Why do people hate Jehovah's Witnesses so much?

Question

Yes, we knock door to door. That's what we're supposed to do because God wants us spread the holy word. My dad hates Jehovah's Witnesses too and I have no idea why??? I'm a Witness and every other witness I've met is kind, thoughtful, caring, modest, etc etc etc. And also, why do people think we're a cult??? We're Christians. We believe that Jehovah is God's name and Jesus is his son... What is wrong with that?

Answer 1

My mother started studying as a result buying the Bible Book Stories for my brother and I, and the Britannica for my older sisters. The Bible Book Stories said the Ark of the great flood was a boat, but the Britannica said it was a box. They got her to looking other things up. After that, all it took was a knock at the door.

My stepfather was a Korean War Vet and would do anything to stop the witnesses from coming. They had to keep bringing new study books, as he would throw them out. He got baptized the year after my mother. He didn't wear a t-shirt like most the other men did, and as he went into the pool, mom pointed out why the other likely did. He had forgot about his souvenir from the Navy, a nude hula girl tattooed on his arm.

Hate is a strong word. More likely it is fear. Fear of the unknown and fear to admit they don't know, especially in front of ones child. Its also fear that if he was to try it, he would not be able to live up to the standards of Christ that JWs place on themselves.

Remember, even as a witness, you are still his child. Be respectful. Get into the habit of going out for coffee or something else, once a week with him. Perhaps he's feeling that he's losing you, which fathers feel even when their daughters are not becoming a JW. Cultivate your relationship with him. Even if he doesn't become a witness, you will gain from it as an adult.

As for being a cult, consider that the same things were said about the first Christians of nearly 2000 years ago.

They were people who went door to door, telling their Jewish brethren that their rituals, beliefs, and holidays, dating back hundreds of years, were no longer valid. Highly educated individuals in the religious arts, such as Saul of Tarsus, could prove that this new Jewish Sect was a cult.

It was made up of lower (working) class individuals, like a Fisherman (Peter) and a Tax Collector (Matthew) who lacked any education, let alone one in religion. And worse, they were following the teachings of a lower class Carpenter (Jesus).

They were writing their own scriptures (Bible) and not sticking with the ones that had sustained the Jews for nearly 2000 years. It was a Bible that matched their beliefs and not those of their brethren Jews.

Any of this sound familiar?

With all his education, Saul could not see that the Truth was being taught house to house.

It took the appearance of Christ, blinding him, for him to see the light. We now know him as the Apostle Paul.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_of_Tarsus

This is what Jehovah’s Witnesses represent.

Every witness becomes a legal minister and not just the elite who get paid to do it. A simple window washer can grow to become a Congregation Overseer, a Circuit or District Servant, or sit on the Governing Board. No, they will not have their names enshrined on building, a church, or in some book, nor will they get paid, but they will be do something to benefit all mankind.

The Churches of Christendom present a better argument for a cult than the Witnesses. A single individual gets paid to tell a large group what they are to believe. They don’t teach them to be ministers, as Christ instructed, and they ignore the admonishments against involvement in the affairs of the world and keeping the congregation clean.

As for the NWT Bible, please find something better than the King James Version to compare to. It was created because the Geneva Bible was considered too strict. The memory of King James was immortalized on it because he prevented the men working on the new version from being put to death by the Roman Catholic Church. It took them 150 years and revised it four times, before it matched the beliefs of the Church of England enough to be AUTHORIZED. The same church whose Bishop said that severely handicap children should be allowed to die at birth, just six months ago.

Answer 2

I am not a Jehovah's Witness, I was raised Catholic. I had a few friends who were JW and they did not hate Catholics. I don't think they hate Catholics, they just don't agree w/ many of the beliefs the Catholic Church upholds. Look around, every other religion attacks the Catholic Church as well. That's the way it has always been.

