Why is it that christians and such say that if you don't believe in god you're not going to go to heaven? I have nothing against religion at all. I'm not religious myself obviously, but I'm sure that if god is such a holy being, then he would respect everyone for their opinion and not send them to hell just cos they don't believe right? Can someone who reads understands religion give me their take on this?
Also, who are jehovas witnesses, and why do they always come knocking on your door trying to preach to you about god? It's not right to try and convince random strangers by coming into their home and forcing your religion on people. If they want to believe, they will believe anyway!
2007-08-01 16:52:42 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Really, everyone who respects and obeys Jesus Christ goes from door to door to teach his neighbors about the Bible's good news. It is interesting that only Jehovah's Witnesses are so clearly identified with the preaching work; globally more than 6 million preach publicly each month.
(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 you.
(Acts 5:42) Every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.
(Acts 20:20) I did not hold back ...from teaching you publicly and from house to house
It's sad when someone who claims to respect the bible actually insults or even advocates attacking a peaceful preacher. Sad but completely expected.
(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching... You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.
Really, if someone goes out of their way to disregard Christian preachers and preaching, what is he saying about himself?
(Luke 10:1-17) After these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos... “He that listens to you listens to me too. And he that disregards you disregards me too. Moreover, he that disregards me disregards also him that sent me forth.”
Learn more:
http://jw-media.org/people/ministry.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_03.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_15.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_09.htm
2007-08-02 08:17:54 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The thing about religions is that they are belief systems; as such there are different ways of understanding in them.
As for the Jehovah's Witnesses, I cannot give you an explanation free of bias because of my own personal issues with certain family members. Some consider them a cult. The fact is that they attend meetings several days a week and are constantly studying their doctrine. They shut out the rest of society as much as they can, except for door-to-door and supporting themselves.
2007-08-02 00:03:41 · answer #2 · answered by TarKettle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I said that I do not believe in you and that I do not love you, would you be welcoming me?
If you had been greatly offended, would you welcome those who did not care to make amends and seek your forgiveness?
God is holy and loving, but He is also just. We humans are sinners, who have broken His laws and failed His standard of perfection. He does not tolerate this. His love enters the picture when we see that He sent a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sinfulness, God's own Son. Accepting His Son as your Savior is the key. I hope you can see now how this is not too much for God to expect.
Everyone, including you, must come to grips with these facts and decide how you will regard this God.
2007-08-02 00:07:22 · answer #3 · answered by Bob T 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Exactly! Why would God give us minds to think up new religions if we were only supposed to believe in one religion? Some would reply that it's a test. But what kind of loving parent sets up a test and then fails more than half of its children? Makes no sense. I have no idea what Jehovah Witnesses are exactly, only that they are Christian, and some are extremely pushy and stubborn. We have every right to believe what we want to believe. That's how it's supposed to be. The only ones deserving to go to hell are the ones that disrupt the natural process of religion, or lack thereof.
2007-08-02 00:01:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Organized religion was created by man to control the masses. An interpretation of a story was brilliantly woven to trap the minds of folks into a vice that they believe so strongly they are unable to see outside of this story. What they believe they think is for the whole wide world. Imagine that? It's kind of like giving a computer an unsolvable problem. And that is all the computer is focused on. All its attention is on solving this problem, nothing else exist, nothing else is real to it....but this problem. This problem IS its whole wide world. And nothing will take its attention away. Stuck! So religious people just follow the equations and one is to pull in others to help with the problem solving. Yikes!
Blessed Be
2007-08-02 00:20:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No one, except God knows who is going to heaven. Believing in God is different then, beliving that he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. You have to repent for your sins to show God that you are truly sorry for the wrong you have done. You have to have faith in God also. The only way to go to heaven is to accept the lord as your one true God and savior. Its not really based on opinion. Im not really fimilar with the faith of jehovas wittnesses but like other Christians, they are doing what God told them to do. Which was to spread his word. I understand if you dont want this forced upon you, you can either take it or leave it.
