Do the Watchtower & Roman Catholicism have more in common than might first appear...?

Question

Your thoughts, please?

Thanks in advance for all sincere, polite replies.

May God bless you. x

Misty 0408 -

Thanks for your reply.

With all due respect, I'm afraid that your assertion that the Watchtower do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is incorrect.

Having studied JW beliefs, I know for a fact that they do. They might not attach the same significance to the term as R.C.'s or indeed, orthodox Christianity, but they DO refer to Christ as God's son.

Thanks.

Martin S -

Thanks for your reply.

I did not state or imply that there is "no difference" between the Watchtower & Roman Catholicism.

I merely asked if there might be SIMILARITIES between the two (caps for emphasis).

Thanks for your time.

Adeel A -

Do you really think that anyone reads your overlong & frankly irritating propaganda?

If you wish to actually answer my question, fine. Even if you differ theologically with me - well, that's your view, and this is a free speech forum. But please - kindly refrain from leaving any more of your rants as a "response" to my questions.

I have - to my recollection - only ever reported one other person on Y!A, and that was for a pornographic avatar. I found your spam EQUALLY offensive and hence, felt compelled to report you, also.

Regards,

Carl.

Answer 1

Sad to say for both of them - yes.

Doctrinally they are light years apart. (However, they both add to the gospel by saying continuing good works determine whether salvation will be achieved.)
But when it comes to attitudes and illusions of grandeur - very similar!

The almost funny part is that they each slate the other as satanic agents of deception; each claims their respective leaders are in contact with God - his only agents of communication today; that salvation can only come through joining their church (though the RCs have mellowed recently and admit 'estranged brethren' are in other denominations). They both have a hierarchial organizational system too. Not an exhaustive list, but I trust you can go with the flow.

Answer 2

It is possible to compare Catholicism with ancient Babylonian religion by reading the book "The Two Babylons" which can be bought from http://www.goldenagebooks.co.uk.

The Watchtower takes it's leanings from the Bible and the spirit of each faith is not the same, though certain aspects of it may seem similar, since both uphold Jesus as the saviour and both regularly relate accounts which are based on the same historical events. Aside from this, there is a great deal of difference between the two in God's eyes

God has a name, Jehovah.

There is no trinity in the Bible

God and Jesus are two distinct and separate persons.

Heavenly afterlife is a reward for a limited 144,000 people, who will rule over the earth with Jesus in that position.

Everyone else has the hope of living forever on the earth made into a paradise.

The dead are to be resurrected to earth, to give them a chance to choose this reward for themselves: there is no hell in the |Catholic sense of te word, hell is simply an ancient name for the common grave of mankind, i.e. the state of being dead. Hell originally referred to being under the surface of the soil, which is where the dead are generally buried.

There are many other doctrinal points on which Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses differ. You can check this out by looking at these web sites:

http://www.watchtower.org

http://catholic.com

I would be interested to know why you think there is no difference. You can e-mail me through yahoo answers.

Answer 3

Carl,

The last time I answered this question for you, I showed you a scripture for each point that proved it was a bible teaching and not a 'false idea'

I also showed you where your teachings also agreed with Catholicism.

I know you are not trying to say all Catholic teachings are wrong.

.

Answer 4

Not at all. When I converted to Christianity, I strongly considered becoming a Catholic. Because of that, I know Catholic doctrine fairly well. When compared to the bits and pieces I know about that of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the two simply don't match.

Undoubtedly, someone will say that they have both changed the message of the Bible. Even if that were true (and I'll remain neutral on that issue), the doctrines of the two churches are miles apart.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

No, not at all.

I used to talk with a Jehovah's Witness at work...and their beliefs are far off from Catholics.

First and foremost, they do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. I think this would make them closer to Muslim.

Their lack of belief in Christ obviously means they do not believe in the Trinity which is a necessary belief for Christians.

Without the belief in Christ, in his death and resurrection, Catholicism would fall apart. It is what we believe and what everything we do is based on.

Edit: To undermine the divinity of Christ in John 1:1, the NWT reads, " . . . the word was a god." Non-JW Greek scholars call this "a shocking mistranslation," "incorrect," "monstrous," and "evidence of abysmal ignorance of the basic tenets of Greek grammar." Furthermore, Col. 1:15-17 has been changed to "... by means of him all [other] things were created." If the text were left as the original Greek reads, it would clearly state that Jesus created all things. However, the WTS cannot afford to say that anyone but Jehovah created all things, so it inserted the word "other" four times into the text.

Answer 7

The Watchtower and Mormonism arose in the USA just as scientific education was making the superstitions of the RCC more vulnerable, and they are modernised versions of the RCC. They all propose justification by works, not faith, so theologically there is no real difference. Another similarity is that the Watchtower and the RCC both demote Jesus- the RCC through the Trinity, and it promotes Mary instead.
.

Answer 8

Neither understand who Jesus was. The Catholics believe him to be one person of a three person Godhead. The JW believe him to be the son of God, but not God.

Answer 9

They are as far apart as the sun is from the moon...

Answer 10

Most of the so called major religions have a lot in common. Many choose to dwell on the differences.