why are JW's attacked?

Question

LOOK, i know people dont like jehovahs witnesses. and i personally dont care why. BUT what i do want to know is why people slander their name. i could talk about how some baptists bring snakes into the church for worship, how some "christians" are gay, and how catholic priest molest young boys but i dont. i respect their teachings and try not to stir up too much controversy. in fact im friends with many people who arent jehovah's witnesses. i may think their religion is wierd, but i dont focus on that. i try to focus on the person themselves. why do some hypocrites on this site fail to do the same?

Answer 1

The old saying, It's easier to criticize than to create. I remember on the playground, the different kid was often the one picked on. It really mattered little what made the child the different one that day.

Some people seem to think the best way to help "free" others from being Witnesses is to make up stories and/or ridicule them. Some of these ones know what they say is untrue, others do not, they either feel how they feel based on their own experiences, whether subjective or objective. Also some are inclined to just believe what they here or see.

Another thing I learned on the playground, when you want to prove someone is wrong, and you can't think of something logical/factual/intelligent, for some, the natural choice is to resort to name calling and mudslinging.

Also, it can be easy to judge a group based on the actions of 1. In reading Q's and A's about Witnesses, I often read where people say they based there opinion on Witnesses on what a friend said 1 Witness did.

Thank you for you nice question and for trying to see the person behind the titles, and at times, the slurs/rumors. We all have our own values on who and what we choose to be around. That means WE need to follow these beliefs, it doesn't mean everyone else must.

Answer 2

I judge Jehovah Witnesses person by person. I've met some who were very kind, and others who did not seem like Christians of any denomination. People don't like to feel as if they are being diminished or treated as if they are less important. Some Jehovah Witnesses give this impression, and that may be the cause of hard feelings.

Answer 3

When I first began browsing the R&S category, I wondered the same thing. I never agreed with their teachings, so I didn't give them that much attention, but honestly thought they were a peaceful, loving, group. So I became curious why so many people were posting about them, and I started reviewing older messages by some of the most active Jehovah Witness participants here on Yahoo Answers .

What I discovered, was that Witnesses, at least some of the kind on here, go out of their way to attract this type of attention and ruffle feathers. A lot of them post controversial messages(not questions) they know will attract a lot of people, then they all rush to the message to respond in their own favor. OR, there are the really intolerent JWs who post no questions at all, but jump from question to question like their on caffeine.

I rarely ever see messages by a Jehovah Witness on here which ask anything about love peace and worship. The majority of their messages are all of a debating and "lets prove them wrong" nature. That's not like the Jws I've met.

After awhile people get tired of this behavior. So what you're noticing is the result of what has been created by these active posters. Pick the top Jehovah Witness posters and review their past messages and you'll see what I mean. Most of the Jws on here are very pushy and intolerent of anyone who disagrees with them. Almost mean. The other half brags about reporting people and removing messages.

They are making people who normally thought well of them, or had nothing against them, think twice. Some of them are so judgmental and hypocritical in their behavior, I'm starting to wonder if the most active JWs who behave this way, are really NOt current Jehovah Witnesses and are former JWs or other people trying to make them look bad, or the type of JWs, JWs don't even associate with any more.

What better way to keep people from a religion than to make them seem offensive right? Because that is exactly what is happening. The main JW website does not even return email messages, so I can't believe real JWs would be on here everyday all day. That's why I don't respond to the JW questions like I used to, they may not even be Jws.

So JWs you might want to be careful who you befriend on here. Just because someone says they are a JW and post thousands of questions in favor of your group, doesn't mean they have your best interest in mind. You have to look at the behavior and fruit of that person. Someone can agree with you, and claim to be one of you, and really just be on a mission to ruin the reputation of your religion.

Reputation has ruined entire countries, imagine what it can do on the internet. None of these people, like most people, do not reveal their real names, what congregations they belong to, or anything. And just because one says they know a JW in person, doesn't mean it's true. It could be an alias name. You don't know who they are. This is coming from someone who is not even a Jehovah Witness.

I wonder if these active JWs would reveal their true identity if someone from New York watchtower.org website emailed them? I honestly don't think they would, because they know their behavior is probably worthy of discipline by the organization. In fact, why don't some of you talk to an elder at your hall, and have them write New York, and do just that, specifically for these Level 7 hourly and daily posters with thousands of messages. The less active JWs, usually just follow along agreeing with what these people say.

Answer 4

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.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20030301/
http://watchtower.org/e/20020401/