What are the main doctrinal differences between Jehovah's Witnesses and mainstream Christianity?

[Keturah]

I'm referring to JW beliefs, in comparison with Christian orthodoxy. Insults do not further the conversation. I believe not just in Christian doctrine, but also in Christian practice. If you wish to believe you're some kind of "Christian," then we should begin by acting in step with what we claim to believe.

But do they believe they are "Christian" since they deny the Godship of Jesus?
We know they were first called Christians at Antioch bc they followed Jesus' teachings.

We have some whom have avowed they " came out or stepped away from Christendom" ?

 

[Aunty Jane]

But do they believe they are "Christian" since they deny the Godship of Jesus?

Since this is a forbidden topic, why raise it? But since you have, Jesus never once claimed Godship, nor did he ever once claim to be God. He called himself “the son of God” but he is not the only son of God....he is the “firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15) “God the Son” does not exist in the Bible.
He is called “theos” in the Christian scriptures because that word does not pertain exclusively to Yahweh.
It is a word applied to any god or divine personage. It is also applied to those with divine authorisation.

We know they were first called Christians at Antioch bc they followed Jesus' teachings.

Yes, the original Christians did follow Jesus’ teachings, but in so many ways Christendom does not. I grew up in Christendom and the hypocrisy I witnessed there was appalling. It seemed to me that whatever Jesus taught, “the church” taught the opposite. The one God of the Jews, was also the God of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 6:4) whom he called “the only true God” without including himself. (John 17:3)

All the Bible writers were Jewish and ‘all scripture was inspired’ as God’s word. (2 Tim 3:16-17) It is his instruction manual to his worshippers. There is no mention of an “immortal soul” in any passage of the Bible. Nor is there a place where the souls of the wicked are forever tormented in a fire.

We have some whom have avowed they " came out or stepped away from Christendom" ?

Yes, and I am one of them. Christendom no more represents Yahweh and his Christ, than than the Pharisees and Sadducees did. (Matt 15:7-9) Teaching man-made doctrines and passing them off as Christ’s teachings was never going to win them God’s favor.
Why would Jesus reject those who ‘prophesied, expelled demons and performed miracles in his name’, if they were following through on his teachings? (Matt 7:21-23) They claim him as their “Lord”, but he does not recognise them as his disciples.

 

[ChristisGod]

I was kind of waiting for the JW "experts" to chime in.....all they demonstrate is that they know nothing about us except what is told to them by our opposers.....no surprises there, we have heard it all. We are not Arians.

Jesus told his disciples....
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me."

This is our experience....we cop more flack for less offense than any other religious group. We simply do what Jesus did....tell an inconvenient truth to people who don't want to hear it.....yet some do. (John 6:44; 65)

I came out of Christendom, so I have been on both sides of this fence, and the things said about us in ignorance are sometimes quite comical....

We hold NO doctrinal beliefs in common with Christendom......so the differences between us are large.

We are Bible students first and foremost, and this allows us to examine every doctrine formulated by the "church" system even though there is little cohesion among those who claim to be Christ's disciples in the many denominational churches. But they are usually united in their dislike for us. The Bible says that the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day had an intense dislike for one another, but were united in their hatred for Jesus and his disciples.....so it is nothing new.

Here is a brief summary...
What do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?

The main difference is they have a false christ who is only a man and they deny the bodily Resurrection, Ascension and 2nd Coming of Christ. So in actuality they deny the gospel. Their false christ is a spirit creature now.

 

[Keturah]

"But do they believe they are "Christian" since they deny the Godship of Jesus?" Keturah
"Since this is a forbidden topic, why raise it? " Aunty Jane

Excuse me but I don't think this is a forbidden word..." Godship" since I have seen many others use it here since the big repression.

 

[Keturah]

The main difference is they have a false christ who is only a man and they deny the bodily Resurrection, Ascension and 2nd Coming of Christ. So in actuality they deny the gospel. Their false christ is a spirit creature now.

Thank you !

