whats the difference between christianity and jehovah's witnesses??

[icuucme]

@cocoa Well all the time i thought they were christians, but it seems that what you said is true
http://www.carm.org/jw/cult.htm

[Leina]

As one of Jehovah's witnesses feel free to ask me any questions, if i can help you then i will do that, if i am not sure i'll go and do some research. I have read what these websites have to say and half of it is not true, if you want information go to www.watchtower.org, then you will see who Jehovah's Witness are and what we believe.

We are christian, we try our best to follow the model that Jesus left for us to follow.

Oh and for crying out loud we are not a cult

[Bahama Mama]

I have a question Leina, that was not adressed in internet sites dedicated to the beliefs and doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses that I searched. From my experience with Jehovah Witnesses (I have worked with three), they do not fellowship at other churches. They will invite you to fellowship at Kingdom Hall, but refuse to fellowship at any other church under the banner of Christianity, eg. Baptist, Pentecostal, etc. Why is that, particularly since you refer to Jehovah's Witnesses as Christians? Why the refusal to at least fellowship as one in Christ with other fellow Christians?

P.S. A Jehovah's Witness co-worker of mine referred to other christian denominations as Christendom. Why that reference instead of Christian? Hope I am not overwhelming you with my questions

[RobyG]

P.S. A Jehovah's Witness co-worker of mine referred to other christian denominations as Christendom. Why that reference instead of Christian? Hope I am not overwhelming you with my questions

The meaning of Christendom:
1. Christians considered as a group.
2. The Christian world.

Christians...Christendom, same thing.

[Nastro]

Leina I don't think you guys are cults ...as a matter of fact I admire JW's so much I studies with you guys for 4 years. (In mandeville which is where I think I first saw you ).

However I have a MAJOR PROBLEM:

Michael and Jesus are not the same person

In Mt 4:10, Jesus clearly has the authority to rebuke Satan and does so. Jude 9 says, “But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil…he did not dare to bring a judgment against him…but said, “May Jehovah rebuke you.” If Jesus is Michael the Archangel, why did Michael, refuse to rebuke Satan in Jude 9, when he clearly did so in Mt 4:10?

[Xenocrates]

I have read what these websites have to say and half of it is not true,

- Unfortunately Leina, here's something that you probably don't know (and you might want to research it); all of what these websites say is true. The reason why you think they're not true is because of a fundamental flaw with the organisation I will discuss later.

I've been familiar with the Jehovah's Witnesses for over 15 years now and am very well acquainted with the teachings they have, including the ones that you were probably not told about ...yet. They wait until you reach a certain age (or when you get married - whichever comes first) to fill you in on the rest. The "rest" does not include however, their checkered past and some of their darker secrets.

if you want information go to www.watchtower.org, then you will see who Jehovah's Witness are and what we believe.

- Here's the problem: One thing I found rather peculiar is how often Jehovah's Witnesses change their teachings, rules, and the version of the Bible that they keep. It is in keeping with reports from witnesses all over the Globe. Case in point:

1. I remember once the Jehovah's Witnesses taught that the body and the soul are the same thing.
   
   
2. Later on, they changed it to say that the body and the soul are separate entities.
   
   
3. Finally, they changed it to say that the soul is a living body and that a dead body is no longer a soul (this is the correct teaching).

This is over a period of about 10 years! So you probably would be too young to know when this was going on.

My point is, going to www.watchtower.com is pointless for those who know nothing of the organisation - and even more so for younger folks like yourself who have no idea of the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which goes back as far as the mid 19th Century. The WatchTower's website will only show information they want you to know. Nothing more. Much of the history is shrouded away from members, because uncovering it would spell utter disaster for the organisation.

We are christian, we try our best to follow the model that Jesus left for us to follow.

- Not actually. The Jehovah's Witnesses taught (and I have a WatchTower to prove it) that they do not belong to Christendom. They believe they are the one true religion that bears witness of God the Father himself. The Jehovah's Witnesses also don't acknowledge Jesus Christ at all. In fact, they teach that Jesus Christ was a prophet, just like Elisha, Isaiah et. al. They also teach that Jesus Christ is not the son of God and that he was not "begotten" as the Bible says, but created - just like any other angel in heaven - even though the Bible says otherwise.

A fundamental difference between JWs and Christians is that JWs don't believe in the saving of the soul through Christ. That automatically doesn't make them Christians. If you were told that the Jehovah's Witnesses were Christians, you were lied to. Trust me.

If you are now being taught that JW's believe in Christ, then that proves my point about how much their teaching changes over time. That's the ultimate hallmark of a cult if there ever was one.

[Xenocrates]

Oh and for crying out loud we are not a cult

- Au contraire mon bella; Why do the Jehovah's Witnesses:

• Forbid marriage to anyone outside of the organisation? - in fact, if you marry someone who is not a Jehovah's Witness, you are excommunicated!
  
  
• Baptize in the name of Jehovah and the Organisation?
  
  
• Change their teachings and practices so often?
  
  
• Believe that their faith (which is barely 150 years old) is the one true faith - even though others have predated it by over 10,000 years?
  
  
• Hide the true origin of the system from their members?
  
  
• Forbid their members from partaking in any kind of social event?
  
  
• Forbid their members from saying the national anthem, the national pledge, or partake in any activity that would identify them as nationals of any particular country?
  
  
• Tell their witnesses to avoid "born again" Christians?
  
  
• Believe that all christians are heathen who will go to hell?
  
  
• Forbid blood transfusion even between family members - a law that has split many families apart?
  
  
• Believe that Jesus is not the Son of God, even though the Bible says this explicitly in multiple scriptures?
  
  
• Say that you cannot inherit eternal life through grace, but by works alone, even though the Bible explicitly teaches otherwise?
  
  
• Believe that Jesus Christ is not the one and only way to God?

You only know 1 ten thousandth of the truth my dear. If you ever knew how the Jehovah's Witnesses started up, and the many false prophecies that have come out of the system, and a truck load of other hideous stuff, you might balk.

If the Jehovah's Witness Organisation is not a cult, then there's no such thing as a cult. The Jehovah's Witnesses are only the second largest Christian cult in the world, next to Catholicism and slightly larger than Mormonism. Those who don't consider Catholicism a cult (which it is), will tell you that the Jehovah's Witnesses are the largest organised cult in the world with branches in 5 continents.

Darn, I hope I didn't scare you off. Everytime I tell someone that, they get irate.

In fact, tell me if any of the above statements are no longer true. If they are no longer true, then the WatchTower magazine I have at work is a book of lies. Either that, or the organisation has changed their teachings.... again.

[Bahama Mama]

The meaning of Christendom:
1. Christians considered as a group.
2. The Christian world.

Christians...Christendom, same thing.

Okay they are one in the same, makes sense now when one thinks of the word Christendom like that of Kingdom.........it does have an all encomapssing meaning to it.

[Zard]

[*] Forbid their members from saying the national anthem, the national pledge, or partake in any activity that would identify them as nationals of any particular country?

I know all too persoanlly of a family friend that died because she passed out after loosing a lot of blood in a car accident....all her hhusband had to do was say yes to the doctors and they would have given her blood...he did not...and practically stood by her bedside "praying" and watched her die

[RobyG]

They don't allow blood transfusion because they believe that the life of an animal is in its blood.

Read:

Leviticus 17:11; 17:14
Deuteronomy 12:23

Leviticus 17:11:
-------------------
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.