The primary difference is worship. As others have pointed out, what takes place at Kingdom Halls is primarily study and indoctrination, though it may be called worship. That being said, denominations do vary. Some Protestant or Evangelical churches are closer to the JWs, but their worship consists in having more prayer or singing. To really get an idea of worship, you need to attend what is known as a liturgical church - Episcopal (Anglican), Roman Catholic, or Orthodox. These services do tend to be repetitious, but the point is that God is given the glory - people are not just learning facts about God. So it's up to you if you want to attend some services (on the sly if you're still JW) and see for yourself.
Justin
JoinedPosts by Justin
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19
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHURCH AND KINGDOM HALLS???????
by vitty inas i have never been to a church service ( except a wedding which i thought much nicer than our cold and impersonel talks) i wonder if they are as boring and repetitious as our meetings?.
i used to think it was me, that i wasnt spiritual or appreciative enough.
i was so bored.. we would have a talk in the service meeting about how some complain about too many meetings or going over the same stuff, and then promptly say it was our fault!.
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The Battle For God
by Shakita ini have been reading a book by karen armstrong entitled: the battle for god.
in this book she relates the history of the big three religions, christianity, islam and judaism from about the 1400's to our day.
i highly recommend this book for everyone here to read.
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Justin
Mr. Shakita,
Others have answered your questions very well, but since you have asked me, I wanted to make some sort of reply. I don't recall the Society ever claiming that the pre-1914 period was peaceful. Perhaps they have, and someone can offer a quote. What they do is contrast the "wars and rumors of wars" in Matthew 24 with 'nation rising against nation.' (verses 6-7) They claim that previous wars were not so bad as the First World War, and therefore the "sign" of the last days did not appear until 1914. This is the contrast - between bad and worse, not between good (pre-1914) and bad (post-1914). But Russell didn't even have this contrast. He had to apply the earlier parts of the prophecy to general conditions throughout the Christian era, what he called "The History of Eighteen Centuries Briefly Foretold." (See The Battle of Armageddon, Study XII, "Our Lord's Great Prophecy.") Russell thought that the time of the end had begun in 1799, and the final part, the "harvest" period, had begun in 1874. Russell felt that the troubles of his own day were signs of the end, even if he did not use the same predictions as modern JWs do to prove that. Surprisingly, he also used some good aspects of his world prove that the end was near, which modern JWs do not do. For example, he thought that the words of Daniel, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased," (Dan. 12:4) referred to modern transportation and communication technologies (such as the railroad and telegraph). But he thought that too much leisure time created by modern conveniences would lead to the great trouble at the end.
Regarding Darby, I don't recall Russell ever acknowledging Darby personally. But neither was Russell as exclusive in his thinking as modern JWs. He acknowedged a debt to William Miller and even to Miller's disciple, Nelson Barbour, with whom Russell had ceased to collaborate. Russell had no idea of a true and exclusive organization, and believed that all who contributed spreading the "truth" concerning the end-times were his fellow laborers. If you study the Bible Student movement (the Bible Students have attempted to adhere more closely to Russell's original teachings than the JWs have), you will find that they acknowledge a debt both to Advent-type thinkers and also to earlier scholars who attempted to continue in the Reformation tradition. The idea of the exclusive "organization" is another post-Russell feature of JWs which should not be confused with his own thought.
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Bible Answers
by Justin inin coc, ray franz stated that, when he was a member of the writing department, he found older bible commentaries quite helpful to use for research.
now you can locate these types of commentators, such as adam clarke, albert barnes, and matthew henry online.
check out http://studylight.org/com/ and http://bible.crosswalk.com/commentaries .. the advantage of these commentaries is that the writers believed the bible to be the inspired word of god.
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Justin
In COC, Ray Franz stated that, when he was a member of the Writing Department, he found older Bible commentaries quite helpful to use for research. Now you can locate these types of commentators, such as Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, and Matthew Henry online. Check out http://studylight.org/com/ and http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries .
The advantage of these commentaries is that the writers believed the Bible to be the inspired word of God. They would harmonize apparent contradictions rather than presenting them in such a way as to invalidate the Bible. Some who ask Biblical questions simply don't want to be shown that another part of the Bible may say something quite different, or that some Biblical event or person wasn't historical, or that certain Biblical teachings may be traced back to nonbiblical or even pagan sources. Well, now you don't have to be exposed to such a "critical" approach.
In using the commentaries, remember that your questions must be based on specific Bible verses. Also, remember that such commentaries may not be helpful for doctrine, as the Society has had over a hundred years to develop its arguments against "Christendom." Questions must be regarding the meaning of scripture passages in general.
