Would You Refer To Jehovah's Witnesses As A "Christian" Religion? (page 2)

PSacramento

Individuals can certainly be Christians, but I don't think organized religions are.

Quendi has bitch slapped the correct.

Christianity is a personal ideology, a personal religion, and One of the direct teachings of it's founder, Christ, is a directpersonal relationship with Him is hallmark of being a Christian.

Any group or person that puts themselves between Christ and His believers is going against the direct teachings of Christ.

Any group that follows a doctrine that puts themselves or a group or an individual between them and Christ, is not practicing and following the teachings of Christ.

They are a 19 century religion and are part of the christian tree the same way other 19th century religions claim christianity as their base, the Shakers, Christian Scientists, Mormons, Adventists etc. Come to think about it they are no more christian then Christian Scientists are scientists.

They are both death cults with smiley faces.

Bella15

I think JWs don't want to be associated with "Christians" they want to be separated and have their special name: Jehovah's Witnesses, not "Christians" in the real sense of the word as apply to followers of the Christ Jesus all over the world.

I went to a women's bible study once, I met a lady there from another country who asked me how long I've been a Christian --- I couldn't answer as all of my life I have referred to myself as a Jehovah's Witness NOT a "Christian" - I felt sad, but not anymore. If you ask me now I'd say: I've been a Christian for 2 years and counting ...

leavingwt

This is a more telling question, IMHO.

"Do Jehovah's Witnesses feel uncomfortable when people talk about Jesus and express their love for him?"

We all know the answer.

Essan

@Quendi and Psacramento

Quendi, you said: "Individuals can certainly be Christians, but I don't think organized religions are." and Psac, you said "a direct personal relationship with Him is hallmark of being a Christian."

I agree, but any Organization that allows or encourages such a direct personal relationship as described in the NT is therefore 'Christian'. Any Organization which disallows and discourages it, is not 'Christian'.

The many Churches of Christendom, despite all their various faults, generally do not attempt to stand in the way of or disallow a personal relationship with Christ as described in the NT. Whereas, the Watchtower actively teaches members and preaches to prospective members that a relationship with Christ and the hope associated with it as described in the NT is not theirs to have, and it actively discourages it. This means it is not a Christian Organization, no matter what it claims. It is very literally an 'Anti-Christian' religion.

It's a personal thing, I agree. But a Religion being designated 'Christian' or not depends IMO on whether or not it allows/encourages or serves to hinder that personal relationship.

Rocky_Girl

I will put my vote in with the "individual" crowd. One thing I realized after I left is that different JWs view Jesus differently. I never felt very connected with Jesus and focused solely on Jehovah as a JW, while my mom feels that her faith is almost entirely reliant on Jesus. I am not a Christian, she is. I am not a JW, she is. But, I'm sure there are many JWs that aren't Christian. IMO: The JW doctrine can go either way because it isn't as clear about Jesus as it is about Jehovah.

sir82

What Quendi said.

In some doctrines & practices they are more Christian than other denominations, while in other doctrines & practices they are less so.

There is no "one true Christian religion" that is "most like" 1st century Christianity.

There were multiple strains of Christianity starting at about [Easter + 1 33 AD] anyway. Which one is "right"? Depends on which one you belong to.

OUTLAW

Jesus is Mediator to Christians.. The WBT$ is Mediator to JW`s..

People who follow Jesus,are Christains.. People who follow the WatchTower,are WatchTards..

..................;-) ...OUTLAW

VampireDCLXV

How could they be called a "Christian" religion when they worship 7 dirty old men in Brooklyn as gods?

V665 V665

scotoma

They are probably the closest thing to early Christians that you are going to find.

The only reason for the knee jerk judgements so far is that the presumption is that Christianity is some kind of ideal. It isn't.

You all forget that Christianity was a Jewish cult. They taught that the end was soon.

You shouldn't get caught up in a career or getting wealth.

It was anti-philosphical, anti-scientific, anti-woman.

They fought over how much they should adhere to the Mosaic Law.

They condoned slavery. They had an ad-hoc mess of theological teachings that changed depending who was leading them.

Sometimes they believed Jesus was God sometimes they believed he wasn't.

They even killed believers who played false to the spirit (or made up false stories like God killing Annanais and Saphira).

So I would say yes - they certainly are as crazy, ignorant, broke-ass, superstitious as the early Christians.

Would You Refer To Jehovah's Witnesses As A "Christian" Religion?