by AuntieJane 10 Replies latest watchtower bible
Just curious if this word is used as much in publications anymore. It seems to be the WTS is using
"Christians" in their writings and not the proverbial "Christendom". But I don't see too many of the
publications, so maybe I'm wrong. Just wondering if this is another way they are trying to appear
more like the rest of us normal (well, you know what I mean) ones.
When I was a JW, way back in the old days, we were not Christians. We used the word Christian and Christendom as a curse word. (Along with goat and black bird)
Now it seems, JW's have become Christians and it is a good thing to be and of course only they are Christians.
I'm not too sure what they call Christians who are NOT JW's now or when this all happened. Maybe it was when Jesus grew a beard.
As I recall (and it's been a long time), only JW are true Christians, any other religion professing to follow Christ is labelled ''Christendom''.
As I recall (and it's been a long time), only JW are true Christians, any other religion professing to follow Christ is labelled ''Christendom''.
I must be a "Christman" or a "little Christ" then because I follow Christ and am not a religion. I am an individual and, contrary to the WT lies God has always interacted with mankind on an individual basis.
AntieJane,
I too once thought it was only a negative label that the WT put on all other Christians, however the label has been around a long time and accepted with pride by many. From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
In its wider sense this term is used to describe the part of the world which is inhabited by Christians, as Germany in the Middle Ages was the country inhabited by Germans. The word will be taken in this quantitative sense in the article R ELIGIONS in comparing the extent of Christendom with that of Paganism or of Islam. But there is a narrower sense in which Christendom stands for a polity as well as a religion, for a nation as well as for a people. Christendom in this sense was an ideal which inspired and dignified many centuries of history and which has not yet altogether lost its power over the minds of men. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03699b.htm
It's just Christian Cults that like to point out the atrocities and failures of Christianity who choose to separated themselves from it by using this label.
Jst2laws
Thanks to replies.
I did realize the word is not just a JW idiom, but that it includes all of Christians. The JWs, however, used it negatively to refer to the rest of the world who follow Christ but are not JWs. The WTS did not call themselves a Christian organization because it would include them in Christendom. So it was another way to set them apart.
HOWEVER, now they do call themselves a Christian organization, which makes them a part of the Christendom they preached against all those years. Isn't this another Flip Flop?
I'm not really good at putting this in writing, hope you understand my thinking on this.
If you do read what Rutherford said about religion being a snare and a racket you can see that they did not like the idea of christianity as a religion but when it came time for tax breaks they had no problem with the new light on that one and call themselves a religion with clergy even. I think you are right they did change the word christiandom and started using the word "apostate" christians .
It has become a loaded language term, which slaps a negative label on all outsiders who are professing christians. It helps in restricting thought into simple black and white terms.
I always thought the full name for the membership was Jehovah's Christian Witness.
I don't think the name Jehovah's Christian Witnesses was used until fairly recent years...Help, anyone?
