What is the main difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and a Christian?

Question

Athiests need not answer (let me just say it for you - "nothing, they both believe in fairy tales, blah, blah, blah")...

For other Bible thumpers... can you tell me what the main difference is between these two groups? I consider myself a born-again Christian (not of the jumping up and down, speaking in tongues variety), so when the JWs come a knockin', I send them away. Of course yesterday I was asked by one of them what the main difference is between what they believe and what I believe - and I couldn't really say (I told them I was going to do more research on their kind and get back to them - we all had a good laugh).

Anyone?

Answer 1

What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe? 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 do not 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 (John 1:1,14; 8:58; 10:30). 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 (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the power of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses hold to a ransom theory of the atonement, in which Jesus' death paid only for what mankind lost when Adam sinned - namely, the right to perfect life on earth. Thus, they believe in a faith + works arrangement, where sin and death are freely atoned for by Christ, but physical perfection is attained through personal effort, coupled with faith in Christ.

How do the Jehovah’s Witnesses justify these unbiblical doctrines? (1) They claim that the church has, over the centuries, corrupted the Bible, and (2) They have re-translated the Bible in what they call the New World Translation. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society altered the text of the Bible to make it fit their false doctrine – rather than basing their doctrine on what the Bible teaches. The New World Translation has gone through numerous editions, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses discover more and more Scriptures that contradict their doctrines.

Jehovah's Witnesses are readily shown to be a cult that is only loosely based upon Scripture. The Watchtower bases its beliefs and doctrines on the original and expanded teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and their successors. The Governing Body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the only body in the cult that claims authority to interpret Scripture. In other words, what the Governing Body says concerning any Scriptural passage is viewed as the last word, and independent thinking is strongly discouraged. This is in direct opposition of Paul's admonition to Timothy (and to us as well) to study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of God. This admonition, found in 2 Timothy 2:15, is a clear instruction from God to each of His individual children in the Body of Christ to be like the Berean Christians and search the Scriptures daily to see if the things they are being taught line up with what His Word has to say on the subject.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses should be commended for their “evangelistic efforts.” There is probably no religious group that is more faithful than the Jehovah’s Witnesses at getting their message out. Unfortunately, the message is full of distortions, deceptions, and false doctrine. May God open the eyes of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to the truth of the Gospel and the true teaching of God’s Word.

Recommended Resource: Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses by Ron Rhodes.

Answer 2

There's an old saying when you want to know something go "straight to the horses mouth". I am one of Jehovah's witnesses and have been for the past 24yrs. I was 26 when I became one and am now just on 50. Here a just some of the beliefs we have. 1. The Bible is the word of God and is our no. 1 authority when making decisions. (we are happy to use any bible to prove our beliefs, we haven't got our own bible, true it is another translation, just as the King James version, or the Jerusalem Bible or the American Standard)
2. We Believe that God's personal name is Jehovah and that Christ is his son. Psalms 83:18 "That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You ALONE are the most high over all the earth," and Collosions 1:15 says of Jesus "he is the Image of the invisable God, the FIRSTBORN of ALL creation." If someone is born they had a beginning, Jehovah our creator did not have a beginning he is eternal, Christ did.
3. We believe that God's kingdom that Jesus taught us to pray for in the Lord's prayer is an actual government that will be ruled from heaven and exercise authority over the earth. This can be seen by many prophecies but one of interest is this Daniel 7:14 "And to him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin." In the Lord's prayer we pray "Let your Kingdom come, let you will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven." The miracles in Jesus day, when he healed the sick the lame and the blind and even raised the dead were a foregleam and evidence that Jesus could and would do these things on a worldwide scale when he rules over the earth in the near future. 4. We believe that God will judge the inhabitants of the earth and remove all wickedness, then all those who faithfully and obediently serve him will be saved and live under paradisaic conditions on earth. Psalms 37:9&11 says "For evildoers will be cut off, But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, Ane they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace." There's much to much to say here but enquire personally for yourself, that's good and don't believe others because 9 times out of 10 they've had nothing to do with the Witness's anyway. Infact there is So much incredibally wrong responses to this question I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

Answer 3

For Christians, Jesus is God. The Trinity exists (Father and Son and Holy Spirit) Heaven is not on this earth There will be a countless multitude of saved souls in heaven, not just 144 thousand. We are saved by Jesus, not by a certain organisation. The Cross and the Blood of Jesus are central to salvation. Christians believe in the "priesthood of the believer" not in a spiritual hierarchy with some on top and the rest on the bottom. The ground at the foot of the Cross is level. The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, Eucharist (call it what you will) should be celebrated often, and all baptised believers are free to participate as often as they like. It's not a once-a-year thing for a certain group. Jesus said, "This do in remembrance of Me."

Answer 4

This can get really lengthy; Sooo...I'll b brief.
If u'd like to find out more, contact ur local Kingdom Hall.

