Ask about Jehovah's Witnesses

[Rainbow Mage]

So how do Jehovah's Witnesses believe one recieves the Holy Spirit?

 

[Pegg]

So how do Jehovah's Witnesses believe one recieves the Holy Spirit?

we have to pray for holy spirit and God gives us a portion of it to help us actively express our faith. Its a strengthener in helping us to serve God and the evidence that one has holy spirit is seen in their fruits... the fruits of the spirit are as Galatians 5:22 states: "On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 mildness, self-control"

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Ok and how does Jehovah's Witnesses view Jesus as opposed to his being God?

 

[Pegg]

Ok and how does Jehovah's Witnesses view Jesus as opposed to his being God?

we dont view him as God. He said he was the 'son' of God so we veiw him as the son of God.

He is the very first of Gods intelligent creations. He is a spirit person like other angels except he is the foremost of the angels because he is the 'firstborn'

We view Jehovah as God Almighty. he is the Creator of the Universe.

 

[Jeremy Mason]

Who is addressing the seven churches in Rev 2-3?

 

[Pegg]

Who is addressing the seven churches in Rev 2-3?

that would be Jesus

 

[Jeremy Mason]

that would be Jesus

cool, I've had some JW's tell me it was God.

 

[Sententia]

thats not really the case and to assume that eating any meat at all is contrary to Gods laws about not eating blood simply ignores the fact that God permitted mankind to eat meat in the first place.

the process of draining the blood out is sufficient and in harmony with Gods requirement about blood. We are in no way superstitious about blood, if we were we might all be vegetarians.

I think you are bending the way I should deal with the door to door zealots. Usually I invite them in and have tea and chit chat. Its a walk down memory lane and then I send them on their way. I feel I should immediately say Hi welcome I want to invite you in but First tell me... your son has cancer and is in surgery and the surgery was a success but without a unit of blood he will surely die... Do you allow the unit of blood?

Sounds like a great way to begin having actually lived it. Then perhaps I should I lift my shirt and show the scars where the football sized cancerous mass was removed from the abdomen of a 7 year old.

Your claim to not have any superstitious beliefs regarding blood coalesces into a belief that Jehovah and not Ra or say Allah commanded thou shall not inject blood of another compatible human into thine vein even if said blood will then allow that person to continue life.

You're right... thats not superstitious... its just immoral.

 

[Jensen]

However, parents do have rights about how their children will be raised, what school they will go to, where they will live, what sort of clothing they will wear, who they can associate with, which parties they can attend, when they can have their first alcoholic drink...parents are endowed with the responsibility to make these decisions

as soon as you take away a parents right to choose medical treatment, you are destroying the fundamental rights of everyone in their most basic setting

I agree with you that a parent should never prevent their child from receiving medical treatment...but there are a lot of different treatments out there and they are not all safe & acceptable. We want our kids to have the safest and best treatments that dont contravene our religious convictions. Blood happens to be one of those treatments that we do not want.

Hi Pegg,

What if the child or adult is not yet baptized? Is it that when not yet baptizted they are not yet JWs, and therefore could have transfusions? One is not of a denomination until they are aware enough to accept the teachings and beliefs and are baptised into it. What are your thoughts on this?

Jensen

 

[Jensen]

other christians, and people of other religions...even JW's themselves, are in Gods hands. The form of worship he requires is set out in the scriptures. We all need to ensure that our form of worship is 'clean and undefiled from the standpoint of God' as James stated.

So, any of us may think that we are doing what is required, but if God does not see it that way then we may find ourselves on the wrong end of the stick so to speak. When Jesus said "not everyone saying to me 'Lord Lord' will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens, will" he was speaking about christians....those who were claiming to be calling on his name.

So all of us are in the same boat when it comes to salvation. We are striving to apply the scriptures as we see fit...others will apply them as they see fit... in the end God will decide.

Hi Pegg,

Being that Jesus and his apostles and disciples were of the Jewish faith I do not think that Jesus was speaking to Christians as the disciples were not called Christians until Acts 11v26, which I think would have been sometime after Jesus' death. What say you?

Jensen

 

[Pegg]

Hi Pegg,

What if the child or adult is not yet baptized? Is it that when not yet baptizted they are not yet JWs, and therefore could have transfusions? One is not of a denomination until they are aware enough to accept the teachings and beliefs and are baptised into it. What are your thoughts on this?

