Thanks Jim. There are more than a few around here and I was aware of some of their beliefs. I have worked with and for a few of them. A friend's wife has parents who became Witnesses. He has a comedic streak and made an observation to his father-in-law who also has a sense of humor or this could have gone bad. He mentioned to him that they don't celebrate brthdays. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas but come over to eat and "visit with the family".
My friend told his father-in-law you people are just cheap!
Yes, it is helpful to understand these issues, and I regard JWs as problematic cult, but unfortunately, the same is true for many self-identified Christians. And Christian theology is at variance with Jesus' teachings on many points. Very few actually follow Jesus in fact, as he asked us to do. We're all rank beginners.
The sect now known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses was started by Charles Taze Russell, who was born in 1852. So after nearly 2000 years of people believing in Christ this guy comes along and tells everyone we got it all wrong, Sorry folks I'm not buying it, although over 8 million have. It is right that people want to seek the Lord and his teachings but as Paul said in Rom. 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (KJV) -
Religious cults are terrible things to be involved in. The worst part is that some of their teachings are true, and some are not, so we think if we reject some we will reject the truth also.
It can be very confusing, but God has promised to give us wisdom to sort it out:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him. (James 1:5)
God expects us to assess these false teachers and draw near to him to understand his truth.
One point not mentioned by you Jim is their greed for money and power and, from my experience, their lack of desire to help poor people, unless they strictly obey what is being said- and even then only grudgingly.
As Peter tells us:
But there were false prophets (teachers) among the people (in ancient Israel), as there will be false teachers among you, (us today) who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning (you) away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it. And a great number (of Christians) will go with (financially support) them in their evil ways, through whom the way of truth will be evil spoken of. And in their desire for (financial) profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls… (2Peter 2:1-3)
These liars will try to make a profit from you, but God will eventually punish and destroy them. In the meantime, we need to be careful of their actions or we may lose our money, and our soul and our friends and our mind etc. etc.
The following various translations of 2Peter 1:3, helps to bring home their true motivations:
They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. (CEV)
And by covetousness, with well-turned words, they will use you for gain, (LITV)
And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. (ESV)
Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. (WNT)
In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. (GNB)
In their greed they will use good-sounding arguments to exploit you. (GW)
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. (KJV)
In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. (ISV)
We need wisdom to discern who are the teachers of truth, and who are feathering their own nests- or we may pay for it with our money. And not only that, but those people who follow false teachers, will be so deceived that they will think they are doing God’s will in killing righteous people! (John 16:2-3)
If we are financially supporting such deceptive peoples’ evil work, rather than God’s good work, we will not only lose our money, but we will also be amongst the great majority of people who encourage these false ministers. (Matt 7:13-20)
It’s by such financial support that the true way of life will be spoken of as if it were evil!
Adding to the tangible experience of engaging JWs:
– They arrive in pairs;
– One is “leader”, the other a “learner”
– very hard to discuss sound doctrine w/them
If you persist in the discussion and make it difficult for them, they will resort to personal attacks (“You’re ignorant,” etc.)
Strategy for one on two engagement:
– pray in advance for the day they arrive
– know your bible
– focus on who Jesus is
– remain calm
– respectfully invite them to leave if they get personal
Goal: Your aim is to infect the “learner” with the true gospel and orthodox teachings regarding Jesus Christ. Forget about the “Leader.” Your goal is to create doubt in the observing JW.
After they leave, pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them (hoping particularly that the seeds of doubt you sowed in the “learner” will germinate and bear fruit unto repentance).
Rather than avoiding the inevitable encounter with JWs, pray and prepare for it. Be looking for them to head up the steps to your doorway. They’re coming.
Wow I had no idea. Back in the 70’s, I knew a guy who was working night shift and every early Saturday morning , three of them banged on his door and woke him up He opened the door and patiently explained that he’s working night shift and please do not knock on his door again.Disregarding his polite request, they did the same thing following two Saturdays. The following Saturday back again, he answered the door stark naked and they never came back.
