Respectful opinions of Jehovah's Witnesses

[applepie]

I am very wary of anyone who tries to preach and get me to join anything questionable. JW's are among the worst. I avoid them like the plague (respectfully).

[lipostudio]

Benefits: The religion teaches good morals and nonviolence.

 

Some of the rules:

-no divorce unless one of the parties has cheated

 

I didn't know JW's condoned spousal abuse. Puts me off of them even more than the door to door preaching.

[rocio]

Also, the claim about them milking you dry for money. I've never EVER heard that happening - see previous post.

 

Neither have I.

 

I didn't know JW's condoned spousal abuse.

 

If you are being physically abused, then you should get a separation. You can also get a restraining order or take other steps to protect yourself. However, you wouldn't be free to divorce or date a new person.

[Juliana]

Please double-check your logic; if you believe that the mark of "the" true religion is that it wil be ridiculed, you might as well become a Moonie. They smile and are happy, and they get ridiculed alot, too.

 

So far, this is what they've told you:

 

*All the Witnesses by boyfriend has introduced me to seem really nice and they talked about normal everyday things, not pushing their beliefs on me.

 

Would these people be your friends and continue to come around, if you refused to convert? Or are they there just to teach you about being a Witness?

 

*They all seem really happy

*Many people in today's world seem unhappy

 

Do these people have the expectation that religion should mean you are always happy?

 

*One of them told me that the Bible kind of says that the true religion is the one which will be ridiculed. Witnesses and a few others like Mormons are the main faiths which people don't like

 

Sometimes when people ridicule something, it's because it's really not what it purports to be, and that makes people angry.

 

*Witnesses don't get involved in wars either, but look at other religions around the world. Many are caused by religion!

 

Do they suggest that they are better than other faiths? If so, then is it acceptable for other faiths to likewise criticize them?

 

*they do have some problems with the teachings, but they trust in faith that what they're taught is correct.

 

We're supposed to have faith in God, not the religion. Are they allowed to disagree with doctrine, or are they forced to accept what they don't believe in, or be punished with shunning?

 

All of what you have described above sounds like classic cult indoctrination. The appearance of being above ordinary people's troubles, that the religion will make life "magically" better, that they are better than other people, that it's necessary to defer to one central authority even when you don't believe or agree with what's being taught -- these are all central components of being brainwashed.

 

I don't want to get into an argument about what they believe; their history and doctrinal statements are freely available, online and taken from their own publications. For example, the word "Jehovah" is an early mistranslation of the more accurate "Yahweh," which itself is not a firm translation. At the time that they were formed, it was believed that Jehovah was an accurate translation. Hence their name.

 

You need to be alot more educated than you are, if you are going to take on the Witnesses. Please do yourself a favour, and research this. If you don't care what religion you are, but you like the idea of being set apart from the rest of the world, you'll love the Witnesses.

 

But bear in mind, they are not Christian. They are not recognized by other Christian churches, or by the World Council of Churches, the largest and most ecumenical organization of Christian chuches in the world. If they are telling you they are Christian, they are lying. No Christian church has any reason to say that they aren't; stop and ask yourself, how many people have to warn you, before you will check and see for yourself?

[rocio]

But bear in mind, they are not Christian. They are not recognized by other Christian churches, or by the World Council of Churches, the largest and most ecumenical organization of Christian chuches in the world. If they are telling you they are Christian, they are lying. No Christian church has any reason to say that they aren't; stop and ask yourself, how many people have to warn you, before you will check and see for yourself?

 

They call themselves Christians because they believe in Christ. It's semantics, really. They aren't trying to lie. They will be very straightforward in telling you what the differences are between them and other forms of Christianity.

[Juliana]

They are not a form of Christianity, which is why the WCC doesn't recognize them. Christian churches, one and all, believe that Jesus was descended of God; they may differ in his relation to God, but none believe that He was actually the archangel Michael.

 

Every single organization outside of the Witnesses themselves recognize that they are both heretical, and a cult. Only the Witnesses persist in attempting to say otherwise. Which is to be expected; they are hardly going to come out and say they are a cult, and by identifying themselves as Christian, they cloak themselves in respectability.

[lilady]

I just hope Unsure123 is able to take all the posts on this thread and weed thru them, then based on what she herself researches and experiences is able to come to her own conclusions.

