[_Me_]

Sorry but I WAS one of them, **** Can someone explain their religion to me.

*** sorry I edited your post seriously. We respect the faith of all on here.

[tickle]

I really don't think that their religion is a lot of BS, as you say. You were one of them and you didn't understand their doctrine ? I don't think they deviate from some others. They believe in Jesus as our savior as far as I know. I don't listen to them when they come to the door. I have my own views but was raised Anglican in a good Scottish home.

It makes a lot of sense to them. To each his own.

Ms tickle

[Fr_Chuck]

I have serously edited the post, so some of tickle post may not make 100 percent sense, ( sorry)

We respect as much as possible the religious views of all faiths on their respective boards.

I wish more faiths worked as hard as thiers did to get the word out.

[Wondergirl]

I wish more faiths worked as hard as thiers did to get the word out.

If mainstream Christianity followed their example by offering home Bible study, WOW!!

[tickle]

Chuck my post reads exactly as I put it. I didn't put anything in there that would be derogatory to any religion; only saying I 'dont listen to them when they come to the door', as my parents didn't before me. Anyone who dresses all in black, wearing long black coats and carryng black briefcases, walking in twos, is somewhat scary to me after I home from work and it is dark and home alone. Sorry, I just don't see the point of why they do that.

Oh, sorry, chuck, I thought you meant you had edited my post :)

[Wondergirl]

I've never seen Witnesses dressed in black. Usually they wear church-y clothing (women in floral dresses and the men in suits or sweaters/sweater vests with long-sleeved shirts). I know they try to give a homey and friendly appearance.

[Fr_Chuck]

Normally in pairs of one man and one women or maybe two women, sometimes in a larger group at apartment complexs but split up to cover a area. Yes never in black actually very nicely dressed,
Now I wear black, when I go out.

[Wondergirl]

The free home Bible study comes with, like FrChuck said, a teacher, your choice of male or female, is usually once a week (often during the day), and is very appealing to young moms, rural people, people struggling to learn English, people who don't want to go to a church for fear of being stared at or ignored, shy people, and homebound seniors.

[clinchmtnman]

If anyone wants to know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe, simply go directly to their official website: Jehovah's Witnesses: Watchtower Society Official Web Site. They are very open and clear about their beliefs and it's easy to find out what they REALLY believe.

There are a few outspoken opposers who write lies and half-truths to try to sway people away from Jehovah's Witnesses. If I want to learn something about ANY regligion, I find it is always best to simply go directly to THEM. They know their belief best. Those who claim they are "former" believers almost always have some kind of axe to grind and you can't believe a word they say.

(By the way, they do NOT "dress in black" as one responder writes. They wear noram "business" attire and their dress is as varied as you can get. Why not listne? If one were to listen to their message, generally you'd find it encouraging and non-threatening.)

[TexasParent]

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witness3.htm

This site spells out the differences in religion in a tolerant unbias way. If you go to Christian website's, or Jehovah Witness website's; of course they are
In the business of selling you on their religion, so it's in your best interest to try and find unbias information (not opinion's necessarily as they can be heavily in favor or opposed) so that you can decide for yourself if it is for you.

[clinchmtnman]

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES' BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

This site spells out the differences in religion in a tolerant unbias way. If you go to Christian website's, or Jehovah Witness website's; of course they are
in the business of selling you on their religion, so it's in your best interest to try and find unbias information (not opinion's necessarily as they can be heavily in favor or opposed) so that you can decide for yourself if it is for you.

I'm sure that is one of the fine goals of this site. Unfortunately, some of the personal opinions expressed in any forum are just that, personal opinions. While each of us have the right to them, and they provide diverse views, they seldom provide us with FACTS, accurate information that we need and deserve to make an informed decision. After getting the facts, sure, listen to others' personal opinions but recognize them as only that. As an example, if I want to buy a new car and I'm considering, say, a Honda Accord. Where should I go first to get the FACTS? Ford? Chevy? Toyota? No, I would go to Honda. Others (competitors) would not be unbiased. Now, after we get the facts from the manufacturer, I may want to talk to other Honda Accord owners and see how they liked it. If I really want to get a good balanced view I would be sure to also speak with a number of current Honda Accord owners, as well as former owners. So, in this case, step one is to go Jehovah's Witnesses' website to learn as much as I can about them, FROM them. Religion is a much more difficult thing to judge since it involves strongly personal thing. Adding to the difficulty, a "former" member of any religion may have had a bad personal experience, possibly due to their actions or not, but, if they are upset with their "former" religion, their comments will be strongly weighted to their feelings and may or may not include accurate information about their former religion. Hopefully you get my point.