 

[ChristisGod]

Since this is a forbidden topic, why raise it? But since you have, Jesus never once claimed Godship, nor did he ever once claim to be God. He called himself “the son of God” but he is not the only son of God....he is the “firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15) “God the Son” does not exist in the Bible.
He is called “theos” in the Christian scriptures because that word does not pertain exclusively to Yahweh.
It is a word applied to any god or divine personage. It is also applied to those with divine authorisation.

Yes, the original Christians did follow Jesus’ teachings, but in so many ways Christendom does not. I grew up in Christendom and the hypocrisy I witnessed there was appalling. It seemed to me that whatever Jesus taught, “the church” taught the opposite. The one God of the Jews, was also the God of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 6:4) whom he called “the only true God” without including himself. (John 17:3)

All the Bible writers were Jewish and ‘all scripture was inspired’ as God’s word. (2 Tim 3:16-17) It is his instruction manual to his worshippers. There is no mention of an “immortal soul” in any passage of the Bible. Nor is there a place where the souls of the wicked are forever tormented in a fire.

Yes, and I am one of them. Christendom no more represents Yahweh and his Christ, than than the Pharisees and Sadducees did. (Matt 15:7-9) Teaching man-made doctrines and passing them off as Christ’s teachings was never going to win them God’s favor.
Why would Jesus reject those who ‘prophesied, expelled demons and performed miracles in his name’, if they were following through on his teachings? (Matt 7:21-23) They claim him as their “Lord”, but he does not recognise them as his disciples.

The sexual child abuse cases are "appalling " within the leadership of the Watch Tower organization. So they are no better than " Christendom" when it comes to scandal.

 

[Randy Kluth]

But do they believe they are "Christian" since they deny the Godship of Jesus?
We know they were first called Christians at Antioch bc they followed Jesus' teachings.

We have some whom have avowed they " came out or stepped away from Christendom" ?

I'll be travelling so I can't do justice to a very good question. Sorry. However, let me just say this. JWs believe like Arian Christians did in the early Church, and they were viewed as "Christians."

I define "cults" as those who follow *men* who separate themselves from orthodox teachings and then draw men after themselves. JWs fit into this category, as they follow Russell and Rutherford.

 

[Keturah]

I'll be travelling so I can't do justice to a very good question. Sorry. However, let me just say this. JWs believe like Arian Christians did in the early Church, and they were viewed as "Christians."

I define "cults" as those who follow *men* who separate themselves from orthodox teachings and then draw men after themselves. JWs fit into this category, as they follow Russell and Rutherford.

 

[RR144]

Answers posted by some of "it's" member come via here
View attachment 33362

If that's the case, why are you asking questions here, just go to that site for the answers

 

[Keturah]

If that's the case, why are you asking questions here, just go to that site for the answers

Why would I want to read balderdash there when I can see the answers given here in truth!

 

[RR144]

We don't consider people in Catholic churches and protestants churches to be apostates. Apostates are people who believed the truth about the true God then reject it.

Ah, so if I never "believed the truth about the true God [and] reject it", then I'm not an apostate, eight?

So the only people we would consider to be an apostate is someone who was once a baptized Jehovah's Witness then rejected what they once believed to be true, and speak out against the JW's and what they teach.

But what if I became a witness and everything I was taught as a Witness has been changed due to "new light", who's the apostate, me or the people who changed it? Hmmmm

We don't believe the protestant and Catholic churches were ever truly based on the truth about the true God YHWH and his only begotten Son Jesus Christ, so we don't believe that the protestant and Catholic churches to be apostates. We do believe them to be teaching false things about the true God and his only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

But you do believe that Catholics and protestants, Christendom, and ALL religions outside of the Witnesses make up Babylon the great, which is "the world empire of false religion, embracing all religions whose teachings and practices do not conform to the true worship of Jehovah, the only true God." (Reasoning From the Scriptures). Let's not forget that Christendom is referred to by the Witnesses as "apostate Christendom". So you do believe they are apostates. Here's one reference:

"apostate Christendom is about to perish in “a great crash,” along with the entire world empire of false religion."​

 

[RR144]

Why would I want to read balderdash there when I can see the answers given here in truth!

Well, here or there it's still "balderdash," right?

 

[Keturah]

Well, here or there it's still "balderdash," right?

