How are Jehovah Witnesses different?

Question

from any other religion? I hear so many negative things about them.

Answer 1

Counterfeit Christianity is probably the best description I can give for a cult. Counterfeit Christianity is an imitation of real Christianity. Bible terms like "Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Salvation, and Atonement" are used by the Cult, but the various cult groups have assigned entirely different meanings to these terms.
Like counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult to detect, so it is difficult to detect counterfeit Christianity, since it looks like the real thing. Experts examining counterfeit money often hold it up to a strong light and look for identifying marks. Counterfeit Christianity also has identifying marks, which can be seen when, held up to an even stronger light, the light of God's word, the bible.
We are at an advantage if we know what to expect from a cult. Cultists are very well trained to appear "Christian", and indeed believe they are the true churches, and you need the deliverance! Therefore, be bold and ask the question, "do you believe the group you represent is the only true church on the face of the earth?"
If they reply that they are, or if they are evasive, making remarks like "Well, every church has a measure of truth but...", you have made an early detection of a Cultist.
Every true Christian, if asked the same question, regardless of his denomination, would reply that the true church is comprised of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and HE (not some organization) is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, (John 14:6). No legitimate denomination would claim that they alone and their members have salvation exclusively, but the cults (the counterfeits) do.

Answer 2

Disfellowshipped JW
1982 Corning, CA Congregation
For cause, but not the ones some ex-JWs who want to put themselves on a pedestal, want you to believe, and know you will without question.

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

http://www.knocking.org/
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=54714EBF23EFA251

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 most religions do.

They believe in keeping their word, such as to the IRS that they will not promote politics in the church, and they actually mean it.

They teach their youth that waiting until marriage is preferable to using protection, and for the most part, the youths 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, every Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with neighbors, living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every witness 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 a 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.

They encourage all their members to read the Bible and submit their thoughts. This was before the NWT and when they were using the KJV, or Authorized Version. It should be noted that this version of the KJV was not the first, but the fifth. It took four revisions over a 150 year period, before it was approved by the Church of England.

JW may have their own Bible, but it came about as a result of reading the KJV by thousands of people and noting the contradictions as a result of errors in translation. A good example is the scripture that says “The Word” is a Mighty God. A Mighty God gets its power and existence from an Almighty God. As for revisions, to my knowledge, it had not been revised since it came out in the 50s. My mother still has her first JW Bible, though it is worn like all the others she has used since them. Witnesses generally wear out a Bible every few years, whereas those in Christendom may have the same Bible for generations.

The greatest difference between JWs and the rest of Christendom can be answered with just one question.

WHAT DAY DO YOU OBSERVE THE MEMORIAL ON?

Everyone else will falter around and perhaps come up with a day in May, but all JWs will say at sunset on Niacin 14, which falls on the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the Memorial of the Last Supper. This is the only day, aside from wedding anniversaries, that Christ said to continue keeping, yet Jehovah's Witnesses are the only Christian organization that does.

Whatever you may say about whether it is right or wrong to observe the man-made holidays created since the first congregations, the fact remains that Christendom does not observe the one day Christ said to keep. What does that say for the leaders of Christendom, that they ignore that one important day of the year, and don't even know what day it falls on?

The question of holidays gets asked a lot, yet the facts of why are clearly evident. Even the Churches of Christendom recognize that the holidays and observances are not in keeping with Bible teachings, yet they fear that doing anything about it will jeopardize their positions and power. Check any religious encyclopedia about the holidays and their history.

So the question is not why don't witnesses celebrate the holidays, but why does Christendom celebrate something not taught in the Bible? Further, why don't they know what day Christ said to observe and why don't you observe it on that day?

Whatever you may think of any of the other beliefs of JWs, you have to ask yourself is the need to observe these holidays more important than observing the day Christ said to keep?

Answer 3

Jehovah's Witnesses are unique in that they totally reject paganisms, and use God's personal name, and are preaching globaly about God's kingdom following closely the example that Jesus set for us all.
The more one compares this Christian religion the more amazing it proves to be!
We have no paid clergy, yet we are organized even though there are over6 million active Jehovah's Witnesses world wide, and there are another about16 million who associate themselves with us, even full time preaching Witnesses voulunteer their time and work without any payment that is in the congregations and at the Branches of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide
There is no class distinction amongst the Witnesses, none have any special privelidges amongst us.
There are no collesctions of money at any of our meetings, EVER, but we have a contribution box where any person wishing to contribute to the world wide work may contribute if theu wish and no other person knows what or if any do contribute anything No other organization is able to claim such pure worship!!!! Yes there are many negative things said of us by many people but Jesus did say, in (John13:16) a slave is not greater than the master, nor is the one sent greater than the one who sent him (John15:18,19)If the world hates you , you know that it has hated me before it hated you, if you were part of the World, the World would be fond of what is it's own, Now because you are not part of the World, but I have chosen you out of the World, on this account the world hates you.(John15:20) Bear in mind the word I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me they will persecute you also,. If ythey have observed my word, they will observe yours also. Many people go as far as calling Jehovah's Witnesses a sect yet they are mistaken!

