A while ago, the article on Jehovahs Witnesses on wikipedia (in norwegian http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovas_vitner) was bad enough...I am pretty sure it was written by some well-meaning, but uncritical theologian, who was desperately trying to avoid insulting them. In other words, it was not critical or biased at all. Well, some jws have been in there and have been rewriting the whole article, as they felt it didn`t portray them in a positive enough light. Here are some excerpts I have translated. Comments by me, in red, and underlined (in yellow) are the parts that I am critical/concerned about (also, note how sneaky the text is written, carefully avoiding all and any controversial formulations/subjects, and note especially the section about blood):
"They (the Bible Students) also formed the WatchTower Bible and Tract Society, a lawabiding, religious company. It was registrated in 1884, in accordace with the state of Pennsylvanias laws on organisations with socially beneficial purposes (not sure about the english term here). Russel became the president of the organisations. According to the law, the organisation can not (and is not) a commercial business, and noone gets any financial pay/benefits from this organisation." (oh really....)
"The name Jehovah
Jehovahs Witnesses are using the name of God, usually in the form "Jehovah". In their version of the Bible, which is called the "New World Translation of the holy scriptures", this name is used almost 7000 times. They have placed the name where the original text has the tetragrammation, the letters JHVH or YHWH, in hebrew" (carefully avoiding mentioning that the tetragrammation is nowhere to be found in the NT-originals)
"Jehovahs Witnesses also teach that God destroyed the flehsly body of Christ (after his death), and that Jesus rised from the dead in a spiritual body. They also believe that Jesus was executed on a pole, rather than on a cross. Their translation of the Bible renders therefore "cross" always as "stake", after the greek word "stauros" which is used in the greek original text". (sneaky, sneaky....the writer here makes it look like there is only one way to translate stauros, making the JW-view correct)
"Jehovahs Witnesses believe that only 144000 will go to heaven. Among those that go there, are the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ (Luke 12:32; 1 Cor.15: 40-53; Revelation 7:4; 14:1-3, 5:9 and 20:4). The rest of Gods servants will live in eternity on earth as perfect humans sometime in the future (Rev. 14:3). They do, however, believe that many "unrighteous" will get a ressurection (Acts 24:15), and they believe that there is only one way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13, 14, Ephesians 4:4,5)
"Blood Transfusions
The witnesses believe that giving or taking blood transfusions is wrong, according to the Bible, as they follow the command in Acts 15:28,29 - "the holy spirit og we have decided not to lay any other burden on you than these necessary things, and that you abstain from ...blood". The witnesses understands this to mean that the Biblical principle forbids any and all use of blood, and not just food made from blood. (using the word "principle" here, makes it looks like this really is a biblical principle, and not just a biblical interpretation of the Bible, on part of the jws!! Sneaky little fu##er...) They refuse therefore to accept medical treatment that involves blood transfusions. This policy has often been met with criticism from outsider. It has also lead to conflicts with the authorities and health personell, as they have feared that the refusal of transfusions will jeopardise life or increase the risks of the treatment.
The witnesses, however, have wanted to work with the health personell, and they have own committees, also here in Norway, that has as its task to spread knowledge about treatment methods that do not involve the use of blood. In particular, blood substitutes (not here how the author carefully avoids mentioning blood particles...) and socalled peep-hole-surgery, a technicue that allows the patient to avoid massive blood loss. Many that are working in the health care-area, have been surprised by the Witnesses great knowledge of alternative treatments and methods that do not involve the use of blood (oh, this formulation stinks of WT). The Witnesses have produced several articles, videos and DVDs that are helpful to the medical profession.
During a conference held in the year 2000, health personell from Canada, Europe, Israel and USA, discussed material that has been developed to help doctors treat patients without the use of blood. On this conference, which was held in Switserland, it was pointed out, that, unlike what many believe, patients that do get blood transfusions, have a higher death rate than patients who have NOT received blood. Patients that are Jehovahs Witnesses, have usually been able to be signed out from the hospitals earlier than those that have received blood, and as a consequense, the costs of treatment for the Jehovahs Witnesses have usually been lower. The Worlds Health Organisation also points to another factor: 5-10 % of all HIV-infections worldwide, are the results of blood transfusions, and yearly, 13 million units of blood are NOT tested for HIV or other infectious diseases. But, the main reason why the Jehovahs Witnesses are refusing blood transfusions, are of religious origin."
The whole above underlined sections is some of the worst, most biased propaganda I have seen on Wikipedia ever...to us that knows about these things, the whole part above speaks for itself in its own stupidity, but I am concerned about how others might believe this crap.
"Criticism
The Jehovahs Witnesses have been meeting opposition because of their theology and interpretations of the Bible, both from protestants and catholics. During the war, german Jehovahs Witnesses were sent to the concentration camps because of their consequent pacifism. Jehovahs Witnesses are also criticised for refusing blood transfusions, and for their treatment of excluded members. Former members have claimed that the congregations is far to disciplined (!!!Yeah, right, ha ha! Oh so sneaky, the writer here makes it look like they were kicked out because they were to undisciplined, fornication and alcohol etc). They have also claimed that children are being excluded from to many activities. This has lead to criticism of the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses in relation to the standards and norms of the rest of Society."
Like I said, I don`t know whether to laugh or cry. I think it`s really annoying when these JW-internet -trolls sneak their way into Wikipedia to spread their propaganda, and what I find particularly annoying, is the sneaky and trollish way it is being done! Oh the motherTower has trained these little retards well...
Please add your comments and suggestions for how I am to fix this article....