I am Baptist. A Jehovah's Witness lady came by and dropped off a pamphlet for me to read and said she would be

Question

back for my opinion. Well there's not anything in there that conflicts with my religion buy I know they have different beliefs than most Christians but I can't remember how. Can you tell me?

Answer 1

Well I hope you have NO thoughts in your mind to convert.
Jehovah's Witnesses are full of despair in my opinion. They can't dance, sing, do anything in church.
They must wear dressed, almost always.
Can't celebrate ANY holidays.
That's cultish to me.
I'd tell that lady to live a little.

Answer 2

As a fellow Baptist, I'll try to sum up what I have found:
1) They do not believe in the Trinity, i.e. there is God the Father, but Christ is not fully divine nor is there the holy spirit. Some of this they get from a different interpretation of the Greek that is found in the beginning of the Gospel of John (where it talks about the Word's (read Jesus) relationship with God). However, they do believe that Jesus was God's Son and that he died for the sins of people.

2) They tend to have a greater feeling of sepratism from the world than other traditions. Like other groups, such as Catholics earlier in American history or modern Fundamentalist groups, they feel it is better for the believer to be apart from the world rather than in it. Along with this is the idea that ecummenical groups are not something to be a part of since the idea is that other religious groups are in the world and tainted by it. This seperatist mentality is part of the reason why they appear so much like a cult.

3) Like Baptists, they do celebrate Baptism by immersion, but there is a different emphasis on what the baptism means and they obviously don't baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

4) There tends to be more of an emphasis on the Old Testament than in most Baptist groups. You can see this in the insistence that the Sabbath be celebrated on the Jewish day (Saturday) rather than they day Christ rose (Sunday). Also, the very fact that they use the term "Jehovah" refers to the Hebrew name for God (sometimes called Yahweh). Finally, they are against the transfusion of blood, another concept that can found in the Old Testament covenant law that many Christians believe to be superceded by the new covenant in Christ.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

I remember what the Bible says, and I feel the same as Jesus did. When he looked at the people in those days, he felt pity for the crowds who were misled by false religion. He looked at them as if they had been skinned and tossed about. I pity people who do not open their minds to the message of the good news of the kingdom.

What other faith follows Jesus' example of spreading this good news as he commanded us at Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28: 19, 20, and elsewhere?

Satan has blinded many minds and the truth is, it is up to us to find the truth. Ask yourself some very basic questions:

Has the religion I've been part of taught me the truth from the scriptures?

Have they trained me to make a defense for my faith?

Can I prove why I believe certain things from the Bible?

Why does God allow suffering?

Do I know what God's purpose is for the earth and for human life?

Who is Jesus?

What is hell? Where is hell?
What is Armageddon - is it God's war or man's?

Will the world come to an end?

Who is God?

What is God's name?

What is the Holy Spirit?

Is Satan real?

My heart aches when I hear people bash Jehovah's Witnesses without even hearing them out. Just hear them out. What harm can come? Is there some fear that maybe they are right?

If you have been praying for understanding, continue to do so. When this lady comes back, see if she can answer your questions using your bible. I'm sure you will be surprised to know how simple some of the answers are.

Answer 4

Hi. I always have trouble with comparative questions as, while I know my beliefs as a Witness, I often find I do not enough about the other religion to draw comparisons. Just as hate it when people make up/believe assumptions about my faith I have no desire to do the same to others.

I will try to answer your query as best I can:)

We Witnesses believe in following the teachings of the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the word of Jehovah God, father of Jesus Christ.

That is the simplest point. All of our spiritual beliefs are based on the Bible. Your best bet, since you know how you view things better than anyone else, is to, if you wish, meet with her again, with your Bible, and ask questions on how we view the scriptures.

PLEASE do not listen to the, often rediculous, answers on here to make your decision. I think some times we ALL forget that Jehovah gave us free will so that WE could decide for ourselves what to do.

SHARK is wrong, while do not believe Jesus to be the Allmighty we see him to be the Son of God and VERY important.

SPUN_DOWN's comment is completely incorrect. We feel that donating is a personal matter. We do will not ask you for money, and even if you did decide to donate, the amount is NO ONE's business but your own

GLH and JAUNMESKIN are proof that this is not always that great a place for advice.

I find answers such as the one by SADE M (Currently listed as Jezebel) incredibly sad. For some reason people who do not know much of anything about us still feel the need to comment on what our beliefs are. Can I dance/Is there any scriptural prohobition on dancing or being happy??? NO. Can I dance well??? Sadly NO:)

Anna seems to not understand that, as we feel the Bible no where refers to Jesus as God, and the majority, at least of the people I meet, don't. It doesn't seem practicle to explain that we don't believe in unChristian doctrine.

Finally I will adress the comments, which appear to have been copied and hopefully are not actually believed by many. I know for a fact that most of my friends are in no way close to PHDs on any subject. We do not Usually send out women first.(The other one I often hear is we usually send out one veteran member with a rookie, also in NO way true, not even in terminology) When we do invite people to come to a meeting, it is with the understanding that ANY/ALL concerns, questions or disagreements are welcomed. Obviously if we want to let others learn about us we have to be willing to let them ask questions.

Whatever you do, PLEASE, make sure you are comfortable with your decisions.

