What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe Focus on the Family

When he died last week at the age of 57, pop vocaliser Prince was arguably the nearly famous Jehovah's Witness in the globe. Here are ix things you should know near the obscure religious group that emerged from the Bible Student motility in the late 1870s:

1. Jehovah's Witnesses—their proper name is intended to designate them every bit "a group of Christians who proclaim the truth well-nigh Jehovah"—etch less than i pct of U.S. adults, yet are among the well-nigh racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in America. According to Pew Research, no more than than 4 in 10 members of the group belong to whatever one racial and ethnic background: 36 percent are white, 32 percentage are Hispanic, 27 percent are black, and 6 percent are another race or mixed race. Roughly ii-thirds (65 percent) are women, while only 35 percent are men. They also tend to be less educated, with a solid majority of adult Jehovah'southward Witnesses (63 percent) having no more than than a loftier school diploma (compared with, for case, 43 percent of evangelical Protestants).

ii. Jehovah's Witnesses (hereafter JWs) consider themselves to be Christians (but not Protestants), even though they refuse the doctrine of the Trinity. JWs merits that Jesus was not divine and that the Holy Spirit is an "agile force" and not a person. JWs believe that Jesus is God's but direct creation, "the firstborn of all creation" and therefore rightly entitled to exist called the "son of God." Yet, they believe that every bit a created being "he is non function of a Trinity." They believe Jesus lived in heaven before coming to globe and, afterward his death and resurrection, he returned to heaven. They besides believe Jesus "gave his perfect human life every bit a bribe sacrifice" and that through his death and resurrection "brand it possible for those exercising faith in him to gain everlasting life."

3. JWs believe that the kingdom of God is a real authorities in heaven that will before long supersede human governments and reach God's purpose for the earth. They believe that Jesus is the King of God's kingdom in heaven and that he began ruling in 1914. A relatively small number of people—144,000—volition exist resurrected to alive with Jehovah in sky and rule with Jesus in the kingdom. They believe that God will bring billions back from death by means of a resurrection and that "many now living may yet begin to serve God, and they also will proceeds salvation." Even so, those who "pass up to learn God'due south ways after being raised to life" will pass out of existence forever (they volition not endure in a "peppery hell of torment").

4. JWs exercise door-to-door ministry considering they believe it is an effective way to fulfill the Groovy Commission and that commencement-century Christians connected to spread their bulletin both "publicly and from business firm to house" (they cite Acts v:42; 20:20). They do not believe that door-to-door ministry is a means of earning salvation by doing good works. They as well believe that "pressuring people to change their religion is wrong" though they practise believe in attempting to contend for their particular behavior. In their door-to-door ministry they mostly distribute two magazines, Awake!, a general religious magazine, andThe Watchtower, a magazine whose content is focused on "the significance of globe events in the light of Bible prophecies."

5. JWs believe the Bible is "God'southward inspired message to humans." In 1961 a JW corporation, The Picket Tower Bible and Tract Society, published its own formal equivalence translation of the Bible: the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT). As of 2015, the NWT has been translated in whole or in part into 129 languages. Since the release of the NT translation in 1950, this version has been criticized for changing the meaning and words of the text to fit JW doctrine. A prime example is John one:1. Both the ESV and NIV interpret that poesy equally, "In the get-go was the Give-and-take, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The NWT version translates the passage as "In the beginning was the Word, and the Discussion was with God, and the Discussion was a god." The addition of the indefinite article "a" is added to avoid the conclusion that Jesus is God. Referring to this verse, Bruce M. Metzger wrote in 1953, "It must exist stated quite frankly that, if the Jehovah'southward Witnesses take this translation seriously, they are polytheists." Despite a preference for the NWT, JWs notwithstanding use other translations of the Bible in their witnessing work.

6. JWs do not celebrate either Christmas or Easter, because they believe the Bible teaches that information technology's Jesus expiry—not his nativity or resurrection—that should exist celebrated. They also believe that Christmas and Easter are not approved by God considering they are rooted in heathen customs and rites. They also exercise non celebrate birthdays considering they believe "such celebrations displease God."

7. JWs take a number of beliefs that are peculiar to their sect: While they have medical treatments and do not practice faith healing, they don't accept blood transfusions considering they believe the "Bible commands that we not ingest claret." They practise not believe in going to war or getting involved in political matters, and they do not consider the cross to be a symbol of Christianity, because they claim "the Bible indicates that Jesus did non die on a cross simply rather on a simple stake."

eight. JWs do non refer to their places of worship as churches, but rather equally a "Kingdom Hall." They take no paid clergy, for they believe the "model of first-century Christianity" is one in which "all baptized members are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work." Both men and women can be ministers, though within each congregation "spiritually mature men" serve equally "older men," or elders." Virtually 20 congregations form a circuit, and congregations receive periodic visits from traveling elders known as circuit overseers. JWs are not required to tithe and no collections are taken at their meetings, though donation boxes are available.

ix. Doctrinal guidance is provided by a Governing Torso made upwardly of longtime JWs who currently work at the international offices in Brooklyn, New York. A number of corporations are in use by JWs, though they are often referred to collectively as "The Society" after the oldest and near prominent of their corporation, "The Lookout Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania" (which is now located in Brooklyn). Not much is known almost the financing of the JW corporations other than that they own significant real manor holdings in New York Metropolis. For instance, the group's headquarters, which is currently for sale, is expected to be sold for effectually $1 billion.

Other articles in this serial:

Harriet Tubman • Autism • Seventh-24-hour interval Adventism • Justice Antonin Scalia (1936–2016) • Female Genital Mutilation • Orphans • Pastors • Global Persecution of Christians (2015 Edition) • Global Hunger • National Hispanic Heritage Month • Pope Francis • Refugees in America • Margaret Sanger • Confederate Flag Controversy • Elisabeth Elliot • Brute Fighting • Mental Health • Prayer in the Bible • Aforementioned-sex activity Wedlock • Genocide • Church Architecture • Auschwitz and Nazi Extermination Camps • Boko Haram • Adoption • Military Chaplains • Disbelief • Intimate Partner Violence • Rabbinic Judaism • Hamas • Male Body Image Issues • Mormonism • Islam • Independence Solar day and the Proclamation of Independence • Anglicanism • Transgenderism • Southern Baptist Convention • Surrogacy • John Calvin • The Rwandan Genocide • The Chronicles of Narnia • The Story of Noah • Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church building • Pimps and Sex Traffickers • Matrimony in America • Black History Calendar month • The Holocaust •Roe v. Wade • Poverty in America • Christmas •The Hobbit • Council of Trent • C.S. Lewis • Halloween and Reformation Twenty-four hour period • Casinos and Gambling • Prison Rape • 6th Street Baptist Church Bombing • 9/11 Set on Aftermath • Chemical Weapons • March on Washington • Duck Dynasty • Child Brides • Human Trafficking • Scopes Monkey Trial • Social Media • Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Cases • The Bible • Human being Cloning • Pornography and the Brain • Planned Parenthood • Boston Marathon Bombing • Female Body Image Issues • Islamic Land

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Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-jehovahs-witnesses/

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