wide. No special speakers, as everyone is qualified to speak at them. The conventions are for Bible study and association with other witnesses, not for deciding if woman or Gays should be made ministers, or what political party to endorse.
They don’t give gifts on special occasions, they give gifts all year long. They don’t immortalize the dead, and unlike in other religions, death is not feared, for they know for sure that is something beyond death.
As I said above, children are not segregated from the parents, so there is not opportunity for someone doing something inappropriate with a member’s children.
They have been around for more than 100 years, yet no group has split off to form their own religion. No other church can say that, not even the Mormons or the Amish.
They believe in paying their taxes and not cheating or looking for loop holes. No one gets paid, not even the Governing Board in Brooklyn. They live in small apartments in a building with others attending Bethel.
They don’t pass the plate, hold fund raisers, Bingo, or have retail businesses. In Brooklyn, the city has been giving them trouble over their refusal to allow retail businesses to rent space in their buildings along major streets.
You may not like their views on blood, but they don’t send their young folks off to die in wars, and they can practice their religion even in countries where religion is banned. They also are why doctors cannot treat your child without your permission. When I was young that was different.
2006-11-11 23:56:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they are Christians. Why should they we mingle with other religions? What do they have to offer? Anyone who is serious about his religion should think that it is the right one. Otherwise, why would he or she be involved in it? Christians are admonished: "Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) A person should make sure that his beliefs can be supported by the Scriptures, for there is only one true faith. Ephesians 4:5 confirms this, mentioning "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Jesus did not agree with the modern, relaxed view that there are many roads, many religions, all leading to salvation. Instead, he said: "Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it." Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have found it. Otherwise, they would look for another
2006-11-12 01:40:39 · answer #3 · answered by LineDancer 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Listen to Papa Bear! He's been there, made a mistake, and still believes. Our beliefs are probably too involved to go into here, but you can contact your local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and ask them your questions. They will be happy to answer your questions in your own home at a time when it's conventient for you. Don't believe ANYTHING you read or hear until you read or hear all of it!! Make an INFORMED decision. Then if you decide that you have no use for our beliefs, at least you'll know what you're talking about and won't appear ignorant to the masses!
2006-11-12 01:02:49 · answer #4 · answered by themom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Based on what the Bible says, they are nothing but a cult! It seems that they have their own way of going to heaven and ignore Gods' way. They will tell you that Gods' grace through Jesus is not enough as it takes our works as well which it totally contraty to Bible teachings. They will tell you that there are only 144,000 going to heaven which is not what the Bible tells us. They refuse to salute the flag and vote. They will let one of their own die rather than allow them to have a blood transfusion. The Bible talks about the life is in the blood however this refers to the shed blood of Christ and also live beings having blood. They had to change their theology once their membership exceeded 144,000 as that meant that any new converts would not make it to heaven so then they decided that any surplus members would stay here on earth which will become paradise. The Bible states in Revelations that the huge multitude clothed in white in heaven will be so great that they could not be numbered. Just steer clear of them as they are really bad news.
2006-11-11 21:44:32 · answer #5 · answered by mandbturner3699 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They are not Christians. They are a cult. They deny the deity of Christ, and preach salvation by works. They deny literal hell, don't believe in blood transfusions and go as far as letting their children die rather than have one. They don't celebrate birthdays (because they don't want to celebrate Christ's birthday - Christmas), they don' t celebrate Christmas, they have a bizarre, allegorical view of prophecy, They believe that the government is evil (their founder was found guilty of selling what he called "miracle wheat" that it would yield 10 times as much (approximation) as regular wheat. He was found guilty of fraud). Charles Taze Russel who founded the watchtower Bible and tract society said, we must examine the scriptures to see whether they match what we have reasonable attributed to God. He purgered himself in court, saying that he knew Greek, but then admitted that he could not translate Greek. Their version of the Bible (The New World Translation) has translations that fit their denial of the trinity and other strange views, such as Jesus was killed on a torture stake, not a cross. They refuse military service and anything else government related. They have a bizarre obsession with the name of God - Jehovah. They translate his name as Jehovah everywhere in the Old Tesatment, even when it appears as one of the other names for God in the Old Testament. They also have made many predictive prophecies concerning the return of Christ that failed to come true.
2006-11-11 22:19:21 · answer #6 · answered by Kevin 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses follow whatever "The Watchtower Soceity" tells them. They twist the Bible so badly that they have to have their own "translation" which is whacked.
They deny the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and they have made numerous false predictions about when Jesus would return.
They are well trained in their false doctrines, however, so know your Bible well if you confront them with the Truth.
2006-11-12 00:35:19 · answer #7 · answered by 5solas 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