What are Jehovah's Witnesses basic beliefs?

Question

Curiosity.

Answer 1

They believe in staying out of the world's affairs (therefore, they don't vote, hold public office, serve in the military - it's not pacifism). The do not celebrate holidays (it's either viewed as hero worship or neo-paganism, all associated with false gods, also the reason for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the flag is viewed as an idol). They do not believe in the trinity. There are several other things, also, but this should give you a start.

Answer 2

You could wait until next May when this program is shown on PBS, or you can order a copy now. It was done by an independent film company.

http://www.knocking.org/

Setting aside any Bible issues, they believe in obeying the law, even the inconvenient ones, such as speed limits when late for work.

They believe in paying taxes, even though there are many ways they could avoid them, as a religion.

They believe in keeping their word, so when they signed the agreement with the IRS for the non-profit status, they will not promote politics in the church, they actually mean it.

They teach their youth that waiting until marriage is preferable to using protection, and the youth actually believe it. As a result, they have the lowest rates of out-of-wedlock births and STDs. Yes, there is the occasional ones who would rather have their fun now than wait, but there are far more who choose to wait.

They treat their youth with respect, not just "do what you're told!" Youths are taught side by side with the adults, the Bible as a whole, and not just Bible stories. The very young may not understand what they are being taught, but by the time you reach the age of understanding, they have a good basic knowledge of the scriptures.

The congregations never get so large that the individual gets lost in the crowd. Since everyone is taught the same, it is easy to start a new congregation, with a set of elders. Everyone knows everyone, whether in their congregation, or in their circuit. When Katrina happened, Jehovah’s Witnesses living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every individual accounted for. How many other religions could say for certain they knew that none of those left behind belong to one of their churches?

They believe their Kingdom Halls should compliment the neighborhood, and not overwhelm it, so they are small and don’t include a lot of expensive decorative features. Each KH can hold up to four congregations, or about 800-1000 publishers, each with the own set of elders.

They believe in honesty. Ask 100 movie stars the religion of their maids, gardeners, drivers, etc. and you will find more will say JW than any other religion. This is because of their reputation for not being bought. On the Tonight Show, Charlton Heston asked Jane Fonda why she didn’t become one since she liked them so much as employees. She said that she couldn’t live her life so close to the teachings Christ as they did, and neither could he (Heston).

Answer 3

I must state this that first off They do believe in Jesus and that he is the Son of God. (For the few earlier posts)

It depends on what you want to know. Their basic belief is that God or Jehovah will one day soon do away with all the bad things like death, sickness, pain, etc and make the world a paradise for everyone to live. They don't believe that everyone is going to heaven, they have a set number that are going to heaven that will rule over the "new" world. Which is why they go door to door to try to tell people what they believe is God's plans for the earth and to try to "save" as many people as possible

That is their whole purpose in a nutshell.

Answer 4

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite

That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire

While a limitted number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]

Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

Answer 5

They believe that your relationship with God is more important than anything else. Jehovah is the true God and that is His name. Jesus is His first creation , His son and not part of a trinity or fragmentation of himself. That 144,000 righteous ones will rule from heaven alongside Jesus, and they will form a perfect government. All other righteous believers will live in paradise on a restored and perfect earth, death will be no more and Satan will be destroyed forever.

Answer 6

They call themselves a Christian Church, but they are counterfiet (Clult).
The believe that Jesus was created as Archangel Michael/lesser god; became only a good man, died, ceased to exist, recreated at Michael again in heaven.
They deny that Christ was God and deny the Trinity as well.

Answer 7

I really don't know exactly, but I do know that they don't believe Jesus is the son of God. Also, every Jehovah's Witness that I ever knew set a bad example if I were looking to them to choose a religion.

Answer 8

They believe heaven is full and they will stay here and live after all us bad people who are not a part of their cult will die off. And they DON'T believe Jesus is God but just an angel who preached about God.

Answer 9

Well Charles Taze Russell just read the Bible and made his interpretations, this church is not founded on the foundation of the prophets and apostles. Charles was not a prophet of God. thus their doctrine is FALSE.!!!