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

Let me say in advance, I always invite everyone in -- Witnesses, Mormons, everyone. I have found that the Witnesses tend not to want to actually come in after I explain that it will be a discussion, not a "teaching" and that I do not accept that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and the first thing that they will have to do is prove that it really is.

As for the meat of your question however. You are "supposed to do" it because the Bible suggests it -- or so you interpret things. From a human perspective however, religion is an intensely personal thing -- and ANY group that steps up to my door and attempts to convert me is intruding on my space and attacking me. It doesn't happen to matter to me because I have formal theological training, and have long recognized that the Bible is just a human document that speaks of God -- and is provably full of errors and falsehoods -- portraying God as a monster certainly unworthy of worship by any thinking being. I am a Christian because I believe in Christ, not because I believe in the bible -- I am in no way a biblio-idolater in fact. Other people, who know what they believe but are not trained in how to defend themselves take great offense, and for good reason, at those from your organization or any other that seek to force them to convert away from the wisdom traditions that they embrace by knowing how to quote myth better than they.

As for the Witnesses being a cult. By most definitions the Witnesses (Watchtower) and all other organizations that claim they have the only truth are in fact, cults. It has nothing to do with how nice the people in the organization are. The people in Heaven's Gate were also very nice people, so were, by all accounts, the people at Jamestown. Both were cults. It seems to me that the Witnesses are as well. That is nothing against you, or the other people I know who are Witnesses. I must admit however that I am happy to know more people who have left the Witnesses than have entered them.

From the perspective of traditional Christianity -- you have essentially tried to lead people away from some of your beliefs, which is a form of deception. You believe that Jehovah is God's name and Jesus is his CREATED, not coequal son. That battle was settled way back at the Council of Nicea, a hundred years before the Council of Carthage approved the canon that became the Bible as a motion from the Synod of Hippo. The Witnesses are, in basis, the resurrection of the Arian Heresy. Intellectual honesty on the part of your leaders would lead to the open discussion of this source for your doctrine (see: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm ) if you doubt me. It is better for purposes of conversion however for the Watchtower to treat Arianism as the original doctrine subsequently usurped by Catholicism. No examination of theological history will show that however, Arianism existed side by side with the modern trinitarian doctrine for some time. I personally don't care which one is true -- but the reality is that the gnostic/anti-gnostic controversy and the struggle between Arianism and orthodoxy was fought out in the 300s (with some tendrils continuing for some time thereafter). The Witnesses have revived that heresy, which by its nature makes them a cult from an Orthodox Christian view. In older days they would have been viewed as outright heretics.

I hope that helps you understand.

Regards,

Reynolds
http://www.rebuff.org
[e-mail]

Answer 5

As someone who studied with the Witnesses for a time, I think it's that people are comfortable with their beliefs, and when someone comes along and shows Biblical evidence that contradicts those beliefs, then people become offended and defensive with their house of cards, so to speak. People in general don't like to be told they're wrong, even in the most nicest way.
Also, being that religion is a touchy subject with many people, when someone comes directly to their homes to speak of religion, people feel they have no escape from the conversation, and thus close the door, or never answer it if they know who's visiting.

Answer 6

Nothing wrong with what your experience is, but consider your reaction to the door to door method. Imagine that you were consistently being visited by atheists or Buddhists. They knock on your door to share the Good News that there is no God or that Buddha is the way to eternal happiness.

My guess is that it wouldn't take too long for you to get frustrated right? When you go door to door and "talk" to people about your belief system and faith, you are really trying to influence them to start seeing things your way. It is exactly the same as a door to door salesman stopping by to tell you that your carpet is dirty. He may believe whole heartedly that his vaccume is the best product out there, and that you need it, but in the end of the day, he is saying your floors are filthy.

The Witness message is the same, basically you have the truth, no-one else does, therefore everyone else in the world is not smart enough to see the facts laid out in the Bible. That is how your "talks" sound to others.

To non-believers it is even worse. To them, you are saying they are dirty sinners, and will be snuffed out of existence if they don't see things your way. Unfortunately that doesn't sell well to Atheists, because they believe that they are going to be nothing after death anyway.

