Jehovah Witnesses, if I read the bible alone will I come to the same set of beliefs you hold?

Question

or do I have to read the bible plus your literature

Answer 1

Nearly 100 years ago, JW leaders said their books at that time "are practically the Bible itself... Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the 'Scripture Studies' aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years - if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the 'Scripture Studies' with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures."

Today their leaders point not so much to their literature as to the more ambiguous 'organization' that is giving them spiritual food; "...the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah's organization for salvation..." Wow! An organization gives salvation! (I thought it was Jesus?)

Further, they say, "Thus the Bible is an organization book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah's visible organization in mind." And I thought Jesus promised his followers that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth? Ah, but JWs believe 99.9% of them don't have 'holy spirit' anointing - but their leaders do. So they've got to go to them for understanding. So, be assured, if you read the Bible alone, without going to this organization or its literature, you could never, in a million years, end up believing what the JWs believe.

Answer 2

Interesting question. I know in my case that before I became a Christian, I had no pre-conceived ideas about the Bible one way or another. I had never been exposed to it or to any church. Did'nt know what the Trinity was, and did'nt care. I just decided to read the Bible. Did'nt understand most of it. But what I did understand through just reading it was: 1) Jesus was God in the flesh. 2) Jesus arose from the dead in his own body. 3). Salvation was by Grace through Faith Alone by Repentence, and Trusting in the Finished work of the Cross. 4) Accepting His gift meant a person was "Born Again" and received the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now this is what I got by just reading the Bible. It turned out to be what others considered "Orthodox Christianity". Oh, and by the way, I have looked and have asked Jehovah Witness' for ONE person in history from the close of the first century to the middle of the 19th century who believed the complete set of doctrines of the Watchtower. There is'nt ONE. Oh you can find a somebody who denies the Diety of Christ, or the Resurrection, or the "Hope of Heaven" for every believer. But you will NOT find even one person in history who believes all the strange doctrines of the Watchtower. Not the same with Orthodox Christianity. You take the 5 most essiential doctrines of the Christian Faith, (and if I have to tell you what an "essiential" doctrine IS, then trust me, you are NOT a Christian) and you will find that there ALWAYS has been Christs Church on earth. But if you believe the Watchtowers doctrines, you would be forced to come the conclusion that Jesus was wrong when He said, "I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell (Hades) will not prevail against it". Because for 1800 years there was'nt ANY Jehovahs' Witness' on earth, or ANY person who believed the majority of their "essiential" doctrines. (The Idenity of Christ, The Idenity of the Holy Spirit, The Idenity of the 144,000, The "Little Flock & "Big Flock" stuff, The Holiday teachings, The attitude towards the Governments that God has Appointed, The "Special Annointing" of the Holy Spirit to only a "Special Group, The Division of the CHURCH into two separate classes (The REAL Church is all believers past and present. The "visible" Denominations are NOT the Church.) I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. The truth is: If the Watchtower is right, then the True Chruch of Jesus Christ dissapeared from Planet Earth for over 1800 years. And lets be honest, (unlike Jason and Achstung above) there has NEVER been a Jehovah Witness who got that way WITHOUT reading Watchtower Lit. Its never happened. And they KNOW it. Just go's to show you how dishonest they are.....theBerean........P.S. Thats why Achstung above ALWAYS includes "Links" to Watchtower Lit. at the end of his "answers". He knows that just by referring to the Bible ALONE that you would never conclude that He is right. He NEEDS the Lit. and He knows that so do others if they are to come to "his" conclusions.......theBerean

Answer 3

I do not think all but a great deal.There are several reasons.

This is a conditional question.
What translation of the bible will you be reading?
Will there be a predisposition to believe that it is a interesting bunch of stories but inaccurate about creation?

I would get a few copies of the bible texts in the original language and a couple of concordances that are exact in word translation.

Quite a bit of what you will find is "right on" and in line with what JWs believe and teach.

