I went to Psalm sunday at the Methodist church this past weekend . They put on a musical combined with a drama . It was so eerily like a JW convention drama that it gave me the willies . They did the split stage scene thing with modern day and first century (dressed just like they do at jw drama's) . The lesson was all about how as Christians they need to go out and speak to others about their beliefs . They had just sent a youth group to a special seminar teaching them how to share their faith using a formula( one step I remember was persuasion ). In the following 48 hours the teens were to go door to door collecting can goods and then sharing their message . AAAHHhhhhhhhhhh dejavue !!!!!! and i was really starting to like this church.......
Do they do this in other churches too ?
by troubled mind 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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JeffT
Yes they do. My wife and I reconfirmed ourselves as Christians at an Easter Service in 1989. But ours looks nothing like a JW drama. They use professional actors and a full orchestra for starters. And they don't care if you join there church or go somewhere else.
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Pahpa
There are many churches which can be classified as actively "evangelical." These stress the importance of witnessing to neighbors and friends about the gospel of Christ. But there is a significant difference between them and JWs. They are not required to preach so to be counted as members in good standing. And they generally do not count their time....although they may share their experiences.
We have a local Baptist church (in reality a community church) that puts on a drama about the last supper. Each "disciple" tells his story and asked if he is to be the betrayer of Christ. It is quite well done for an amateur group. And a number of non-members attend the service. I attended last year and enjoyed the presentation. There was no pressure to join or to attend the church.
I don't think we can draw the conclusion that these churches are the same as the Watchtower just because some aspects remind us of our own experiences. And while the motive may be to encourage others to attend and to become members of the church, we must remind ourselves that this should be the goal of all Christians.
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Ditto
I suppose most church's want to spread their message. The one exception I can think of is the Jewish religion. They do not seek recruits, but most others do. The main difference between these other religions (I am Catholic) and the JW is that salvation is not tied to doing works - any type of works. The kids will not be judged if they come back to the church empty handed (well hopefully they brought back some cans). The kids in the Methodist congregation have not been brainwashed with specific ideas and dogma to present to their neighbors. It would take far more than one course to get these kids to the mind numbing point of JW knockers. They are probably just hoping to spread the Good News of Jesus' promise of salvation.
As far as the Passion Play goes, I was the director of the Passion Play at my church. They probably all pretty much look the same. You will always find some similarities between Christian churches and the JWs, but keep in mind that at most other churches you are free to question and free to doubt openly and you will not be DF. God is the judge, not your fellow congregants.
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5go
Argubly there are only three things only witnesses do that no other religion does.
1 Two witness take down.
2 Blood ban.
3 The two christian classes Earthly, ( other sheep the only religion that believes it is possible to restore the earth after the big A unless you count Islams view on it ) and Heavenly. ( with the 144,000 population limit )