Jehovah's Witnesses, what do you consider to be the mainstream Christian theology that's closest to yours?

Question

What denomination or theology would be your closest "brothers in Christ" that you share the most beliefs with?

Please don't say, "none of them." You claim the Christian label, so do other Christian denominations.

I did say "mainstream." LDS is not mainstream.

Answer 1

(Matthew 7:13-14) 13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.

(Matthew 7:21-23) 21 “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. 22 Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ 23 And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness.

(Matthew 7:24-27) 24 “Therefore everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass. 25 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded upon the rock-mass. 26 Furthermore, everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was great.”


Jesus didn't teach all roads lead to Christ.

In worship 'man' does not make the rules, only Jehovah can provide what is acceptable and what is not.

You are either serving worshiping the Father with Spirit and Truth or you are not.

(John 4:24) 24 God is a Spirit, and those worshipping him must worship with spirit and truth.”


(Most of he above answers are so wrong, we are not related to the Mormons, nor do we believe in faith healing)

Edit: ----

Thanks for the clarifcation.

You tell me,

Who else Worships the one true God, whose name is Jehovah? (Ps 83:18)

Unitarians are close, but don't use Jehovah's name.

Who else believe the bible when it says the soul can die and be destroyed? Gen 2:7; Ez 18:4; Matt 10:28

Who else believes the bible when it says Jesus was resurrected as a spirit, and not as flesh and blood

(1 Cor 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. . . . The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 50Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; )

Who else believes that Christ will rule over the earth from heaven? Rev 21:1-4; Ps 37:9-11, 29; Prov 2:21, 22

That as an immortal spirit creature, no eye can see him or will see him (Jesus). 1 Tim 6:16, thus his 'return' will be invisible and needing 'signs and portents' to know he has returned. Matt 24:3, 4?

In all my years of going door to door, many many come close, but they twist God's word and make it different.

I've been told 'all christians go to heaven, and then God creates a new earth and returns them back to the earth'

Yet 2 Peter tells us that it is "the world of ungodly men" that are destroyed.
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The NAB (a catholic bible) in their footnote says God(2) at John 1:1 is a quality and not an identification.

That Word and Wisdom are the same Wisdom and the Word are the first thing God created (Prov 8:22, 30; Col 1:15; 2 Cor 4:4)
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Jehovah’s Witnesses

Definition: The worldwide Christian society of people who actively bear witness regarding Jehovah God and his purposes affecting mankind. They base their beliefs solely on the Bible.

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.


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Answer 2

Christian soldier sent his answer to me. Why do you delete his answeres? Don't we all have freedom of speech? There was a question somewhere about people how well people were versed in the Bible before becomming a JW. I can't find the link now but quite a few considerd themselves to be well versed in the Scriptures and were deceived by the watchtower...also those who just picked up a Bible for the first time were also deceived by the watchtower. Obviously if they were will versed in Scripture to begin with then they wouldn't be JW's in the first place. People who say they are Christian and then go to being a JW, Mormon, Muslim...etc were never really Christian in the first place. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 1 John 2:19 In doing so they are on the broad way to the lake of fire. They need the gospel. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matt. 7:13-14 BTW, JW's don't have the "truth." Only Jesus has that. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Answer 3

Although not a Jehovah's Witness myself, I do know quite a few and have been preached to a lot by these individuals. In my opinion I would say that they are closely related to the Mormons with the exception of the teaching of the Latter Day Saint Joseph Smith whom the Mormons base much of their teaching on. Another sect would be the Christadelphians who share the teaching that Jehovah is the name of God, but without the street and door to door magazine sales that the Jehovah's Witnesses are famous for.

Answer 4

Christ theology in the 1st century as oppose to the theology of the 4th century which had by then adopted many beliefs from the Roman Empire and other pagan nations and called themselves "universal" for adopting so many teachings from across the globe.

Answer 5

Aren't Jehovah's witnesses and Mormon's both LDS?