Thanks for the run down, Jim. We've had our visits from the JWs. You're right, they will not have any sort of true Biblical conversation other than the ones they have been taught to have. One even told me that the JWs believe in being Born Again, although their meaning is nowhere near what the the truth is.
I was saved in 1981 after being in the Episcopal Church, the American arm of the Anglican Church, my entire life. They are about as close to the works system that Catholicism teaches as any protestant church can get.
It is a cult, same as Mormonism. As usual, the enemy knows exactly how to disguise his tactics so that they look so good on the outside but are rotten on the inside.
The timing of this Substack is excellent. My husband and I were just discussing religions that teach salvation based on works. Mormons specifically come to mind as you’ve previously written.
I am curious about the JW aversion to the cross. The Mormons have the same position but I don’t know if it is for the same reasons. Do you?
Some of the things you state I do recall and others I do not remember. I was forced to go being 5 years old. No more Christmas or birthdays and being isolated from celebrating holidays with family was very sad. In school we started out with saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag which I was told to only stand in respect but to not utter a word because everyone and government is "Worldly". For field trips my mother would have to sign permission slips and she had a special red ink pen where she would write in caps: "NO BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS ALLOWED" There were school parties I was not able to attend. I recall in 4th grade where everyone went before the class and talked about their favorite presents and when it came to me I would say I received nothing because I was a Jehovah's witness. I also recall as a child being taught; I would be able to pet the animals that would normally be wild sounded good to me. I want to say the Annointed were part of the 144,000. I recall really talking the religion up to family and friends in 1974-1975 as the end of the world was coming and wanted them to live forever in the "New World". Time flies even when you are not having fun and before I knew it I was up at the podium giving prepared speeches where you were graded by Elders and given feedback. The Elder mentioned to my mother that he noticed a bulge between my legs based on the late 1970's leisure suits that were popular. He told my mother that I could make extra money doing odd jobs at his house. I did go to his home as he was constructing a steel shed and I just got this really weird vibe the way he was looking at me and based on comment he made to my mother I was thinking pervert in the back of my head. I got $8 for working a full day and thought wow less than $1 per hour no way. He wanted to have me over there again and I said no and he tells my mother I am lazy. My father was a drunk and would become verbally and physically abusive. He told her he was having an affair and how this woman would do things my mother would not. He was not part of the Jehovah's witnesses. My mother asks same elder for permission to divorce and was told he was a provider and to pacify my father to avoid conflicts. He also told her there would need to be two witnesses seeing him engaging in such acts. At age 14 I got a part time job working as a fry cook and would purposely have the owner who was a neighbor schedule me to work the 3 of the days we were to attend the congregation. My sister who was older drifted away before me. My mother really wanted to leave my dad and decided to stop attending. She does get her divorce and actually remarries. It had been like 2 years and they sent her cousin and another witness to the house to let her know she had been disfellowshipped. She said she cut ties with them and to go to hell. I get job at grocery chain Jewel/Osco and there are two witnesses that worked there and I could say hi but was completely ignored. As a kid I did hear Elders go onto the stage and verbally say over the mic that so and so has been disfellowshipped and there is to be no association or communication with that person and the case I recall was fornication. She continued to attend and I want to say maybe with time and devotion maybe there is some kind of reinstatement. I was in my early 20's and did attend a church where the pastors son said I could receive salvation by confessing my sins to Jesus. Back then I thought this was the ultimate sin. In my later 20's I was watching the 700 club and called their toll free number to accept Jesus as my lord and savior. The Jehovah's Witnesses is surely a cult and the sad part of it is even those who are devoted still live with doubt if they will be resurrected after Armageddon is over and the New World comes. As I dug into it some the Jehovah Witnesses as well as the Mormons were created by 33rd Degree Freemasons.
Yes they do not believe in blood transfusions either. They are sharing that on the streets!
