Why Jehovah's witnesses are called a sect?

Question

I went into many Christian libraries looking for a Jehovah's Witnesses' version of the Bible and evry single time people tell me:We do not have it because it is an alterated version!. And alsow every single time time they tell me: If you are looking for some books or anything else about Jehovah's witnesses,go to the "SECTS SECCION".

Answer 1

This so-called "question" seems to focus on "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures", which is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. There are more than 130 million copies of this modern-language bible in print, in dozens of languages.
http://watchtower.org/languages.htm

The entire text of NWT is freely available at the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses, and a personal printed copy can be requested at no charge:
http://watchtower.org/bible/
https://watch002.securesites.net/contact/submit.htm
http://watchtower.org/how_to_contact_us.htm


Jehovah's Witnesses certainly like NWT, but they are happy to use any translation which an interested person may prefer, and in fact Jehovah's Witnesses themselves distribute other translations besides NWT. Jehovah's Witnesses attach no particular infallibility or inspiration to NWT.

Since the same manuscripts used by the NWT translators are still widely available for study, and since there are dozens of alternate translations for comparison, anyone who chooses to use NWT does so informedly.

It seems that the vast majority of the criticism against the New World Translation is actually as a proxy for blind hatred against Jehovah's Witnesses. The hatred must be "blind" since secular experts of biblical Hebrew and Greek have consistently refused to condemn any particular verse or phrase as an unacceptable translation. Instead, it is religionists with preconceived theologies who bigotedly insist upon particular wordings, since these are necessary to prop up the shakey tenets of their false worship.

(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/pr/article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20020915/article_01.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050715/article_02.htm

Answer 2

As far as being called a sect, most Protestant Christian religions are referred to that way because they are all 'offshoots' of the Catholic Church which is the modern-day result of the church that Paul established in the first century in Rome and considered to be the "original" Christian church.

About the 15th century, the Protestant Reformation began which was basically a rebelling against the Catholic church and various religions sprang up, such as Methodists, Presbyterian, Baptists, etc. In the 19th century in America, the Adventist movement began with a Baptist preacher and included many other of Protestant persuasions. Eventually the Adventists formed several different religions, two of which have flourished till the present time - Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses.

For many years Jehovah's Witnesses denied being a 'religion'. They no longer deny being a religion, but object to being called a sect because they don't feel they are a 'division', but rather the original undivided church. At the same time, they acknowledge their Protestant beginnings and acceptance of many of the Protestant customs and practices which they were once a part of....go figure!

Many libraries have the New World Translation of the Bible. Your library must be an exception. Many people view it as "altered" because it contains the name "Jehovah" over 7000 times whereas the King James only uses "Jehovah" a few times. It is not really altered, though, in the Old Testament, because the personal name of God actually occurs in about 6500 places. (Some other Bibles translate it as Yahweh). It is only 'altered' in the New Testament where it uses "Jehovah" 237 times where it shouldn't.

Answer 3

Sis, I googled the title and didn't like what I have visible. Called my booklet research overseer and he verified what I requested. Evidently they began a couple of years in the past in Florida however the brothers have not had any updates. Our preaching paintings will likely be performed whilst Jehovah says so, now not earlier than, and if it does now not originate with Jehovah it'll now not final. Thank you for telling me approximately this. I have been brooding about approximately the title as I have visible a couple of assigning it to themselves, however I would uncover not anything I desired to look on their avatars. Agape

Answer 4

The answer to your question as to why Jehovah's witnesses are called a sect is in (John15:20)Jesus was called a blasphemer just for saying that he is God's son, but if you really want a Bible that we use, it is only available from witnesses not in any stores or libraries so the best things you could try is to go an search out the Kingdom Hal in your area, there you can get a Bible printed by Witnesses or even you can ask for one the next time they call at your door, they will be happy to get you one. yopu can be assured that the New World Translation has been translated as accurately as possible! You will also note that God's name there has been restored to it's rightful places, where in other Bible translations it has been removed. Which actually goes contrary to the Bible's purpose that, is, to sanctify God's name, how can this be done if his Name is removed? even though Jesus showed the importance of God's name in the model prayer that he left for his desciples in the sermon of the mount he there said: "Our Father in heaven let your Name be sanctified, How would this name of God be sanctified?not by being removed from the Bible, no, that is not the way to sanctify the name of God,To sanctify God's name is to hold it holy by using his name and making it known! Yet God want's his name to be known(Exodus9:16)(Isaiah12:3-5) Knowing God's name is important for our salvation (Romans10:13)Not just knowing what the name is, but by using his name and telling others about God's Name and purposes as well as Gods attributes! and clearing the name of God from all the slanderous Lies taught by satan and his deemons and human followers!