Answer 10

Jehovah Witness: The Historical Background
Jehovah Witness doctrine was founded by Charles Taze Russell. He was only 18-year-old when he began a Bible study that focused on the second coming of Jesus, as well as the chronology of the Bible. As a result of his study, which took place around 1870, he published numerous books. During that decade, he also presented several formal lectures. In 1879, Russell founded Herald of Christ's Presence and Zion's Watch Tower, which became monthly publications. In 1884, the Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society were officially formed. Russell served as the president until he died in 1916. Russell also authored a series of books called "Studies in the Scriptures," which became the basis of the Jehovah Witness theology. Today, several men lead the Jehovah's Witness "theocratic" organization, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS). The organization is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Jehovah Witness: The Basic Theology
Jehovah Witness theology has many subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances. Here are the basics of Watchtower doctrine: God is a single being, not a Trinity. He is not all-knowing or present everywhere. (At one point, the WBTS proclaimed that God ruled the universe from somewhere in the Pleiades star system. They have since backed down from this teaching.) First, God created Michael the Archangel, through whom God later created all "other things," such as the earth, the universe, and all mankind. This process took place over exactly 42,000 years. When it was time for the birth of a savior, Michael became a man, in the form of Jesus Christ. He was without sin and kept every law of God. According to Jehovah's Witness theology, Jesus was put to death on a "torture stake." It is here that He bore the sins of all mankind (except for Adam). Later, Jesus rose from death in spirit, but did not rise in physical form. Jehovah's Witnesses who faithfully abide by God's organization on earth (the WBTS) will be spared from eternal annihilation. They will live forever on Paradise Earth. Heaven is a special place that is reserved for a distinct group of 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, who have been deemed "born again" by the WBTS and are allowed to take annual communion. Generally, Jehovah's Witnesses agree to attend five meetings a week where they are taught from WBTS literature. After studying the material for at least six months, they answer a series of questions before a panel of elders, and upon approval, are baptized into the organization. Followers are then asked to maintain a modest appearance and demeanor, refusing to vote in government elections, salute the American flag, join the U.S. armed forces, or celebrate birthdays and Christmas. Each member is required to fulfill a schedule of public canvassing in order to distribute WBTS literature and collect donations for WBTS headquarters in New York. If a Jehovah's Witness leaves the organization, he is shunned in all ways. Outside the WBTS organization, "Christendom" is considered "demonic." Christianity is deemed "apostate," filled with pastors who are antichrists, in churches run by Satan, who support the earthly governments.

Jehovah Witness: Watchtower Doctrine vs. Christian Doctrine
Jehovah Witness and Christian theology actually have some basic similarities. Generally, they both teach that God is the Creator of everything, as opposed to naturalistic evolution, and they both share the belief that Jesus Christ will ultimately return to earth to destroy Satan and establish God's eternal kingdom. However, this is where the general similarities cease. There are many important differences in doctrine between the Jehovah's Witnesses and evangelical Christianity, most important of which is the person and nature of Jesus Christ. The deity of Christ is the central point of the entire Bible. Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is God. The Jehovah Witness teachings concerning Jesus Christ clearly contradict the teachings of the Bible. Multiple passages tell us that Jesus Christ, who existed as God, took the bodily form of a humble servant so that He could die on the cross in our place.

Jehovah Witness doctrine considers the 66 books of The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) as the only true and divinely inspired Word of God. The NWT is produced and published by an "anonymous" translation committee of the WBTS. The NWT is regarded as the best and only translation of the Bible, because "the translators held so closely to what is in the original Bible languages." In addition, the "governing body" of the WBTS is regarded as God's only true channel of accurate biblical interpretation. As such, Jehovah Witness doctrine requires that we be "associated with God's channel, his organization" in order to be true followers of God. This means that there is no salvation apart from the WBTS. Christian doctrine holds that the Bible is indeed composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, and is indeed the inspired and infallible Word of God. However, the NWT is not a legitimate translation, and merely reflects Jehovah Witness theology, especially its bias against the deity of Jesus Christ and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. For example, John 1:1 in the NWT reads, "and the Word [Jesus] was a god." All other legitimate Bible translations say, "and the Word [Jesus] was God."

Jehovah Witness: The Basic Christian Response
As far as the Jehovah's Witness claim that the NWT is the only true interpretation of the Bible, the Christian response is that no religious leader or religious organization can claim exclusive control or possession of the true interpretation of the Bible. Through the Holy Spirit, all Christians are capable of interpreting and understanding the Holy Bible. As far as the Jehovah's Witness claim that the WBTS is the only way to God and salvation, the Christian response is that all people who have accepted the free gift of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are saved. Salvation is "by grace through faith" in Jesus Christ alone. No amount of works or membership in any religious group is required for eternal life with God.