There is quite a bit you will find JWs either have over looked or do not concentrate on.

The JWs have several blind spots. This is not their fault. They concentrate and some pertinent points that most other denominations call christian but are pagan such as Easter and Halloween.

One of the reasons that the well educated, particularly Western European, modern folk ignore or scorn the bible is because of the obvious false and erroneous teachings of modern christendom.

JWs work against the pagan and false teachings that many people know are inaccurate but are afraid to speak out against for fear of losing all their church offers them in areas such as education and social connections.

It is good to study the Bible. Ask God Almighty for direction.
Ask the Creator for insight and understanding. If you are sincere this will be given.

Answer 4

If your question could really be answered in the affirmative, thousands, at least, through the centuries, would have come to all the conclusions the JWs have been led to. But no, the witness doctrine is in a constant state of morphology. Many former witnesses have had personal epiphanies while reading the Bible. They have gone back and compared witness literature on the passages and prayed, meditated and even dared to discuss it, only to come to the conclusion that there were clear doctrinal flaws. As a former witness, what's clearest to me is their use of scriptures to try to cement their position as speaking for God. When a JW tells you that God will speak to you through the Bible, what s/he really means (even if unconsciously) is that the witness governing body has told them what it means. If they have any doubts, they are supposed to look up the scriptures to be sure they understand them "correctly." They "believe" the Bible. They "know" it very well. But they are all little Charley McCarthys. (Look it up.)

Answer 5

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. MATTHEW 7:13-14 KJV And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a strange will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. JOHN 10:4-5 KJV Sounds better, doesn't it? Suzy What are the false teachings that you say Trinitarian preach? Alex.

Answer 6

Papa Bear is right.
If you have no preconceived notions of a trinity or an immortal soul then there's no way for you to develop them by reading the bible alone. People say we depend a lot on our literature, but the truth is that the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses have read the bible more then the average follower of other religions.
Those who say our ideas come from the New World Translation are ignoring the fact we developed this understanding before that translation was ever published and that in certain parts of the world Jehovah's Witnesses still use exclusively the most popular local bible since it's the only one availeble.
In most cases that's not the KJV since that's not the most popular bible in all languages. In fact not until recently did I encounter somebody who had that translation in a language other then English.

In short you won't develop the same exact knowledge that took us decades to receive, but you will see the bible doesn't endorse pagan holidays, the belief of an immortal soul, the trinity, and other extra biblical teachings which came from outside religions.

Update:
Reading the bible combined with studying history will show you when some false teachings such as the trinity and idol worship were introduced.

Answer 7

Before I became a witness, I read the Bible, I understood some things, but there were other parts, that I could not understand. When one of the Witnesses came to my door, I told her that I had read the Bible, but that there were some areas of it that I did not understand. She said that she would help me to understand what I had been reading. And that I was under no obligation to become a witness, that that was between me and Jehovah, no one presses you to become a witness. This has to be a strong desire of oneself, once they begin to learn the real truth of the bible. Some people are unable to learn, some are.
As for my own experience, the liturature from the society is bible study aids. To help one understand the simplicity of the message of the Bible and also to help deepen the understanding of what is being read.
This is done by having a volunteer come to your home or whereever is comfortable for the person who is studying, for about one hour per week. All that the volunteer does is help you to understand the Bible and it's message

