Are Jehovah witnesses a cult ?

Answer 1

No, we are not.

The term "cult" implies a small, secretive group of fanatics that isolate themselves from society under the leadership of a man.

There are over six million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.

All of our congregation meetings are free and open to the public.

We don't follow the teachings of men. Rather, we base our beliefs solely on God's Word.

Learn more about us: http://www.watchtower.org/

Answer 2

How can the ONE AND ONLY True Religion be a cult?

A cult is a follower of a Man. I've been one of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses for 35 years and I don't even know who is the PRESENT PRESIDENT of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Answer 3

No.

A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual. Many cults follow a living human leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society. The standard for what is orthodox, however, should be God’s Word, and Jehovah’s Witnesses strictly adhere to the Bible. Their worship is a way of life, not a ritual devotion. They neither follow a human nor isolate themselves from the rest of society. They live and work in the midst of other people.

On another occasion the apostle Paul and his companion Silas were taken to the authorities and charged with greatly disturbing the city of Philippi.—Acts 16:20.

Paul was later accused of being a “pestilent fellow and stirring up seditions among all the Jews throughout the inhabited earth” and of trying “to profane the temple.” (Acts 24:5, 6.)

The director of news and special projects for a television station in the United States wrote to Jehovah’s Witnesses in response to a biased report about the Witnesses on the TV news show "60 Minutes". He said: “If more people lived the way your faith does, this nation wouldn’t be in the shape it is in. I am one newsman who knows that your organization is founded on love and a strong faith in the Creator. I want you to know that not all News people are as biased.” A Well-Known Religion.

They live and work with people of all races and religions. When disasters strike, they are quick to respond with relief supplies and other humanitarian assistance. More important, they are engaged in an educational program that has no comparison. How many religions have an organized system to pay personal visits to every individual in their community? Jehovah’s Witnesses do this in more than 230 lands and in more than 330 languages! There is no hellfire.
Who Is Their Leader? They follow Jesus Christ as their Leader and as Head of the Christian congregation. It was Jesus who said: “Do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, whereas all you are brothers. Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One. Neither be called ‘leaders,’ for your Leader is one, the Christ.”—Matthew 23:8-12.

It is clear that Jehovah’s Witnesses are as far from being a cult as Jesus was from being a glutton and a drunkard. Admittedly, not everyone who was influenced by the false reports about Jesus and his disciples fell into the trap of slandering him. Some may simply have been misinformed. If you have questions about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their beliefs, why not get to know them better? The doors to their Kingdom Halls are wide open to all who seek truth. You can also benefit from their careful search for accurate Bible knowledge and learn how to worship God in harmony with Jesus’ words: “The hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him.”—John 4:23.

If you would like further information, please get in touch with Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit their official web site - http://www.watchtower.org

Answer 4

a cult like jim jones, or charles manson who people worship. they live together and do everything together. we live in our own homes and all around the world in 236 lands. we may be your next door neighbor. we live with our own families and many work. some are doctors, lawyers and teachters. we pay bills also. we worship Jehovah God and Jesus Christ is the Head of all the Kingdom Halls in 236 lands. we follow the bible.

Answer 5

You could say they are a copy of the Jewish Cult that separated themselves some 1900 years ago

Talking to one of my regular passengers, whose a Rabbi, I would say most Christians have much the same problem with JWs that ancient Jews had with the first Christians who they viewed as having been started by an uneducated ex-carpenter of the Jewish Lower Class who was executed for cause by the governing authority. The only education he had was by Mary and Joseph, in the view of the Jews, he made up most of what he said.

He recruited other uneducated, lower class individuals, such as a failed fisherman (Peter) and a hated tax collector (Matthew).

Lacking any formal education, they were easy to manipulate into believing he was the Messiah, something that was impossible, as he did not bring about the destruction (Armageddon) of the enemies of the Truly Blessed People of God, the Israelites, as was prophesied.

After his lawful execution, these clearly brainwashed followers began going door to door telling their brethren that the traditional beliefs, rituals, and observances (holidays), dating back hundreds of years, were no longer valid.

They began creating their own scriptures, to support their false beliefs, instead of relying on the Holy Torah, which had sustained God’s People for hundreds of years.

