The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is a religion which takes seriously the bible, recognizing that it contains both commands and principles. While the Scriptures clearly instruct a true worshipper to marry only another true worshipper, there is no explicit "punishment" for doing so. The bible also discourages "bad association", but that is far more subjective than whether one is or is not pursuing marriage.
(1 Corinthians 15:33) Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.
(Exodus 23:32) You are not to conclude a [marriage or other] covenant with them or their gods.
(Deuteronomy 7:3) And you must form no marriage alliance with [unbelievers]. Your daughter you must not give to his son, and his daughter you must not take for your son.
(1 Corinthians 7:39) She is free to be married to whom she wants, only in the Lord.
(Nehemiah 13:25) You should not give your daughters to [the unbeliever's] sons, and you should not accept any of their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
(2 Corinthians 6:14) Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers.
The Scriptures also warn against elevating human desires above godly teachings.
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) We request of you not to be quickly shaken from your reason... Let no one seduce you in any manner
(Romans 16:17-18) Keep your eye on those who cause ... stumbling contrary to the teaching that you have learned, and avoid them. ...by smooth talk and complimentary speech they seduce the hearts of guileless ones.
(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... You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/19990215/article_01.htm
2007-05-09 08:26:24
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answer #1
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answered by achtung_heiss 7
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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?
2007-05-08 18:40:56
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Contrary to what you may read, All of Jehovah's Witnesses voluntarily obey Jehovah.
There are very few rules or commandments.
Love Jehovah you God with whole heart mind, soul.
but there are 1000's of prinicples that guide ones life.
Bad associations will spoil useful habits.
John said if we claim to be christians, then we are obligated to walk the way Jesus walked.
If anyone is not walking the way Jesus walked, then no matter what they says, They is not a christian.
Will we walk this way perfectly? No, but what is our desire and actions showing?
2007-05-09 10:23:49
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answer #3
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answered by TeeM 7
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if your friend doesn't act in a way that is distinctive of being a jehovah's witness, this tells me that the religion is that of his parents and although he has being raised a jehovah's witness, until you are baptised you really are not one... meerly associated with. he obviously hasnt dedicated his life to jehovah god, otherwise he would be very particular about how he acts... oh yeah... as to rules? You must love jehovah your god with your whole heart, soul, mind, strength and you must love your neighbour as yourself....there are many others but if you break them down... they all fall into one of the two mentioned above
2007-05-08 18:47:19
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answer #4
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answered by jo 2
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