What is the JW attitude to the Jews?
Israel
by caroline77 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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jonahstourguide
Caroline, the jw position is: one faith, one baptism, one lord as decreed by eight men in brooklyn.
In other words, there is no way to salvation outside of jw's. Don't matter what creed or faith you
have. In their view the jews were a bunch of mongrels. as are all who don't accept jw doctrine,
as I'm learning at an ever increasing pace.
jtg
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jonahstourguide
Oh, and for what it is worth I am currently in their midst. The jw"s that is
jtg
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caroline77
Thanks, Jonah.
Don't they know that Jesus was a Jew, and also the disciples?
The verse prior to the one about 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism', mentions 'one body, one hope'.
The JW's seem to have two hopes and two bodies. One body in heaven with the head, one on earth with no direct access to the head.
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Phizzy
I wonder what they could do about me if I started acting much like a Jewish person of faith, celebrating the festivals etc ?
After all, they claim to be going back to what the Christians practiced in the 1st Century, and up until 70 CE at least, the Jewish Christians, the original Christians, would have kept all the festivals and gone to the Temple etc.
The Judicial Committee would be a fun event !
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Apognophos
The JW's seem to have two hopes and two bodies. One body in heaven with the head, one on earth with no direct access to the head.
Yes, well said. The JWs know, of course, that Jesus and his closest followers were Jewish, but that doesn't really impact anything one way or another. There were the Jews who listened to him, and the Jews who didn't.
Basically, the JWs look at the Biblical Jews as "the people formerly known as God's chosen ones". The Jews' rejection was imminent at the end of the OT and was guaranteed when they rejected Jesus. It's not an antagonistic attitude, though it can feel casually anti-semitic to any Jew who happens to hear them comment on how the Jews killed the Messiah -- but that's a problem common to all Christianity.
Typically the JWs try to refer to the execution of Jesus as being instigated by the Jewish religious leaders, not the Jewish people in general, as this is more politically correct (not that JWs would admit to being "PC", but obviously they try not to offend anyone), and more in line with the Bible story anyway.
Overall the JWs don't have any particular opinion towards Jews today. Unlike some fundamentalists, they do not see a direct link between ancient Israel and the nation that is called Israel today, which is a construct intended to replicate something that was lost a long time ago. They don't believe the new nation fulfills any prophecy or will play a role in Armageddon.
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KateWild
Well I am Jewish, and said how much more so a natural Jew would be grafted in rather than a gentile. Rom 11.24. I said I was annointed. The elders did like tha hahaha!!!
I suppose it depends on the Jew and the cong, I am loved by many and hated by the hierachy.
Kate xx