These guys are most known for there intense devotion to their faith. We have all had our doors knocked on and have been approached on the street. We've all seen their Kingdom Halls and perfectly dressed members wandering the byways. It was Hitler who noticed their relentless proselytizing and stated that he wanted his followers to demonstrated the same level of devotion to the motherland. Oh yeah, and Michael Jackson is a JW too!
Charles Taze 'Scandal' . . . oops, I mean Russel
Charles, Charles, Charles. What can we say about Charles. Well for starters, he was a bigger scam artist then Joseph Smith. He was a ruthless business man and made every possible attempt to make a buck. It is heavily documented by the courts of New York and the Watchtower's financial documents that Charles owned 990 out of 1000 shares of the Watch Tower Society. This made him accountable to no one and he could freely invest and spend with absolutely no recourse.
The most interesting scandal that Charles dreamed up was his 'miracle wheat.' He claimed that this anointed wheat would create up to five times more bread then regular wheat. It went for dollar a pound. Jehovah's witnesses today insist that Charles didn't keep the profits of the miracle wheat but donated the proceeds to the watch tower society. Now to all you business men out there: Who do you think received all the money when it was donated? Why, it went straight to the man who owned 990 out of 1000 shares of the Watch Tower Society's stock. He was laughing all the way to the bank!
He was also announced as a perjurer from the courts in the trial Russell vs. Ross. Ross being a southern Baptist Pastor who blasted the character and credentials of Charles. You see, up until this trial, Charles Taze Russell told everyone that he was a highly educated man. He claimed to not only have graduated from the Ivy Leagues but also know Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Well, after the court case, the real Charles could be seen by all. The prosecutor held up a copy of the Greek alphabet and asked Charles to tell the court what each letter was. He could do no such thing. It was also revealed that C. T. Russell was kicked out of school at age fourteen and never received a higher education. It gets better folks. Charles admitted he wasn't even ordained! And it goes on and on. Russell himself denied the deity of Christ, the death and resurrection of Christ, the Trinity, the literal existence of Hell and complete atonement.
Down with the Trinity
God 'Jehovah' is the one true God and Jesus is His first creation. The Holy Spirit is the force, or power with which God carries out his will . All are distinctly different and independent from each other. This is the view of God that JW's hold true. If someone was to stray from this true knowledge of God, then they would be deceived by the Devil and led astray accordingly. Which, I'm sorry to admit, would be me and any other evangelical Christian.
I wonder what Jesus meant when he said that I and the Father are one (John 10:30)? If they are distinctly different I think Jesus would have said "I and the Father are distinctly different"...but He didn't. Instead, He affirmed the oneness of himself and God repeatedly throughout scripture.
The Holy Spirit, to a JW, is not a person, it is the 'force' of God. If anything needs doin' it's the Holy Spirit that does it. It is not one of the three persons of the Trinity. In fact, it is not a person at all. It is like a mist or a force or something...heck, I don't know. Watch Star Wars and you might understand! The hierarchy, to them, is ridiculously simple. There is the all powerful Jehovah God who created His perfect Son and uses the Holy Spirit to carry out his will.
Down with Hell
You know, we humans have incredible power. If we do not like the way things are set up, then we can simply reason it away and pretend it doesn't exist. Then we can live life happily ever after, in our ignorance. Well, in the case of Hell, our happiness lasts up until death. It is then that we realize that it doesn't really matter what we care to believe or what our particular preferences are. Hell has existed all along.
JW's don't believe in the existence of Hell for 4 reasons
1) Because it is wholly unscriptural
2) It is unreasonable
3) It is contrary to God's love
4) It is repugnant to justice
(LGBT,99)
I have some really major problems with someone saying Hell doesn't exist or we just go into an "eternal sleep". The first really, really big problem is Christ's' death.The whole process of Christ's' agonizing death was to save us from a very serious punishment. If there is no Hell, then what the heck was Christ saving us from?
Another very serious problem that I have is the parable of Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). You know the one. The rich guy is burning in Hell while the poor man is reclining at Abraham's Bosom. The rich guy is suffering immensely and begs for a single drop of water. Like a single drop a water is gonna help! Anyway, he actually makes the request to tell his family, who is still alive, about the existence of Hell and he is obviously awake and fully concious. How do JW's explain this one away? Or how about the Lake of Fire at the end of the millennium? The place where everything evil gets tossed in like a bag of garbage including all the people who rejected Christ!
The doctrine of Hell as a literal, eternal place of torment, is one of the most upheld truths of the Bible. Saying that Hell doesn't exist is the most foolish thing I can imagine. Especially when you try to use the Bible to prove your point.
**What the Bible says about Hell NOT being a giant slumber party: Mark 9:43–48, Daniel 12:2, Mathew 25:46, Matthew 24:51, Luke 3:17, Romans 2:8,9, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Jude 7,13, Revelation 14:10,11.
Fact: Hell is mentioned in the Bible 53 times
Down With Your Birthday
Can you imagine your life without holidays? Well, if you were a Jehovah's witnesses, that vision would be a reality. Any holiday, including your birthday is forgotten. That means no Christmas, Easter, the 4th of July, thanksgiving, wedding anniversaries, everything is gone. Although, I find it very difficult how someone could forget their own birthday or pretend like it's not Christmas morning. I think they know the dates but choose not to give them any attention. Now that's tough.
The reason why they do this is because they do not want to draw any attention away from Jehovah. Celebrating any holiday directs their devotion and attention away from God and onto themselves. They treat all days as if they were the same.
Down With Other Peoples' Blood
Under no circumstances will a JW accept a blood transfusion. Quite literally, they will croak before allowing someone else's blood to enter their body. They believe that accepting other peoples blood is allowing a bit of that person into their body. If you don't believe me, then go on- line to the JW's web site you can actually read stories of people who died rather then accept a blood transfusion. They are made out to be freaky hero's or something.
Their Re-Written Bible
Ever heard of The New World Translation of the Bible? No? Didn't think so. It is the translation that the JW's view as the true translation. It's funny how anyone would consider this the true translation as it is by far the absolute worst translation ever conceived. They flat out changed the scriptures to better accommodate their doctrine. I only give you one example but please research this one yourself. This one aspect of their faith totally obliterates their credibility. Check out John chapter one. In the NIV this is what it reads:
" In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God , and the Word was God." (John 1:1) NIV
Now check out how the New World Translation adds a subtle little addition.
"In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." (John 1:1) NWT
A simple 'a' was added in the end. This would then substantiate their claims of many gods that exist in our world today. It is appalling to see the whole meaning of a scripture verse change with no regard of the original Greek text. They simply added it in on a whim! If you want to believe in the existence of many god's in this universe then go ahead. Just don't change the Bible to accommodate your own beliefs. That, my friends, is very dangerous ground.
The Bottom Line
Unlike Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses do not want to be known as another denomination of evangelical Christianity. They are completely separate and are open to acknowledge that fact. It is also important to know that the JW's are not rapidly expanding. Their numbers have leveled off and are on a slight downfall. I think they have a tough time keeping members once the whole ball of wax of their doctrine has been exposed. There are many more aspects to their faith that can be brought up but you can research them on your own. (Like the 144,000 chosen and the different levels of Heaven). My desire is to teach you the basics and give you some ammunition just in case they come knocking on your door.
Jehovah's Witnesses
