For JWS: Do you believe Jesus or only what you are told about Jesus?

by Kosonen 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Kosonen

  That's the question l would like to ask every Jehovah's witness: Do you believe Jesus or do you only believe what you are told about Jesus? (By the watchtower?)

  If you only believe what the Watchtower or the Governing Body tell you about Jesus with their selected quotes from the bible.Then in fact you don't believe Jesus. But you are a believer of Governing Body.

  l remarked a very strange thing about my wife and children who go regularly to jw meetings. My wife is active jw. First my 15 year son thought he was not christian because he is Jehovah's witness. Then some days later my 9 year daugther told about her classmates and told that some are christians and some are muslims. So I asked her: What about you, are you also christian? And l was amazed to hear her say that she is not christian but Jehovah's witness. And then my wife also confirmed that she doesn't regard her seIf to be a christian but Jehovah's witness.

  So is that how Jehovah's witness feel about themselves? That they are Jehovah's witnesses but not christians.I told my wife if you don't feel you are christian then you are propably not a christian.

  That's maybe the problem: If a jw only believes what GB tells about Jesus and does not dare to read the gospels and believe what Jesus really says. Then a jw is not really a cbeliever of Jesus but men like GB. And then a jw does not feel he or she is christian.Last edited by brotherjan; Today at 06:02 PM.
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  designs

  From my experiences most JWs would say they are christians. Your wife and daughter's thoughts would be a little unique.
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  Kosonen

  Hi designs,Yes that's odd. Maybe that's because here in sweden in stockholm so few are religious and the witnesses have few encounters with active "christians" from other churches.

  When I was in school only 2 of my classmates believed that God exists.
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  cantleave

  When I was in school only 2 of my classmates believed that God exists.

  That is what I love about the Nordic countries, the majority of people are rational.
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  cofty

  When I was in school only 2 of my classmates believed that God exists.

  Almost paradise.
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  designs

  Sweden is cool, I think as a society you are doing a lot things very well.
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  KateWild

  I would agree with designs, most JWs say they are true Christians.

  cantleave, cofty,

  You lives would be boring if you had no believers to debate with Kate xx
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  leaving_quietly

  That's strange they would say that as the phrase "true Christians" is drilled into almost every single article published, referring to JWs.
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  Crazyguy

  Your family is correct, Christian means anointed ones. The gb tell the rank and file they are not anointed therefore not Christians. The correct term is jonadabs. Christians partake are born again and have holyspirit poured out over them . According to Jesus coments to nicodemus, your jonadab family will never see the kingdom of god.
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  fulltimestudent

  Kosonen, I thought (smile) when I saw this thread that it was going to be about something different. But, as most other posters have indicated my experience as a JW was that I thought of myself as a 'Christian,' in fact my spiritual goal was to be a (as Peter describes it) " footstep follower of Jesus."

  When I was a Jw, I think the term, "The Christian congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses," was in common use.

  I suggest your immediate family members were trying to differentiate themselves and the witness organisation from other churches.

  ---------------------------

  But to come back to my thoughts when I saw your thread, I thought you were differentiating between the sayings of Jesus, and the way that people interpret those sayings.

  And, I wanted to point out that we have no direct evidence of anything that Jesus wrote or said. The gospel accounts were written decades later, likley after the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem. In the case of the gospel of John, which is very different to the other gospels, it may have been written some 60-70 years later, and contains ideas that are much closer to Hellenic (Greek) thinking.

  So precisely what Jesus may have said or taught is very clouded.