It is peoples real lives we are influencing with our comments so we should be careful about what we present as being factual when all it really might be is opinion or personal conclusion, Juliana.

[rocio]

Unsure123 needs to do her own research and find her own answers. One person's cult may be another person's salvation. And I do think that the majority of JW's are genuinely happy, as she observed.

 

The main thing that she should be aware of is that fact that, if her bf continues to be involved with the JW's, they will place considerable pressure on her to convert. If he becomes a JW and she does not, they will place considerable pressure on him to leave her. JW's are not supposed to date or marry non-JW's.

[lilady]

more than likely they will just encourage him to marry her if he wants to pursue their relationship.

[Mrs Elliott Smith]

One of my great, great, second aunts (someting like that lol) converted to Jehova's Witness (JW) back in the day. When she was an old lady on her death bed, she refused a blood transfusion due to her religious beliefs. And died because of it.

 

Now, I'm not bashing JW's. They're certainly not "bad" people. But it might be difficult to live a life with one (that is, if YOU are NOT a JW yourself). When I taught in a public school, I knew quite a few kids whose parents wouldn't let them go to school on the same day that the students had birthday or holiday parties. What I'm trying to say is, don't assume that he'll be around for your holiday parties, and don't assume he'll be happy with having a Christmas tree, or a Menora, or a Qu'ran lying around in your house.

 

There's nothing wrong with that, everyone's different, religions are different, and that's fine. However, if he strictly adhere's to the religion, you could have some serious issues. I guess it all depends on how devoted to this he becomes.

[applepie]

So, what would happen if you married a JW and converted, then you were abused and decided you wanted a divorce & no longer wanted to be a part of the community?

[Kyoshiro Ogari]

I don't agree with 99% of organized religion because it is TOO organized with certain rules that I think are made up on the fly. Then again I am not a rules type of guy anyway. The last two I bolded are main reasons. I thought religion was to worship the word of God and to do good on this planet. Yet, if you break a rule, some religions kick you out, something I am sure God would never do. Nice example.

 

On the positive side, I've read about many religions and I think I have benefited from learning about the thinking of many beliefs. It fascinates me.

 

Sorry for my rant, just how I feel about ALL religions.

[rocio]

So, what would happen if you married a JW and converted, then you were abused and decided you wanted a divorce & no longer wanted to be a part of the community?

 

If you're no longer interested in being a part of the community, then you can do anything you please, can't you?

[Wimpy]

If you're no longer interested in being a part of the community, then you can do anything you please, can't you?

 

 

If you were married to a Witness who physically abused you, there would be no expectation to remain married. Christian husbands are instructed to "love their wives as their own bodies" - if he was abusing his wife this would be a matter for the authorities.

 

As for the part of a community thing - if you are no longer interested in being a Witness then you just stop. Obviously people would offer help if that's what you wanted but if you didn't and you just didn't want to go anymore then that's fine - it's not a cult where people are held against their will.......

[MacGyverRI]

Might I respectfully suggest you look up the definition of the word "cult" and you will see it has no relevance.

 

I know the definition, I was a Baptist Elder who helped people get out of it.

We could go into any other church, you can't w/o someone giving you the riot act.

 

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"Thus, while Jehovah's Witnesses profess to be Christians, they are outside orthodox Christianity and are considered to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity.

 

Sociologically, this religious movement has a number of cult-like characteristics and problems as well, including the high level of control exerted over its members' lives, its unbiblical approach to the practice of shunning, and its teachings regarding blood transfusions (which have resulted in many needless deaths)."

............

Some cults explicitly deny central doctrines of the Christian faith.

 

1. The Jehovah's Witnesses vehemently deny the doctrine of the Trinity (see their widely circulated booklet, Should You Believe in the Trinity? which argues against the doctrine).

...................

 

 

 

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JEHOVAH�S WITNESSES AND THEIR VIEW OF JESUS CHRIST

 

 

 

Jehovah�s Witnesses freely profess to believe in Jesus Christ. But what exactly is their view of Jesus?

 

Upon close examination, we find that Jehovah�s Witnesses preach a Jesus who�s vastly different from the Jesus of the Bible. Jehovah�s Witnesses regard Jesus as the first and only being directly created by Jehovah God (cf. John 1:1-3). They believe that Jehovah God has never had any personal contact with creation, but was indirectly responsible for the creation of all beings by empowering Jesus to bring the physical universe into existence. It�s interesting to note that the Gnostics � who were denounced by the early church � held strikingly similar views.

