What are the basic beliefs of the Jehovah witnesses, why are others calling them a cult?

Question

What is the main thing that they believe that makes others say they are cult like? (Note: this is a real question I am not joking)

Answer 1

we follow the bible. we are a religion. a cult lives in one state and live together. we live in our own homes. we are in 236 lands. we work on jobs. a cult does not work. we could be your next door neighbor. we worship the one true God and Father Jehovah and do what Jesus Christ the son commanded at Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20. yes we do not take of blood. even if I was not a witness, I would never take of blood. we do go to doctors and take good care of our families. a friend of the family had a triple bypass operation without blood and is doing great. another friend just this week had an operation also without blood and is doing well and is at home. many doctors are doing operations without the use of blood. people who take of blood, die. we celebrate Jesus Christ memorial on Nisan 14, the last supper or the passover, once a year and all around the world in 236 lands. we are a worldwide brother and sisterhood. the Kingdom hall that I go to does have windows, the reason many don't is because people break them, we are not hiding anything. everyone is invited into the kingdom hall. people think we are hiding things inside. we are listening to talks from different elders either from our kingdom hall or visiting kingdom halls. no one gets paid. there is no plate passed around for money. yes there is boxes in the back for money, but no one is told to give money, you give from the heart. please see the website at www.watchtower.org for more information

Answer 2

Basically we believethat there is no hellfire, no Fate, we have no Clergy Class, No idolatry, no immortal Soul, no trinity, but we blieve the Bible and we believe the Bible promises a resurrection, and we also believe that the Earth will be cleansed and restored to a Global Paradise and that humans will live on it forever(Psalm37:29 ; Isaiah45:18)Others do call us a cult but that is unfounded. Jesus too was called a false prophet and a blasphemer,he was persecuted and even spat upon, and he told his followers that they to can expect to be treated in similar ways on account of speaking the truth(Matthew5:11 ; John15:19&20)but the important thing is not what other people think of us Jehovah's Witnesses the important thing is what Jehovah God thinks of his Witnesses, the thing that shows that Jehovah's Witnesses have God's backing is that they are the ones fulfilling the prophecy in (Matthew24:14)No other religion is doing this on a worldwide scale.

Answer 3

Christendom repeats over and over again, "They deny the deity of Christ, His physical resurrection, and salvation by grace. This alone makes it non-Christian."

However, The reason we are accused of denying the so-called "deity of Christ" is because Jesus never personally claimed to be God; so why should anyone else make that claim?

It is simply not a Bible doctrine. It is a human doctrine.

Although ardent believers insist that each person of the Trinity is his own individual, still, there is only one god, not three gods in one.

How can three separate persons be the same entity? No one knows. Like all Trinitarians admits that the Trinity is an unknowable "mystery."

What about salvation by grace?

Do Jehovah's Witnesses deny that? Absolutely not! The Watchtower has always taught that salvation is a result of Jehovah's undeserved kindness.

Answer 4

Honestly, I think it is often a matter of one of two things. Alot of times when I hear people talk about what I belief or write/say that we are Cultists, it is simply based on rumors they have heard, or because someone they know said it. The other reason seems to be the simple feeling that, Person A believes in one thing. Person B believes differently, therefore person B MUST be a cultists.

Since someone once again mentioned windows, I will post a repeat of a response to that concern.

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Many of our Kingdom Halls DO have windows. Some don't. The first one I went to did not for safety reasons. As it was we had to keep our air conditioning unit in a steel cage as people kept stealing it. When we tore down one Hall I attended, to renovate and enlarge, we installed windows.

It is also at times much more convienent and less expensive to not put in windows.

We put blinds up but still found it distracting to see cars going by. If you want to know why your local hall does not have windows you should politely ask someone from that Hall.

Answer 5

In the United States, the constitution forbids the establishment of religion. Therefore, there cannot be an officially recognized religion. Therefore, contra Peter V, there is no such thing as a cult by his definition.

The term cult has been debased to a term of abuse.

Answer 6

That Jesus is the Son of God, believe it or not.

Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians.

Trinitarians try to use the term "cult" like a sledgehammer to obliterate any thinking analysis of what the supposed "cultist" actually believes. Trinitarians embrace a bizarre, non-etymological, quite arbitrary definition of the term "cult" which includes anyone who does not believe that Jesus is God Himself, rather than the Son of God. Interestingly, pagans in the first century slandered Christ's followers with the insulting term "Atheist" (!) because the Christians had a somewhat different idea from the pagans about the nature of God.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no salvation occurs without Christ, that accepting Christ's sacrifice is a requirement for true worship, that every prayer must acknowledge Christ, that Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, that Christ is the head of the Christian congregation, that Christ is immortal and above every creature, even that Christ was the 'master worker' in creating the universe! Secular authorities in academia and government routinely acknowledge that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian religion. With more than 16 million associating with Jehovah's Witnesses, the term "cult" seems very out of place in a fair discussion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians.

Sadly, Trinitarians seem more interested in perpetuating their human traditions, Greek philosophy, and Babylonish fetishes rather than reasonably examining the Scriptural definition of "Christian". In fact, the bible most closely associates being "Christian" with preaching about Christ and Christ's teachings. Review all the times the bible uses the term "Christian" and note that the context connects the term with:
"declaring the good news"
'teaching quite a crowd'
'open eyes, turn from dark to light'
"uttering sayings of truth"
"persuade"
"keep on glorifying"

(Acts 11:20-26) [The early disciples of Jesus] began talking to the Greek-speaking people, declaring the good news of the Lord Jesus... and taught quite a crowd, and it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.

(Acts 26:17-28) [Jesus said to Paul] I am sending you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God... Paul said: “I am not going mad, Your Excellency Festus, but I am uttering sayings of truth and of soundness of mind. ...Do you, King Agrippa, believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” But Agrippa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.”

(1 Peter 4:14-16) If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy... But if he suffers as a Christian, let him not feel shame, but let him keep on glorifying God in this name


So why do anti-Witnesses try to hijack the term "Christian" and hide its Scriptural implications? Because anti-Witnesses recognize that it is the preaching work that makes it clear that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are by far the most prominent followers of Christ:

(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


Learn more!
http://watchtower.org/e/20000622/
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_04.htm

Answer 7

What beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses set them apart as different from other religions?

(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.

(The above list briefly states some outstanding beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses but by no means all the points on which their beliefs are different from those of other groups.

The Witnesses’ beliefs, based entirely on God’s Word, the Bible, prevent them from falling into the trap of becoming a sect or a cult. They take a kindly interest in all other people, of whatever religious persuasion. No, they do not try to force these people to change their viewpoint. They endeavor to imitate their Leader, Christ Jesus, by presenting Scriptural evidence of the trouble-free Paradise that will soon be established on earth.—Matthew 28:19, 20; 1 Peter 2:21.

Answer 8

Their basic belief revolves around making a living. It's not a recognized religion, hence, cult.

Answer 9

they are considered that way cos they believe they are the ONLY ones that believe and follow God the Right way! they consider themselves to be the only perfect group of people(saints) in the world.their beliefs are totally different from any other regular religious groups.Basically to them, if you are not a Jehovahs witness then......
ugh, i gotta stop here!

Answer 10

Only thing I know about them is they won't have a blood transfusion. They rather die.