[TexasParent]

I'm sure that is one of the fine goals of this site. Unfortunately, some of the personal opinions expressed in any forum are just that, personal opinions. While each of us have the right to them, and they provide diverse views, they seldom provide us with FACTS, accurate information that we need and deserve to make an informed decision. After getting the facts, sure, listen to others' personal opinions but recognize them as only that. As an example, if I want to buy a new car and I'm considering, say, a Honda Accord. Where should I go first to get the FACTS? Ford? Chevy? Toyota? No, I would go to Honda. Others (competitors) would not be unbiased. Now, after we get the facts from the manufacturer, I may want to talk to other Honda Accord owners and see how they liked it. If I really want to get a good balanced view I would be sure to also speak with a number of current Honda Accord owners, as well as former owners. So, in this case, step one is to go Jehovah's Witnesses' website to learn as much as I can about them, FROM them. Religion is a much more difficult thing to judge since it involves strongly personal thing. Adding to the difficulty, a "former" member of any religion may have had a bad personal experience, possibly due to their actions or not, but, if they are upset with their "former" religion, their comments will be strongly weighted to their feelings and may or may not include accurate information about their former religion. Hopefully you get my point.

I do get your point, but every Mormon or Jehovah's Witness I've ever encountered at my door is always evasive when it comes to certain questions; making their brand of religion seem Christian in order to win you over. Where in fact neither are Christian by the definition that neither of them recognise the Holy Trinity amongst other Christian fundamentals.

My point is that in MY experience groups such as these will only tell you so much in order to get you in the door. They will then shower you with love and acceptance so you feel you belong and then you are well on your way to becoming a member. They are typical sales techniques and ALL religions are guilty of them, including Christianity.

In some religions there is heavy pressure to give a lot of your material wealth to the Church, Hall, Temple; and for those who are vulnerable this could be a terrible mistake.

Of course if I go to the Honda website it's only going to tell me the good things about Honda; they aren't going to tell me that their cars rust out in 5 years which was the case back in the late 70's or early 80's.

That is why it's important to try and find sources of information both positive and negative about whatever choice you make; not simply going to the website of the thing you are interested in.

[Fanspoman]

I do get your point, but every Mormon or Jehovah's Witness I've ever encountered at my door is always evasive when it comes to certain questions; making their brand of religion seem Christian in order to win you over. Where in fact neither are Christian by the definition that neither of them recognise the Holy Trinity amongst other Christian fundamentals.

My point is that in MY experience groups such as these will only tell you so much in order to get you in the door. They will then shower you with love and acceptance so you feel you belong and then you are well on your way to becoming a member. They are typical sales techniques and ALL religions are guilty of them, including Christianity.

In some religions their is heavy pressure to give alot of your material wealth to the Church, Hall, Temple; and for those who are vulnerable this could be a terrible mistake.

Of course if I go to the Honda website it's only going to tell me the good things about Honda; they aren't going to tell me that their cars rust out in 5 years which was the case back in the late 70's or early 80's.

That is why it's important to try and find sources of information both positive and negative about whatever choice you make; not simply going to the website of the thing you are interested in.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I take offense to your comment. I'm proud to be a Christian, as are we all, since Jesus and his sacrifice on behalf of all mankind is at the very core of our beliefs and practices. Being that the "holy trinity" has absolutely no Biblical basis or support, I'd have to say that those who adhere to such a false, god-dishonoring teaching of men are the ones that don't fit the bill of being a Christian. These days, the smart course IS to go to the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses or directly to one of us in order to get accurate and reliable information as to who we are, what our beliefs are, and so forth. Going to any other website just puts one in a position of begging to hear all kinds of misleading, inaccurate (and often times lying and bigoted) "information" on us. Going to an outside website or source for information can be like going to the KKK if you want to know about African Americans or people of the Jewish persuasion. You can't seriously take anything they have to say as being remotely credible.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, belief in the Trinity is not the defining element that makes one a Christian, while most Christian faiths do, not all agree on it specifily.

There will be no more name calling or those posts will be deleted

[Alty]

Since we're on the topic of JW's, I do have a question, one I've never been able to understand completely.

My neighbors are JW's, very nice people, but, when their daughter had a medical emergency they refused medical treatment stating it was against their beliefs, that if she was worthy God would save her.