Answer 5

You know, I don't know much about Jehovah's witnesses, so I won't overstep my boundaries. I will say that I believe Jesus is God in human form, and the trinity does exist. I don't have any Bible verses to stand it up right this moment, accept that the book of John in the Bible talks a lot about the relationship between Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. I don't dislike Jehovah's witnesses, I commend them on trying to spread their faith, and I wish we Baptists would know about our faith and be more prepared to talk about it. I will say we don't have the same beliefs as Jehovah's witnesses, and I happily choose to agree to disagree. I believe the Bible is the most important book in history, so there are some similarities. The Bible isn't the cause of differences between Christian groups, it's how we interpret the Bible that forms different denominations. The Bible is perfect, but when people get a hold of it, we don't get the main message. Jesus came to die for our sins and to save us, He is a part of God and He saves us by grace through our faith, and not by works (part of Ephesians 2:8-9). I hope that helps. Thanks for reading. God bless.

Answer 6

As one of Jehovahs Witnesses I can share with you the main points of our beliefs,as I am unaware of what yours are.
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God,and instead of adhering to a creed based on human traditiion,we hold to the Bible as the standard for all our beliefs.
We worship Jehovah as the only true God and freely speak to others about him and his loving purposes toward mankind,in obedience to Christs command found at Matt.28:19,20
We believe,not that Jesus Christ is part of a Trinity,but that,as the Bible says, he is the Son of God,the first of God's creations;that he had a prehuman existence and that his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virign,Mary;that his perfect human life laid dowwn in sacrifice makes possible salvation to eternal life for those who exercise faith;that Christ is actively ruling as King,with God given authority over all the earth since 1914.
We believe that God's Kingdom is the only hope for mankind;that it is a real government;that it will soon destroy the present wicked system of things,including all human governments,and that it will produce a new system in which righteoousness will prevail.
We believe that 144,00 spirit anointed Christians will share with Christ in his heavenly Kingdom,ruling as kings with hum.They do not believe that heaven is the reward for everyone who is "good".
We believe that God's original purpose for the earth will be fulfilled;that the earth will be completely populated by worshipers of Jehovah and that these will be able to enjoy eternal life in human perfection;that even the dead will be raised to an opportunity to share in these blessings.
We believe that the dead are conscious of absolutely nothing;that they are experiencing neither pain nor plesure in some spirit realm;that they do not exist except in God's memory,so hope for their future life lies in a resurrection form the dead.
We believe that we are living now,since 1914,in the last days of this wicked system of things.
We earnestly endeavor to be no part of the world,as Jesus said would be true of his followers.We show genuine Christian lvoe for their neighbors,but we do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation.We provide for the material needs of our families but shun the world's avid pursuit of material things and personal fame and ts excessive indulgence in pleasure.
We believe that it is important to apply the counsel of God's Word in everyday life.
This is just a brief listing of some outstanding beliefs.I hope it is of benefit.
I firmly believe that Jehovah's Witnesses really have the truth.And it would be to your benefit to listen to that lady when she does call again.Ask her questions,and have a discussion with her.

Answer 7

To start with there are major differences between what a Baptist belives and a Jehovah Witness.

JWs believe Jesus is a god not God
JWs do not believe in the Trinity

Those are the big differences .email me if you like.

Answer 8

Simply that they believe in the Entire bible. Also they do not pick and choose bibles, since ALL scripture is inspired by God.

All their beliefs are directly taken from the bible. If there is a custom that was not issued by Jesus they will have no part in it.

Answer 9

The Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Jesus Christ, they deny the Trinity, and they believe that only the Watchtower (or Watch Tower) Bible & Tract Society is the only way God dispenses truth these days.

They have their own translation of the Bible (New World Translation) which changes the meaning of John 1:1, where a normal Bible would say "the Word was God," theirs says, "the Word was a god." It is a complete mistranslation, inserting the article "a" where it clearly doesn't belong.

Unless you are well-grounded in the orthodox Christian faith, I would recommend that you thank the person politely, and tell her you've decided against any further discussion. The reason for this is that the average Jehovah's Witness can make the average Christian a doctrinal pretzel.

I am enclosing a link from a former Jehovah's Witness who can explain the differences well.

Answer 10

That is the first pamphlet. The second will come after you tell her that nothing contradicts your faith. She knows that or she would not have given it to you. The next will contain a small shift of your religious beliefs but not enough for you to be uncomfortable. She will then have an explanation that sounds reasonable to you.

This woman is a first contact. They are almost always women. They get to know you see your house. They make friends. Don't be fooled. These people take PHD level classes in covert interrogation, Probability, Marketing Demographics, all church sponsored. She'll never ask a question that she doesn't already know the answer.

Then you'll be asked to come to church. You will be too polite to contradict the clergy whom has a PHD in JW Bible studies, Political Persuasion, Public Speaking and whatever religion you are. (they know)

Don't get sucked in! Here is something you might want to read. It will give you some ammunition.

http://www.bidstrup.com/religion.htm

Answer 11

Jehovah's Witnesses are very adept at turning words around to say what they don't really mean. And it will look great on the surface, and before you know it, you are believing what no one who has attended any school of higher learning would believe to be true. JW's will steer you away from seminaries if at all possible, and there is good reason for this. Translating out of the original Greek and Hebrew texts will give you translations that do not match with their interpretation of the Scriptures.