No it is not..........
The balderdash comes by way of the " witnesses", the truth is from the followers of Christ, in the truth of the NT.

I've asked very few questions here, but I look for the word of truth answers from the household of faith !

 

[Aunty Jane]

The main difference is they have a false christ who is only a man

The “false Christ” is the one who was claimed by “the church” to be “God” in the flesh. No scripture says this. John 1:1 doesn’t say in Greek what is falsely translated into English.

Jesus was never “only a man”...he was Adam’s exact equivalent....100% mortal, otherwise he could not have died for mankind’s sins.

Yahweh is immortal which means that it is impossible to kill him. “The only true God” “sent” his son to become a human on earth so that he could offer to God a ransom for the sin of Adam. (John 17:3; 1 Cor 15:22) If Christ did not die, then the ransom was not paid....and we still stand condemned.

It is a requirement of God’s perfect justice...”eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life”.
Under God’s law, a person who caused the death of someone else as a premeditated or deliberate act, forfeited their own life.
Adam passed sin and death onto his children as an inherited debt. Under God’s law, someone who could not pay a debt had to be in servitude to the creditor until the debt was paid, either by his own efforts or the generosity of a benefactor. But Adam’s debt was so enormous that no human descendent of his could ever pay it.....it required a perfect sinless life to be offered for the perfect sinless life that Adam lost for all his children. This is why Christ cannot be “God” in the flesh....a mortal human had to die in our place. To suggest that Almighty God had to die to ransom his children is to fail to understand the mechanics of the ransom. If God had come in the flesh, it would have made the ransom invalid.
God cannot die, but his “holy servant”, his most trusted son who became the man, Jesus, willingly did so.....as pictured by Abraham being asked to offer his son Isaac. (Gen 22:2; Acts 4:27) The willingness of both parties, pictured the willingness of Yahweh and his son to carry out the unthinkable. This is why God chose Abraham as the one through whom all nations would be blessed. (Gen 22:16-18)

and they deny the bodily Resurrection, Ascension and 2nd Coming of Christ. So in actuality they deny the gospel. Their false christ is a spirit creature now.

Again, this is ignorance speaking. We do not deny the resurrection of Christ, nor his ascension nor his second coming, which are all recorded in scripture. What we do not believe is that Christ took back the body he sacrificed. He “appeared” to his disciples on many occasions after his resurrection, but he did not remain with them for any length of time (as he had done for the previous three and a half years).
He was able to “appear” and “disappear” at will, so in accord with biblical accounts of other spirit beings appearing to God’s earthly servants in human form, we believe that Jesus also had that ability, since mortals are confined to the earth as God created them to be.
Peter tells us that Jesus was “put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit”. (1 Pet 3:18) He will never be a flesh and blood human again.

His ascension was seen only by his closest companions and as he rose into the air, a cloud obscured him from their vision, allowing him to dematerialise and return to his Father in heaven. The spirit realm is only inhabited by spirits. God himself is a spirit. (John 4:24)
The angels who appeared at that time told his disciples that he would return in “the same manner” (not the same body) as he had left......it was not with any public display or fanfare, and only his trusted apostles saw him leave the earthly realm.

In Matt 24:3-14 Jesus gave them a “sign” of his “parousia” which is his “presence”, not his “coming”.
If his return was clearly visible and discernible, then why did he need a “sign” to indicate that he had arrived?

There is so much taken for granted by Christendom’s churches that simply argue with what the Bible says about many things. No one seems to want to even investigate why there are so many “denominations” in Christendom who all argue over their differences, but seem to assume that Christ is among this disunited rabble....when he says at the judgment, “I NEVER knew you”.....he means it. He was never in the church system that you all claim is his own. He has NEVER set foot in it.

 

[RR144]

I've asked very few questions here, but I look for the word of truth answers from the household of faith !

I'm not affiliated with the Witnesses, but If you know they are not part of the household of faith, why bother asking them questions?

 

[Aunty Jane]

Ah, so if I never "believed the truth about the true God [and] reject it", then I'm not an apostate, eight?