Answer 4

They're really nice people. They kind of went off on a tangent and now some Christians say JW's aren't Christians except they all read the Bible. Anywho, I got a friend who introduced me to his Kingdom Hall and I got to go to a few meetings. I think they're the bee's knees.

Answer 5

We are different in that we truly study and learn the Bible each one of us for ourselves. We cannot truly claim to be Jehovah's Witnesses unless we have dedicated ourselves to do his will rather than our own. We know that Jesus Christ is God's son and the only mediator between God and man and that he was the first creation by God. We also know that God is truly loving and wants all mankind to survive but that he has certain guidelines which he refuses to relax in order for that to happen. We keep our organization clean by disfellowshipping unrepentant wrongdoers and putting the spiritual welfare of the entire organization ahead of any one individual's personal feelings. We do not break off into adult and children's meetings but all of us learn the Bible together. We do not pass a collection plate at meetings and our ministers are not paid but freely and willingly donate their time and talents. I will be happy to answer any more questions you have. Just e-mail me if you want more info.

Answer 6

They are a group of people who have interpreted their choosen scared book in a certain way. This causes them to disagree with some other people and causes some other people to disagree with them. They also think that everybody would be better off if they thought the same way that they do.

Sounds pretty typical to me.

Answer 7

First of all, JW's , as I like to call them, do not believe that Jesus Christ is god, but only say that HE is a prophet of God, similar to Isaac or Daniel (both of the Old Testament).
Secondly, the JW's are told what they are to read in their "bible".

Their 'bible" known as "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures" is a TERRIBLE re-interpretation of the King James Bible. IN FACT, Greek translators of the Bible FERVENTLY call the JW's book a version that is "....so far from original text that it cannot be accepted as being a valid translation."
I have fun talking with JW's because I am able to ask them questions that they cannot HONESTLY answer because what they are taught by their leaders and what their very own "bibles" say contradict their very own ways of thinking.
They try to say that King David, known as "the apple of God's eye", did not go to Heaven because they are only shown CERTAIN parts of their scriptures to draw their stances.
They refer to chapter 2 in Acts where it states that "King David ascended not into Heaven, yet said the Lord said to my Lord...."
I asked a couple of "visiting" JW's about that passage & they agreed with me that King David didn't go to Heaven.
I then had them read Psalm 110, which aside from the part about King David not going to Heaven, was the exact same wording as what was in chapter 2 in Acts. KING DAVID WROTE MAJORITY OF THE PSALMS. How could he have been dead when he spoke the words???
The JW's also say that the HOLY TRINITY does not exist as one God, but is 3 individual beings.
My reply is that in Matthew 28, verse 19, Jesus says to "...baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
A couple of JW's that I have tlaked to have said that JW's do that.
I then asked them what the 1st Commandment said about having other "gods". They said we can't have other gods, that there is only ONE GOD.
That being the case, I stated that to baptize in the name of all 3 (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is either baptizing in the name of 1 GOD or 3 "gods" which would go against their belief system. AND, in which case, the JW's are committing IDOLATRY within their very own "church"!!!!!
If you need further info, please E-mail me; I speak out against the teachings of the JW's, Mormons, and Freemasonry. All 3 organizations have direct links to Satanism.

Answer 8

no birthdays, no Christmas, no voting, 4 door cars only, no aluminum, no blood or blood products and no good reason to testify with phone calls and propaganda other than to ensnare the lonely and downtrodden and fill their quotas

here's a fun fact though. although a JW may not receive blood or blood products without risking eternal irrelevance, they're free as can be to have a heart or liver transplant. HELLO!! where do you think that blood came from?

Answer 9

oh man. I just wrote a big ol' page on us & something weird happened. Im sorry but you can find out everything about us at watchtower.org

Answer 10

They don't believe Jesus is God and that only a certain number of us is going to Heaven 144000