I really know very little about what this religion believes in.
I'm curious, does anyone know some of their basic beliefs?
What do they believe that is different from say Catholics?
(I also don't know the differences between Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Evangelicals', etc. Anyone with any info on that would be nice too.)
2007-07-02 13:40:06 · 9 answers · asked by looking for 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Sad to say most of the replies so for have been wrong.
You might want to visit the following to see what Jehovah's Witnesses believe:
http://www.watchtower.org/
Some of the basic Bible teachings:
(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.
2007-07-02 16:47:08 · answer #1 · answered by NMB 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You're blessed that you don't know about a particular church. A lot of christians have been indoctrinated by a church rather than taught by the Bible. You don't need to know the differences between churches. Just read the Bible. It tells you everything you need to know. Church is good, but there is no perfect church. They all (churches) have a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. God wants us to seek him individually. Consider yourself blessed to be able to start with the Bible and a blank slate and no preconceived doctrinal beliefs. As far as I'm concerned, if they follow the Bible, the only difference between all those churches you mentioned is the name on the front of their buildings and their interpretation of some scriptures in the Bible (with the exception of Jehovah witnesses-- they do not believe the Bible; they wrote their own book).
2007-07-02 13:57:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Their beliefs differ in some important ways from biblical Chrisitianity.
JW's don't believe in the deity of Jesus Christ.
They belive He is a created being, the archangel Michael.
JW's don't belive in hell.
They believe that unbelievers will be annihilated and cease to exist.
JW's believe they are the one true church. All others are apostate.
They also have some differing beliefs from most others which are not crucial to biblical Christianity one way or the other.
JW's don't believe you should ever get a blood transfusion.
JW's don't believe that any special days should be observed. They don't observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays.
2007-07-02 13:50:30 · answer #3 · answered by Northstar 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
There are another denomination of catholisim.
They were formed after the 2nd World War and basically interpret the bible a little differently from other christians. Because they are a more contemporary group, alot of their beliefs are based on research of the bible. For example, they do not believe Jesus was crucified on a cross, but rather a pole, like other crucifixions at that time.
Basically all the different denominations interpret and believe different things in the bible
2007-07-02 13:58:53 · answer #4 · answered by punisher c 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
They are more than a little off the wall as compared to the larger religions and they are pretty insistent about spreading their beliefs. Other than that it is my opinion that they are pretty much all the same. Heaven, hell, believe or burn, the usual. If you want my advice stay away from all of them, If you don't then you will get plenty of offers to explain every thing in the world and outside of it.
2007-07-02 13:48:56 · answer #5 · answered by Grendel's Father 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Bible believing Christians refer to the JWs and Mormons and some other groups as false cults.
Here are a couple of links which compare JW teaching with what the Bible teaches and some other useful links as well.
Pastor Art
2007-07-02 13:52:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
They believe that God speaks through a man-made billion dollar organization called The Watchtower society.
2007-07-02 13:59:39 · answer #7 · answered by sweetnunziata 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Good question. To know the distinctive beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses as opposed to Catholicism, please go to this link.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Distinctive_Beliefs_of_Jehovahs.asp
Peace and blessings!
2007-07-02 13:49:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
They believe on knocking on people's doors and boring them to death. lol
2007-07-02 13:47:22 · answer #9 · answered by ajmarch89 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