 

Jehovah�s Witnesses also deny that Jesus is God Almighty (cf. Phil. 2:6-7). They claim that Jesus is not all-powerful, that He is not all-knowing, and that He is not even all-present. Curiously enough, however, they deny these same attributes about their own Jehovah God!

 

In addition to all of this, Jehovah�s Witnesses insist that Jesus should not be worshipped (cf. Matt. 2:11; 28:9; Heb. 1:6), and that prayers should not be addressed to Him (cf. Acts 7:59-60; 9:13-14). And while they concede that Jesus should be honored, they refuse to honor Him to the same degree God the Father is honored. This, of course, flies directly in the face of what Jesus proclaimed in John 5:23, when He said that it is God�s will for �all to honor the Son just as they honor the Father.� On top of this, Jehovah�s Witnesses teach that when Jesus Christ was made flesh He became only a mere man who might have sinned but, fortunately for us, didn't (cf. John 5:19; 7:18; 8:55).

.

[rocio]

If you were married to a Witness who physically abused you, there would be no expectation to remain married.

 

The Witnesses are very clear on this issue.

 

Here is a statement directly from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society:

 

"The Bible allows for separation in extreme cases, such as when there is physical abuse or willful non-support. Divorce is also allowed, but only on the grounds of sex relations outside the marriage."

 

link removed

[Tag]

I knew a girl in middle school who was a JW. She was a very nice person and I could have maybe counted her as a friend if I didn't always feel so awkward around her.

 

When the national anthem would play each day, she would either: put her head down on her desk and cry, sit on the floor in the fetal position in the hall and plug her ears, or say some kind of prayer or religious song during the anthem so she couldn't hear it. It made me sad to see someone so distressed by a song... at the very most pride for our own country.

 

...and you couldn't say anything even remotely like a swear word around her (crap, freaking, darn). She would flip out and chastise you. My evangilist (sp?) neighbours are also like that though.

 

 

 

 

I've seen JW come to our door sometimes...

 

You always know when they're coming because pretty much everyone on my street goes and hides. The evangilists accross the street from us usually get in a religious debate with them.

 

My mother actually let the JWs in once to see what they were all about, but never again after that. She found them very closed minded. The pamphlets and books they gave us had some pretty scary pictures and strong condemnations in them too...

 

We no longer answer the door when we see them coming, because once when my mother politely declined, one of them literally would not let her close the door. He put his foot in the door and held it open. It was scary...

[Wimpy]

When the national anthem would play each day, she would either: put her head down on her desk and cry, sit on the floor in the fetal position in the hall and plug her ears, or say some kind of prayer or religious song during the anthem so she couldn't hear it. It made me sad to see someone so distressed by a song... at the very most pride for our own country.

 

 

We no longer answer the door when we see them coming, because once when my mother politely declined, one of them literally would not let her close the door. He put his foot in the door and held it open. It was scary...

 

 

How sad that some Witnesses acted in such a crazy manner. The girl who acted like that in the school wasn't showing proper "respect" for the situation. Whilst it is true Witnesses won't do any form of "worship" to anyone or thing other than their God they are instructed to be "reasonable" and what she did sure didn't come under that heading.

 

I know that the recommendation in a situation like that is a) ensure you aren't there when the National Anthem is being played - i.e if you know it's going to be played step outside or delay coming in until it's passed or b) respectfully sit quietly whilst others do what they wish. The only time you'd sit down is if you were in a situation where standing up would mean that you were included in the event. E.g. let's say you're all standing at an event and suddenly they started to play the National Anthem - it would be completely ridiculous to suddenly sit down.

 

As for the Witness who put his foot in the door - another poor example. Jesus gave instructions when he was on the earth that where someone was not interested "shake the dust from your feet" and move on. This is wholly unacceptable and I'm not surprised your Mother no longer opens the door.

 

Remember though that doing the door-to-door preaching is a non-negotiable part of being a Witness.

 

Imagine it this way. A person is walking down your street and sees your house on fire. What would you want them to do - try and warn you and help you escape or walk on past for fear of upsetting you???? It's a little like that with the Witness. They believe that the Bible has a message that must be delivered as it involves people's lives. Obviously each person has the right to choose for themselves whether to listen but I guess all they ask is that this is done in a friendly way.