Yes, but Mormon IS mainstream which I why I used LDS as a comparison not as the religion.
I NEVER said that they were related!! He asked what they were similar to, I said Mormon because they are both LDS which would make them similar in that sense, I never said they had the same beliefs or that they were the same religion and it irritates me that people can give thumbs down when I stated something that is true, it may not be the entire answer but it doesn't mean mine is wrong. And no one below me said that they were mormons or related to mormons they just said exactly as I said that they are similar. Similar does not mean identical or even the exact same. Jehova's witnesses are a religion all on there own just as lutheran, baptist, protestant are all completely different in there own right, they may all believe in God, Jesus and Mary but they all look at them completely differently and are therefore completely different although all referred to as a form of christianity.

Answer 6

Our theology is based solely on the bible without the doctrines and traditions of men. So the teachings of Jesus and the 1st century Christians is what we base our theology on. So 1st century Christians is not only the closest, but is what we believe.

Answer 7

This question seems somewhat like asking:
"Penguins, which mainstream bird is most similar to you?"

...and then a few moments later, adding:
"(Puffins, auks, and albatrosses are not mainstream.)"



As the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses acquires more and more adherents (surpassing the United Methodist Church and the Southern Baptist Convention by most measures, for example), it is becoming more and more artificial to pretend that their form of Christianity is somehow "out of the mainstream".

Yet, perhaps the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are so distinct is itself a remarkably telling feature of their worship and religion. It seems sobering to consider that a sincere Christian who rejects paganisms such as Christmas and Easter, who loves and uses God's personal name, and who recognizes the need for global preaching by every active adherent sees no real alternative religious organization besides the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

These facts about Jehovah's Witnesses are perhaps relevant to this question. The more one compares this Christian religion with others, the more remarkable it is shown to be.

1. Jehovah's Witnesses have no paid clergy. Yet they remain tightly organized with more than 6.5 million active Jehovah's Witness preachers (about 16 million associate themselves with the religion). Even fulltime preachers and workers at their branch offices are unpaid volunteers.

2. There is no elite class among Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the few 'anointed' among them enjoy no special privileges in their congregations on earth. An anointed person (one of those relative few with a heavenly hope) is not elevated above his fellow congregants in any way, and he may not even qualify for appointment as a simple 'deacon' or elder. There are no titles; EVERYONE is addressed as 'brother' or 'sister'.

3. No person benefits economically from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the 8 to 20 men who serve on their Governing Body receive simply room, board, medical care, and reimbursement for certain personal expenses according to the exact same provision as every other branch volunteer.

4. About a hundred men have served on Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body committee during the past 125 years or so. The vast majority of them have spent the vast majority of their adult lives volunteering for their organization's purposes, and the vast majority have died faithfully and near-pennilessly while still under their legal 'vow of poverty'.

5. Amazingly, Jehovah's Witnesses did not splinter as a sect from some other religion. Instead, a truly tiny but sincere group of bible students studied only the Scriptures to determine the will of God. Thus their religion remains absolutely independent of and not carrying the sins of Christendom's history, yet carries the authority of Christ's teachings.

6. Despite the distortions of anti-Witnesses, throughout their modern history Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to claim divine inspiration or infallibility for their teachings. They have pointed to the bible (and not any particular translation) as the only inspired infallible means of knowing God's thoughts. For over 125 years, their teachings have been presented as merely the results of sincere bible research by imperfect but godly humans.


Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_07.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20040601/article_02.htm
http://jw-media.org/people/who.htm
http://jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm

Answer 8

There is no such thing as being close in religion. you either is or you ain't. Look at Sunni and Shia Muslims. They kill each other over some obscure detail of who did what after Mohammed died. Then, how close are protestants and catholics?

Jehovahs are a fundamentalist religion that believes JC will save them from all perils, including gall stones, for example, so there is no need for an operation. My advice to you is to stay away from them if you want to live a happy life.

Answer 9

mormons are similar in the fact that they also go door-to-door but they follow the book of mormon, not the Bible. other than that i don't really know because a lot of our beliefs aren't so mainstream despite being firmly rooted in the bible's teachings. every religion i think of has quite a few different beliefs.