Basic JW Doctrine (page 2)

crolson

Thank you everyone for your answers! I am not JW, I am Evangelical Christian, learning about JWs in a class called Contemporary Religious Movements. It sounds like most of you have left the Jehovah's Witnesses behind, and might still be hurting, just know that I'm praying for you:)

Sabin

Thank you Crolson that is very thoughtful of you. Yes lots have left & are very hurt by the injustices done. However I must say that this is so of all religions so while you may find many things wrong with the way the organization conducts itself I hope you will not be to judgmental on the every day jW who in the main are just trying to do their best. Their are lots of those on this forum.

mrquik

Don't worry about me. Please pray for the Buffalo Bills this football season. I want to see them win the Superbowl. I will definitely take that as a sign that the END IS NEAR!

Bonsai

Don't pray for us! Pray for my New England Patriots (who eat the Bills for breakfast every year) to go Undefeated and enter the halls of Valhalla!

Half banana

Welcome Crolson, I think you can see from the replies especially from those who were JWs, that they are indeed are hurt by their experience.Perhaps the 'beliefs' are not the reason for this because they are simply a variation on ordinary evangelist dogma.

JW teaching is essentially derived from 19th century Adventism and modified by CT Russell in the 1870s who started the Watchtower magazine to proclaim his personal and futile viewpoint on a second coming of Christ.

Through unsavoury power struggles at the top, the leadership has been trying ever since to give some credence to Russell's adventism (though they never use that word). The second coming ideas have been shuffled forward after each time the expectation of advent arrives and fails. It is only held together by threats of punishment namely death at Armageddon and shunning and by appeal to strict loyalty from the individuals to "God's organisation"... in reality to the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses. The incentive propagandised by them is for the purpose of receiving God's blessing in paradise alongside the unending claim (one hundred and thirty six years of it so far!) that Armageddon is just around the corner.

What has made the difference to us ex-JWs here is the realisation of having been grossly misled under the oppressive mind control of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It conforms to every description of what a cult is... which means that it is a cult, a shabby doomsday cult.

Vidiot

crolson - "Where does your teaching come from (which writings)?"

This guy, mostly...

Crazyguy

Actually the JW's, Franz stole most of the ideas and teaching of the religion from others. He like Russell was an idiot.

tornapart

hello Crolson, I'm a born-in JW, middle aged now, so know the doctrines well (but have rejected many of them). I still associate occasionally (for my husband's sake) but inside no longer consider myself one.

Anyway, here's the basics... They believe in an Arian God (no trinity) whose personal name is Jehovah. that he's the Almighty with a balance of qualities such as love, wisdom, justice and power. Jesus Christ is the Son of God but created by God, as a prehuman they believe he was Michael the Archangel. They believe he was solely human while he was on earth (albeit perfect, like Adam). They believe he was resurrected as a spirit (not a physical body, they believe that was consumed by God). Any body he had after his resurrection was a materialised one the same as they believe the angels have. They believe Christ is a ransom buying back the perfect life Adam lost, so that they can have perfect life again forever on a paradise earth. (Only 144,000 get resurrected to heaven). Death is the end of life, non existence. A life can only be regained by resurrection in the future. Salvation comes by belief in God and Christ, putting faith in them, dedicating oneself to God (meaning having to preach, attend meetings etc) It is a very works based religion... (although caring for the poor and needy is not that important, preaching is). Salvation also comes by being part of what they consider 'God's Organisation', one has to be faithful and obedient to it. Anyone that doesn't, won't have salvation and will be destroyed at 'Armageddon', God's war against mankind. After this war the earth will be restored to a paradise under God's Kingdom (Jesus as King along with the 144,000 resurrected from the earth). God's Kingdom is a government that is in heaven. During 1,000 years all the dead will be resurrected to earth along with the nucleus of the 'Great Crowd' (Jehovah's Witnesses) that survived Armageddon. After the 1.000 years anyone who doesn't worship God will be destroyed (again). All their teachings come from their interpretations of the bible, along with all their publications, especially the Watchtower magazine. The Holy Spirit is seen only as God's power, impersonal but can guide us. Sin is a missing of the mark of perfection inherited from Adam. It will only be completely gone when man becomes perfect at the end of the 1,000 years.

Hope that helps :)

WireRider

I realize this may sound obtuse, but for those that know can you explain how the WT/JW are the 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel?

Basic JW Doctrine

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