a visit from the Jehovah witnesses

[Runner]

What do y'all think?

I have the HIGHEST respect for the Jehovah's Witnesses. I welcome their visits and always accept and read their literature. I was interested enough that I bought about 30 of the earliest issues of the Watchtower, from around 1880, just to see if I encountered anything noticeably "weird." Not at all - I was frankly quite surprised. My wife who died of breast cancer was a devout Southern Baptist but did a Bible study with them for almost a year. Things went so far that they actually sent a senior teacher from the headquarters in Brooklyn to deal with some of her objections, but they were unfailingly friendly and polite and eventually simply agreed to disagree.

Is their rejection of the Trinity a problem? Certainly. Is their notion of the invisible return of Jesus in 1914, after previous promises of a visible return failed to materialize, pretty weird? Absolutely. Is their doctrine of the 144,000 kind of bizarre? Sure. Is Young Earth Creationism complete lunacy? Without question (oops, that's not the JW's, is it?).

But in terms of being sincere believers in what they claim to believe, living their lives in accordance with Christian principles, and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit, they are at the top of my list. Unless God cares a lot more about "correct theology" than I believe He does, I expect to see a percentage of Jehovah's Witnesses in heaven that is at least the equal of Southern Baptists or any other denomination.

But wait, they are "counterfeit Christianity." They are "leading people astray." They are a cult. They are - gasp! - Satanic. Well, OK, if that's what you want to think. I happen to COMPLETELY disagree. God will decide who was and was not a Christian, but I'm placing my bets on the Jehovah's Witnesses making the grade.

 

[jasonc]

I have the HIGHEST respect for the Jehovah's Witnesses. I welcome their visits and always accept and read their literature. I was interested enough that I bought about 30 of the earliest issues of the Watchtower, from around 1880, just to see if I encountered anything noticeably "weird." Not at all - I was frankly quite surprised. My wife who died of breast cancer was a devout Southern Baptist but did a Bible study with them for almost a year. Things went so far that they actually sent a senior teacher from the headquarters in Brooklyn to deal with some of her objections, but they were unfailingly friendly and polite and eventually simply agreed to disagree.

Is their rejection of the Trinity a problem? Certainly. Is their notion of the invisible return of Jesus in 1914, after previous promises of a visible return failed to materialize, pretty weird? Absolutely. Is their doctrine of the 144,000 kind of bizarre? Sure. Is Young Earth Creationism complete lunacy? Without question (oops, that's not the JW's, is it?).

But in terms of being sincere believers in what they claim to believe, living their lives in accordance with Christian principles, and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit, they are at the top of my list. Unless God cares a lot more about "correct theology" than I believe He does, I expect to see a percentage of Jehovah's Witnesses in heaven that is at least the equal of Southern Baptists or any other denomination.

But wait, they are "counterfeit Christianity." They are "leading people astray." They are a cult. They are - gasp! - Satanic. Well, OK, if that's what you want to think. I happen to COMPLETELY disagree. God will decide who was and was not a Christian, but I'm placing my bets on the Jehovah's Witnesses making the grade.

Have you been in that?

College,no it's a sin
Serve ,vote,own a gun ,sin
Donate blood a sin

In my day if I did this you were disfellowshipped meaning if my brother was one he couldn't talk to me .I know a few that were.

 

[daninthelionsden]

I conversed with JWs on a couple of times. I just told them the last time I talked with them that I believed in the Trinity and that there was no way I would ever abandon that. They wanted to debate it but I told them I had abandoned my belief in the Trinity only once before while I was in a cult as a young man. I told them my abandonment lasted less than half an hour due to a very sick feeling I had in my spirit and that I would never ever do that again. I told them I didn't want to waste their time nor mine. We talked some on the end times and then just before we parted ways they made a rather strange comment like "at any rate I don't think you will be violent toward us or mean harm to any of us in the end times" . I assured them I would never seek to harm them or anyone. We then parted on friendly terms.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

highly unlikely as they are going to rebuke if you are one of them. they have a whacky baptism. learn three books an then get baptized. then you might be allowed to live eternally on the earth. you aren't able to have communion as you must be one of the 144,000 . its the blue book an the you can live forever too , plus the Jesus the greatest man who ever lived

I think what he means is there are people in these fringe cult movements that simply don't know better...yet. They really do repent of their sins and ask forgiveness of God and rely on him daily and in time they realize that JW simply doesn't support the truth of scripture and the witness of the Spirit within them and they eventually leave the organization.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

OK. I hear rumbling on the front porch. I was praying out loud, so I'm thinking...great. Its my probation officer, its a delivery person, I'm going to seem crazy. Guess what?

Jehovah's Witnesses! It went surprisingly well. I had my phone in my hand when I answered the door. They made a comment about it and I brushed it off, "I'm just a big weirdo who takes my phone everywhere, sorry," and then they started the convo.

They brought out a Bible and I asked what denomination they were from. They said Jehovah's Witnesses, and I said I was raised Presbyterian and now lean Pentecostal, so think we're coming at it from a different angle. They said "we want you to know that we believe in Jesus, that we're Christian," and I said "I do know, we're just approaching it differently," and then we made polite good byes and they were off.

Did I do the right thing? God know the very intentions of our hearts, so I think maybe they are Christians, just Christians in serious error.

What do y'all think?

You did well.
It seems they are changing their techniques.
Years ago when they would come to my house they would ask questions to draw out hot points to spark discussions about their views. Then we'd duke it out.

 

[Corn Pop]

2 John 1:10

JW do not follow the Apostles doctrine.