I just have some questions.

by FanofStoudemire 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  FanofStoudemire

  Hello,
  I am not sure how welcome i am here. But I had some questions and i have tried everything to find information about JW. I am only 16. So if I say something that is typed wrong or sounds mean or rood i apoligise. I have bad spelling also. I am a Christian and my aunt is JW. We dont talk at all anymore and it bugs me so much because we are family and we dont ever talk. I am not here to tell you about me religion and cause any arguements. I am here just to ask some questions and find some awnsers. Im here to do unto others as i would have them do unto me. Also when you awnser my questions if you put JW bible verses please quote them. ok to my questions.

  1. Why dont you celebrate holidays?

  2. Why dont you allow JW to get blood transfered?

  3. Is there such thing as like a relaxed version of JW? I know in christianity there are churches that dress up and do things old fashion ways. Then there are churches that do thinks more now days, dress casually and more relaxed.

  4. Why dont you plege to the flag? Do you guys atleast stand and take off a ball cap at a baseball game? Millions of americans died for the freedom for this country so you could have this religion.

  5. I understand you dont believed that Jesus died on a cross but moreso a pole or something like that. I talked to a guy about this. He made a big deal about it. But Couldnt a cross just be used as something to remember jesus' death? Just like a WWJD braclet?

  6.Last one. You dont believe the trinity. Wouldnt Jesus though have to be God in order to do mericles?

  If any of this is offensive to your religion or i said something wrong. I apolagize. Im just looking for awnsers and i figured this was the best place. Thank you for your time.

  God bless.
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  Panda

  Dear FanofStoudemire, First I am sorry that you and your aunt no longer have a good relationship because she is a JW. Actually, this forum (group) which you have posted to are ex-JW's. So most of us do salute flags, celebrate holidays, birthdays and dress however we like. Many who post here believe in a trinity and others don't. We are usually pretty civil about dissagreements and try to support one another in our choice to leave the JW religion. I hope your aunt will change her mind.
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  franklin J

  dear Fan,

  welcome to the forum. The posters you will encounter here are all X JWs who have left the faith for various reasons; not the least of which are because of some of the points you mention.

  Your questions are all valid ( not at all rude) and are all questions which some of US still wonder. The Jehovahs Witnesses are basically a fundamentalist christian faith. If your aunt; whom you mentioned;has previously joined and no longer spends as much time with you; do not take it personally. The JWs are a very insulated religion; and they do not ( as a rule) mingle with outsiders.

  To answer your questions in order:

  a) The JWs do not celebrate holidays because they believe them to be of "pagan origin". This also serves to identify them as different.

  b)They do not accept blood transfusions because of their interpertation of the Bible; believing it to be a direction from their creator to not accept blood in any form ( animal or human)

  c) There is no "relaxed form" of the Jehovahs Witness religion. It is an all encompassing way of life: is either black or white. You are either a practicing member or you are not. They do not tolerate anything " in between".

  d) The Jehovahs Witnesses do not salute the flag; considering their allegiance to only be to God. Your question is very appropriate and carries much weight: as you say; many died for the freedoms in this country and for the freedom to choose whatever religion one desires. The Jehovahs Witnesses do not recognize such freedoms as coming from men (they arttribute their good fortune and freedoms as coming from God); and do not acknowledge the privledges of which so many died for .

  e) as for the issues of the Cross and Trinity; these are doctrinal issues of which the Jehovahs Witnesses have their own interpertion of Bible text. They firmly believe that they are right and every other interpertation of the Bible is wrong.

  Rember; the JWs may be sincere in their efforts to worship God ( and what consciencious religious person is not?) However their closed mindedness and lack of tolerance for any other way of life and religion can be damaging to some. And they do not promote or encourage any kind of secular education; this in itself is reason to question.

  This forum is a very good source to learn about the Jehovahs Witnesses from those of us who have lived a life of it and found the teachings to be "deficiant".

  Good luck, Frank
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  bebu

  Hi Fan,

  I wanted to WELCOME you to the board. You ask good questions. I have not been a JW, but like you I care about someone who is, and this religion makes a difference in the relationship. Good for you for trying to research it out.

  To franklinj's good words I would simply say that I personally do not see JWs as a fundamentalist Christian faith. I see them as a fundamentalist cult that "uses" (as in, misues/abuses) Christian culture for the sake of a power pyramid of sorts for themselves. Their leaders admit that JWs' allegiance to the leaders/organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses must be higher than their allegiance to God, and the leaders are self-admitted false prophets. Nothing Christian at heart here, despite (mis)quoting the Bible.

  I think you would do well to look under "Best Of" to find some interesting posts and articles that strike your interest. You might also want to check out www.freeminds.org for more research.

  I hope your relationship with your aunt improves! Be patient... if she is online, there's a chance that someday she might stumble upon information such as this site provides.

  bebu
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  M.J.