Why are JW's against medical treatment? Or is that not the case with all JW's?

[Fanspoman]

Since we're on the topic of JW's, I do have a question, one I've never been able to understand completely.

My neighbors are JW's, very nice people, but, when their daughter had a medical emergency they refused medical treatment stating it was against their beliefs, that if she was worthy God would save her.

Why are JW's against medical treatment? Or is that not the case with all JW's?

Perhaps you misunderstood or misheard.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I can assure you that we will zealously and aggressively seek the absolutely best of medical care for ourselves and our children... the only exception being that we absolutely will NOT take blood into our bodies or that of our children, in harmony with the Bible prohibition in Acts 15 to "abstain.......from blood".

[Alty]

Perhaps you misunderstood or misheard.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I can assure you that we will zealously and aggressively seek the absolutely best of medical care for ourselves and our children.........the only exception being that we absolutely will NOT take blood into our bodies or that of our children, in harmony with the Bible prohibition in Acts 15 to "abstain.......from blood".

You're correct, their daughter was hemorraghing, needed a transfusion, that is what they objected to and wouldn't allow.

I have to say though, there are so many different diseases, medical conditions that require blood to be given, how can you forbid it if that's the only thing that will save your loved ones life?

My mother died of cancer, if it wasn't for blood transfusions she would have died 10 months earlier than she did, same with my father. I miscarried 3 years ago and would have died had it not been for someone else's blood, leaving my 2 kids without a mother.

I know it's your belief, and that's your right, but I don't understand why JW's won't allow something that can save a life, has been proven to save lives. What happens if, as a JW, you decide to allow a blood transfusion? Can you still be a JW?

[Fanspoman]

You're correct, their daughter was hemorraghing, needed a transfusion, that is what they objected to and wouldn't allow.

I have to say though, there are so many different diseases, medical conditions that require blood to be given, how can you forbid it if that's the only thing that will save your loved ones life?

My mother died of cancer, if it wasn't for blood transfusions she would have died 10 months earlier than she did, same with my father. I miscarried 3 years ago and would have died had it not been for someone elses blood, leaving my 2 kids without a mother.

I know it's your belief, and that's your right, but I don't understand why JW's won't allow something that can save a life, has been proven to save lives. What happens if, as a JW, you decide to allow a blood transfusion? Can you still be a JW?

We have utmost confidence and trust in our Creator and our very source of life that should a serious medical situation arise, we will be more likely to be rewarded with a resurrection and eternal life if our death comes out of our obedience to His laws and principles. Jesus himself promised in John 5:28, 29 that there would be a resurrection, and those in the memorial tombs would hear his voice and come out. Jesus himself in his own actions while on the earth proved he has the ability and the desire to bring the dead back to life. It doesn't really make much sense to try and prolong our lives (or our loved ones' lives) in this system of things in which the norm is aging, disease, violence, crime, and death by accepting a blood transfusion only to lose out on the prospect of eternal life in paradise if we remain faithful to God.

A blood transfusion is NO guarantee of a saved life, no matter what doctors try and say or how much they try and push it on you. In fact, it's becoming more and more common for even non-Jehovah's Witnesses to see and choose to have bloodless surgeries performed. There are even entire hospitals dedicated to bloodless surgeries, in part because of the fine results found through alternative methods that don't require the intake of blood. Make no mistake, though, we want to live, and we want our loved ones to live... but not at the risk of breaking God's law and the possibility of the loss of their eternal future.

The stand Jehovah's Witnesses make on blood is firm. The Bible's law on blood is likewise firm. If an individual chooses to purposely and willfully break the Bible's law on blood, then their right and privilege to be called one of Jehovah's Witnesses must be called into question. Depending on the circumstances, they may even be removed from the congregation. Mind you, that's not in every case, but they will need to be held to account for their decision... if not by the congregation elders, then at God's due time before God himself.

[TexasParent]

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I take offense to your comment. I'm proud to be a Christian, as are we all, since Jesus and his sacrifice on behalf of all mankind is at the very core of our beliefs and practices. Being that the "holy trinity" has absolutely no Biblical basis or support, I'd have to say that those who adhere to such a false, god-dishonoring teaching of men are the ones that don't fit the bill of being a Christian. These days, the smart course IS to go to the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses or directly to one of us in order to get accurate and reliable information as to who we are, what our beliefs are, and so forth. Going to any other website just puts one in a position of begging to hear all kinds of misleading, inaccurate (and often times lying and bigoted) "information" on us. Going to an outside website or source for information can be like going to the KKK if you want to know about African Americans or people of the Jewish persuasion. You can't seriously take anything they have to say as being remotely credible.