But what if I became a witness and everything I was taught as a Witness has been changed due to "new light", who's the apostate, me or the people who changed it? Hmmmm

Hmmm, indeed. I guess that depends on whether the “new light” explains things in harmony with what the entirety of scripture teaches. If it is out of harmony, and we accept that revelation is progressive and always has been, then not moving ahead will leave one in the dark, wishing to hang on to what has been left behind as obscured by time. Everything gets revealed by “the slave” who is appointed by Jesus to “feed” their fellow slaves “food at the proper time”. (Matt 24:45) It’s who we accept as that “slave” then...isn’t it?

But you do believe that Catholics and protestants, Christendom, and ALL religions outside of the Witnesses make up Babylon the great, which is "the world empire of false religion, embracing all religions whose teachings and practices do not conform to the true worship of Jehovah, the only true God." (Reasoning From the Scriptures).

Yes...”Babylon the great” is a world empire created by the devil to facilitate his own worship, and his main tactic is mimicry. Whatever God does, satan creates a counterfeit and leads people to accept the counterfeit as the real thing. This is seen in all faiths, where the god(s) they worship have some of the traits of the true God, but at the same time, exhibit traits of the devil. The god created by Christendom is a poor imitation of the true God. He is not loving, or just, or caring....if you don’t do as you are told, you will roast in agony for all eternity....who could love such a god?

Let's not forget that Christendom is referred to by the Witnesses as "apostate Christendom". So you do believe they are apostates. Here's one reference:

"apostate Christendom is about to perish in “a great crash,” along with the entire world empire of false religion."​

Apostasy is a falling away from the truth, which is exactly what “the church” did in the centuries after Jesus’ death. It became so spiritually weak and powerless, that it was easy for the devil to weave his deception into what became “Christendom”....a disunited rabble that bears no resemblance to anything that Jesus taught.

It is the church system that is apostate in exactly the same way as the religious system in which Jesus himself was raised, became so corrupt that Jesus did not have a good thing to say about any of the religious leaders who had misled the entire nation into false worship, countless times. Jesus was in fact, not sent to those whom God had already condemned to Gehenna. (Matt 23:33) He was sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” because God was done with the hypocrites who had lost his favor long ago. (Matt 15:7-9) He had delivered their Messiah as promised, but they rejected him.....now he would reject them.

The “lost” ones were hungry for the truth and this is why they flocked to hear Jesus, whose words refreshed them and gave them hope....but like the apostate Jews of Jesus’ day, the religious leaders and those who support them in this “time of the end”, are in for a monmental rejection. They won’t see it coming, just like the Jews didn’t think that executing that blaspheming fake Messiah was wrong, and supported what their leaders did to have him put to death.

History repeats but no one seems to notice.

 

[Aunty Jane]

"But do they believe they are "Christian" since they deny the Godship of Jesus?" Keturah
"Since this is a forbidden topic, why raise it? " Aunty Jane

Excuse me but I don't think this is a forbidden word..." Godship" since I have seen many others use it here since the big repression.

It’s the topic, not the word that is forbidden.....but regardless, it appears as if you will believe everything our opposers tell you about us....why not ask us instead, and get your formation first hand instead of second hand? I will be pleased to offer scripture on anything we believe to show you why we reject what Christendom teaches.

Have you ever had an ex or an enemy tell others about you? Would they ever paint you in a good light?
What was Jesus’ experience? How were the apostles received in the religious system in which they too had grown up? (John 15:18-21) Were they wrong because they exposed the errors, or was it the religious system that had become corrupted over many centuries, and the end result was accepted by those they had instructed as truth, when it never was.

Those whom Jesus rejects at the judgment are clueless as to why he is telling them to ‘go away from him’ as they are “workers of lawlessness”....whose laws are they breaking? If they claim to be Christians (which they do) then how can they be law breakers? (Matt 7:21-23) How is it that Jesus “NEVER knew” these ones?

