What is the difference between JW and Protestant?
First of all why JW was created? And how is it different from Protestant? Do they use the same Bible?
I am actually interested in JW teaching… Protestant seems to be all twisted and split too much.
The history of the JW movement is quite strange, and they aren’t going to tell you about it when they show up at your door. They use their own version of the Bible that they translated themselves and which has been modified to support their views. I don’t think they are truly a protestant church because a true protestant is one who has left the Catholic church under protest. By that definition, JW’s might individually be protestant but the group overall never had any affiliation with the Catholic church. They are widely viewed as a cult and their teachings deny many of the essential truths of Christianity (the deity of Christ, the Trinity, the existence of Hell, etc.) so many people deny that JW’s are even truly Christian.
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January 01 2010 06:44 am | Protestant
Miss Information on 01 Jan 2010 at 12:29 pm #
JW’s aren’t allowed to protest against their leaders because they will get disfellowshiped.
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Rossonero NorCal SFECU on 01 Jan 2010 at 12:47 pm #
There’s a significant difference on who Jesus is (God vs. a good guy). I don’t know any protestant denomination who felt the need to correct the bible or come up with dates for the 2nd coming of Christ (though sadly individual protestants did the latter).
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witnessofJesus on 01 Jan 2010 at 1:15 pm #
JWS are more strict! they go farther into paths of fanatical interpretation.
but at the same time it is commendable
people who are devoted to God and are "righteous" are accepted by God Acts 10:34-35
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Darth Eugene Vader on 01 Jan 2010 at 1:25 pm #
Jehova Witness are a cult who separated from protestatism.
Do they use the same Bible? No, they (JW) use their own.
"I am actually interested in JW teaching… Protestant seems to be all twisted and split too much."
I Advise you to not go into JW / Watchtower Society.
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Suicidal Joshua on 01 Jan 2010 at 2:05 pm #
None, they both believe they are right and going to heaven and the other is wrong and going to hell
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libby B on 01 Jan 2010 at 2:23 pm #
I can tell that you are genuinely looking for an answer to your question. I found satisfying answers to questions like the one you stated by going to "www.Watchtower.org." There is no obligation and they are happen to answer any question you may have about the Bible and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
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Lion of the tribe on 01 Jan 2010 at 2:40 pm #
JW do not honor the Son
”For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
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emptywun on 01 Jan 2010 at 2:47 pm #
The history of the JW movement is quite strange, and they aren’t going to tell you about it when they show up at your door. They use their own version of the Bible that they translated themselves and which has been modified to support their views. I don’t think they are truly a protestant church because a true protestant is one who has left the Catholic church under protest. By that definition, JW’s might individually be protestant but the group overall never had any affiliation with the Catholic church. They are widely viewed as a cult and their teachings deny many of the essential truths of Christianity (the deity of Christ, the Trinity, the existence of Hell, etc.) so many people deny that JW’s are even truly Christian.
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Wendi888 on 01 Jan 2010 at 3:05 pm #
Jehovah’s Witnesses are quite different from Protestants. We don’t believe in non-scriptural doctrines like hellfire, the immortal soul and the trinity. We will use any Bible. Personally I learned about the Bible using the King James Version and Revised Standard, but we usually use the New World Translation in modern English.
Since Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the Bible and especially the Christianity of the apostles and Jesus’ disciples you’ll find all JWs believe the same things. There are no divisions. We are, however, hated by many, just as Jesus said his followers would be. We are totally neutral when it comes to politics, nationalism and war.
For an overview of what we believe with Biblical references, check out the website below. Also feel free to email me with any questions. I’m sure other Witnesses here would be glad for you to ask them as well.
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm
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One of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Ratchet on 01 Jan 2010 at 3:10 pm #
JWs do not believe in immortal soul. THe bible teaches humans do not have an immortal soul. (Read Eccl 9:5,10)
I suggest personally talk to a JW. you can also visit http://www.watchtower.org
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rayzinside on 01 Jan 2010 at 3:55 pm #
1. JWs were created just like all other cults, Someone wanted to start their own cult.
2. They are different from Protestant is that they do not believe the same about Jesus. This is the main difference. There are many more.
3. They do not use the same Bible. It looks, feels, and taste like the same Bible but it is corrupt.
Protestants believe in the Trinity. JWs do not. It is the JWs that is all twisted up. You better think twice before you become a JW. You better learn all about them that you can. I refer to the Mormons and the JWs as the black widows of religions, with the JWs being the worst of the two. They will "kill you", spiritually and emotionally speaking of course.
