What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe?

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians who understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus is a real government which will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite

That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire

While a limitted number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]

Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://jw-media.org/beliefs/trueworship.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_07.htm

Answer 2

JWs are Christians that stick strongly to their interpretation of the Bible. The defining doctrine are

* Do not believe in the Trininty
* Using God’s name Jehovah or it’s equivalent translation
* Do not believing in hellfire or immortality of the soul
* Not participating in war
* Not engaging in Idolatry or spiritism
* Accept the Ransom
* Preach from house to house
* Believe Gods kingdom will soon rule over the earth, with followers soon living in an earthly paradise

The teachings they have that are offensive to others are that:

* Only they know truth

* Jehovah will soon destroy at the war or Armageddon anyone that is not a Jehovahs Witness, BILLIONS of people. (for Watchtower quotes see http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/salvation.htm)

*That any JW that stops believing the Watchtower doctrine or practices is to be disfellowshipped and shunned by ALL JW FAMILY and friends

* A member must not have a blood transfusion even if it will result in death

It is the second list of beliefs that define them as a damaging group.

Answer 3

If you really want to know what we believe, then read the entire Bible and study with us. It is free, and you will learn not only what we believe, but why we believe it. We base all of our beliefs on the Bible and we practice what we preach. We believe that being a Christian is more than a label, it is a way of life, and we strive to conform our lives to fit God's standards. Pleasing God and doing his will is our main priority. Here are some links to give you a more complete idea of what we believe...

Jehovah's Witnesses ~ What do They Believe?
http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/article_03.htm

What Does God Require of Us? This is an online brochure. There are 16 short lessons about some of the Bible's basic teachings...at the end of each lesson there are little arrows that will take you to the next lesson.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/rq/article_00.htm

Worshipping god With Truth
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1998/10/1/article_02.htm

Answer 4

You could start by checking out some of the segments on You Tube taken from the PBS feature “Knocking” which gets shown in May. Here’s the web link:
http://www.knocking.org/

Check the link for previews. Some survivors from the German Holocaust will be speaking at them.

Aside from being the most Christ like people, if you set aside any Bible issues, my guess is that some of the irritating issues people have with them could be:

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 Nasin 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 5

The short answer is that we believe everything the Bible says, and we believe nothing that the Bible does not say.

We do not believe we are a sect or a cult, but the restoration of the original faith and practice of the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles, and the first Christian congregation.

We believe that Jehovah God is the Almighty, Supreme deity, Autotheos (God of Himself), and that Jesus Christ is his beloved, only-begotten Son.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior, but not his Father, nor part of something that is never mentioned in the Bible: a Trinity.

We believe that more important than talking about Christianity is living Christianity. Every day.

And we believe that God's love for mankind is the compelling reason that we love Him and our neighbors, and try to share Bible truth with everyone.

Answer 6

Well short answer is, We believe in striving to follow the Bible and the teachings of God's son Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Definition: The worldwide Christian society of people who actively bear witness regarding Jehovah God and his purposes affecting mankind. They base their beliefs solely on the Bible.

What beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses set them apart as different from other religions?

(1) Bible: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, they hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs.

(2) God: They worship Jehovah as the only true God and freely speak to others about him and his loving purposes toward mankind. Anyone who publicly witnesses about Jehovah is usually identified as belonging to the one group—“Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

(3) Jesus Christ: They 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 virgin, Mary; that his perfect human life laid down 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.

(4) God’s Kingdom: They 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 righteousness will prevail.

(5) Heavenly life: They believe that 144,000 spirit-anointed Christians will share with Christ in his heavenly Kingdom, ruling as kings with him. They do not believe that heaven is the reward for everyone who is “good.”

(6) The earth: They 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.

(7) Death: They believe that the dead are conscious of absolutely nothing; that they are experiencing neither pain nor pleasure in some spirit realm; that they do not exist except in God’s memory, so hope for their future life lies in a resurrection from the dead.

(8) Last days: They believe that we are living now, since 1914, in the last days of this wicked system of things; that some who saw the events of 1914 will also see the complete destruction of the present wicked world; that lovers of righteousness will survive into a cleansed earth.

(9) Separate from the world: They earnestly endeavor to be no part of the world, as Jesus said would be true of his followers. They show genuine Christian love for their neighbors, but they do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation. They provide for the material needs of their families but shun the world’s avid pursuit of material things and personal fame and its excessive indulgence in pleasure.

(10) Apply Bible counsel: They believe that it is important to apply the counsel of God’s Word in everyday life now—at home, in school, in business, in their congregation. Regardless of a person’s past way of life, he may become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses if he abandons practices condemned by God’s Word and applies its godly counsel. But if anyone thereafter makes a practice of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, drug abuse, drunkenness, lying, or stealing, he will be disfellowshipped from the organization.

(The above list briefly states some outstanding beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses but by no means all the points on which their beliefs are different from those of other groups. Scriptural basis for the above beliefs can be found through the Index of this book.)

Answer 8

we ask the JW the same questions over and over again. i'm sure they rather answer questions that are more challenging where they need to actually research for the answers. let's not under estimate these people. Most of them may not have gone to universities and get a higher education but boy, they love to research and they are very good at that and you know what? Most of them are very intelligent! I'm sure they're yawning at this question posted.

and for those JW who will actually post an answer, i'm sure they're doing this for the sake of the person who asked.

Answer 9

I am no expert, but I have a brief knowledge of what they believe:

- Jesus is not God

- You are not saved by faith, but by works (helping people, charity, etc)

- only 144,000 people will enter heaven

- There is no hell

- If a J.W. leaves the church other membes must not speak to them outside of church.


Just an overview

Answer 10

I hope you get a honest answer.