Maybe someone can explain to me a little about Jehovah Witness's. So far, almost everything that I have heard about them is bad. Why don't they believe in Christmas? Why don't they believe in the crucifix? Why do they believe that only 144,000 people go to heaven? That is sooo stupid that they believe that. Their beliefs are soo crazy!!! I don't mean to offend anyone either. I had a friend who turned into a JW and she is now weirder than hell. She won't even talk to me b/c I am Catholic or something. Why does this religion put down all other religions? What are some other of their weird beliefs? Why don't they believe Jesus was crucified on a cross? Maybe someone out there can explain a little bit about this religion to me.
JW's - cult or no cult?
by Mercedes 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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DannyBear
Mercedes,
Just type in 'Jehovah's Witnesses' into any search engine, and you will have all the answer's you desire.
Danny
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Gopher
Mercedes,
Your assessment of JW's is quite accurate, unfortunately. They have a complicated man-made belief system, and they tend to avoid outside (what they term "worldly") association, because such people supposedly could influence them into "unchristian acts" and then God would destroy them at Armageddon.
For an outline of JW doctrines, you might want to go to www.freeminds.org and click on the "Watchtower Doctrine" link in the list on the lower left side of the page.
As far as whether they are a cult -- many on this board believe they are. But there can be no doubt that they are a very high-control group.
Feel free to come back and ask any questions of this board -- I guarantee you'll get answers from someone in a very short time.
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refiners fire
Merc:
Other Whacky beliefs? Sure.
Well, theres the so called "Worldwide Preaching work" which they claim only they are carrying out in fullfillment of Matt 24 v 14. Of course, in reality, theres no such thing as the world wide preaching work bnecause you cant sell Jesus to Muslims any more than you can force him onto Buddhists.
Other than that theres the "Blood Issue". One day the Rulers of the Watchtower were sat looking for a ridiculous and totally unique belief that only they could be stupid enough to hold. And so, they focused upon Acts 15 v 29, no other scripture, just Acts 15 v 29. And they turned it into a sacrificial alter upon which to offer thousands of lives in sacrifice to their blood thirsty God.
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Sangdigger
Mercedes, May i also suggest you looking into the background of your own religion. You might be shocked as well.
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myself
A cult in many cases will alienate you from contact(association) with anyone outside of its own group.
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Gizmo
Mercedes:
First how about telling us, what exactly is your defenition of a cult?
Mercedes, May i also suggest you looking into the background of your own religion. You might be shocked as well.
The above is also an excellent suggestion
welcome to the board..
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heathen
I believe all religion are cults.
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Mercedes
Excuse me, Sandnigger, I know a lot about the background of my religion, thank you very much. I've been a Catholic for 21 years and enjoyed every bit of it. Being a JW is A LOT worse, A LOT worse than being Catholic. Any more comments...?
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AlanF
Hi Mercedes,
I tend to agree with heathen, that all religions are cults. However, in general usage a "cult" is a religious or quasi-religious group that a large number of people view as "weird" in some way. I prefer the definitions given by Steven Hassan in his books Combatting Cult Mind Control and Releasing the Bonds. See this link for Hassan's website: http://www.freedomofmind.com/
My working definition of "cult" is a group that sucks you in without your being fully aware of what's going on, and which you wouldn't get sucked into if everything about it were laid out objectively beforehand. Such cults are by nature deceptive -- deceptive in their recruiting tactics, their teachings, and in the way they hold on to members. They generally make it very 'expensive' to get out. JWs, for example, make leaving emotionally 'expensive' because one usually loses all one's JW family and friends.
I'll give some short answers to your questions:
: Why don't they believe in Christmas?
They believe in Christmas, but they believe that it is wrong for Christians to celebrate it, because it has, as they say, "pagan roots" via the ancient Roman festival of the Saturnalia. There are many problems with their assessment, however, the most prominent being that almost no one who observes Christmas today has any thought of celebrating a pagan festival. For instance, I observe some Christmas traditions but am an agnostic bordering on an atheist. Many people observe Christmas with purely Christian notions in mind. But the JWs are hypocritical here, because they observe other rites that have "pagan roots" such as various wedding and marriage-related things, like using a wedding band, celebrating a wedding anniversary, using a wedding veil, etc.
: Why don't they believe in the crucifix?
The real reason is hard to decipher, but it's probably because their 2nd president, J. F. Rutherford, decided around 1930 to institute yet another artificial distinction between JWs (they were called International Bible Students at that time) and other religions. Their claimed reason is twofold: Jesus did not die on a cross, but on a single upright stake; and it is wrong to venerate the instrument of death of Jesus. I won't disagree with the 2nd reason, although many people don't venerate the cross but simply view it as a symbol of the death and resurrection of Jesus -- nothing wrong with that. The 1st reason is simply wrong, as there is overwhelming evidence in the writings of the so-called Church Fathers, as well as general historical evidence, that if Jesus were crucified as Christians claim, it was on a cross, not a simple stake. Jan Haugland has written a good piece showing this, and showing how the JWs have published deceptive information to support their views on the cross. Unfortunately I don't know where to find this information, but it is probably online somewhere.
: Why do they believe that only 144,000 people go to heaven?
Because of stupid interpretations of symbolic references to that number in the book of Revelation. It also suits the fancy of JW leaders, who are incredibly self-righteous and view themselves as gods-in-the-making.
: ... I had a friend who turned into a JW and she is now weirder than hell. She won't even talk to me b/c I am Catholic or something.
Typical.
: Why does this religion put down all other religions?
Same reason that all cults do: insecurity.
: What are some other of their weird beliefs?
Blood transfusions are unchristian, child molestation in their ranks should be covered up if possible, God will soon destroy almost all of mankind, JW leaders were exclusively appointed to speak for God in 1919, the world entered a horrible period in 1914 where world conditions are so death-dealing that it's a miracle anyone is living today. Past wierd beliefs include: vaccinations are unchristian, God lives on the star Alcyone in the Pleiades constellation, JWs are not a religion. You can find a lot more discussion of this wierdness at http://www.freeminds.org/
AlanF