  Hello and welcome. I am also a Christian with a JW in my life. I think the answers to your questions are pretty well summed up but by all means ask more questions if you'd like further clarification. As for your question about the cross, they have claimed that both the Bible AND historical findings confirm that Jesus died on an upright pole, and that the cross symbol is of pagan origin. Their leadership presents partial quotes and illustrations from various documents out of context in order to prove this. But the fact of the matter is that historical sources actually provide strong evidence that Jesus died on a cross. The Bible supports this too. Like you said, it's of little consequence for Christians, yet it serves as a way for them to say they're different (better) and another way from them to condemn those not part of the JW religion. Don't blame individual JWs though. It's what they're taught and they MUST accept it.
  

  Question for you: Amare, Damon, or Salim?

  Oh and Bebu:
  

  Their leaders admit that JWs' allegiance to the leaders/organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses must be higher than their allegiance to God

  Is this a documented admission? I'd be interested in seeing this.

  If you ask individual JWs, they'll tell you their highest allegiance is to Jehovah. But in practice, Jehovah = The Watchtower Society.
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  googlemagoogle

  1. Why dont you celebrate holidays?
  "pagan origins", "not viewed in a good light in the bible", and most of all, to be different.
  
  2. Why dont you allow JW to get blood transfered?
  they now allow most of the blood, like 99% IIRC. why not all? because of some strange interpretation of some bible verses.
  
  3. Is there such thing as like a relaxed version of JW? I know in christianity there are churches that dress up and do things old fashion ways. Then there are churches that do thinks more now days, dress casually and more relaxed.
  there's no relaxed version of the JW faith, but there are more relaxed JWs and congregations. what might be a big no-no in some congregations is allowed in others. this mostly depends on the elders and overseers.
  
  4. Why dont you plege to the flag? Do you guys atleast stand and take off a ball cap at a baseball game? Millions of americans died for the freedom for this country so you could have this religion.
  the JW would probably exist without that "freedom so many died for". they prosper when being under "persecution". persecution proves them right ("the world hates us because we are no part of it"). personally i don't understand why someone would salute a flag, but i guess it's a yankee thang.
  
  5. I understand you dont believed that Jesus died on a cross but moreso a pole or something like that. I talked to a guy about this. He made a big deal about it. But Couldnt a cross just be used as something to remember jesus' death? Just like a WWJD braclet?
  this one is just about being different.
  
  6.Last one. You dont believe the trinity. Wouldnt Jesus though have to be God in order to do mericles?
  according to bible "history" the prophets were doing miracles too. never heard anyone say they would have been god though. there are some texts that (seem to?) back up the trinity doctrine, but if you really want to discuss this with a JW, he'll most probably will have better arguments.
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  FanofStoudemire

  Hello,

  I want to thank you for the information you provided for me. Awnser to your question. Its Amare Stoudemire i am a fan of. The suns are red hot this season and I think they will win it all this year. O yea and amare will be MVP. lol thank you again.
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  FanofStoudemire

  I want to thank everyone. This really has helped me understand the JW. If I can ask how come everyone on here is X-JW. I just thought that it was for jw. Thank you again
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  Gopher

  Hey there, Stoudemire fan. I think the Phoenix Suns are doing great so far, and Amare Stoudemire is one of the fun NBA players to watch. My favorite NBA player currently is Kevin Garnett. I'd like to see a Timberwolves-Suns conference final (now that the Lakers won't be there).

  As far as why this board is mainly for ex-Witnesses, it's in part because we need a place to come and talk about the effects that the Witness religion has had on our life. It's good to know that we're not alone in some of the strange and harmful things we experienced while in that religion. (I was raised a JW, and had little choice but to be affected by it.)

  Further, the JW's are strictly told to avoid Internet religious sites except for their own official Watchtower website. They're told to get their religious information only from their organization, and that their minds will be polluted if they read books, magazines or web pages with anything but what they teach. They're afraid that their followers will leave what they call "the truth".

  So very few JW's will venture onto sites like this, unless they want to argue or perhaps are curious.
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  Truth2Me

  Hi there,

  Responding to your 3. question....while JWs are very strict, I have to say, based on my experince being in different congregations and reading about others on this forum, there are many veriations as to what is allowed or considered okay behavior depending on the local body of elders and the culture of the congregation. For example the dress of my first congregation was very formal and dressed up, but I would have been VERY out of place if I wore the same dresses at the last congregation I attended. It depends on that local cong for many "rules" about what is considered okay entertainment. There have been many times I would read about folks getting into trouble for listening to rock or heavy metal yet it was okay to enjoy that kind of music in my congregation.

  I was a "born-again" Christian prior to becoming a Witness, and I found, overall, that Jehovah's Witnesses were less strict than most Mainstream Christains.