We openly declare His name,
not hide the personal name of God--Ps:83:18;
Ex. 3:15; 6:3; 17:15; Gen. 2:4; 22:14; Ju. 6:24;
Eze. 48:35; Isa. 12:2; Matt. 1:20; 21:9.
No Trinity--Deut. 6:4; Luke 22:42; Romans 5:12.
No Immortal Soul--Ecc. 9:5
Resurrection--Acts 24:15
No Hellfire--Jer. 7:31
No Fate--Romans14:12
No Clergy Class--Luke 18:14; Matt. 23:4-12
No Idolatry--John 4:24
Neutral in Politics--John 17:16; Romans 13:1, 5-7
High Moral Standards--John 15:12,13; Gal. 5;22,23
The Approaching End of This World--Dan 2:44.
We direct our prayers to Jehovah, through Jesus Christ.
We adhere strictly to the Bible as the final authority on all matters.
These are some of the main points.
That set us apart from Christendom.

Answer 5

Wow! There are some sick puppies answering this question. Most are just plain wierd. I have been a JW all my life and never heard some of this dreamed up stuff.

We are Christians. We believe because of closely following the Bible as authority for what we do, we are true Christians. There are many false ones as the Bible says. God is a title. The personal name of the Creator of all things, who wrote the Bible, is Jehovah. (Ps. 83:18) Jesus is the only son of God Jehovah personally created. Jehovah then used Jesus to make everything else.

Jesus' purpose in coming to earth was to balance the scales of justice for Adam's sin of disobedience. His sacrifice allowed mankind the opportunity to live forever as originally planned by Jehovah. He was resurrected from death by Jehovah and made the 2nd most powerful creature in the universe. So when Jesus speaks in the Bible, we listen.

One of the things he ordered was the preaching and teaching work we do. Just as they did in the 1st century. The last paragraph in Matthew gives true Christians this order. We obey.

We don't worship as many professed Christian religions do. Plainly it is true. Also plainly, those doctrines we refuse to accept are against what the Bible says. Example: It is widely accepted the dead are either in bliss, playing harps, or in torment. That is not what the Bible says. Eccles. 9:5,10 clearly says the dead have no feelings, knowledge, wisdom and can do nothing. Look it up in your Bible.

That is how we treat all beliefs. If the Bible agrees, we believe. If the Bible is against it, we are also against it. Is that not what Christians are supposed to do? Or did Jesus go worshipping at pagan temples, bowing to idols?

Yes, we have a Bible translation in modern English. So what? The KJV was the same in 1600s. They only had Latin translations back then. Does that mean you must trash your KJV? Of course, the originals were in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Must we also get rid of the Latin translations? Of course. very few people read Aramaic or Greek. That would mean few of us could read or understand the Bible.

The New World Translation closely follows the oldest manuscripts known, just as the KJV does. No translation is perfect so we use around 40 different translations. We are sure to get the proper meaning that way.

We can't see spirit creatures so how do we know when they do things? Jesus gave us visible things to look for as a result of invisible things at work. The 24th chapter of Matthew gave us visible signs to know we live in the time of the end of this wicked system of things. When these things occur on a scale above any other time, all together, that would be it.

Soon, Jehovah's original purpose for man and earth will be done. Man was to fill the earth with children, living forever, and expand that Eden garden to cover the earth as found in Genesis. That is what the Lord's Prayer is asking for. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

To get from here to there, things must change. This wicked system must be wiped out. Some people will die as they support that wicked system. We don't want anyone to get caught on the wrong side. That is why we go door to door talking to people about the Bible.

Answer 6

Jehovah's Witnesses adhere solely to the Bible as the basis for all their beliefs.
They believe that there is one true God.He is Almighty and his name is Jehovah.
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and not God the Son.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God's active force-what God uses to accomplish his purposes.
We believe that true Christians whilst having to live in this world,are 'no part' of this world.We do not smoke,get drunk,take drugs,swear,break the law,steal,go out to night clubs,engage in casual sex.
We live clean moral lives.Keep our close association limited to others in the truth.Marry only in the truth.We preach the good news of God's Kingdom in obedience to Christ's command found at Matt.28:19,20.Thereby fulfilling Bible prophecy found at Matt.24:14.
Our lives are centred around our worship of Jehovah God and the doing of his will.

Answer 7

Last I checked, Jehovah's Witnesses WERE Christians. They use the Bible for scripture and follow Jesus's teachings. That may not agree with mainline Protestantism, but that doesn't make them non-Christian.

Answer 8

it really depends as the term Christian is very broad and Jehovahs witnesses are themselves a christian denomination. As i see it the term christian is based on the belief of Jesus Christ being the son of god and from there it depends on your interpretation of the scriptures as to which denomination you belong too.

I think it would be a good idea to talk to the JW's and see if what they say has any reasoning for you, if not politely advise them you have different beliefs and would prefer them not to call.

Answer 9

Jehovah's Witnesses are themselves Christians. It is insulting and inaccurate to suggest otherwise.

Witnesses are relatively unique among Christians in that they understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus is a real government which will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite

That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire

While a limited number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]

Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://jw-media.org/beliefs/trueworship.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_07.htm

Answer 10

The Jehovah's Witnesses have many practices that are not scriptural. Here is a brief list, read the article in the source for details.

1. Wrong Source of Authority.
2. Denial of the New Birth.
3. Denial of the Godhead.
4. Denial of Christ's Bodily Resurrection.
5. Denial of Hell.
6. Confusion of Physical and Spiritual Death.
7. A Lack of Benevolence.
8. Binding Human Rules.