Do you find anything wrong with the following claims from the very website that I recommended:

They do not believe in the Trinity. Instead, they follow a strict monotheism, in which:
- Jehovah is the Supreme Being,

- Jesus is the son of God, the first created being, who is separate from Jehovah. Christ is believed to have originally existed in a pre-human state as the Archangel Michael. He later took human form as a man like any other person, except that he was sinless at birth and remained so through life. After his execution, Christ was resurrected as an invisible, non-material, glorious spirit creature. He was enthroned by Jehovah as King and ruler over all creation, and "given all authority in heaven and on earth."

- The Holy Ghost is not a separate entity, but is an energy or force -- the method by which God interacts with the world.

- The Heavenly Kingdom took effect in 1914 with the invisible enthronement of Christ as King. It is currently occupied by a little flock or Anointed Class of about 144,000 people who were selected by God after Christ's ascension into heaven at Pentecost (33 CE) and during subsequent centuries. Some 8,500 are still living on earth; this number is declining due to deaths among the group.

- They reject the traditional symbol of Christianity, the cross, because it is of pre-Christian, pagan origin. They accept an alternative translation of the Greek word "stauros," rendering it as "torture stake." They believe that Jesus was executed by being nailed to a single upright wooden stake with no cross beam.

- Christ's Second Coming was not a physical return to earth. It was an invisible event in 1914 in which Satan and Christ engaged in a heavenly battle. Afterwards, Christ began to the rule the Heavenly Kingdom as King of Kings. Satan was expelled to Earth. World War I was a visible sign of Satan's ousting from Heaven and earthly imprisonment. This event marked the beginning of the woes that would accompany the "last days of this system of things."

- In the very near future, the battle of Har-Magedon (Armageddon) will begin. Jesus, under Jehovah's divine rage, will execute vengeance upon most non-Witnesses and most followers of those other religious traditions which ignore the Bible or follow interpretations of the Bible that do not agree with the Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs. The Witnesses refer to those religions as "Babylon the Great," or the "world empire of false religion" (Revelation 17). After much suffering, massive human extermination, and many upheavals, the world will be purified. The Earth will be returned to a peaceful, cleansed state ruled by Jesus Christ and populated by a "great crowd" who accept his rule and God's sovereignty. "God's Kingdom," a theocracy, will be established on earth and operate for 1000 years. This is known as the millennium or the "New System" of things. The "other sheep" (those who survive Armageddon), will live in peace in the newly created paradise. At this point "there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15). The faithful will be granted eternal life. Others will be given a second chance to accept God's rule. Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs on this near universal resurrection are often misunderstood or misrepresented by critics of the WTS.

- After the 1000 years of God's Kingdom, Satan and his demons will be released for a short time. They, and their human followers, will then be destroyed.

- Humans do not have an immortal soul that continues on after death. When they die, they cease to exist. With the exception of those who have sinned against the Holy Spirit, and those who killed Jesus, and those who God has judged to receive eternal death, all are resurrected. God creates a new body for the resurrected one, similar to their former body, which for most had long since decomposed. The new body is mentally and physically healthy, with the original personality and memories intact. They will be judged according to their deeds.

- They totally deny the existence of the traditional Christian view of Hell. Satan is regarded as having created the concept of Hellfire in order to turn people against God. They believe that hell is the "common grave of mankind" where people go when they die. They are not conscious there. Unbelievers simply cease to exist at death; they are annihilated.

- The requirements for salvation are somewhat similar to those found in other conservative Protestant groups. It requires "taking in knowledge" of God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3), repentance of sins, acceptance of the sacrificial atonement of Jesus, and conforming, as much as humanly possible, to the teachings of the Christ as stated in the Bible. Good works are an expected evidence of the member's prior salvation but are not the source of salvation.

- God's name, in the English language, is Jehovah. Most Christian theologians believe that Yahweh is a closer approximation.

- The over one thousand conservative Protestant faith groups in North America, including the WTS, have always held different interpretations of key biblical passages and of Jesus' teachings.

[Peanuts825]

I don't believe in Jehovah witnesses at all.. their fake.. they believe in Jesus.. but not God.. I don't care to hear from them.. there not going to get me to believe that there's not a trinity.. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.. 3 in 1... I will not open door to Jehovah's.. if I do.. there going to get my opinion on a lot of things that they may not want to hear.