They regard themselves as "true Christians".
Do you view them as Christians?
by minimus 52 Replies latest jw friends
They regard themselves as "true Christians".
Do you view them as Christians?
No . . . not by definition or character
But they are a model of first century Christianity.....
seriously . . . I don't think they bear the slightest resemblance to what first century christianity might have been like. Their selective cafeteria style scriptual applications are like the small print on an insurance policy . . . not what they seem
Their disregard for basic christian principles (do unto others . . . ), in favour of a legalistic application to support their organisational objectives, becomes more and more obvious the longer you've left. There an aberration of christianity . . . at best.
I might refer to them as a "Christian Cult" which is probably an oxymoron; perhaps a "cult of Christianity" then.
Individually, I would hesitate to say they could not be Christians. I have met some that I believe sincerely love Jesus Christ, but I question whether they actually have a relationship with Him. How can you come to, call on, and share your burdens with an angel? That's called spiritism.
No the JW's are not Christians. The bear no resemblance to the first century Christians. And they don't preach what Christ preached.
Unless "false Christian" can be accepted as a type of Christian? In which case they may qualify on that definition.
On an org chart of religions, they are most definitely Christian.
However, many Christians will regard them as being non-Christian, for a variety of doctrinal reasons.
From the outsider perspective, however, they must be classified as Christian, just as Osama bin Laden must be classified as having been Muslim.
They are an anti-Christ religion and how could they call themselves Christian when they replace the very cornerstone of the faith with imperfect men? They might as well call themselves "The Governing Body Order of Jehovah's Witnesses".
Few "Christian" religions resemble first century Christianity. That definitely includes Jehovah's Witnesses. The mainline churches, despite all their talk about having a "relationship" with Jesus and accepting him as a personal Savior, bear little or no resemblance to the Christianity presented in the New Testament either. Individuals can certainly be Christians, but I don't think organized religions are.
Quendi