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Unsilenced Lioness on 01 Jan 2010 at 4:31 pm #
Yes
They do not recognize the divinity of Christ and are not Christian
No
You think Protestantism is twisted get involved with the Witness cult
Has the Jehovah’s Witness’ god performed the greatest act of love?
by Matt Slick
According to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, God is not a Trinity and Jesus is not God in flesh. Because of their position, I sometimes ask the question, "From your perspective, has Jehovah performed the greatest act of love?" I get different answers but because they have not been indoctrinated by the Watchtower Magazine regarding this question, they often actually think on their own instead of repeating what the Watchtower says. Still, the Jehovah’s Witness almost always says that the greatest act of love performed by God was sending His Son to die for us. This is a good answer, but is it correct? I then quote them what Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends," (NASB). The KJV says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." The Jehovah’s Witness Bible, the New World Translation (NWT) says, "No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends."
We can see that the greatest act of love is to sacrifice one’s own life for another. Note that Jesus said that this self sacrifice is the greatest act of love. I then again ask the Jehovah’s Witness, "From your perspective, has Jehovah performed the greatest act of love?" That is when the real problem arises for the Jehovah’s Witness.
I tell them that as a Trinitarian, God has performed the greatest act of love. Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14). Therefore, God has laid His life down for a friend; He has performed the greatest act of love that someone can do — just as Jesus said. I then ask the Jehovah’s Witness, "Why do you want me to give up the greatest act of love performed by my God, for your god who cannot perform the greatest act of love?" They really don’t have a good answer.
Following is an outline that helps clarify the issue as it quotes scripture:
1. God is love
1. 1 John 4:16, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."
1. The New World Translation says, "And we ourselves have come to know and have believed the love that God has in our case. God is love, and he that remains in love remains in union with God and God remains in union with him."
2. God demonstrates the greatest love
1. He is infinite, holy, loving, and no one can demonstrate these qualities better than God Himself.
1. God has full ability to demonstrate His own nature.
2. Can anyone "out do" God in love?
3. Jesus accurately represents the Father
1. Heb. 1:3, "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," (NASB).
1. The New World Translation says, "He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being. And he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made purification of sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places."
2. John 14:9, ". . . Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. . ."
1. The New World Translation says, ". . . He that has seen me has seen the Father [also]. . ."
4. Jesus said, . . .
1. John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
1. (The NWT says, "No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends.")
5. Conclusion
1. If Jesus is not God and He laid down His life, then He is doing something greater than the Father can do.
2. If Jesus is God and He laid down His life, then God is performing the greatest act of love.
Hopefully, this might be used of the Lord to bring the Jehovah’s Witness to the true and living God who loves us so much that He became man, died for us, and showed us the greatest act of love.
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grnlow on 01 Jan 2010 at 4:52 pm #
Amazing! How about hearing from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
What do we believe? What the Bible really teaches without any human doctrines interfering.
How are we different from all other religions? Others accept any doctrines from men whether they be pagans or not. If there is an argument in doctrines or more often practices, they split into another division. As an example, there are over 90 different kinds or divisions of Baptists. (I use Baptists simply as a convenience.) Within these 90 are virtually different teachings going on within each individual church.
Go anywhere in the world and JWs all are teaching the same thing in the same way. (John 13:35)
Many religions teach man has an "immortal soul" which is a teaching from the Greeks brought in by Greek speaking Jewish Christians trying to merge the two doctrines. What does the Bible say on this matter?
Genesis 2:7 shows a "living soul" is a combination of dust of the ground and breath of life. Not add-on equjipment like a chrome package. Ezekiel 18:4 states quite plainly, "The soul that is sinning–it itself will die." All souls sin due to inheriting sin from Adam which we find at Romans 5:12.
This then is an example of a pagan teaching that many religions claiming to be Christian use. It is not one that a true Christian should have anything to do with. The best explanation is found at Haggai 2:11-13 where the prophet asks the false clergy if something clean touches an unclean thing, does it remain clean? [Read white shirt drops into a mud puddle.] Obviously not.
This is also why asking one of Jehovah’s Witnesses a question is to get a Bible answer. We believe what the Bible teaches so we study it to find out what it says. We will answer any question with what the Bible says and turn to it in your copy of the Bible for you to read. Asking someone else will get you what they "think?". Very rarely will they ever mention the Bible in their answerr.