I will say your belief in the nature of hell is one of the better ones out there, but overall, the Jahovah's Witness church is very strict, and relies heavily one peer reprimand. When was the last time you were reprimanded seriously by one of your elders? My guess is that you haven't gone through that yet. Once you do, you will have a better understanding as to why people dislike the org.

Answer 7

I think a majority of individuals out there are "witnesses" in some way or another towards God. It's safe to say that most individuals will acknowledge that there is a God or at least some other sort of "higher being." Nevertheless, being a "witness" of God and actually choosing God are two seperate entities.

Anybody can say "I believe in God," but are they actually choosing to follow God? By following God, I mean going to church actively every Sunday, keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, following the rest of the Commandments, fasting and praying, offering tithes, keeping the Law Of Chastity, etc. Obeying and observing these teachings make the Lord happy.

What I find significantly wrong with the Jehovah's Witnesses is that they claim that Satan (or Lucifer) ruined God's plan. If All-Mighty God is All-Knowing like the Jehovah's Witnesses claim He is, then have you ever thought that MAYBE God knew Satan was going to make Adam & Eve partake the fruit from the "tree of knowledge"? Satan is not wise but he's clever and Satan has a plan of his own and that's to stop Heavenly Father's children from returning to Him and destroying His Kingdom. God KNEW that Satan was going to play a pivotal role in His plan by making Adam & Eve sin, therefore, it was all a part of God's plan. He already knew Satan's intentions.

Once again, the Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan out-smarted God and made man sin, and therefore our punishment is that we now face mortality, or death. Have you ever thought that physical death is the only way we could ever have the possibility of going back to our Father In Heaven? In order for the Lord's plan to be complete, we NEED to die in order to be resurrected again. That's why Heavenly Father brought to the earth His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to uphold the will of the Father by being crucified and taking on the sins of mankind so that he could go through the resurrection process so that in turn, all humanity could do the same.

Jehovah's Witnesses also teach that not all will be resurrected. Only the righteous will be. Resurrection is the Lord's free gift to ALL of His children...we MUST be resurrected in order to be judged by the Savior! Without resurrection, we deny the entire purpose of Jesus' existence. Only through the Son, Jesus Christ, will we ever be able to get to the Father. Instead, what should be taught is that while resurrection may be a free gift, eternal salvation with our Father In Heaven IS NOT. In actuality, we need to work for that reward through faith in Jesus Christ and doing His will.

Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the world take joy in knowing that 144,000 of them (as they feel is pointed out in Revelations) will rejoice at the right hand of our Father In Heaven while the rest of the Witnesses will live in earthly paradise with Jesus Christ as its ruler forever.

Unfortunately for them, it looks like their entire lives will be spent competing against one another for those Holy spots that don't really truly exist. What a shame.

Answer 8

I don't have Witnesses at all. I studied with them for about a year and I have many friends now who are WItnesses. I think what people hate most is the door-to-door preaching. There are those who look into JW also, and hate their doctrine. To each his own. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. Don't take is so personally and believe what you feel in your heart is right. Peace.

Answer 9

Don't hate Jehovah's witnesses and believe your Christian
denomination to be very devout and tenacious. Yes, you do knock
on doors and have entered mine on occasion. I have on occasion
had the pleasure of discussing differencces in your beliefs and
mine. Unfortunately, I've had the displeasure of having to be quite
rude in asking you to leave sothat I could go to church.

You see, visiting time for the Jehovah's in this community seems
to be when folks are already in the midst of attending their
"chosen" denomination.-------- very annoying

Answer 10

I don't get that either...I was raised a witness and was baptized in 2005...my dad is not one, but he has always been very supportive.
Many of Christendom's religious leaders teach that we don't believe in Jesus, that we are occult, and no one understands why we go door to door (Matthew 24:14). It confuses me, too. Glad to know I'm not the only one.