Do Jehovah's witnesses distribute their magazines as propaganda material for the watchtower?

Question

They are always careful to portray their members as being angelic in their stories, while other non JWs are depicted as callous and uncaring. There are nice, honest people in every religion but that doesn't make all religions the right one, and some of the stories just seem too staged to be true.

Answer 1

No.

The Watchtower is intended to teach the will and purposes of Jehovah God. Like Christ Jesus, true Christians teach from the Word of God.

(John 7:16-18) Jesus, in turn, answered them and said: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me. ...He that speaks of his own originality is seeking his own glory; but he that seeks the glory of him that sent him, this one is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

(Matthew 4:10) Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’”


Incidentally, Jehovah's Witnesses do not quote from The Watchtower as though this is an authority which non-Witnesses must accept, but simply to show that this point or that is an actual belief and teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses.


Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20050715/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_03.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/t13/
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_04.htm

Answer 2

I honestly do not believe it's a propaganda. I see many religions more self righteous than JWs and i am sure Trinitybomshella knows who they are since she seems to know so much about being self righteous. Like Papa Bear i know of a few religion who will advertise themselve on TV!!! Propaganda? Definately! Awake and the Watchtower are not the only reading materials where good deeds of the JW are written. I've read many in local newspapers!

In regards to the Awake magazine about 9/11, my mother was one of many who took refuge at the Watchtower building. It sickens me that some took this magazine as propaganda of the Watchtower. I was able to find my mother because of the kindness of the JWs.

Answer 3

In answer to your query, no. The Watchtower magazine is given out as a study aid to the Bible. If you have ever read the Watchtower and/or Awake you have seen that there are many stories, that do not list a specific denomination, asside from saying Christian. I have often spoken with people who enjoyed the Watching the World section of the Awake specificly for the general interest stories. I once gave an awake about Sexual Harassment to a gentleman, who while not wanting it for himself, wanted to give it to his wife, as it had helpful tips on how to avoid it, and handle it if the problem arises. In no way does such an article praise/condemn one religion over another.

Answer 4

They don't distribute it for that purpose. They sincerely think they are helping people discover God's truth as uniquely held by their spirit-anointed leaders. They sincerely think the biographies and accounts of how kind and caring they are are actually true. That's because they've been so influenced by Watch Tower Society propaganda themselves, they cannot see that is what it is. They have to read and study so much of this literature, they hardly have time to even glance at a newspaper, let alone read other religious views.

But don't get me wrong; there are very many nice, honest JWs and, of course, there are the not-so-nice or honest ones too. They never get a mention in their literature, except as anonymous, warning examples of what happens to JWs who turn "bad" (and are invariably kicked out - just to prove how "clean" the organization keeps itself).

Jesus said that when people did acts of charity, not to let their left hand know what their right hand was doing. But the Watch Tower Society loves to trumpet its good deeds. They are receiving their reward in full.

Answer 5

The Watchtower puts it in their magazine es, while other religions call the TV News stations to get them to come out and record it for the nightly news, and whose using propaganda? I remember a story from a few years back about a church that donated $50,000 to a shelter, than spent $100,000 in commercials to tell every one about it. Yes, there are honest people in every religion, but the religion doesn't strive to encourage ALL their members to be upright and honest people. Did you ever hear the church that the Clintons attended say anything about him getting a ******** (though he didn't consider that sex) from the young woman, while sitting at his desk and on the phone with a Congressman? Clintons being big contributors, they would not want to point out to him something like Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood.

But then, since people believe that abstaining from blood doesn't really mean abstaining from ways of taking in blood, perhaps abstaining from fornication doesn't mean all types of fornicating.

Answer 6

the Watchtower is pure propaganda
Propaganda by definition is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. Therefore the Watchtower can not be anything but propaganda, despite what the Jehovah's Witnesses say or believe.

