Do Jehovah's Witnesses have the true religion? If so, why? If not why?

Answer 1

Set aside the Bible and consider other issues of what makes any church a true religion. They:

Believe in obeying the law, even the inconvenient ones, such as speed limits when late for work;

Believe in paying taxes, even though there are many ways they could avoid them, as many religions do;

Believe in keeping their word, such as to the IRS that they will not promote politics in the church, and they actually mean it;

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;

Treat their youth with respect, not just "do what you're told!";

Teach their youths 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;

Don’t allow their congregations to get so large that the individual gets lost in the crowd and since everyone is taught the same, it is easy to start a new congregation, with a set of elders;

Have members who know all other members, whether in their congregation, their city, or their county....When Katrina happened, they made sure everyone living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every individual accounted for;

Believe their meeting places should compliment a neighborhood, and not overwhelm it, so they are small and don’t include a lot of expensive decorative features....Each church can hold up to four congregations. Each with its own leadership;

Encourage all their members to read the whole Bible and submit their thoughts to see whether the religion could be following God’s Word better;

Don’t pay or elect their leading members or governing board....a fisherman, a tax collector, or a carpenter can end up on the Governing Board;

Can have every member, over the age of 12 answer the following question without just referring to a secular holiday in May:

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 Niacin 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 2

Yes, we believe we do because it is God's view of worship that is important for man. What we believe is only what the Bible teaches without the teachings of men.

For example, God is a title, not a name. In Psalms 83: 18 and many other places His name is Jehovah. Followers of his son, Jesus, would use that name just as he did. We don't call our friends "Hey you!" all the time do we? We call them by name. We use Jehovah's name when talking to him or about him. 1 Corith. 8: 5 says there are many gods and lords but only one true God. His name is Jehovah.

We have to study a long time to become one of JWs because to be one is to KNOW what we are doing not just pass it by. We learn what the Bible actually says and means to know the truth of the Bible.

Anybody can read one sentence out of any book and "seem" to prove anything. What makes a difference is finding other scriptures to determine if the rest of the Bible agrees. That is what we do with all our beliefs. If we find anything man made and not based on Bible principles, we refuse it.

Example: Many years ago when almost everyone did it and doctors even reccomended it, JWs smoked. From our study, we learned our bodies must be clean for approved service to Jehovah. So we stopped using tobacco long before any doctors or reports came out. It is surprising that in every case of Jehovah prohibiting something, it works out to human's good.

We do what Jesus told his people to do, preach and teach about God's Kingdom to the world. In all except 3 countries, we are.

We have "love among ourselves" a sign of true Christians. We do not fight with each other or nation in war. We are in agreement whether you in the US or Hong Kong or Russia, we teach the same things.

Who else does these things? These are the marks of the true religion.

Answer 3

yes, they say they have the true religion. How can a person know what is true? Must read the bible study and compare. How can one know if they have the truth if one doesn't know what they teach. I have been studying and I still don't know for sure. What I do know is that they can back any answer they give with the word and what they teach seems to line up with the word more than what I've been taught.

Answer 4

Jehovah's Witnesses have the one true religion for it's followers only.
There is no one religion that is true for everyone.

Answer 5

OK, I am not a Jehovah's Witness, (not because I don't want to be, but because of my own attatchments to things I know are displeasing to Jehovah) and since there didn't seem to be any actual Witnesses answering your question, I'd like to give it a go. For something to be proved TRUE, one would have to research and recognize what is FALSE. If you have seen the scripture in Revelations that describes "Babylon the Great" (chapters 17,18) in verse 4 of ch.18, it says "to get OUT of her my people". There are many theories as to what Babylon the Great even is, but it describes her as a harlot (whore) who comitted fornication with the kings of the earth, who was very wealthy and lived in shameless luxury! A few so-called "Christian" religions come to mind when I read that, but it makes more sense to envision the whole entire empire of FALSE religion. I know for me personally, although I was brought up in the Bretheren faith, where all the "mainstream" doctrines such as hellfire, trinity, and pagan inspired celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, b-days, etc.... were taught and revered, it wasn't until I was an adult and started to really question the things going on in the world, and WHY is a "GOD" who is supposedly so full of LOVE allowing all these horrible things to go on, etc...and then it happened. While working as a temp in an office, I worked next to a nice lady who would converse with me about something we saw on the news the night before. And before long we were talking about the Bible, and God, etc...and she asked me if I knew that God's name was "JEHOVAH", and I said that I had heard that name before, (and in my mind I'm thinking, oh no I've heard of JW's and to stay away, they are a cult! blah blah blah) and she asked me if I had a Bible at home, which I did, and she told me to bring it to work the next day. And so I did bring my own KJV the next day. Well, needless to say when she showed me from MY OWN BIBLE, the name JEHOVAH in over 4 places, I was completely shocked!!! In the 20+ years before this, with all of the Bible studies and church attending, and "Christian" retreats I had been to, never ONCE had I been made aware that the name JEHOVAH was even IN my Bible, let alone God's personal NAME!!! Because of that one particular revelation, it caused me to ask myself, what else did they (my church) NOT show me or teach me??? And slowly, but surely I started to "search for the TRUTH" One subject after another:hell, trinity, Christmas, Easter,Jesus, religion......you name it, I was at the public library pouring over historical accounts of all of these doctrines and teachings!!! And I prayed intensely for knowledge and wisdom and truth, and I can honestly and wholeheartedly say that because of Jehovahs Witnesses, I found EVERY question I ever had about God, Jesus, religion, sin & suffering, hope & faith, life & death, etc...from studying the Bible with them. Now, what I DO with that knowledge is a different story, and a very personal decision, and every Witness can tell you about when or how they realized it was the "truth". But let me leave you with a question. If it is very reasonable and pretty simple for most folks to grasp the idea that there is only "ONE TRUE GOD", then shouldn't it be just as easy to understand that their could/should/would be ONE TRUE RELIGION??? It really is a personal search.