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The Battle For God
by Shakita ini have been reading a book by karen armstrong entitled: the battle for god.
in this book she relates the history of the big three religions, christianity, islam and judaism from about the 1400's to our day.
i highly recommend this book for everyone here to read.
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Justin
Russell was well aware of the arms race taking place in his day. One only needs to read Studies in the Scriptures, Volume IV, Study V ("Babylon Before the Great Court Her Confusion - National"), first published in 1897, in which he states: "The fear of impending revolution is driving every nation in 'Christendom' to extravagant preparations for war." (p. 133) It's online at http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbnon/htdb0111.htm . Russell was expecting a class war between capital and labor, and thought that the armaments would be used to try to put down the revolutionaries. He initially expected this struggle to be finished by 1914. See my posts on "Russell's Armageddon" - http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/83014/1.ashx and http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/83015/1.ashx .Russell had no incentive at all to portray his age as a time of peace, as he thought that the last days had commenced prior to 1914. But after his death, the Society had every incentive to contrast the pre-1914 period with the post-1914 one, because now 1914 was being heralded as the beginning of the end.
Some historians would consider the period between the defeat of Napoleon (1915) and the outbreak of World War I to be a relatively peaceful one, though it did experience the revolutions of 1848, the American Civil War, the Boer War, etc. I do think 1914 was a major watershed in history. But we mustn't confuse Russell's thinking with that of his successors.
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WHEN DID APOSTACY SET IN?
by badboy in.
the jws claim to be a restoration of 1st century christianity,when did apostacy set in in theeir mindset?
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Justin
I think both the Society and the Protestants, if they could, would like to say that the apostasy really occurred in the fourth century with Emperor Constantine. But this is a difficult position, because for the JWs the early church fathers were too orthodox, and for the Protestants they didn't place enough emphasis on grace. So both end up with an earlier apostasy that actually begins with the death of the last apostle, John, around the end of the first century.
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Can someone take me through what it means to start/do a "study"?
by wordlywife inwhen i attended with my husband, (i am not jw, he is over 20 yrs.
) i was asked many times who i was studying with, are you studying, etc.
i didn't know what they meant, husband never pressures me with this kind of questioning.
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Justin
It can't be emphasized too strongly that the method of study consists in answering the questions at the bottom of the page in whatever publication they are using. The answer is found in the corresponding paragraph. So, you really end up giving their answers to their questions. If you have attended any meetings, especially the Watchtower Study, you have observed them answering questions parrot-like. This is what you would be doing in your own home if you study with them. It's the closest thing they have to actual "brainwashing," but technically I don't consider it such. I'm sure that many people, if they had read a few publications through on their own rather than allowing themselves to be led step by step in a study, would not be JWs today.
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Jw view of resurrection: will it be you who is resurrected???
by chuckyy ini have always had a problem even when a jw with the wtbs view on the bodily resurrection.
if your body is destroyed following death, and there is no soul, what then is being resurrected???.
?.....its a new body and only a recording of your thoughts that was in gods memory that is put into this new body......how can it truly be the same person???
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Justin
This is where the old accusation that JWs believe in "soul-sleep," if not accurately representing their beliefs, would at least present something more logical. If there were some essence that survived the death of the body, even though it might be unconscious between death and resurrection, there would at least be some continuity between the person who died and the person who is resurrected.
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Why I am leaving JWD
by logansrun ini'm leaving this forum...at least temporarily.
as i mentioned in conversation over dinner at the chicago apostafest, my upcoming school schedule (which begins next week) combined with my workload will make it very difficult to be an active member on this forum.
perhaps i'll check in occassionaly when life is a little slower but for now i'd better distance myself from the on-line scene or else the other elements in my life will suffer.
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Justin
Thank you so much for putting things in perspective.
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'Beyond The Da Vinci Code' [now, on History channel]
by sf inhey golf, you will enjoy this.
hope you can tune in my friend.
skally
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Justin
I recommend reading Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code by Bart D. Ehrman, published by Oxford University Press in 2004. Ehrman is a critical scholar who provides his readers with the latest information and does not require them to return to some sort of fundamentalism to avoid the errors of The Da Vinci Code.
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Don't wanna be a JW...Don't wanna be ex-JW
by FreedomFrog inok...i definitely don't want to be jw any more.
i just want to be me.. on average, how long does it take to give it up?
to move on?.
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Justin
It's something you might always relate to in one way or another. What that relationship may be might change from time to time. There are various adaptations. I used to think of myself as an ex-cultist, but I don't anymore. It's like a foundation for your personality has been laid, and you can't change the foundation. You can only decide what you want to build on it.