Daughter (15) recently told my wife and I that she has a huge crush on this boy (17) from school who’s hanging out with her friend group a lot these days. She said he can’t date because he’s a Jehovah’s Witness. All wife & I knew before is that they’re some Christian group. From what we read online they seem to be pretty radical & abstract stuff like 144000 (?), Armageddon. They even get called a cult.
I wouldn’t call them a cult - they have some elements like a cult, but I want to reserve the word cult to something a little stronger/less moral. Cults tend to abuse children (child abuse is everywhere, but cults it would be part of them) or commit mass suicide.
Being instructed to ostracize your own family because they don’t follow the teachings is Cult 101.
Like mormons they shun the outside world and those who leave their group. Their street missionaries are meant to show their members how outside people are bad not convert people. Best to be nice to them to show them it’s a lie.
Not a Christian group - they’re more like the Mormons. They believe their founder is the most recent prophet, that his rewriting of biblical texts based off his interpretation of the King James bible is the only true interpretation, and that only the elect are going to Heaven, and that they get there by saving other people’s souls (essentially, he who makes the most JWs wins). And yes, it is definitely “he” — the women are saved through childbearing. The group commonly goes by the name The Watchtower Society. They’re famous for distributing tracts door to door. If you turn away from being a JW, all others are required to cease having anything to do with you. If you hear their teachings and then tell them you choose to belong to a different faith, you’re considered a heretic and for the most part they will try to avoid you (no more house calls).
They are Christian in that they accept the Bible and they believe in the redemptive act of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
They are different than Mormons in that they do not have a new text or a fundamentally different take on the nature of your relationship with God like the LDS do.
They are very odd and cultish but they are Christians.
Like Mormons, many christian groups consider the theological differences strong enough to not call them christian. Of course Christian is a label that was applied by outsiders to talk about this new sect and so I guess really what counts could be how outsiders think of them.
Take your pick. You can argue either way.
Jehova’s Witneses and Mormons are both Christian. Each would argue they are the TRUE Christians and all the others are misguided. They worship Christ. Jehova’s Witnesses actually started as a Bible study group.
Mormons are about as Christians as Muslims. The only reason they are not lumped together is because they are mostly melanine-deficient.
Their actual name is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” and they self-identity as Christian.
They don’t call themselves “the Church of Joseph Smith of Latter-Day Saints”.
So they’re Jews like all the other Christians?
Only if their mothers were as well
I think you mean melanin. racist AND stupid
They’re famous for distributing tracts door to door.
Like the Mormons a large part of that is making members believe outsiders hate them for their religion…
When really I just hate any random person who knocks on my door.
It’s less to gain members, and more a way to prevent people from leaving.
— the women are saved through childbearing.
That’s how cults grow their numbers.
I’m an atheist so, grain if salt because all religions are pretty dumb to me but… JWs are really quite crazy, even by modern evangelical standards. They believe there are a finite number of individuals that will be allowed into heaven. Believers are in a competition to get to the top of the list. They also believe in absolute mental control over the congregation and members are encouraged to never date outside of the church.
Most of what you list isn’t crazy if you know the texts. For example The 144000 men chosen to fight the Beast’s armies in Armageddon are the basis of the chosen/elect/elite which appears in other denominational theologies.
edit: Christianity is an apocalyptic faith if you already accept that your God died to forgive original sin is a end times battle that crazy?
most of what you said isn’t crazy
…lists out crazy shit …
Shits crazy. Sorry.
If you accept an apocalyptic faith like Christianity are the details of the end times battle that crazy?
….to fight… the beasts armies in armageddon… explain to me how that isn’t fucking crazy, lad?
It’s the end game for that faith? Im not Christian but if you already accept the apocalyptic faith that Christianity is this isn’t crazy within that context
Idk, even when I was a Christian I thought the Joho’s were cray cray.
so… if I believe in crazy stuff the crazy stuff doesn’t seem crazy to me?
Exactly, if you already engage in magical thinking more magical thinking isn’t that crazy.
Online Atheist try to answer a question without first mentioning their atheist and casually insulting all religions first challenge: Impossible
Well maybe if organized religion wasn’t such a cancer on humanity that an unimaginable amount of needless spilled blood across history can be laid at its feet it would be seen in a better light.