Answer 6

No. They have to change and mistranslate the Bible to jive with their doctrine.

OK, I am going to give a simple example. You can double check me on this. You can use a simple concordance to look up the Hebrew.

The New World Translation renders Genesis 1:2 as follows...
"...and God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters."

The word "active force" is ruach in the Hebrew. The same word is used in Genesis 41:8 & 38. Here is the New World Translation rendering of these two passages.
"And it developed in the morning that his [Pharaoh's] spirit became agitated."
"Can another man be found like this one [Joseph] in whom the spirit of God is?"

In one scripture, referring to God, it renders ruach as "active force". Yet when we see it elsewhere in the same translation, the meaning changes. Why? Because the "Watchtower Tract and Bible Society" has an agenda. All evidence and text relating to the Holy Spirit being attributed to God cannot remain in the text, the text must then be changed. The Bible must change the church, not the church change the Bible! This is a perfect example.

Now, here are the same scriptures in the King James Version...

"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
"And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled"
"Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?"

Can you see? The New World Translation changed the meaning of ruach to conform to the Watchtower agenda. This, they arrogantly proclaim as a very accurate translation from the Hebrew. Well, you can say whatever you want, but a simple Concordance will prove otherwise.

______________________

Note: In the New World Translation (Watchtower translation for Jehovah Witnesses) the Revelation passages are purposely mistranslated.

Rev 1:8 [NWT] - “I am the Al´pha and the O·me´ga,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.”

"Lord" is purposely mistranslated. The Greek kuvrio means "supreme ruler" and is not the name Jehovah or YHWH. This same word for "Lord" is used in referring to Jesus in many passages. Using the NWT rendering of "Lord" in the verse above, let's translate the same Greek word used in Matthew 12:8, (Jesus speaking) "For the Son of man is Jehovah God even of the sabbath day."
So, either the New World Translation is lying to suit their doctrine, or Jesus is Jehovah according to their own translation. This blatantly reveals the agenda of the Watchtower organization. They have added to Revelation and thus put themselves under the condemnation of Revelation 22:18.

Now let us look at Revelation 22:13...
Rev 22:13 [NWT] - "Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. I am the Al´pha and the O·me´ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Who is He that is coming quickly? According to Revelation 22:20, it is the Lord Jesus. What is the reward? It is our inheritance from the Lord Christ as stated in Colossians 3:24. If this is Jehovah speaking, it would be a contradiction, or that Jesus is God (which violates their doctrine).

The Jehovah Witnesses say they trust the King James Version translation of the original text. Let's do a comparison of the New World Translation of Revelation 1:11 with the King James Version.

Rev 1:11 [KJV] - saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia...

Rev 1:11 [NWT] - saying: “What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven congregations...

Because it is obvious that Jesus is speaking in Rev 1:11, the New World Translation favors the Latin Vulgate in omitting this identification. This has been disputed, however, it should prove that the Jehovah Witnesses are not in agreement with the King James Version.

Answer 7

I'm Catholic and I have an elderly family member who is JW, great great man. We don't talk religion, it's best not to when your religions clash so dramatically. One conversation though recently brought to mind a scene from "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis. He told me (through tears) that when he last had to be hospitalized he actually died, and had to be resuscitated. He said he remembered it all, it was nothing. Complete and total blackness, void of all feelings, all senses, everything/ nothing...just complete nothingness. It was horrible, and it terrified him. It made me think of the dwarfs, that even though they too, were in heaven, they could not see past their own ignorant beliefs. I felt a deep sadness for him, because I know now what heaven is for those don't truly believe. I pray for him every night.

Answer 8

No they do not. They don't celebrate birthdays, they don't celebrate birthdays, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, they don't celebrate much of anything, and they don't have the truthfulness of the gospel. In the bible it says that in the last days more books like unto the bible will be brought forth. The only church that has another book, another testament of Jesus Christ is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know that this church is the only true church that contains the fulness of the gospel upon the face of the planet. I know that the Messiah has come and he will come again. I know that this life on Earth will not be easy because since the beginning of this year, my life has been rough. I bear witness of these things to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Answer 9

No religion can prove that it is "true." They all have equally devoted followings, equally dramatic miracles, and equally transformative conversions. Different religions, or none at all, are right for different people, just like how not everyone likes the same kind of joke. What is right for us depends on who we are, not some absolute truth.

Answer 10

close scrutiny of their doctrinal position on such subjects as the deity of Jesus, salvation, the trinity, the holy spirit, the atonement, etc., shows beyond a doubt that they don't hold to orthodox christian positions on these subjects. jehovah’s witnesses believe Jesus is michael the archangel, the highest created being. this contradicts many scriptures which clearly declare Jesus to be God

jehovah’s witnesses believe salvation is obtained by a combination of faith, good works, and obedience. this contradicts countless scriptures which declare salvation to be received by faith. I can go on..the message is full of distortions, deceptions, and false doctrine.