Thanks Jim. There are more than a few around here and I was aware of some of their beliefs. I have worked with and for a few of them. A friend's wife has parents who became Witnesses. He has a comedic streak and made an observation to his father-in-law who also has a sense of humor or this could have gone bad. He mentioned to him that they don't celebrate brthdays. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas but come over to eat and "visit with the family".
My friend told his father-in-law you people are just cheap!
Thank you for writing this. The deception is large.
Yes, it is helpful to understand these issues, and I regard JWs as problematic cult, but unfortunately, the same is true for many self-identified Christians. And Christian theology is at variance with Jesus' teachings on many points. Very few actually follow Jesus in fact, as he asked us to do. We're all rank beginners.
The sect now known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses was started by Charles Taze Russell, who was born in 1852. So after nearly 2000 years of people believing in Christ this guy comes along and tells everyone we got it all wrong, Sorry folks I'm not buying it, although over 8 million have. It is right that people want to seek the Lord and his teachings but as Paul said in Rom. 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (KJV) -
Linking today @ https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
Thanks Jim
Religious cults are terrible things to be involved in. The worst part is that some of their teachings are true, and some are not, so we think if we reject some we will reject the truth also.
It can be very confusing, but God has promised to give us wisdom to sort it out:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him. (James 1:5)
God expects us to assess these false teachers and draw near to him to understand his truth.
One point not mentioned by you Jim is their greed for money and power and, from my experience, their lack of desire to help poor people, unless they strictly obey what is being said- and even then only grudgingly.
As Peter tells us:
But there were false prophets (teachers) among the people (in ancient Israel), as there will be false teachers among you, (us today) who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning (you) away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it. And a great number (of Christians) will go with (financially support) them in their evil ways, through whom the way of truth will be evil spoken of. And in their desire for (financial) profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls… (2Peter 2:1-3)
These liars will try to make a profit from you, but God will eventually punish and destroy them. In the meantime, we need to be careful of their actions or we may lose our money, and our soul and our friends and our mind etc. etc.
The following various translations of 2Peter 1:3, helps to bring home their true motivations:
They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. (CEV)
And by covetousness, with well-turned words, they will use you for gain, (LITV)
And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. (ESV)
Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. (WNT)
In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. (GNB)
In their greed they will use good-sounding arguments to exploit you. (GW)
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. (KJV)
In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. (ISV)
We need wisdom to discern who are the teachers of truth, and who are feathering their own nests- or we may pay for it with our money. And not only that, but those people who follow false teachers, will be so deceived that they will think they are doing God’s will in killing righteous people! (John 16:2-3)
If we are financially supporting such deceptive peoples’ evil work, rather than God’s good work, we will not only lose our money, but we will also be amongst the great majority of people who encourage these false ministers. (Matt 7:13-20)
It’s by such financial support that the true way of life will be spoken of as if it were evil!
Adding to the tangible experience of engaging JWs:
– They arrive in pairs;
– One is “leader”, the other a “learner”
– very hard to discuss sound doctrine w/them
If you persist in the discussion and make it difficult for them, they will resort to personal attacks (“You’re ignorant,” etc.)
Strategy for one on two engagement:
– pray in advance for the day they arrive
– know your bible
– focus on who Jesus is
– remain calm
– respectfully invite them to leave if they get personal
Goal: Your aim is to infect the “learner” with the true gospel and orthodox teachings regarding Jesus Christ. Forget about the “Leader.” Your goal is to create doubt in the observing JW.
After they leave, pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them (hoping particularly that the seeds of doubt you sowed in the “learner” will germinate and bear fruit unto repentance).
Rather than avoiding the inevitable encounter with JWs, pray and prepare for it. Be looking for them to head up the steps to your doorway. They’re coming.
Wow I had no idea. Back in the 70’s, I knew a guy who was working night shift and every early Saturday morning , three of them banged on his door and woke him up He opened the door and patiently explained that he’s working night shift and please do not knock on his door again.Disregarding his polite request, they did the same thing following two Saturdays. The following Saturday back again, he answered the door stark naked and they never came back.