Those who know a lot about religion are usually atheists in my experience.
Sure, I didn’t say anything about atheists. I’m saying that there’s no need to announce your own belief and insult other people’s belief to answer a question. I swear these atheists are like the online version of vegans who have to announce it to everyone and judge other ppls decision to talk about something else
Nothing was said that isn’t a universal experience with JWs
In this specific context it is quite relevant that they’re an atheist, and therefore presumably relatively sceptical of religion in general. That’s a bias colouring their response that they’re disclaiming that they have.
This response coming from a Christian, let me try to answer this in a bullet point list:
- they’re strict;
- they don’t celebrate birthdays, or don’t do anything they believe it’s associated with paganism;
- they’re strict;
- they knock on people’s doors with a strict dress code to make more people join in;
- they’re also around the world, as missionaries;
- have I mentioned they’re strict?
thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Don’t take what I said as fact and do your own research.
They’re someone who acted as a witness in the case of Jehovah v. Everyone, a class-action case filed when some dick allegedly caused a flood and destroyed the world.
I have to say allegedly as terms of the settlement
For day-to-day purposes, they’re anti-fun. They don’t celebrate holidays, birthdays, etc.
I’d say your daughter is dodging a bullet, but it’s more like he’s pushing her out of the way.
Hopefully, when (if) he goes to college, he’ll put this crap behind him. Telling young people that they can’t date is ridiculous. Excessive self-denial is not an enjoyable life for yourself or the people around you.
As you’ve probably noticed, I don’t think highly of evangelical religions, or religions that go overboard with rules that dominate your personal life.
If you have the time for an hour-long deep dive into the history, check out this video from a history youtuber I’m a big fan of:
Temporary Residents in this World | Jehovah’s Witnesses - Knowing Better
You can skip the first 2 minutes if you don’t care about the skit stuff.
Knowing Better is such a fantastic youtube channel. I can’t recall this video specifically but ALL of his videos are worth the hour long watch.
I had a close friend in high school who was brought up JW. Sometime afterwards, he decided he didn’t really align with the faith and left the church.
His family immediately kicked him out and estranged themselves from him. (Side note, this was a guy with mental health concerns, which this event naturally did not help with)
That’s coloured my perception of JWs ever since
It colored it accurately.
essentially a cult that believes in alternative christian bible concepts.
I dont trust them because they took a friend of mine i had away from me.
Plenty of good answers here, so I’ll just add my experience with them. They’re (yet another) Christian offshoot/cult. But at least from what I’ve seen they’re not that bad. I used to know a couple of member, and they were alright.
One of the many cults that formed after the Great Disappointment that then managed to get promoted to sect at some point. Others include Mormanism, Branch Davidians, and Seventh-day Adventists. All made of of people still pissed 180 years later that the world didn’t end in 1844.
If you ever want to feel uncomfortable and depressed, go watch a sermon at a Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witness church). It’s all about Armageddon.
They are an Evangelical cult, and unless he is going to leave the group, get your daughter away from him. Otherwise he will try to convert her and manipulate her
A lot of cults deliberately send it out their members to recruit new converts by feigning love. I don’t know if the JW do this but it’s a possibility I’d keep in mind.
This is my concern. Not that he wants to manipulate her to harm her, but that he wants to “save her”. Her being subjected to that pressure could seriously damage her relationship with her family.
Cousin of my wife was in a serious relationship with a JW. I told her it was basically a cult, will isolate you from your fam, and make you dress and behave a certain way( wife said she already changed her dress style to what he wanted). Two years later we get invited to the wedding. No music or booze, we split after eating and congratulating the couple. I haven’t heard mention or news from them. Parents never talk about it so I assume the worst.
Hope they keep the kid away!
It will end up harmful though. Their beliefs about the “place” of women are harmful. That, and their general social isolation, are reasons why I tell people to get away from that cult and deprogram anyone they can.
Agreed, but just to expand on your point - he’s almost 18 and able to make his own choices soon. If he chooses to leave the church his entire immediate family disowns him, that’s for certain. That’s what they do. If he isn’t drinking the kool-aid, having someone there to help could make a huge difference in which direction his life goes.
My sister dated an ex JW at around 18. He stayed on our couch for a few weeks after his family disowned him.
christians in my country label them as perverts.
