What do JW's make of Early Christians?

MrFreeze

They think there was a Gibbering Body back then and that they are the only true model of first Century Christians.

Can't edit my post, it posted prematurely. Anyway, I'll follow up, I've been doing a lot of research about Early Christianity. I was curious what the JW's made of the early followers of Jesus Christ and Saints etc. Do they think they have a 'shot' at paradise because they didn't know better? Or do they view them as evil as they do the rest of Christianity?

MrFreeze

I think their position in the Revelation Grand Climax book is that there were always "Jehovah's Witnesses" throughout the last 2,000 years. But they were a very small minority.

ForbiddenFruit

Well, I always used to get into debates with them about how essentially the Modern Bible was a Catholic Church invention, and they'd always say, 'Maybe Jehovah used the Catholic Church to deliver the truth', which makes sense on so few levels I can't be bothered to explain.

fresh prince of ohio

The WTS would have JWs believe that the early Christians went door-to-door in groups of two and read to people from papyrus scrolls.

Vanderhoven7

Early Christians would baptize soldiers, people wielding political authority and never presented door to door prosletism as a requirement for baptism. In fact, there is no biblical evidence that the apostles and early deciples went door to door down the streets of Jerusalem or any other city.

Apognophos

The JWs tend to believe that the earliest of the early Christians were just as the Witnesses are today, that is, the JWs believe they are modeled after the original Christians. So naturally they expect that those Christians will be in paradise (keep in mind, though, that being in paradise is not the same as "being saved" in other religions; the "unrighteous" are also supposed to be resurrected so they can be tested at the end of the Thousand Years with everyone else).

The dividing line for Witnesses is somewhere in the 3rd or 4th century, definitely by the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, since that's when "apostate" teachings were officially mixed into Christendom's doctrines. By that time, as far as JWs are concerned, Christians were no longer Christians.

BU2B

They basically believe that they operated almost exactly as JWs do today. They believe that JWs are a perfect "restoration" of early christianity. Interesting, seeing as EVEN WITH the word Jehovah being falsely injected into the NT, he is mentioned a fraction of the times that Jesus is. Even in the NWT Jesus is the clear emphasis and the focus is on him. Even reading the NT from the NWT, the difference in the message from the average WT and the Bible is very clear. JWs cherry pick a few verses out of context from the NT and base their beliefs on that and the OT.

How much focus is on Jesus in WT land vs the Bible?

Even when reading the Bible alone, I feel JWs are uncomfortable with all the emphasis on Jesus, and the absense of the mention of what they are familiar with, the word Jehovah, and no mention of organization, or governing body, even though they imagine it to be there.

pixel

What early Christians? It depends. I read somewhere that the WT said they were a lot of pagan-Christians dying as martirs. They said not every martir was a true Christian. Go figure...

What do JW's make of Early Christians?

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