i just saw a respectable christian all the JW religion a cult. do all christians feel this way?

Question

if so, how do you differentiate between your beliefs as being a religion and their's being a cult?

to "a sheep with god" OOPS I MISSED THE LETTER "C"

to "a sheep with god" OOPS I MISSED THE LETTER "C" it should be "call". if you had a brain like the other christians, you would have been able to figure that out all by your little self!

Answer 1

The Jehovah Witnesses fit the definition of a cult: a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist.

Jehovah Witness is a Bible based cult. They twist Scripture to suit their beliefs. They even have their own Bible written to omit doctrine that they refuse to believe in. They previously used the KJV, but it didn't mesh with their idea that there is no Trinity.

They have tried their best just as the Mormons have, to try to appear Christian and family oriented (most are deceived, however, and aren't intentionally deceiving others - they obviously believe that they know the truth). For beliefs that JWs won't tell you at the door, see the link below.

By the way, Debbie's idea (second answer) sounds very nice. But, if I wanted to know what the Muslims believe, should I start attending a mosque? Of course not. There is plenty of credible information available that will teach you about Islam. If you want to know about Christianity, start reading The Gospel of John from a trusted translation (NIV, NASB, KJV, ESV) and go to a Christian church. You don't go to a cult to find out more about the Bible.

It's not just the fact that JWs break from mainstream Christianity, it's the simple fact that they deny basic Christian doctrine. They deny the physical resurrection of Christ, the Godhood of Christ, they claim that Jesus is an archangel, they claim that all religions are of the devil except for theirs (this includes classic Christianity), and so on. Their beliefs also go into the ridiculous as they refuse life saving blood transfusions and celebrations of holidays including Christmas and birthdays because of the possibility of pagan roots.

Even more telling of their deception is the fact that they deliberately edited the Bible and altered every Scripture concerning the deity of Christ making Him only a creature - a created being like people or angels.

Answer 2

That's one of the best questions I've read in a long time. You have a lot of good answers too. There can only be one real religion- everything else is counterfeit. Our God is not confused about what He wants. Many of the religions of the world copied their morals and code of ethics from Christianity. Considering that missionaries were sent all over Europe, and into Asia, it is not surprising that they would pick up 'stories' that sound similar to Christianity. Thus you get a lot of the copycat stories of creation, extra-biblical writings that supposedly make Christianity 'false' as so many of the non-believers claim. (Kind of like the game of telephone- those that heard the early teachings of Christianity and didn't wholeheartedly buy into it would have adopted some of it and formed their own beliefs and teachings- thus changing it.) Those that have started since Christianity have obviously adapted the commandments and teachings of Christ, without accepting all of the truth of the gospel. Our pastor calls it 'pick and choose' theology. You pick the parts of the teachings you like, and discard the rest. Then you fill in the blanks with what YOU want to believe. If we believe that Christianity is the true religion, then any religion that copies it in any way - in its moral teachings and ethics- is a cult of Christianity. They have discarded Christ and replaced Him with some other deity. Though I'm not an expert, religions that existed before Christianity tend to have multiple deities. We see that in some of the oriental religions, like Hinduism, and in the pagan rituals of tribesmen who believe every created thing is a god. These religions, though not really 'cults' of Christianity, are still cults in their own way, because they do not acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. Another one of your answers mentioned that every religion has its sects- and I would agree. But if all the other religions are false, then how can you have a false sect of something that's already false? Great question.It'll give me something to talk about with our pastor.

Answer 3

They call JWs a cult when they can't figure out anything worse to say. They can't say we are immoral or thieves, greedy, lawbreakers. Most police forces like when we have a convention in their towns. They know, for all the crowds, they will not have to do anything, maybe a little traffic.

It is terribly frustrating to the clergy for us to be around. People can learn more about the Bible in 5 minutes at the door than a month in their churches. The clergy is afraid the members might listen and ask the dreaded question, "Why have I never been told what has been there (Bible) all along?" That would mean loss of income and power. Can't have that.

Cults have power because people are too give over free will to anyone who will make their decisions for them. This is unfortunately too prevalent today. In the US, we make hundreds of decisions everyday. That was one of the reasons Soviet defectors in the 60's had severe problems with supermarkets--choices. Back home it was yes or no, usually no.

JWs on the other hand, make decisions based on knowledge. When we say something about the Bible, it is because we looked it up and read--not just one scripture, but-the surrounding scriptures and others pertaining to the subject to get an accurate understanding.

Our decisions about life are based on the Bible. It is like reading the owner's manual to a product or just tossing it away thinking "You don't need no stinking instructions." That person will usually wind up with smoking junk rather than a useful product. The Bible is the Owner's Manual for humans. It gives God's way of thinking on matters for the best life. We do our best to tune in to His way or view.

Answer 4

I don't believe Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult and I am a Christian and my religion is Christianity. Protestantism, Catholicism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists etc are denominations. However, there is a singular difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and everyone else who claim to be Christian.