2007-08-02 00:05:32 · answer #6 · answered by beautifulxxlies. 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We hide from the Jehova's around my way. I'm Catholic and don't like people coming to my door and telling me to change my religion. It bothers me. So when we see them coming we turn off all the lights and act like we're not there. Believe it or not they ring my doorbell for a good five minutes before they leave. Maybe they have a daily quote to fill.
2007-08-01 23:59:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God gives everyone free will. You can use your free will to love Him and to serve Him, or you can use your free will to reject Him. However, there are different consequences for each option. If you reject Him, then you cannot expect to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You choose your eternal destiny by the way you live your life.
God does take individual circumstances into account. Someone who, through no fault of his own, does not know about God will not necessarily be condemned to hell just because of his ignorance. Ignorance is one thing; knowing about God and His commandments and rejecting them is another.
I'm a Catholic, and I write from a Catholic perspective. The Church holds out the hope of salvation for everyone. It is not our job to decide, in individual cases, whether or not someone is going to go to hell. That's for God to decide. It is our job, however, to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, which includes the forgiveness of sins and the call to conversion. As part of spreading the Good News, we can warn someone about the consequences of his bad actions, as Jesus Himself did, but the final decision is God's.
2007-08-02 00:20:45 · answer #8 · answered by kcchaplain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are asking good questions! I guess, to try and make it simple (and I know that some will not like this) the thing that keeps us from Heaven is not God. God desires that all make it to heaven. What separates us from heaven is unforgiven sin.
Everyone on this earth has a tendency to sin. It is in our nature...we are not perfect. Heaven was created pure and perfect, and sin cannot enter it. Unless you allow Christ to be your atonement for sin, you can't enter Heaven. God and sin cannot dwell together.
If God didn't care so much, do you think He would have given his most precious Treasure to help you get to Heaven?
It is us, not Him that prevents everyone from getting to Heaven.
2007-08-02 00:00:09 · answer #9 · answered by mizmead 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Christians don't believe that simply believing in God will get you to Heaven. Even Satan and the fallen angels believe in God. Christians believe the only way to Heaven is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. Why do we believe that? Because Jesus (God incarnate - in other words God in the flesh) told us, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
You say, "but I'm sure that if god is such a holy being, then he would respect everyone for their opinion and not send them to hell just cos they don't believe right?" The problem with this statement is that you're assuming things about a God you don't know personally. How many times have you assumed something about someone else you don't know personally and been wrong about them? I know I've been wrong many times when I *assume* things. God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." (Isaiah 55:8)
You're right about one thing though, and that is God is Holy. We are sinful. Out of God's love and mercy, He sent His Son, Jesus, who willingly shed His blood on our behalf (to cover our sins) so that sinful man could be reconciled to a Holy God. Accepting Christ's sacrifice is the only way to have a relationship with God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
If God went to all the trouble of creating us, then isn't it reasonable to believe that He has rules and expectations for His creation? It's the same as a parent having rules and expectations for their children. God doesn't want us to be in the dark when it comes to knowing how to have a relationship with Him. He doesn't want to be some distant, unknowable being. That's why He instructed the writers of the books of the Bible to write what they did - so that we could know Him better and know what He expects from us. So, it's not Christians who have made up the rules. They're merely sharing God's rules with those who may not know because they haven't read the Bible for themselves. You too can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. This is what the Bible says you must do to be saved:
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." -Romans 10:9-10
As for your question about JW's, I suspect they're trying to share what they believe to be the truth. I don't know what their tactics are or if they're trying to force themselves on people because I usually don't answer the door. But, I do know their beliefs are not biblical. However, I believe they are sincere in their beliefs, but sincerity doesn't automatically make something true. That's why it's important to read the Bible for yourself instead of blindly believing what someone else tells you about it. The Bible instructs us, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but TEST the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Hope this helps!
2007-08-02 00:37:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