Jensen

yes you are absolutely right on that, we do not expect our bible studies to take the stand on blood that we take. It has to be wholly their decision and based on their conscience. They will learn about the laws of God during their study and will have to make a decision on all of them...not just blood.

In the case of a JW's child, its a bit different because parents have to make decisions for their children until they are of an age when they can make their own decisions. We dont give the 'medical directive' card to our kids to carry, but we do have Identification cards which state that the parents are JW's and must be contacted in medical emergencies.

 

[Pegg]

Hi Pegg,

Being that Jesus and his apostles and disciples were of the Jewish faith I do not think that Jesus was speaking to Christians as the disciples were not called Christians until Acts 11v26, which I think would have been sometime after Jesus' death. What say you?

Jensen

no im not saying he was calling them christians, im saying that he was speaking about those who were calling on his name. Those who put faith in Jesus as their Lord and call on him their Lord.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

These ones who Jesus is speaking about are those who claim to be teaching and prophesying in his name....they believe they are his followers...collectively they are christians, but im sure you realise that not everyone who claims to be christian actually are christian.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Just wanted to thank you Pegg for your answers. I'm learning more about Witnesses then I ever have. I have another for you.

How do the Witnesses view the Bible? As the literal, infalliable word of God, or is some of it metaphors and spiritual as opposed to entirely literal and historical?

 

[Pegg]

Just wanted to thank you Pegg for your answers. I'm learning more about Witnesses then I ever have. I have another for you.

How do the Witnesses view the Bible? As the literal, infalliable word of God, or is some of it metaphors and spiritual as opposed to entirely literal and historical?

you are certainly keeping me busy

We view the bible as the inspired word of God. We believe that it is infallible but we dont believe that the translators were infallible...we recognize that mistakes have crept in...some deliberate, others simply human error.

Much of it is written and understood as metaphors or symbolic with meanings that have literal fulfillement (Daniels vision of the beasts the come up from the sea)...most of it is historic factual accounts of real life events (Noahs arc, flood, babel, exodus) Some accounts are parables for teaching lessons or explaining truths, as in many of Jesus illustrations (wheat and weeds, seeds of the kingdom, the vinyard and the vine)

Thats why when we read the bible, we read it as if it is correct and we are wrong. If our idea conflicts with a bible passage or verse or teaching, we assume that we must be wrong and the bible is right.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Ah I see Pegg, so Witnesses take the Bible's accounts of the flood, Exodus, etc. as literal historical events in light of lack of archeological evidence?

 

[Pegg]

Ah I see Pegg, so Witnesses take the Bible's accounts of the flood, Exodus, etc. as literal historical events in light of lack of archeological evidence?

the evidence for a flood is here on earth...it just depends on how you read that evidence.

But our main reason for accepting the flood account as a literal event is that Jesus Christ himself viewed it as a real event...and he was alive in the heavens when it occurred. So if anyone's testimony is good, it is Jesus testimony.

We also see that the NT writers believed these accounts to be real events.

 

[averageJOE]

Dosen't the idea of living forever on a paradise earth seem impossible?

 

[Pegg]

Dosen't the idea of living forever on a paradise earth seem impossible?

forever only seems impossible because its never been experienced

The funny thing is that most of mankind have some belief that they will exist forever...just in another form such as a spirit....but we've never experienced that either so why is that so much more believable?

look up 'telomeres'

it is the answer to the aging process and the fact is that if scientists could actually find out how to prevent the telomeres from becoming damaged during the cells replication process, then we could live forever.

And the paradise part...well we already live in a paradise - we've just screwed it up somewhat.

 

[RitalinO.D.]

I read much earlier in this thread that WOJ said that JW's take the bible and all the events literally, and there are no contradictions. How do JW's explain the several instances in the bible where Incest is strictly forbidden, yet the story of adam & eve is obviously incest. That would appear to be quite a large contradiction.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I read much earlier in this thread that WOJ said that JW's take the bible and all the events literally, and there are no contradictions. How do JW's explain the several instances in the bible where Incest is strictly forbidden, yet the story of adam & eve is obviously incest. That would appear to be quite a large contradiction.

How do you figure?

BTW - for contradictions in the Bible, I'm partial to Proverbs 26, just because it lays out the contradictory statements so nicely:

4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.