Jehovah's Witnesses = Nonviolent noncooperators?

[Otosan]

When a JW or one of  Bob Jones followers come to my door....I just tell them I am Catholic and they are wasting mine and their time.  They leave and never come back.   

But if you once talk to them or let them know you are Southern Baptist or other, they will keep coming back. 

And no I am not a Catholic, but some where between a Deist and an Agnostic.   

[Kat Kanning]

don't do that, you may not like the answer.... (i found out tht Al Gore is my dad's second cousin, and almost puked)

Can we let a son of Al Gore's second cousin on the forum?      

[Pat K]

I always tell the JW my standard line.= Dont come here early in the morning trying to take me to heaven, I was up all night working hard to go to Hell.


They leave kinda swiftly after that.

[Lloyd Danforth]

The next time I'm going to ask for help with my genealogy!

don't do that, you may not like the answer.... (i found out tht Al Gore is my dad's second cousin, and almost puked)

I've done enough of my genealogy to know I won't endure the Horror you must be going thru!

[Michael Fisher]

You should read the Bible Mike ..... it is just chuck full of good stuff

Jesus kept telling people that his kingdom was not of this earth .... people didn't believe him then and JWs don't really get it now. But he sure did buck the system.

The main problem with JWs is that they love "the law" and have tons of rules to follow .... they don't understand that whatever good we do will never be enough to please God.

This bible is quite different from all the others I've read.? The JWs' religion misinterprets their own translation, in my opinion.

It sounds like Jesus was a radical anti-government noncooperator who sacrificed his life to stop the practice of crucifixion.

[Russell Kanning]

The JWs' religion misinterprets their own translation, in my opinion.

It sounds like Jesus was a radical anti-government noncooperator who sacrificed his life to stop the practice of crucifixion.

They will just change it. 

Naaaaaa it didn't have anything to do with the method of execution.... it was much much bigger than that
  .... although that last day is a study in how authorities deal with innocent men that are falsely accused ... they don't know what to do

[Michael Fisher]

The JWs' religion misinterprets their own translation, in my opinion.

It sounds like Jesus was a radical anti-government noncooperator who sacrificed his life to stop the practice of crucifixion.

They will just change it.?

Naaaaaa it didn't have anything to do with the method of execution.... it was much much bigger than that
? .... although that last day is a study in how authorities deal with innocent men that are falsely accused ... they don't know what to do

Hmmm... it sounds like I'll need to do much more research on this.   ???

[Caleb]

First, just several comments about the discussion here.  One, the Witnesses Bible (The "New World Translation") is not at all the most accurate translation.  I personally have a copy; it reads very awkwardly.  It was translated by a group of men, (with one exception) with no more than high school education.  One, and only one, of the translators (Fred Franz) had any training in Biblical Greek, and even Mr. Franz had no training in Biblical Hebrew.  The parts of the Bible that you are stressing as being "anti-government" are not unique to the Witnesses translation, but can be found in any version of the Scriptures.

Second, Witnesses, while distrustful of the government, are completely controlled by their Central "Governing Body" out of New York City that tells them what to think.  A Witness is severely censured and even expelled for doubting Witness beliefs, some of which are very strange.  This practice has torn apart many, many Witness families because when a member is expelled, other members are forbidden to speak with that member, under pain of expulsion.  The list of infractions over which a Witness can be expelled is very lengthy.  Among them:  use of cigarettes, use of blood in medical situations, voting, participating in political movements, any sort of sex outside of marriage, oral sex within the marriage, serving in the military, doubting a Witness teaching, excessive masturbation, entering a church other than a Witness church (for purposes other than a wedding or a funeral of a relative), speaking with a relative that has been expelled, being a whistleblower (a Witness is allowed to mention "wrongdoing" only to congregation elders.  If the Witness alerts other Witnesses or the media about a criminal, such as a child molester, that Witness will be expelled for "malicious slander"), remarrying after obtaining a divorce for other than "fornication".  And this list is by no means exhaustive.  Its just a partial list.  Many Witnesses that you meet at your door would gladly leave the religion, but fear losing their family over the decision. 

Third, the Witnesses do not participate in ANY volunteer activity, (with some few exceptions).  Those exceptions are if there is a horrible disaster, like the tsunamis, Witnesses will send supplies to other Witnesses.  Once all the needs of the Witnesses in the area are taken care of, they will then distribute excess supplies to others in need in the area.  That is the ONLY form of volunteer activity that Witnesses engage in, other than their preaching work.  So when they tell you how active they are in volunteer activity, that's what they mean:  They spend time knocking on people's doors and trying to convert them.  Witnesses operate no homeless shelters, no hospitals, no charities.  And due to the Prohibition against supporting "false religion" (defined as any religion other than their own), they usually refuse to support ANY secular charities (such as United Way, etc) out of fear that some of their money might go "to a church".  Thus, although Witnesses give a lot of money, almost all of it goes to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.  The Watchtower Society only rarely gives to individuals in need, using the vast majority of their funds for their "Worldwide Bible Education Work".

So that's the skinny on the Witnesses,

Caleb

[tracysaboe]

I met a very interesting woman today, a Jehovah's Witness.  We talked about the outlaw manicure event, freedom, and her religion for a while.

Apparently, the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is very rebellious, but in a nonviolent way.  They reject patriotism, national service, and most modern religions.  These people were killed during WW2 for refusing to do patriotic things such as the annoying practice of saying "hail Hitler" constantly.

This religion was the result of attempting to create a more accurate translation of the scriptures.  The "New World Translation" bible is a very direct translation with almost no interpretation added to it.

I seem to have a lot in common with her, though I reject some of the religion's main points.  At the end of the conversation, she pointed out this part of the book that I found quite amazing:

"1 Put on the complete suit of armor from God that YOU may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil; 12 because we have a wrestling, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. 13 On this account take up the complete suit of armor from God, that YOU may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after YOU have done all things thoroughly, to stand firm."

From reading some parts of the book referring to "government", the "system of things", or the "devil", some parts of it seem to speak about nonviolence, noncooperation, and similar concepts.

She also said they practice a lot of volunteerism.

Interesting stuff.  Research is ongoing.

They don't believe in pledging alligence to the flag, etc. Because they should only pledge their alligence to God.

When I told my mom I refused to say the pledge anymore, she said. "You sound like a Jahova's witness." I said a stopped watch is right twice a day. The Mormon church does a good job of administering church law and things, and doing things that "only government can" as well. I only wish Christian churches would start actually practicing what Paul preaches in how church law and discipline are suppost to be administered as well. I disagree with a lot of what the Jahova's witness and Mormon's believe. But both groups do have a solid tradition of doing their own thing and refusing to cooporate with government edicts when the time required it. I wish my fellow Christian brothern would -- as a whole -- start to show that same resolve. Some do -- but most nowdays it seems seem to blastphemiously equate the State with God now.  It's really sad to me when I see the church fullfilling the revelation prophesy that in the end times the church and the state would have an insestuous relationship. You'd think after reading their Bibles they'd gaurd against it instead of endorsing it. <Sigh>

Tracy