Achtung drew our attention to the doctrine of the Trinity. What he has failed to do, however (and please forgive me if I mis-represent what you've said) is to address the triune nature of the Godhead. That is to say, the deity of Jehovah, the deity of Jesus who became the risen Christ and the deity of the Holy Spirit. Whilst understanding why JW's cannot accept the Trinity, they seem to deliberately misunderstand how the Bible links all three, without mentioning the word 'trinity'. Not three seperate beings, or entities, but ONE Almighty God who has been represented here on earth in the form of a man, Jesus, Immanuel, God With Us (2,000 years ago) and the Holy Spirit, God With Us Now, the Comforter.

The point is that unless we recognise the deity of Jesus and bow the knee to Him as the risen Lord and Saviour, how can we possibly call ourselves Christian? It simply isn't good enough to say a Christian is a "footstep follower of Christ". The Bible tells us He is worthy of our WORSHIP - because when we worship the risen Christ, we worship Jehovah.

That is why I do not believe Jehovah's Witnesses are truly Christian. They do not understand who Jesus was then, who the risen Christ is now and who the Holy Spirit is, now. GOD WITH US.

Jesus Christ is THE WAY. No-one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. He is the gatekeeper, the door, the good shepheard. Demote Jesus Christ and you cannot call yourself a Christian.

So, Jehovah's Witnesses are not a cult. But can they truly claim to be Christians?

Answer 5

https://watch002.securesites.net/contact/submit.htm

My Wife and I are Jehovah's Witnesses and we are not a cult.
We study with people all over the world and we invite people from all over the world to our Kingdom Halls. My Wife and I live in Long Beach Calif. and we have Bible Conventions through out the summer at the Long Beach Arena. The City of Long Beach has awarded Jehovah's Witnesses with the key to the city. Would they really award a cult with the key to the city? People need to study with Jehovah's Witnesses and then make a honest decision. That's what I did in 1996, I asked for a free home Bible study. I also had heard at one time that they were a cult and they believed in all these weird things. After I studied I found that these were all lies and people were just spreading lies about the Witnesses. Please visit the link above to request a free home Bible study.
Have a nice weekend.

Answer 6

I hope this answer helps and please note you got a lot of great answers to a really great question, regardless of how it _ame out. (oops i missed a C too, plus I probably mispelled a lot as well. God Bless in your search for the truth of the Living Lord of Hosts, The Lord Jesus Christ.

The Appostle John taught us the #1 rule to go by:
Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NIV)

In the greek this is quite literally rendered that "diety was the word" the idea being is the Word represents Jesus, as seen in verse 14, "and the word became flesh and dwelled among us".

In the New World Translation which is the Bible authorized and printed by the Watchtower Trac and Bible Scociety, The verse in John 1:1 is rendered as follows:

Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.

Do you see the difference "Word was A (emphasis mine) God". By rendering this scripture in this way, you change the entire meaning of the Gosple of Christ. You make Jesus a separate God, and you separate Him from God in diety and purpose. This by the way is the watch word for all biblical interperatation in my mind and all translations, how dose a translation render the charachter of Christ? Is He fully God and Fully man, or is he actually a lesser God, or an angel given a man form.

This one little scripture change, changes the outcome of the rest of the Bible both Old and New Testament. For The Old testament tells of a God that will provide a salvation from sin, and that HE WILL SAVE US!!!! The New Testament provides this in a Saviour, The Lord Jesus Christ. He was perfectly man and perfectly God at the same time and only through His sacrafice could all mankind be reconciled unto The Lord God Almighty.

The JW"S don't talk much about their founding father Charles Taze Russel. The man that invented The Watchtower Trac and Bible Scociety. The original name of the Jehova's Witnesses. They don't tell you that He was the person that claimed the Bible of the day was corrupt (KJV and Catholic version), and so were the denonminations of the day, and that he had indeed translated a new bible from the original texts (The New World Translation) and that is was the most complete and accurate scripture available to the true worshiper of Jehova.

They don't like to tell you this especially since we was taken to court in New York and was proven to be a fraud, This man claimed to be a Greek and Hebrew schollar, and when given Greek and Hebrew scripts on the stand He was not able to translate even one word.

So the Appostle John established the rule of Christs diety, and Paul the Appostle established the rule of preaching the good news:

Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!(NIV)

Now that verse of scripture kinda settles it for the JW in my mind, not only them but some other cults as well that believe in a truer Gospel than Paul taught, delivered by an angel in approx the same time frame as Russell (late 1860's) but thats a whole different cult of a simular teaching in a different package. "You gotta work your way to heaven or God wont take you in". "The blood of Jesus is the start, but there's a whole lot more you gotta do" Sounds like the Judiasers of old to me, we call the something else today.

In closing Christians need to stick together and stand up for Christ. Any ideology that tears Him down to less than Being God incarnate is to be challenged, in love and with that authority of scripture. Unless The JW or other cult members allow you to use a Bible other than theirs, they will always be able to refute an appoligetic argument of Christ. So the bottom line is when sharring with members of this and other cults you must pray that the Holy Spirit of God will come upon them, and remove the veil of deception that the enemy has put on them. Continue to pray that God will reveal His truth to them thru you and others washed in the Blood, and in the Name of Him that can truly save, The Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Al 4 now B

Answer 7

To understand the difference between a cult and a religion, one must first understand the connotation of both words.