Answer 7

Yes, they always use angelic stories and portray themselves to be so wonderful and caring. I remember an Awake! magazine my mother had right after 9/11. It claimed how so many dirty confused people saw the open arms of the building and took refuge at the Watchtower headquarters Bethel, in New York City. It was self-righteous and self glorifying. It was all so disgusting. Also remember a talk that talked about Hurricane Andrew. They talked about how organized and helpful the JW's were with their aid and how disorganized everyone else was.

They tend to talk so negatively about everyone else, other religions, organizations, yet speak so highly of themselves. Never once in my 17 years of being in that world did I hear anything negative or unpleasant news about the sect itself, the drama's at the assemblies were always absurdly melodramatic with seemingly hopeless people 'saved' by the JW's.

They never talked about the history or formation/foundation of the sect at the kingdom hall meetings, because it was so embarrassing. I remember I had to ASK, my mother about how it came into existence, she always said, 'Jehovah's Witnesses always were'. She was so clueless. No religion always was, it forms because a person or people interpret the bible in a certain way and form a certain ritual or practice.

It sickens me really, mother mother is so brainwashed, she is like an echo of the Governing Body that writes that stuff. Of course she as well as many other JW's here can't see it. I could go on for hours but I'm tired. Anyway, I hope I helped. You will get the same old answers from the same old JW's on yahoo answers directing you to they one and only site. They are so intent on keeping you away from any other source because they know it isn't as bias as their own. Anyway, I hope I helped you.

Answer 8

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 9

All falsehoods within and without Christainty, has some other written material that takes presdents over the Scriptures. Aka - The Bible.

It is through some heavenly or divine beings, of whom these other material derive from.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, the Apostle Paul writes; But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Paul says “if he that cometh preacheth” another Jesus, in another spirit, with another gospel, we are to “bear” with him.

Now the word bear in the English is defined as – to conduct or carry oneself in a particular way. However, in the original Greek, it has a deeper meaning to “ones conduct,” or in this case, the conduct of the Church towards Another or “Additional” Gospel --A gospel contrary to that of the New Testament Church.

The original Greek word used here is antikeimai (pronounced as) an-tik’-i-mahee and means; to lie opposite i.e. adverse. It is also used figuratively as repugnant to; adversary, be contrary, oppose.

So, as warriors of the cross, we are instructed to take up opposition against doctrines, contrary to the doctrines of the New Testament Church.

But, this opposition “must” be one of love and compassion for the unsaved. For those caught up in these religious traps, as sadly as it is; are as lost as lost can be!

Then in Galathians 1:6-9, the Apostle Paul writes; I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The word "accursed" in the original means excommunicated!

These falsehood of Christianity, teaches that the true gospel of Jesus had been lost down throught he ages.

However, the True Gospel of Jesus was never lost! It just went to living in caves and cathocombs, because of the rise of an antichrist, but not the Antichrist, known as none other than Constantine The Great.

http://wings-of-an-eagle3.com/The_Church_History.doc

Thumbs down no problem. But heres the truth if youre seeking the truth.

http://www.4truth.net/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=hiKXLbPNLrF&b=784547&ct=932133

Answer 10

SHOULD YOU BELIEVE IN THE WATCHTOWER?

The Jehovah's Witness organization is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WT). They maintain that God has only one organization on earth today, and they are it. Their claim that they are God's "channel of communication" for our time is a heady one. It is a claim that the WT has a corner on spiritual truth. It is a claim that only the WT can rightly interpret and explain Scripture. And it is a claim that the WT alone can provide godly direction and counsel for all the people on earth.

Any group can make such a claim. However, it is another matter to measure up to it. We are commanded to test those who make such claims (1 John 4:1). In the Bible, God has given us standards by which we can test teachers and prophets, and distinguish between the true and the false. That is the intent of this article. Perhaps you know someone who has been meeting with the Jehovah's Witnesses, or someone who is considering joining the WT. If so, we hope this information will be helpful.

