Jehovah's Witnesses ARE Christians, why do so many ex JW's deny this?

by nicolaou 114 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Ucantnome

  jwstudy

  If you say "JW are not based on the teaching of Jesus Christ because Jesus never teach 1914 and ..".

  The same is true of "Catholic are not Christian because Jesus never teach purgatory ...".

  I think the difference to me is that the teaching about 1914 is the good news that is being declared in fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 and tied to Romans 10:16,17 and therefore the servant in Isaiah 52/53 as was the good news declared by the apostle Paul whereas I don't think that purgatory is (I could be wrong). As a christian I think our faith and salvation is tied to the good news and needs to be true.
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  cofty

  Ucant - How is it you seem to have no idea what the christian gospel is?
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  Ucantnome

  what do you mean? maybe you are right.
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  snare&racket

  O/P

  some ex-JW's become religious in another faith, some become agnostic or atheistic.

  Those that become religious hold onto the delicious to move from one belief system to another by explaining that they are now true Christians and as a JW never was I.e. The two are worlds apart.

  I have noted many evangelical belief systems go out their way to define any belief system not their own as being non-Christian and to not know christ, because they believe they hold true beliefs and therefore are the only christians.

  When I have discussed scripture, theology, conflicting verses, questionable acts of 'god' or questionable morals of 'god' with many of these believers.... they have used the line that I was never a true Christian and therefore not qualified to really discuss it or have legitimate questions.

  What makes all this worse is that JW's have two characters Jehovah and Jesus, most christians have Jesus who was also God. This JW theology leads many to state that they have diluted the role of Jesus and therefore not Christian. Of course the JW's say the same of them.

  Put simply it's ...."we are right you are wrong".......a stance everyone has, despite conflicting beliefs.
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  nicolaou

  Here's an imaginary snippet of conversation between a JW and a mainstream Christian.

  "I agree, we share a love and respect for the Bible despite our differences but we have to be sure our beliefs are Bible based."

  "My beliefs are Bible based"

  "Take a look at (insert verse here - debate continues)"

  Who said what? Impossible isn't it?
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  slimboyfat

  If there really is a God who inspired the Bible and is the Heavenly Father of Jesus.. if all of that is true, then JWs and and mainstream Christendom can't both be right about Jesus. One teaches that he is the almighty, omnipresent, omniscient creator of the universe. The other teaches that he is a creature, his knowledge is limited, and he's not almighty. Both sides of this debate agree that these differences are so great that they disqualify the other side from being Christian.

  Of course if there is no God in reality then the details of such dogma seem pretty trivial. On that basis it's easy to see why atheists would have least problems with calling both groups Christians. But in doing so it's worth baring in mind they rely upon an assumption that the dogma doesn't matter because God doesn't exist anyway. An assumption that both JWs and Christians would strongly dispute of course.
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  LoveUniHateExams

  if all of that is true, then JWs and and mainstream Christendom can't both be right about Jesus - correct, good point.

  But Jesus/God is shy, lazy or apathetic. He could easily say who are Christians and who aren't but does not .

  Because of this divine silence it's probably best to take people at their word: those groups claiming to follow Christ are Christian, at least to some degree ...
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  cofty

  An assumption that both JWs and Christians would strongly dispute of course. - SBF

  No they wouldn't dispute it. They would assert it and then demand respect for their equally risible superstitions.
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  slimboyfat

  No they wouldn't dispute it. They would assert it and then demand respect for their equally risible superstitions.

  It sometimes seems like if I say grass is green you'll say not really. But you've got even me scratching my head to understand why you think this is a significant distinction here. Okay they "assert" it instead of "strongly disputing" it. Whatever.
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  slimboyfat

  But Jesus/God is shy, lazy or apathetic. He could easily say who are Christians and who aren't but does not .

  These are viewpoints that neither JWs nor Christians would accept of course. So if it's only that basis that both are Christians then there's a problem.

  It's as if atheists perceive the situation like two children arguing with one another:

  First child: I'm the king of the castle!

  Second child: no I'm the king of the castle!

  Adult: you are both king of the castle, now be quiet!

  That's the sort of level at which atheists seem to think they have "settled" this issue of who is Christian. The problem of course is that religious believers don't perceive themselves as squabbling infants and they believe the issue under dispute actually matters.