Sometimes we need some naked truth!!
Thank you Jim for this info
Thanks for the run down, Jim. We've had our visits from the JWs. You're right, they will not have any sort of true Biblical conversation other than the ones they have been taught to have. One even told me that the JWs believe in being Born Again, although their meaning is nowhere near what the the truth is.
I was saved in 1981 after being in the Episcopal Church, the American arm of the Anglican Church, my entire life. They are about as close to the works system that Catholicism teaches as any protestant church can get.
It is a cult, same as Mormonism. As usual, the enemy knows exactly how to disguise his tactics so that they look so good on the outside but are rotten on the inside.
The timing of this Substack is excellent. My husband and I were just discussing religions that teach salvation based on works. Mormons specifically come to mind as you’ve previously written.
I am curious about the JW aversion to the cross. The Mormons have the same position but I don’t know if it is for the same reasons. Do you?
Some of the things you state I do recall and others I do not remember. I was forced to go being 5 years old. No more Christmas or birthdays and being isolated from celebrating holidays with family was very sad. In school we started out with saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag which I was told to only stand in respect but to not utter a word because everyone and government is "Worldly". For field trips my mother would have to sign permission slips and she had a special red ink pen where she would write in caps: "NO BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS ALLOWED" There were school parties I was not able to attend. I recall in 4th grade where everyone went before the class and talked about their favorite presents and when it came to me I would say I received nothing because I was a Jehovah's witness. I also recall as a child being taught; I would be able to pet the animals that would normally be wild sounded good to me. I want to say the Annointed were part of the 144,000. I recall really talking the religion up to family and friends in 1974-1975 as the end of the world was coming and wanted them to live forever in the "New World". Time flies even when you are not having fun and before I knew it I was up at the podium giving prepared speeches where you were graded by Elders and given feedback. The Elder mentioned to my mother that he noticed a bulge between my legs based on the late 1970's leisure suits that were popular. He told my mother that I could make extra money doing odd jobs at his house. I did go to his home as he was constructing a steel shed and I just got this really weird vibe the way he was looking at me and based on comment he made to my mother I was thinking pervert in the back of my head. I got $8 for working a full day and thought wow less than $1 per hour no way. He wanted to have me over there again and I said no and he tells my mother I am lazy. My father was a drunk and would become verbally and physically abusive. He told her he was having an affair and how this woman would do things my mother would not. He was not part of the Jehovah's witnesses. My mother asks same elder for permission to divorce and was told he was a provider and to pacify my father to avoid conflicts. He also told her there would need to be two witnesses seeing him engaging in such acts. At age 14 I got a part time job working as a fry cook and would purposely have the owner who was a neighbor schedule me to work the 3 of the days we were to attend the congregation. My sister who was older drifted away before me. My mother really wanted to leave my dad and decided to stop attending. She does get her divorce and actually remarries. It had been like 2 years and they sent her cousin and another witness to the house to let her know she had been disfellowshipped. She said she cut ties with them and to go to hell. I get job at grocery chain Jewel/Osco and there are two witnesses that worked there and I could say hi but was completely ignored. As a kid I did hear Elders go onto the stage and verbally say over the mic that so and so has been disfellowshipped and there is to be no association or communication with that person and the case I recall was fornication. She continued to attend and I want to say maybe with time and devotion maybe there is some kind of reinstatement. I was in my early 20's and did attend a church where the pastors son said I could receive salvation by confessing my sins to Jesus. Back then I thought this was the ultimate sin. In my later 20's I was watching the 700 club and called their toll free number to accept Jesus as my lord and savior. The Jehovah's Witnesses is surely a cult and the sad part of it is even those who are devoted still live with doubt if they will be resurrected after Armageddon is over and the New World comes. As I dug into it some the Jehovah Witnesses as well as the Mormons were created by 33rd Degree Freemasons.