World Religions - Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe?

Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) is a religion that has some distinctly different beliefs that are opposed to Christianity. The Witness religion was founded by Charles Taze Russell in the 19th century. The group was originally called the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, but in 1931 adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses. As of 2010, there are approximately 18 million Jehovah's Witness practicing their beliefs. Witnesses base their beliefs on their New World Translation of the Bible.

There are a number of significant differences in the Jehovah Witness' Bible which result in a very different understanding and teaching of who God is, who Jesus is and how you can be saved or have eternal life.

Jehovah's Witnesses  believe the doctrine of the Trinity to be a false doctrine. JW's believe that Jesus is not God, but instead the Archangel Michael (a created Being). They believe that Jesus was not bodily ressurected. They believe the Holy Spirit to be a force and not a Person.

Some Specific Jehovah's Witness Beliefs:

God: He is one person and His proper name is Jehovah.

Jesus: A created Angel who has had 3 stages of life: Archangel Michael; Jesus of Nazareth; Michael the exalted Archangel.

Holy Spirit: The inpersonal force of Jehovah.

Trinity: A pagan supernatural doctrine.

Bible: Authoritative only when it is interpreted by the Watchtower Society.

Heaven: A place that is reserved and limitted to 144,000 elect Jehovah Witnesses

Hell: Jehovah's Witnesses believe the concept of an eternal Hell to be a fictitious doctrine.

The central belief of the Jehovah's Witness faith is that imminent destruction of the present world will occur at Armageddon, and at this time God's kingdom will come to Earth.

 A few specific teachings of the Jehovah's Witness Watch Tower Society are:

• Refusal of military service or political involvement. Both of these ideas are against Christianity beliefs.
• Refusal of blood transfusions. One should not take the blood of others, it will taint the body and prevent the entrance into God's kingdom.
• Do not observe holidays like Christmas, Easter and birthdays. They are considered pagan holidays that are not compatible with Christianity.
• Death is a state of non-existence. There is no life after death, nor is there a hell.
• The ultimate goal of one's life should be to live for Jehovah so that you will be welcomed into God's kingdom upon the end of the Earth.

Baptized members that violate the churches principles may be subject to expulsion or shunning by the rest of their church. This means witnesses cannot talk to the shunned member if or until an elder says they have been welcome back into the church.

Meetings are held in Kingdom Halls, which typically all look identical and hold identical worship services. The meetings are devoted to studying the Watch Tower publications and their New World Translation Bible. Kingdom Halls have two meetings a week, and there are songs and prayers involved along with lectures and sermons from elders.

Door Knocking
Jehovah's Witnesses are famous for their door-knocking and evangelism. They regularly travel the neighbourhoods, visiting people and discussing their beliefs with anyone who will listen. Witnesses knock on people's doors and if interested they present their Watchtower literature and do a brief bible study with them. Witnesses are encouraged to spend their free time preaching their doctrine to others and must submit this information to their elders.