Confidence is no measure of correctness.....the easiest people on the planet to fool is ourselves.....(1 Cor 10:12)

 

[RR144]

Hmmm, indeed. I guess that depends on whether the “new light” explains things in harmony with what the entirety of scripture teaches. If it is out of harmony, and we accept that revelation is progressive and always has been, then not moving ahead will leave one in the dark, wishing to hang on to what has been left behind as obscured by time. Everything gets revealed by “the slave” who is appointed by Jesus to “feed” their fellow slaves “food at the proper time”. (Matt 24:45)

So if I'm a JW, and 10 years down the road there is new light, which corrects a view I held for those 10 years, a view that I was taught is the truth from God's appointed channel, and I refuse to accept this new view because the previous view I believed was truth, I get disfellowshipped for not accepting this "progressive" new light. Then 5 years down the road, they get new light and again change that view that they stated was divine truth from Jehovah's channel back to the view that I held, will they knock and my door and say "we're sorry brother, you were right all along, please come back"?

It’s who we accept as that “slave” then...isn’t it?

Jane, you're more than welcome to follow whoever you want. But in the end, you'll have to answer for why you followed certain men who claim to speak for God.

Yes...”Babylon the great” is a world empire created by the devil to facilitate his own worship, and his main tactic is mimicry. Whatever God does, satan creates a counterfeit and leads people to accept the counterfeit as the real thing. This is seen in all faiths, where the god(s) they worship have some of the traits of the true God, but at the same time, exhibit traits of the devil. The god created by Christendom is a poor imitation of the true God. He is not loving, or just, or caring....if you don’t do as you are told, you will roast in agony for all eternity....who could love such a god?


Apostasy is a falling away from the truth, which is exactly what “the church” did in the centuries after Jesus’ death. It became so spiritually weak and powerless, that it was easy for the devil to weave his deception into what became “Christendom”....a disunited rabble that bears no resemblance to anything that Jesus taught.

It is the church system that is apostate in exactly the same way as the religious system in which Jesus himself was raised, became so corrupt that Jesus did not have a good thing to say about any of the religious leaders who had misled the entire nation into false worship, countless times. Jesus was in fact, not sent to those whom God had already condemned to Gehenna. (Matt 23:33) He was sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” because God was done with the hypocrites who had lost his favor long ago. (Matt 15:7-9) He had delivered their Messiah as promised, but they rejected him.....now he would reject them.

The “lost” ones were hungry for the truth and this is why they flocked to hear Jesus, whose words refreshed them and gave them hope....but like the apostate Jews of Jesus’ day, the religious leaders and those who support them in this “time of the end”, are in for a monmental rejection. They won’t see it coming, just like the Jews didn’t think that executing that blaspheming fake Messiah was wrong, and supported what their leaders did to have him put to death.

History repeats but no one seems to notice.

I was simply responding to BARNEY BRIGHT who stated

"We don't consider people in Catholic churches and protestants churches to be apostates."​

​

That wasn't a true statement, was it?

 

[Keturah]

It’s the topic, not the word that is forbidden.....but regardless, it appears as if you will believe everything our opposers tell you about us....why not ask us instead, and get your formation first hand instead of second hand? I will be pleased to offer scripture on anything we believe to show you why we reject what Christendom teaches.

Have you ever had an ex or an enemy tell others about you? Would they ever paint you in a good light?
What was Jesus’ experience? How were the apostles received in the religious system in which they too had grown up? (John 15:18-21) Were they wrong because they exposed the errors, or was it the religious system that had become corrupted over many centuries, and the end result was accepted by those they had instructed as truth, when it never was.

Those whom Jesus rejects at the judgment are clueless as to why he is telling them to ‘go away from him’ as they are “workers of lawlessness”....whose laws are they breaking? If they claim to be Christians (which they do) then how can they be law breakers? (Matt 7:21-23) How is it that Jesus “NEVER knew” these ones?

Confidence is no measure of correctness.....the easiest people on the planet to fool is ourselves.....(1 Cor 10:12)

Lol.
I went to the source you advertised. I have also been reading the threads you folk participate in, not learning  any truth.

I do not believe you guys have been indoctrinated but rather "brainwashed."

Repeat a thing enough times & folks begin to repeat it with you until " they" believe you are telling them the truth!

I'm not one of the weak minded!!!!!!

 

[Keturah]

I'm not affiliated with the Witnesses, but If you know they are not part of the household of faith, why bother asking them questions?

You're becoming annoying so bye-bye !