This is the difference between JW and any other religion.
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skepsis on 01 Jan 2010 at 5:29 pm #
The Jehovah’s Witnesses were a consequence of the Great Disappointment of 1844. A Baptist preacher by the name of William Miller began preaching that Christ would return in March, 1844. As the fateful day approached, thousands of his followers gave away their possessions in anticipation. When it passed, the prediction was revised to April. It eventually was set to on October 22 of that year. The Millerites were destined to be disappointed. Miller died five years later, but his flock had largely drifted away, many to a new denomination called "Adventism".
As Adventism grew, members began to form their own Bible study groups. One of these leaders was Charles T. Russell, who began co-editing a religious journal. After falling out with his co-editor, he went his own way, and formed "Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society", an organization dedicated to publishing his own writings. From that, the Jehovah’s Witnesses eventually formed, following Russell’s unique interpretations of the Bible.
He was succeeded after his death by Joseph Rutherford, who reorganized the society and began modifying Russell’s teachings to his own liking. Through the years the Watchtower has published oceans of texts and tracts in support of its peculiar teachings. It has even produced its own "translation" of the Bible, the "New World Translation", whose translation committee remains a secret but appears to have been made up of a handful of men with no particular expertise in ancient languages. The organization regularly predicted the return of Christ every now and then, until it set a firm date of 1914. When that passed, it said that the return was a "heavenly" even that would not manifest on Earth for a while, but would surely happen before the current generation had died (perhaps the 1970s). As we approach 2014, the Watchtower concentrates on other subjects.
Members of the JWs are closely watched as they are taught their doctrines, required to "witness" to strangers under close supervision, and threatened with isolation, even from family members, if they leave the faith. They are not permitted to read outside literature.
In contrast, Protestants are relatively free to join or leave other denominations, with which they mostly agree, with only certain doctrinal differences. Most do not attempt to predict the Second Coming or to control each others’ choice of reading material, nor do they cut ex-members off from their families and friends. But you are certainly free to choose your own faith.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah’s_Witnesses
Vöt Änårж on 01 Jan 2010 at 5:58 pm #
Take it from the proverbial horse’s mouth- the OFFICIAL JW site:
JWs: Who Are They?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/article_01.htm
JWs: Their Modern Development and Growth
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/article_02.htm
JWs: What Do They Believe?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/article_03.htm
Feel free to email me if you have any further questions.
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JW
Mr. Cal on 01 Jan 2010 at 6:16 pm #
For further information & learn more – you may wish to get in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or: through their official web site – <watchtower.org>
Jehovah’s Witnesses are not a Protestant religion. The term "Protestant" has generally come to describe all those who adhere to the tenets and goals of the Reformation. "Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary", 11th Edition, thus defines a Protestant as "a member of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth."
Although Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the universal authority of the pope and wholeheartedly support the primacy of the Bible, they differ from Protestant religions in many significant ways. In fact, "The Encyclopedia of Religion" refers to Jehovah’s Witnesses as being "distinctive."
First, although Protestant faiths reject certain features of Catholic worship, Reformation leaders retained certain Catholic dogmas, such as belief in the Trinity, hellfire, and the immortality of the human soul. Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, believe that those doctrines not only contradict the Bible but also promote a distorted view of God.
Second, the religion that Jehovah’s Witnesses advocate is, not one of negative protest, but one of positive instruction. They take seriously the Bible’s counsel: "A servant of the Lord is not to engage in quarrels, but has to be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. He has to be gentle when he corrects people who dispute what he says." (2 Timothy 2:24, 25 – ‘The Jerusalem Bible’) Jehovah’s Witnesses do point out contradictions between what the Bible says and what many religious groups teach. Yet, their goal in doing so is not to reform other religious organizations. Rather, their goal is to help sincere individuals* to gain accurate knowledge of God and of his Word, the Bible. (Colossians 1:9, 10) When people of other persuasions insistently disagree with them, Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid engaging in fruitless debates.-2 Timothy 2:23.
Third, unlike the Protestant movement, which has splintered into hundreds of denominations, Jehovah’s Witnesses have maintained a united global brotherhood. When it comes to Bible doctrine, Jehovah’s Witnesses in over 230 countries follow the apostle Paul’s counsel to "speak in agreement." There are no divisions among them. Instead, they are genuinely "united in the same mind and in the same line of thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10) They strive within their own ranks "to observe the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace."-Ephesians 4:3.
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