Answer 5

You will not find our publications for sale, except for occasionally second hand. We do not sell our beliefs or publications. We are called a sect because we do not follow the crowd and to help discourage others from listening to us. We offer our information freely and with no pressure. Many here have called us a cult or said that we are brainwashed yet we are encouraged to research the Bible more and more.

Answer 6

When you take your beliefs only from the bible, people will disagree with you.

The jews in Jesus day, called his followers a sect and a cult, why Jesus didn't go along with the traditions, but only used the bible to teach people.

Notice what is said about the belief in the trinity:

Constantine was not a Christian. Supposedly, he converted later in life, but he was not baptized until he lay dying. Regarding him, Henry Chadwick says in The Early Church: "Constantine, like his father, worshipped the Unconquered Sun; . . . his conversion should not be interpreted as an inward experience of grace . . . It was a military matter. His comprehension of Christian doctrine was never very clear, but he was sure that victory in battle lay in the gift of the God of the Christians."

What role did this unbaptized emperor play at the Council of Nicaea? The Encyclopædia Britannica relates: "Constantine himself presided, actively guiding the discussions, and personally proposed . . . the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the creed issued by the council, 'of one substance with the Father' . . . Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them much against their inclination."

The New Encyclopædia Britannica comments: "The creed was unknown to the Eastern Church until the 12th century. Since the 17th century, scholars have generally agreed that the Athanasian Creed was not written by Athanasius (died 373) but was probably composed in southern France during the 5th century. . . . The creed's influence seems to have been primarily in southern France and Spain in the 6th and 7th centuries. It was used in the liturgy of the church in Germany in the 9th century and somewhat later in Rome."


So it took a long time for "the trinity" to become an accepted belief, pushed by a non-christian.

If you want a copy of the NWT you can go to

www.watchtower.org

Answer 7

Acts 24:14
14 But I do admit this to you, that, according to the way that they call a ‘SECT,’ in this manner I am rendering sacred service to the God of my forefathers, as I believe all the things set forth in the Law and written in the Prophets.See also Acts 28:22

The Awake 1988 wrote :
Who Are the Sects Today?
Today, the term “sect” is used freely by religion writers, critics, and others, slinging it like a mud pie at whosoever offends their own brand of religious sensibility. But is that a sound basis for judging? Rather, would it not be best to follow the guideline Jesus provided and examine their “fruits”? He said: “By their fruits you will recognize them.”—Matthew 7:16.
By this criterion, many of the groups and movements we read about can indeed be called sects. Rather than producing “the fruitage of the spirit,” they have manifested in abundance “the works of the flesh,” which include “fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism,” and others. (Galatians 5:19-24) Many of these can rightly be considered cults, since they idolize certain charismatic leaders and follow their teachings instead of God’s Word, the Bible.
But what about the so-called mainline religions? Well, do they uphold the high standards of the Bible in matters of morals, or do they have their own ideas about them? (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) Do they love one another, which Jesus said is a mark of true discipleship, or are they swayed by nationalism and politics into slaughtering one another in times of war? (John 13:35) Do they champion the Bible as God’s inspired Word, as Jesus did, or do they label it as myth and uphold instead human philosophies and the God-dishonoring theory of evolution? (John 17:17) It is clear that, in spite of their “respectability,” the so-called mainstream religions are nothing but false sects masquerading as true Christianity.
What You Should Do
True Christianity is not a sect, nor does it exist in divisions. If you belong to a church, then it behooves you to examine carefully what your church teaches and what “fruits” its members produce. Are these wholly based on and in harmony with the Bible? Or could it be that your church has also chosen a course different from what the Bible teaches, thus making it a sect? A diligent study of the Bible is the only way to know for sure.

Answer 8

Obviously your librarian is not a Jehovah's witness. We all know that bible has been altered many times over the last couple of thousand years. The most common is always the 'real' thing.

Answer 9

Sects are sub-divisions of a religion (Jehovah's Witness=Protestant). Christian Science is another sect. There are 1500 different sects today. Religion violence is now called sectarian violence.

Answer 10

Sect is a peripheral version of a mainstream belief.