Where in the Bible does it say not to date outside the relgion, and if not, why do Jehova's Witnesses feel this way.
Hi, SoManyQuestions ---
I am pretty new here, and I have never been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, but I think that one of passages is:
2 Corinthians 6:14-16
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God."
Other translations say "do not be unequally yoked," and the passage is applied to marriage. But the reasoning is that you should not be dating someone unless you could be equally yoked with them in marriage (which they interpret as a Witness should only marry another Witness, because they are the only ones in "the Truth".) Being unequally yoked is like a donkey and an ox trying to plow together.
Are you aware that the Witnesses think that they are the only real Christians on the face of the earth? They believe that all others who call themselves Christian are really part of Satan's false religion, and they teach that all Christian clergymen are liars and deceivers. So they don't think that a marriage between a Witness and a Baptist or between a Witness and a Methodist or (especially!)between a Witness and a Catholic is an equally-yoked marriage between two Christians.
I'm pretty sure that Jehova's Witnesses are a branch of "mainstream Christianity" (meaning they just basically follow the bible, not have a different interpretation like like Mormons)
Ummmmm .... did you know that if you walked into any Christian bookstore of any denomination and looked at the section on "cults" you would find books on the Jehovah's Witnesses? Now some people would classify them as a "high-control" religion rather than a cult, but if you do some reading you will find that they deny all of the common Christian creeds and doctrines.
I don't want to discourage you (you sound like you like her a LOT!), but if you love this girl, you owe it to her and yourself (and any future children <s>) to make a careful investigation of:
1)JW history
2)their changing doctrines
3)their numerous failed prophecies of the end of the world
4)the family-destroying shunning/disfellowshipping policies
5)the authority issues (extremely high-control)
6)potentially deadly medical policies (blood transfusions)
7)exJW's stories
8)responses from Christian scholars
I know, that probably sounds like a real drag, and you may think what does it matter if we love each other and have different religions? But religion is really important in a marriage and even more so if there are children. When one person honestly thinks she(or he) has the Truth and that the person she loves the most in the whole world is not going to be saved, of course she is going to try to convince her loved one to see things her way.
There's this really great girl I know, and she is so perfect for me
Wow, it sounds like you have really fallen for her! Did you meet her in school? Do you think she likes you, too?
Regards,
Marjorie