Answer 8

When I was growing up, I was taken by my family to a Protestant Church & Sunday school. I was fortunate, in that we were encouraged weekly to learn a new Bible verse. I asked my mother to help me memorize each one, & she did. They gave me my first Bible, a tiny NT. A few years later --around 2cnd or 3rd grade, they gave us children each, a KJV OT+NT Bibles. I used to try looking up & reading various things in it... While in Sunday school, when my teacher would start teaching things that I knew --from the very Scriptures I had memorized & read in the Bible THEY had given me-- went against the Bible's actual teaching, I would temporarily quit listening. Occasionally I would tune back in, & when I finally noticed that the teachings were 'back on track', then I'd start listening again. It was several years later that I began discussing the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. But, I had always felt that God's Word ought to be what determines right & wrong, not manmade church doctrines & traditions. So, it was a relief to me to find a group who also felt the same as I, who had a lot more knowledge & research experience, & who I could learn from. They didn't teach me what to think, though. They taught me how to research & study & make sure whether what I was learning was really what the Bible teaches--for myself. I was helped to develop common sense, & good research skills, things that are imperative to have in this world. See, for example:

Common Sense :
- Why So Uncommon?
- How Acquired?
- Of What Benefit?
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2005/5/15a/article_01.htm

Understanding the Bible--What Will Help You?
- Preparing the Heart and the Mind
- Obstacles to Having the Right Attitude
- The Challenge of Being Taught
- Understanding the Bible warms our heart
http://watchtower.org/e/20060401a/article_02.htm

Our literature strives to never take anything away from, add to, or twist--the Scriptures. However, it probably >appears< to some as though we do, because of what Jesus described, recorded at 2 Corinthians 4:4.

"How Can You Find the True Religion?", helps one to compare Scriptural advise, as do all our other publications.
http://watchtower.org/library/rq/article_13.htm

You can tell people that certain foods are healthful, & warn them to stay away from those that have toxic properties. However, the majority ussually choose that which tickles their tastebuds the most --even when proven toxic-- and refuse to listen to timely warnings. To them, the toxic foods are 'great', yet they are what kill them in the end. Does their attitude make the warnings wrong? Hardly...

Should You Believe Everything You Hear? :
- Propaganda Can Be Deadly
- The Manipulation of Information
- Do Not Be a Victim of Propaganda!
- Is the Work of Jehovah's Witnesses Propagandistic?
http://watchtower.org/e/20000622/article_01.htm

Propaganda Critic
- The Institute for Propaganda Analysis
www.propagandacritic.com

Check us out ...

Answer 9

You will come to the same conclusion - the Bible interprets itself - if you read the Bible with an open mind, you would not believe in the trinity, you would not believe in celebrating Christmas, birthdays or Easter, etc. You certainly wouldn't celebrate halloween. You would believe that the dead are conscious of nothing and that the soul dies.

Some people really think that Jehovah's Witnesses don't read the whole Bible and only read portions of it - I'm amazed at the misconceptions that are out there.

Yes I am a Witness and yes I read the Bible regularly. I've read the Bible from cover to cover many, many, many times, and I know that most Witnesses do the same. In fact the recommendation we receive as Witnesses is to read the Bible regularly, and to read it from cover to cover, as its the only way to know Jehovah and the truth.

We are also not told which Bible to do our Bible reading in - I know some Witnesses who do their Bible reading in the Bibles which have 8 different translations side by side so they can read each portion from 8 different Bibles.

Jehovah's Witnesses are not brainwashed. We read the whole Bible and we reason on it. Read the Bible with an open mind and you'll be amazed at what church teachings cannot be substantiated in scripture.

Answer 10

It depends on how many preconceived notions you have before you begin to read. The only way to know for sure is if you had no contact with any Christian religion before you begin reading, otherwise, everything you read will be filtered by what you already know.

Which Bible would you read? There are hundreds out there. Despite what people claim about the NWT, the same can be said for the KJV, which was created because the Genesis Bible was considered too strict. Even than, the KJV was revised four times over a 150 year time period before it sufficiently matched the teaching of the Church of England and was "Authorized." It has been revised several times since to where it is now no longer blemished with God's Name, Jehovah.

So, you might consider reading the Genesis Bible.

Answer 11

The bible is opened to many interpretation that is why there are some many different Church's in on faith. So you may well not come to the same conclusions as the JW clan but if you read their lit then you should also to be fair read other lit by other Church's.