Jesus is the Key

potentialJWconvertswife

First off, I want to thank you all for being so patient with this newbie, who's become a Posting Fury! Now to the heart of the matter: Jesus. Christians know Jesus saves. We invite him into our hearts to become our Lord and savior. Do witnesses??? Are JW's baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?? I know they believe in Jesus, but is the Good News that they deliver about the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Or is it all about God's name being Jehovah? Please clue me in.

nvrgnbk

We invite him into our hearts to become our Lord and savior. Do witnesses???

Not exactly.

Are JW's baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit??

Yes.

I know they believe in Jesus, but is the Good News that they deliver about the saving grace of Jesus Christ?

In part.

Or is it all about God's name being Jehovah?

That part of the message is intended to make them unique amongst all the other Christian sects.

On a personal note, I invited Jesus into my heart.

Nothing happened.

Am I damned?

BurnTheShips

Are JW's baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit??
Yes.

Gasp nvrgnbk. They are not!

Burn

Gopher

Here are the questions that are asked of the baptismal candidates before they're dunked:

(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?

(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?

So yes, the father and son are mentioned, and the spirit is mentioned in the second question. However the emphasis is on the organization more than the holy spirit.

AudeSapere

Can someone post the baptism questions/vows that are asked of the group immediately prior to baptism?

Maybe a good idea to post both sets. The ones asked in the 60's and 70's and then the others that were started in the mid-80's (??).

I think that may be beneficial to both 'Potential' and her husband.

-Aude.

BurnTheShips

From JWFiles:

AlmostAtheist

I think JW's take on Jesus is less different than they and other Christians would like to believe.

To JW's, Jesus is a creation by Jehovah. But he was the first creation. Since Jehovah exists outside of time -- whatever that means -- Jesus is for all intents and purposes eternal.

Whether you're a JW and believe he's pretty much eternal, or you're an Anything Else and believe he's really, really eternal, it doesn't make any real difference.

He is "immortal", meaning he can't die, doesn't need external input in order to continue living. (Unlike living-forver humans that still need food, and living-forever angels that still need .... something, though it was never explained just what.)

So again, same not-an-angel view that other Christians hold.

JW's believe that Jesus is vital for their salvation. Whether they "accept jesus into their hearts" or whatever is really just word play. At the end of the day, JW's and Christians both know salvation isn't possible aside from Jesus.

To a Christian, Jesus is sort of but not quite God, in that he's a slice of the unsliceable trinity that is actually one god in three. In one. Kinda. Plus The Holy Spirit.

To a JW, Jesus is God's son. He's separate from God, but has all the power of god, does god's will, and can't do anything apart from god. Via the holy spirit.

To this outside observer, it sounds like the difference between damp and moist.

Dave

marsal

Are JW's baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit??
Yes.

Nvrgnbk,

They do not use that phrase. They are baptized into "God's spirit-directed organization" (or some phrase similiar to that).

potentialJWconvertswife

I guess what I'm getting at on the Baptism is that most Christian churches say (as they are dunking or putting the water on the head) "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" or something incredibly close to that. Also, we mostly believe that unless you specifically ask Jesus to be your savior and forgive you of your sins you are damned to eternal hell. Do JW's ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins?

nvrgnbk

In the questions reviewed prior to baptism ( OM book), it is clearly explained that Jehovah's Witnesses do get baptized in the name of the Father ( Jehovah), the Son ( Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit ( Jehovah's active force).

Christian sects or individual Christian believers questioning the authenticity of such baptisms is another matter.

Jesus is the Key

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