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Original poster

To just go to a jehovahs witness meeting?

796 replies

blobtobetter · 07/04/2012 21:05

One of the older women at work is a Jehovah's Witness. I don't really know what they are but they don't like blood or birthdays. I thought they were just another type of Christian but apparently not.

She keeps asking me to go to a meeting and I keep putting her off. Thinking now that I should just go once and then never again!?

It sounds really shallow but I wouldn't want to give up Christmas!!

Part of me wonders what it would be like. Would they be over friendly? Would they be distant as I am a heathen type? Can't imagine it really.

OP posts:
GinPalace · 08/04/2012 14:25

Cecily [busmile]

ThatVikRinA22 · 08/04/2012 14:28

i have a few friends who are JW. I did a study for a while until i decided it just wasnt for me at all, and i have no problems in telling my friend that. I also went to a few meetings, particularly the easter ones, which i think anyone can go to.

for me, i found the whole congregation very friendly and very welcoming. No one was funny with me when i stopped going. There were some aspects that i just couldnt believe and never would, and i decided it just wasnt going to be my thing.

each to their own.

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 14:29

GinPalace - Op - would it bother you to belong to a religion that couldn't stomach its members looking at another religion / view, even though often the best way to confirm your view is to hear the opposing one and see if you still prefer your own?

That is one thing that concerns me - I ask a lot of questions! I like to know why things are a certain way. I like to learn about different people and beliefs but I still want to find the "right" denomination for me.

I suppose if you are totally committed to your faith and have no doubts you wouldn't need to confirm your faith by looking at others. At the moment I am just dithering about where I belong - I don't want to get swept up into something because the people are so friendly and convincing. I sound like proper cult material now!

OP posts:
GinPalace · 08/04/2012 14:35

Well either cult material or a spiritual quest which may prove worthwhile - one or the other! [buwink]

have you looked at these this would be me if I was going to be in any religion

I think they have a great balance.

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 14:39

Spiritual quest sounds better!

I had never heard of them - there are so many choices out there. The unity and truth seeking sounds good though. I want something that has a local branch near me really.

Not sure why I see going to a JW meeting as any different than going to a Methodist church on a Sunday to see what it is like.

OP posts:
rhondajean · 08/04/2012 14:42

JWs are not allowed to enter another place of worship even for information, eg a school trip to a mosque, sightseeing in old churches on holiday, as a child my cousin married in a church in Edinburgh and I had to stand outside with my parents and wait till the bride came out.

I have seen a lot of people get great comfort from it, so I would never knock it as I believe it does help a lot of very troubled people and that most of the individuals you would meet at a local level are well meaning.

GinPalace · 08/04/2012 14:44

perhaps not - but you probably have a pretty good idea what the in's and out's of a methodists beliefs are, no?

Whereas one meeting isn't going to give you a complete synopsis any more than one sermon tells you all the ins and outs of christianity.

It will tell you if you like the people you meet, but if you want to know if you can buy into the whole belief system itself you would need several meetings at least, I would have thought.

I personally wouldn't be wasting my time unless I thought it had a good chance of being the thing for me.

Would be like online dating and meeting the first person who you got matched with without sending a few messages/talking a while first? I would want to feel there stood a chance of there being a connection before I got the taxi into town for the first date... bad analogy??

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 14:49

I was christened a Methodist - weird as my family don't believe in God. There are a few different churches here. I figured that Christian denominations would be centred around the same big things with just little differences like the sort of baptism and such.

I am intrigued by the idea that they have their own bible .... might be worth reading that to learn a bit more.

The online dating thing makes sense although I am not sure I would google the person first!!

OP posts:
BBQJuly · 08/04/2012 14:56

What other churches are near you blobtobetter? How about making a list of 5 places you'd like to visit, and go along to a service at each one, in the next few weeks or so. Then you'll have much more information to go on, such as the atmosphere, people, welcome, teaching, musical style, non-Sunday activities and anything else which would make a difference to you. All I would say is that if you're not sure "getting swept up in something" is the right thing, then keep an open mind towards the churches which are less showy but could have more depth to them. Good luck :)

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 15:02

There are 2 Methodist, 2 Catholic, 1 JW, 1 C of E and a new life type church all nicely within walking distance!

I would love one that had groups in between the Sundays but the couple I have looked into were all while I was at work.

OP posts:
GinPalace · 08/04/2012 15:05

BBQJuly 'keep an open mind towards the churches which are less showy but could have more depth to them' - like that. :)

teahouse · 08/04/2012 15:30

JW are a Christian group. They believe though that current Christianities are now far from the original religion.
The are evangelistic/missionising (but then that's what Xians are meant to do on the whole), but the JWs I have worked with were very nice people and didn't try to convert me; not all are married to JWs.
The Film 'Son of Rambow' deals with a JW child coping (or not) at school and gives you a bit of an insight.
The role of women is from a Western largely feminist point of view, midly questionable as women have a very reduced role in meetings. But women can go out with the Watchtower mazagines.
For probably the best resource around see <a class="break-all" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060828130236/religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Jwitness.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here

ClaireAll · 08/04/2012 15:31

JW are not orthodox Christian. Let's not beat about the bush.