 

Anyhow, only a foolhardy Witness would say that "no-one within the Organisation" gets things wrong or does something wrong. "let he without sin" and all that. However, they do strive to do what they know is right - regardless of how they are viewed by others.

[Luck of the Irish]

they do not salute the flag because they feel that it puts country over God. Also, they do not celebrate many of the holidays like the Fourth of July, Valentines day, Halloween, etc.

 

Wow, this is totally wrong.

 

I am Mormon. I am in the military and I salute the flag. So does every other member I know.(hand over heart during the Anthem). We celebrate every American holiday there is. More so than most people infact. If you criticize a religion, atleast take the time to learn about it. Of course you only hear negative things from disgruntled members. That is WHY their disgruntled. If you actually saw a service, you would see that is is identical to most other services.

 

Oh, and the tithing is not expected. You don't get excommunicated and beheaded if you don't pay. It's all done in private with a senior member of the church.

[Wimpy]

Wow, this is totally wrong.

 

I am Mormon. I am in the military and I salute the flag. So does every other member I know.(hand over heart during the Anthem). We celebrate every American holiday there is. More so than most people infact. If you criticize a religion, atleast take the time to learn about it. Of course you only hear negative things from disgruntled members. That is WHY their disgruntled. If you actually saw a service, you would see that is is identical to most other services.

 

Oh, and the tithing is not expected. You don't get excommunicated and beheaded if you don't pay. It's all done in private with a senior member of the church.

 

 

Hi there

 

I think you'll find they were referring to Jehovah's Witnesses here and not the Mormons.

[Luck of the Irish]

I was referring to this.

You know, a lot of people say things about both the Jehovah's Witness and the Mormon denominations... but I must say that I admire their diligence. They do not salute the flag because they feel that it puts country over God. Also, they do not celebrate many of the holidays like the Fourth of July, Valentines day, Halloween, etc.

[Wimpy]

I was referring to this.

 

Aah right. Yep you're right - sorry and thanks for clarifying the Mormon stance.

[lonestar_80]

You need to seek the truth.....

 

I think you and your BF are playing with fire. I do not think JW is a real religion.

 

Christianity is based on one truth: Jesus is the son of God. Jesus was born of a virgin and made through the Holy Spirit of God.

 

JW's don't believe that. I see it this way. If Jesus was a sinless man then he must be ONE with the father. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

The Bible clearly says that no man is without sin. If Jesus were just a man then he would be a sinner just like you and I. If he were the product of a man and a woman he would automatically be born into sin (the sins of Adam).

 

Jesus is God manifested in the flesh.

 

If Jesus were not God then how can he redeem us from our sins? How can a sinner redeem a sinner from sin? That does not make sense. However, God is without sin, thereforeeee being a product of himself he had a son that was without sin that can redeem the sinners from their sin. JW's can not explain the hundrends of Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament fortelling the life of Jesus Christ the coming Messiah. What about Isaiah 53?

 

If Jesus was the sacrifice he must have been pure without blemish or spot, so to speak. According to JW's Jesus is just a man, with the title son of God.

 

The Bible warns of people like this (JW's.) They believe in the Lord but deny him all of his power and glory. JW's deny Jesus all of his power and glory. thereforeeee being a part of this religion is not the path to heaven. Jesus said the only way to the father is through the Son. Jesus said that you must accept him as your savior and Lord. Jesus did not say accept me as only your prophet you have to accept him as Christ the Messiah.

 

You and you BF need to get as far away from the JWs as you can. JW's prey on new Christians that are not as strong in the Word as more mature Christians. My cousin got brainwashed into that mess and once they have you, it is hard to get out because they isolate you from knowing the truth. They change their bible to say something else that the original Hebrew and Greek text did not say. It is all just darkness posing as light.

[Wimpy]

Hey by all means give advice but please make it accurate. As previously stated Jehovah's Witnesses DO 100% believe in Jesus Christ and that he was the Son of God. Please check out your facts before posting....

[Pressfit]

"The Bible warns of people like (JW's)" ???

 

Interesting. That's a new one on me. But precisely, where does this scripture exist warning people of that?

I think that part was mistakenly left out.

 

I mean why confuse people with facts when they already have their minds made up.