EVALUATING FALSE PROPHETS
There are scriptural guidelines for evaluating claims like those of the WT. The Lord Jesus said that false prophets might be recognized by "bad fruit" or sinful deeds (Matt. 15:17-20). We would have to acknowledge that all people sin, even prophets. But a true prophet would not be characterized by a consistent pattern of deliberately spurning God's law.
Therefore, anyone who claims to be a prophet should be reliably honest in all his dealings-especially in spiritual matters. The WT claims it is the "faithful and wise servant" called to dispense God's "meat in due season" (see Matt. 24:45). Those whom God has called to be teachers and prophets must be circumspect about their proclamation (James 3:1). It must always be only the truth.

Jesus also said that false prophets deceive rather than enlighten (Matt. 24:11). One who deliberately and repeatedly distorts the truth would be disqualified as a true prophet. The apostle Peter taught that false prophets can be spotted because they fail the test of orthodoxy, and introduce heresies which deny Jesus as Lord (2 Pet. 2:1).

THE TRINITY AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST
Two well-established doctrines in the Bible are the Trinity and the full divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reader should note that a well-developed case for the validity of these doctrines is beyond the scope of this article because of space limitations. However, since we are questioning the orthodoxy of the WT as God's organization, it would be well to briefly make the case for these two doctrines.
Briefly, here is how the Bible conveys the doctrine of the Trinity. There is only one true God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6-8). The Father is God (2 John 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:2-3), the Son is God (John 1:1; Rev. 1:7-8), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17). Each of these Persons must be fully God, because to say otherwise would be to compromise the essential unity of God.
The Bible also clearly portrays the full deity of Jesus Christ. Everything that the Father is, the Son is also: Both are eternally unchanging (compare Mal. 3:6 and Heb. 13:8); both use the title "Lord" (compare Ps. 68:19 and Rom. 10:9); both are called "Lord of Lords" (compare Deut. 10:17 and Rev. 17:14); both are the only "Savior" (compare Isa. 45:21 and Acts 4:12); and it is said of both that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess their Lordship (compare Isa. 45:23 and Phil. 2:10-11).

These doctrines are not man-made. They are derived from the Bible. Those who challenge them are not challenging men, but the very word of God. Thus, anyone or any organization that teaches otherwise is engaging in heresy-the teaching of ideas that are in opposition to the clear teaching of what God has revealed in Scripture. (For more information about these topics, and a more fully developed case, contact Watchman Fellowship).

TESTING THE WATCHTOWER
Now we may return to the primary purpose of the article, to answer the question of whether the WT can be trusted to teach spiritual truth. The Bible gives us clear standards by which we can judge the WT's position that it is God's organization. The Bible is clear that God's organization would not deliberately and consistently mislead people, it would not distort the truth, and it would not teach heresy which denies Jesus as Lord.
So, how does the WT measure up? As a case study, we here will examine one of the WT's most commonly-distributed pamphlets. This pamphlet has been used by the WT since 1989, and thus Jehovah's Witnesses cannot claim that it is new, and it will be corrected. If it is wrong, they have had ample opportunity to change it. If it is in error, it represents a consistent and intentional pattern of deception.

The pamphlet in question is an attack on one of the Bible's most important and fundamental doctrines. The title is Should You Believe in the Trinity?1 The pamphlet seems very authoritative. Quotations from non-WT and even evangelical Christian sources make it appear as though the doctrine of the Trinity is, in reality, unbiblical, and that even our own pastors and teachers don't really believe it.

However, as the reader will see, the WT repeatedly misquotes publications and authors, taking out of context in a number of places in order to make a case for the heresy of denying the Trinity, and thus denying the full Lordship of Jesus Christ. What follows are four examples of these distortions.

TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY UNREASONABLE?
Firstly, the pamphlet quotes The Encyclopedia Americana on page 4: "The doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be 'beyond the grasp of human reason.'" However, in its fuller context, The Encyclopedia Americana actually says, "It is held that although the doctrine is beyond the grasp of human reason, not contrary to reason, and may be apprehended (though it may not be comprehended) by the human mind."2 This passage was taken out of context to add credibility to the WT teaching that the Trinity is an "unreasonable" doctrine. However, even the WT admits that just because a doctrine seems incomprehensible, that is no reason to reject it: "Should we really expect to understand everything about a Person who is so great that he could bring into existence the universe, with all its intricate design and stupendous size?"3
TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY NOT BIBLICAL?
Secondly, the pamphlet quotes from The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT) twice on page 6. The first of the two quotations says, "The N[ew] T[estament] does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity. 'The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence' [said professor Karl Barth]." This would make it appear that the author of this article in NIDNTT, J. Schneider, does not believe that the New Testament teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. However, the WT fails to note that earlier in the same article, the author declares that Christ is God. He says, "Jesus' words of self-disclosure in statements using the divine 'I am' formulae...which in the O[ld] T[estament] are self-revelations of God Himself."4 Schneider continues, "Several passages in Jn. contain ascriptions of divinity. Jn. 1:1 (RSV) declares: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...'"5
He goes on to say:


Jn. 20:28 contains the unique affirmation of Thomas in addressing the Risen Christ as God: "My Lord and my God..." The statement marks the climax of the Gospel. God has become visible for Thomas in the form of Jesus. The climax of Johannine teaching occurs in the confessional formula of 1 Jn. 5:20 which asserts the full identity of essence of Christ and God.6

The other out-of-context quotation from NIDNTT is also from an article written by Schneider: "Primitive Christianity did not have an explicit doctrine of the Trinity such as was subsequently elaborated in the creeds." But again, Schneider is not saying that the Trinity is a doctrine introduced later, and is therefore unbiblical. Quite the contrary, in another article in NIDNTT Schneider writes, "The virgin birth, according to the N[ew] T[estament], is the channel by which the eternally pre-existing Second Person of the Trinity entered as a truly human being..."7 Schneider does not deny the Trinity in the NIDNTT, Schneider is actually affirming it!

JESUS A CREATED BEING?
Thirdly, on page 7, the Should You? pamphlet quotes the church father Tertullian as having said, "There was a time when the Son was not..." The implication is that Tertullian (along with other church fathers prior to the Nicean Council in a.d. 325) did not believe in the Trinity, but instead saw Jesus as a created being, as the WT maintains.

However, even a casual study of Tertullian will reveal that this is incorrect. Tertullian believed that the Word, or Second Person of the Trinity, was eternally pre-existent. Only His title, "Son" was later added. In his famous defense of the doctrine of the Trinity, Against Praxeas, Tertullian wrote that Jesus was "both Man and God."8 In fact, Tertullian is the one who coined the term, "Trinity!"
Further, he stated:

While the mystery of the dispensation is still guarded, which distributes the Unity into a Trinity, placing in their order the three Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: three, however, not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power, but in aspect; yet of one substance, and of one condition, and of one power, inasmuch as He is one God, from whom these degrees and forms and aspects are reckoned, under the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. How they are susceptible of number without division, will be shown as our treatise proceeds.9

HERETICAL CONFUSION
Finally, the pamphlet repeatedly confuses the biblical doctrine of the Trinity with the ancient heresy of Modalism (or Sabellianism). On page 3, the WT correctly states the doctrine of the Trinity, quoting from The Catholic Encyclopedia: "'The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, yet there are not three Gods, but one God.' In this Trinity...the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal..."
However, afterward, the pamphlet misrepresents the doctrine by substituting Modalism in place of orthodoxy. Modalism is the belief that there is one divine Person acting in three roles or modes. The WT then "disproves" the Trinity by attacking the heresy of Modalism. They quote Tertullian (p. 7) as having said, "The Father is different from the Son..." The same fallacy occurs on page 17 under the heading "Jesus distinguished from God." All they prove is that the Father and the Son are not the same Person-which is one of the key aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Should you trust the Watchtower? The answer is definitely not. As we have seen, they have deliberately and repeatedly misled people who seek God, distorted the truth about Him, and propagated the heresy of denying the full Lordship of Jesus Christ.