If we use the first definition the word "cult" as found on dictionary.com, we find that "cult" and a "religion" are synonyms . Dictionary.com defines "cult" merely as "a particular system of religious worth, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies." This would seem to fit every religion in existence.

The true difference between the words "cult" and "religion" is one of connotation. Whereas the word "religion" has a positive or at least neutral connotation, "cult" has a decidedly negative connotation. It's not until the sixth definition of "cult" that we discover why: "a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader."

This definition immediately conjures up images of Jim Jones style cults committing atrocities. Yet, even this definition isn't necessarily meant to be negative. For example, Jesus was a charismatic leader that started a little group, later called "Christians," that were considered by the Jewish orthodoxy they sprang from to be false, unorthodox, extremist, and with members living outside of conventional Jewish society. Thus technically all of Christianity is a "cult" from a Jewish point of view. Likewise, Islam and Judaism both have charismatic founders (Mohammed and Moses) and must have seemed unorthodox and extremist to non-believers. All religions started out as "cults" depending on your personal point of view.

So what does it mean when a religion calls another a cult? To use a modern example, when a modern Christian group calls a member of a Christian religious sect that they disagree with - such as Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses - a "cult" presumably they are using the term as a pejorative meant to say "we see that other religion as being a false, unorthodox, extremist version of Christianity." This is undoubtedly a true statement and not necessarily offensive, in and of itself.

However, this begs the question: why bother with an ill-defined term like "cult" at all? Why not be more specific and just say "I disagree with your religion and belief something different"? Again, the answer lies in the connotation of "cult." As has been pointed out, people generally associate "cult" with images of Jim Jones, mind control, brain washing, and other socially unacceptable behaviors. Because the word sounds so much like "occult" many people also associate the term with practicing black magic or satanic rituals. Thus the difference between a religion and a cult is one of connotation and point of view. A cult is a religion that one person wants others, rightly or wrongly, to fear

Answer 8

J W's are nothing near a cult like people,however some who have drawn away from the faith will twist a long winded ans. in labelling them as such.This summer at assemblies around the world much focus will be on how J W's believe and follow Jesus' example in their everyday life and Ministry. Yes they believe that Jesus was God"s son and so did the creator and he proved it several times in front of witnesses .

Answer 9

No, not all Christians are inclined to call JWs a cult. The adjective is often applied, however, but as you read all the answers here you will soon see that many thoughtful Christians have explained their misgivings about JWs being genuine Christians, whilst others just thoughtlessly parrot 'cult' because it rolls easily off the tongue without having to engage the brain. Thoughtful answers explain why differences in fundamental Christian doctrines give good reason for saying JWs are not genuine Christians.

Today it is popular to say that just as long as a person wants to follow Christ, or tries to follow Christ, then she or he is entitled to be called a Christian - no questions asked. Alas, many people follow systems of belief in the hope that they are following Christ, but they are being misled - and not by Christ! I suggest that a Christian is someone whom Christ has chosen. Yes, prior to that the person may have longed to follow Christ, but until Christ enables that person to start following in his footsteps, the person strives in vain to be a Christian.

A Christian is someone who has been born again by the Holy Spirit; who has entered through the gate that leads to the narrow way to life; who HAS eternal life from the moment they truly believe. They start as a new-born helpless babe, they need the milk of God's word, nurturing and caring for in the Christian family, and they grow in God's grace. But all of that follows on from being brought to spiritual life by God. They are adopted into God's family. Given that JWs themselves teach that virtually all of their members are NOT born again (and don't need to be), they are unwittingly admiting that they promote a system of belief that actively denies Jesus' own words, "No-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (Jn 3) So I suggest that JWs try very hard to be Christians, but until God sovereignly acts to anoint them with his blessed Holy Spirit, they try in vain. If they would repent of their false doctrines, their contempt for the Holy Spirit, and their mere lip service to Jesus and start worshipping him, that miracle of grace would transform them. I pray to God that such a thing happens.

Answer 10

Hi, there are so many people that like to talk bad about religion in general. Some people want to destroy anything they are not associated with.
They know they will steer you away from Witnesses by calling them names.

But God wants you to know the Truth. He has sent us to you as he sent Jesus and even if we refuse to go door to door...God says he would make the stones cry out about the Glory of God.

If you would sit through a public talk ( in English not Latin or Hebrew) you would be amazed at what you may learn.

The atmosphere is kind and loving. No one will indoctrinate you into a weird religion and you come and go as we all do.

I have heard that quite a few people have said they learned more about the bible in one hour at the Kingdom Hall than their whole life at their church.

Bring your Bible...that's all you'll need....we have song books.
And if you want to learn meatier things from your Bible stick around for the Watchtower study. Last week it was about Marriage...The theme was Do not put apart what God has yoked together. It touched on points like ...
Why can even Christian marriages experience problems?
How can a husband provide for his wife and how he cherishes her?
What can a wife do to show that she deeply respects her husband?
How can a husband and wife strengthen their commitment?

Each week it is something new. Next week it is Youths-Pursue Goals That Honor God.