Finally, there were highly educated individuals, especially in the religious arts, such as Saul of Tarsus, who could clearly prove that they were a false cult, bent on leading God’s People down a false path to destruction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_of_Tarsus

What happened to them, as a result of their false teachings, and their door to door work, was only to be expected of people who have lost their way.

Clearly, what you may or may not think of JWs is reliant on your point of view, just as it was in those first years. Having an advanced education in religion does not mean that you are right, only that you sound that way.

JWs may have come from a simple, and some times, erratic beginnings, but at least they are making a valid effort to do better. You cannot say that for other religions who:

Continue to get involved in politics;

Lie to the IRS about not doing so in order to get their non-profit status;

Avoids paying taxes on retail sales within the church;

Allows immorality to creep into the church;

Immortalizes their founders through the observance of a birthday, death, and/or anniversary of the founding of the church;

Places a pictures of the founders in all their churches, so that all can see and pay obeisance;

Gives tacit approval to the Theory of Evolution; and

Doesn’t teach their followers to preach and teach the Bible, as Christ instructed.

Answer 6

No.

Trinitarians try to use the term "cult" like a sledgehammer to obliterate any thinking analysis of what the supposed "cultist" actually believes. Trinitarians embrace a bizarre, non-etymological, quite arbitrary definition of the term "cult" which includes anyone who does not believe that Jesus is God Himself, rather than the Son of God. Interestingly, pagans in the first century slandered Christ's followers with the insulting term "Atheist" (!) because the Christians had a somewhat different idea from the pagans about the nature of God.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no salvation occurs without Christ, that accepting Christ's sacrifice is a requirement for true worship, that every prayer must acknowledge Christ, that Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, that Christ is the head of the Christian congregation, that Christ is immortal and above every creature, even that Christ was the 'master worker' in creating the universe! Secular authorities in academia and government routinely acknowledge that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian religion. With more than 16 million associating with Jehovah's Witnesses, the term "cult" seems very out of place in a fair discussion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians.

Sadly, Trinitarians seem more interested in perpetuating their human traditions, Greek philosophy, and Babylonish fetishes rather than reasonably examining the Scriptural definition of "Christian". In fact, the bible most closely associates being "Christian" with preaching about Christ and Christ's teachings. Review all the times the bible uses the term "Christian" and note that the context connects the term with:
"declaring the good news"
'teaching quite a crowd'
'open eyes, turn from dark to light'
"uttering sayings of truth"
"persuade"
"keep on glorifying"

(Acts 11:20-26) [The early disciples of Jesus] began talking to the Greek-speaking people, declaring the good news of the Lord Jesus... and taught quite a crowd, and it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.

(Acts 26:17-28) [Jesus said to Paul] I am sending you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God... Paul said: “I am not going mad, Your Excellency Festus, but I am uttering sayings of truth and of soundness of mind. ...Do you, King Agrippa, believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” But Agrippa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.”

(1 Peter 4:14-16) If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy... But if he suffers as a Christian, let him not feel shame, but let him keep on glorifying God in this name


So why do anti-Witnesses try to hijack the term "Christian" and hide its Scriptural implications? Because anti-Witnesses recognize that it is the preaching work that makes it clear that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are by far the most prominent followers of Christ:

(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


Learn more!
http://watchtower.org
http://watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm

Answer 7

Yes, they were founded by two men in the 1870's primarily Charles Russell. The definition of a cult is a group that takes their beliefs from a person instead of the bible itself. They have incorrectly predicted the second coming of Christ a number of times and deny the deity of Christ. They have an exclusive version of the bible with key passages altered. They are very far from mainstream christianity.

Answer 8

Yes they have marks of a cult
1. their religion is the only right religion
2. they are told that they shouldn't associate with "worldly" (anyone who is not a Jws) people
3. they have predicted things like that Armageddon is going to happen in 1914,1925,1975
4. they say that Jesus returned invisibly in 1874 then it's changed to 1914 (this doctrine is still official)
5. specific rules for every aspect of their life

Answer 9

No. Jehovah's Witnesses come as close to primitave (early) Christianity as you can possibly get. Consider the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses and compare them, NOT with what Yo C calls "mainstream Christianity," but with the Bible.

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.

Answer 10

Yes