GinPalace · 08/04/2012 15:33

I think JW is a very prescriptive religion - if that is your thang.....

Aribura · 08/04/2012 15:40

The Watchtower (their organisation) teaches:

  • Only 144,000 people will be in heaven.
  • Hell doesn't exist, people just die.
  • Jesus was the Archangel Michael, so is not worshipped.
  • When he died his actual body wasn't resurrected.
  • Non JW should not be friends, only "associates."
  • Celebrating any holiday other than the Memorial is pagan and evil, including Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Valentine's, Halloween, Mother/Father Day or any you could imagine.
  • You cannot vote. I am deadly serious, you cannot vote for who runs your country.
  • You cannot sing the national anthem. You cannot display flags or be patriotic.
  • If you are a woman, you cannot pray or give talks in front of baptised men.
  • You cannot receive a blood transfusion or authorise one for your child, no matter how dire the situation. If you do, you will be excommunicated (also known as disfellowshipped) and your family and another other member will be expected to shun you.
  • Jesus was hung on a stake and not a cross - crosses are bad and idol worship.
  • Men, you are not allowed a beard.
  • You can't have anything to do with the military - or even wear camouflage clothing.

THIS IS ALL ABSOLUTELY TRUE. THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU MOST OF THIS UNTIL YOU ARE A BAPTISED MEMBER. Oh but don't worry, JW on this thread will rush to tell me I'm wrong, tell you that THEY don't shun their family, THEY vote, THEY have non-JW friends and blah blah blah...well guess what, they're breaking the rules of their religion. That doesn't change the actual organisation. As a loose comparisoin, would you be convinced to join the BNP by a member who wasn't racist? No, because the entire organisation IS and does want the members to be. Someone who doesn't follow their religion doesn't mean the religion doesn't teach a certain thing.

I just don't get, if you're a "kinda, sorta Christian" you would go for THIS. Methodist, yeah. CofE, hell even Catholic why not. It's close enough to traditional Christianity. But if you are honestly thinking of becoming one (your later replies clearly show you're interested) after reading these FACTS then I don't know what else I can say.

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 15:41

I will have to write a list of questions for Tuesday to find out more! Just read that they believe that Jesus was an angel before he came to earth and don't believe in hell.

Are they quite traditional regarding gender roles then? I did wonder with the wearing of skirts at meetings.

OP posts:
ClaireAll · 08/04/2012 15:47

Warning bells, OP!

Jesus was not an angel. He was, and is, the Son of God. He was there, as the Son of God, in the Beginning. He did not have an existence as an angel or anything else before then.

Jesus believed in Hell. We all should. We should just not give it too much importance, however, given that he conquered Hell by his resurrection. We too are able to conquer Hell (separation from God) by confession, communion and trying to live out the Christian faith.

Because an organisation calls itself Christian doesn't mean it is.

A cult has many good attributes (nice people, family life) that draw weak people in. Don't fall for it. No one goes to the father except through the real Lord Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.

Codandchops · 08/04/2012 15:47

If they tell you Jesus is an angel then ask them to read Hebrews 1 Grin.

Original poster
blobtobetter · 08/04/2012 15:53

Does their bible say something different to other bibles then? I thought that Jesus being the son of God was a pretty big part of Christian bibles.

Aribua - that is a weird list - I thought (from reading here) that they took the bible very literally.

OP posts:
Aribura · 08/04/2012 15:54

Yes, they believe the traditional gender roles. Only males lead the congregation, women are weaker vessels supposed to raise the children etc. Luckily as a woman, you are still allowed to go door-knocking (with someone of the same gender.)

Aribura · 08/04/2012 15:59

They use a special translation, where they change all the names to "Jehovah" - New World Translation. But apart from that, they do follow the Bible. In a way. But you see, you can see anything in the Bible if you look hard enough and twist things. It's all in the interpretation. They forbid blood transfusions because of the part which says "You shall not eat anything with the blood." They officially predicted the world would end in 1975 (all denied now or skirted around, of course) which probably came from some interpretation of the Bible.

GinPalace · 08/04/2012 16:00

My JW friend (female) I had a few years ago (lost touch now) had to go everywhere with a chaperone.

ClaireAll · 08/04/2012 16:00

Another alarm bell - their bible vs all the others.

That is how cults work.

Whatever they say, and however they back it up, look for evidence in the NIV, RSV or some other authorised version of the bible.

Aribura · 08/04/2012 16:07

I don't mean to insult Jehovah's Witnesses in saying these things. Most of them are very friendly people with good morals. But you really have to know what you sign up for.

WhiteShores · 08/04/2012 16:12

JWs do believe that Jesus is the son of God, but also that he is a spirit (angelic) creature, and not equal to God himself. They do not believe in the Trinity.

Essentially, they believe that Jesus is God's very first creation, and that all other created beings were created through Jesus, so Jesus holds a privileged position (firstborn son).

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