by CHILD 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I heard that from many householders. i always told them I was/am a Christian. Now, after reading some of the old threads, I'm disturbed. The "other sheep" consider themselves Christian. My faith in Jesus never wavered. Maybe that's because of my Baptist upbringing.
Did I miss something all of these years?
Annointed=Christian?
Other sheep=Non-Christian?
The reason you heard that at the doors has nothing to do with sheep or annointed. It is because jw's have the wrong Jesus in the opinion of many Christians. To think Jesus could be an angel, the angel then ceased to exist? then nothing more than a mere man who died and was not raised bodily, then became Michael again and the person Jesus is where? a hybrid of Michael and Jesus? anyway, Christians think jw's do not have the right Christ but a made up one by their org and therefore do not consider jw's Christian.
This is an interesting paradox.
The anointed are considered "the True Christian congregation" and the non-anointed are companions or fellow workers of the True Christians. So, if the non-anointed are not part of the true congregation, are they to be considered Christian?
The publications are written in a way that one has to read between the lines to decipher that point. In fact, many of the articles contradict themselves in their reference of the term "Christian". One article will reference only the anointed as Christian but then the next article will speak of all JWs as Christian.
I think the confusion is on purpose. I think the official doctrine, though never plainly stated, is that only the anointed are True Christians. The WTS can never come right out and say that because many non-anointed would argue the point. So they let everyone think that JWs as a whole are Christians, thus confusing not only those that study with JWs but the majority of JWs themselves.
"Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day". -John 6:53-54
Those who do not partake of the "emblems" at "the memorial", therefore, are wasting their time. Will Christ give them everlasting life, when they reject the symbols of His outpoured flesh and blood?
BA- Succinct.
There are two arguments from what I can see.
First, that the JWs don't put enough emphasis and faith in Jesus himself - rather everything is about Jehovah. They pray to Jehovah, they see their salvation in Jehovah (via Jesus...but Jesus appears secondary).
They think that Jehovah is "Almighty God" and Jesus is "Mighty God" - if both are "gods" then the JW's appear to believe in two "True Gods" - hence many Christians think that this is incorrect since there is only "one True God".
Jesus is seen as an Arch-Angel - and this lowering of him is a problem for most christians.
Secondly, most Christians see Jesus as Almighty God. JWs don't.....
Sirona
Secondly, JWs
Child,
No one can judge you and decide whether or not you truly are a Christian. Only Christ knows if you truly belong to him.
When I left the WT, I reflected on this same question which is "am I really a Christian?". I realized that in the beginning I wasn't sure because I had to admit that I did not really know Jesus. The Bible calls him the "chief perfector" of our faith. And Christ is the head of the church (congregation). But because the WT sets up two classes of Christians, one anointed and one other sheep class, the Other sheep class I was in really do not apply Jesus' words to themselves. So for me, I was not following Christ's footsteps and did not really feel like a Christian. I was under the false impression that Christ's teachings mostly applied to the 144,000 and I was not one of them.
According to scripture, all who believe in Christ, once they confess this, recieve God's spirit and become children of God. This number is not only 144,000 but ALL who accept Christ. Interestingly the WT is now re-opening the heavenly door, so to speak. A door they never should have tried to close on people to begin with.
So you have to ask yourself do you know Christ? Have you accepted him as your Master and perfector of faith? And if you have, have you recieved God's spirit yet which testifies that you have been accepted as one of his children?
The Apostle Paul does a great job of explaining how we can know if we have God's spirit or not in Romans chapter 8. I would suggest you read this chapter in another bible other than the NWT because the WT has changed many verses. If you do feel you have God's spirit you are "in Christ" then you are a Christian. So let no one else tell you otherwise. Also like BA brought out, if this is so, you will want to partake at the memorial. Being a Christian does NOT depend on anyones religious affiliation. In other words you do not have to belong to any particular group. Being a Christian depends on having a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. The one Jehovah has put in charge of all things, including the church at this time.
Recieving God's spirit is a very personal and beautiful thing. You literally become a changed person (new creation) and will find the Spirit of God opening your eyes of understanding of scripture up in a whole new way. And you will experience the "Peace of God" that transends all things. If you are not sure if you have fully accepted Christ or been anointed with the spirit, you can ask God to guide you in this endeavor. And I would suggest you read the Gospel accounts (in another Bible) and pray that God allow Christ to come to you and anoint you with the spirit. God promises whoever asks will recieve. And he was talking about the spirit.
If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me. Peace, Lilly
If you do not believe that Jesus is whe He said He was and have not accepted Him as your saviour; then you are not saved, and technically not a Christian. A Christian is a follower of Christ. To be a follower you need to believe that He was who he said he was and accept Him as your savior.
Many people consider JW's and Morman's to be Christians, but they are not. When you dig into their religion and find out to where they have Jesus, then that is when you find out whether they are Christian or not. He was not an angel; the bible states clearly that the angels are lower than man. Jesus is not below us. Also, the bible clearly states that there is only one true God. So for the JW's to state that Jesus is a God but not Almighty God is false also. Jesus made it very clear the He was Almighty when He was on earth.
So, I pray for those lost in cults like these. Many of them know no other way of life. It is really quite sad....
The Society describes the "great crowd" as mere "alien residents" who reside among "spiritual Israel". The "New Testament" was not written for them and they have no opportunity to become brothers of Christ in the new covenant. They are literally outside of the blessings that the NT describes Christians as having through God's grace; they only benefit by "extension". Rather, they have just an opportunity of salvation through their association with "spiritual Israel", as the Society claims.
As lovelylil already (much more beautifully) points out, no one can tell you whether you are a Christian or not. You have to determine what it means to be a Christian, and whether that applies to you. One basic definition of Christian is "one who follows Christ". If you do this, then of course you are a Christian.
Different religions will try to tell you what their version of "Christian" is. You can choose to subscribe to their definition, and receive their blessing, or not - and often they will contradict each other, so someone will always be around to tell you that you are not a Christain (by their definition).
Does being a Christain mean you believe certain things? Have a certain faith? Act a certain way? Only you can decide; and only you can decide if you achieve your definition.
Certainly the JWs believe themselves as part of that branch of religious thought called "Christianity". They also claim to be the one true version of not only Christianity, but of faith of any kind. The JWs consciously differentiate themselves from many Christian faiths by denouncing some of the more traditional beliefs of other Christian faiths. This of course causes a lot of animosity.
It seems just name-calling to tell you you're "not a Christian" - and about as meaningful as someone passing you on the street and swearing at you.
"Christian" today is pretty broad and encompasses a lot of variations.
I understand where the Christians who say this are coming from. Note I said I understand it - not that I agree with it. From the perspective of most Christians the WTBS is at heart an old testament religion. I have spoken to various church groupsl and I always tell them that saying this kind of thing doesn't help anybody.
