Jehovah's Witnesses

[Dakota]

Hi you all! Here's some questions for you: Have any of you ever encountered, studied the Bible, or attended any Kingdom Hall meetings with a Jehovah's Witness? Would you recognize a Jehovah's Witness as a Christian or a member of a cult? How does their doctrine differ from that of traditional Christian teachings? How is it similar? Opinions, please!

[Alecto]

I have a friend who was raised a Witness. She wasn't really into it anymore by the time I met her (she was coming out as queer, at first to herself and her friends, and then finally to her family), but we've talked about how it differs from Catholicism (which is what her family practiced when she was very young, before they converted, and which I was raised with so it was a frame of reference). If you look at religious beliefs, none of them are "logical". I'm not some grumpy atheist saying this: I have religious beliefs, such as they are. But there's major logical flaws in them (without getting into details or anything). There's some major flaws in the beliefs of Witnesses, there's been historical revision to cover up some of the "oopses" for that church's past beliefs, but it's no more a cult than Catholicism or any of the other ones. It's frustrating for me to see people point and laugh at other people's religious beliefs when really...anyone who has religious beliefs is in the exact same boat. Your cult is just more popular.
There's something slightly "off" and "weird" about all of them, and that's where "faith" comes in.

[NathanATX]

Great response, Alecto.

Cult doesn't mean much to me.... cult-ural... cult-ure... it's almost another word for group.

I listen for people's hearts and commitments, not whether they have different spiritual beliefs than I do.

[RedneckDyke]

I do admire their dedication. They were put in the death camps for their faith. I learned that at the holocaust museum in DC.

But...... their view on homosexuality is the same as most fundie churches. Being gay is a choice and gay sex is an abomination and gays should be celibate blah blah blah

[pnggrad79]

They believe that Jesus was not divine, or at least not up to the level of God, Jehovah. They believe the celebration of holidays and birthdays is a form of idol worship, so they abstain. They don't salute the flag for the same reason. They don't believe in the concept of hell.And they have predicted several times in the second coming of Jesus. They believe that the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation is them. They don't believe in transfusions because of OT laws. They are very studious and fervent, most of them. They lead very pure lives. Personally I think they are a cult, but I don't want to sound judgmental.

I have a JW in my class this year and she is a jewel. I absolutely adore her. She is smart, beautiful and has the potential to be someone of importance in the future. She is smart enough to question, but I don't know if she has the kind of freedom to be allowed to go there.

[Alecto]

In fairness, they don't ALL believe that they're the 144,000. Their version of Eucharist is only taken by those who are; in my friend's congregation there was only one woman who partook.
And they also believed that they were not supposed to get involved in politics. This world doesn't matter, give unto Caesar etc.

From a totally pragmatic standpoint, that means they're not particularly threatening, regardless of their beliefs, to civil rights.

[Rick336]

I know a woman who is a Jehovah Witness. Because of her faith she doesn't believe in celebrating any of the traditional holidays.

She will not eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day because doing so would be considered celebrating Thanksgiving. However, it's perfectly fine for her to eat leftover Thanksgiving turkey the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, if she waits until 12:01 a.m., one minute past Thanksgiving day, she can chow down on all the leftover turkey she wants.

So apparently if you're a Jehovah Witness, God will not tolerate you eating even one piece of turkey on Thanksgiving day. It really, really pisses him off.

But what really drives him crazy is the parade, especially the Kermit the Frog balloon. He goes absolutely ballistic every time he sees it. Nobody knows why.



Rick

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by Alecto

In fairness, they don't ALL believe that they're the 144,000. Their version of Eucharist is only taken by those who are; in my friend's congregation there was only one woman who partook.
And they also believed that they were not supposed to get involved in politics. This world doesn't matter, give unto Caesar etc.

From a totally pragmatic standpoint, that means they're not particularly threatening, regardless of their beliefs, to civil rights.

Alecto, out of pure curiosity, do they vote (or believe in the right to vote)?

[pnggrad79]

T,
I don't think they do, but don't quote me.

[Alecto]

Again, this is based off of the one congregation, but No. They believe in the right to, of course, but they're not really supposed to care enough about politics to vote.

[Unmasked]

Oh Rick, you make me smile. I might have to start posting again. I forgot how much I like this place.