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Old 03-27-2014, 08:46 PM
 
1,138 posts, read 1,036,182 times
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Hi! First off I should state that this is not intended as an anti-JW thread. WhileI ccertainly disagree with their beliefs, I do respect the freedom of religion, even if I do consider Jehova Witnesses to be more of a cult.


Anyway my brother has been seeing this girl for a long time, she is a Jehova Witness and he is not. Now by seeing I mean they're just friends, as JWs are not allowed to date outsiders. I do think they like each other and that is the reason why he started going to Kingdom Hall. Not becausehe llegitimately respects it, just for her. He said he was a '' Christian '' but I never really saw him as one, it's something he never thought about it seriously or understands the Gospel. He just is Christian In Name Only pretty much. He has been changing quite a bit, he dresses differently now, he has stopped listening to metal music, he doesn't play video games anymore, and he's not a sports fan either. It's like he has dropped all of his hobbies. He's a completely different person.

Now like I said, I respect people's religious freedoms and he' s an adult. He can do what he wants to. However I'm starting to have problems with him because he tried to convert me! I'm a Christian, I'm a former Jew who converted. I am well versed on the Bible and study it daily, andI kknow that the JWs are not reading the correct texts, they are reading a perversion of Scriptures. I got into an argument about him and I showed him the KJV and the NIV and compared it with the JW bible and showed him the inaccuracies of his book (which is the whole thing) and how it denies the holiness of Jesus. But he denied it and said that only his book is true because the Elder told him it was.

I tried inviting him to my church but he says mine is false and only his is true and that his is the only way to Heaven. He also says that the only right way to pray is to use God's name '' Jehova'' and as a Christian and a former Jew I certainly know this is wrong. There is no '' J'' sound in Hebrew for God, the Jews did not useit or pray to God with that sound. I try to keep things civil but he isn't respecting my belief and he keeps sending JWs to my house. His JW friends also lied and said that I'm a freemason and he should avoid me, I'm not a freemason, I just have some freemason friends. I have nothing against freemasonry BTW.

I feel like I'm losing my own brother to this. I feel partly responsible because he has always been easily influenced by his environment and I never invited him to Church or tried to teach him the Gospel because I just assumed he was never interested in it. I just don't know what to do.
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Old 03-27-2014, 08:50 PM
 
35,095 posts, read 50,961,628 times
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You can do nothing about your brother's choice for his life. State your concern but nothing more.
I have never heard of a Jehovah Witness being cult like and he will either continue on as he is or he will tire of the novelty of the girl and the rest that goes along with her and move on.
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Old 03-27-2014, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Arizona
28,956 posts, read 16,160,537 times
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The us and them mentality, only serves to divide; but love for others, wins in the end.
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Old 03-27-2014, 10:26 PM
 
Location: Southern Oregon
3,040 posts, read 4,975,708 times
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I think that this is your brothers decision and in the end you can either drive a wedge between you and your brother or you can allow him to make his choice and continue to love your brother. It serves no good to sit and tell your brother he is wrong because your scriptures do not agree, for he can also us the same tactic towards you.
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Old 03-27-2014, 10:40 PM
 
18,185 posts, read 16,752,951 times
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Listen, Jehovah's Witnesses is no better or worse than the 35,000 other Christian sects out there. If he has truly found his soulmate he is to be envied. If my soulmate was a Mormon I'd join so fast it'd make your head spin because in the end it's not your dogma that saves you, it's how you treat your fellow man--the love you show to those in need of it. That's what it's all about.
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Old 03-27-2014, 10:59 PM
 
Location: Chicago Area
12,682 posts, read 6,678,267 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thrillobyte View Post
Listen, Jehovah's Witnesses is no better or worse than the 35,000 other Christian sects out there. If he has truly found his soulmate he is to be envied. If my soulmate was a Mormon I'd join so fast it'd make your head spin because in the end it's not your dogma that saves you, it's how you treat your fellow man--the love you show to those in need of it. That's what it's all about.
So true!

Incidentally, I think the current count on denominations is over 43,000. Still waiting for the 2013 year end numbers to come out though.
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Old 03-27-2014, 11:15 PM
 
Location: sumter
12,931 posts, read 9,540,617 times
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Most Jehovah witnesses I know are pretty good people, this is not the worst thing that can happen to your brother. Don't do anything but love him as your brother. You don't have to like it but we do have freedom of religion in this country.
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Old 03-28-2014, 10:42 AM
 
18,185 posts, read 16,752,951 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by godofthunder9010 View Post
So true!

Incidentally, I think the current count on denominations is over 43,000. Still waiting for the 2013 year end numbers to come out though.
Yeah, so much for the Bible being the "inerrant" Word of God.

If it's so inerrant and its truths so foundational then why do we have nearly 50,000 different versions of Christianity, each with their own interpretation of what it says?
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Old 03-28-2014, 11:43 AM
 
Location: NOVA
274 posts, read 702,016 times
Reputation: 519
Looking at several posts, at first I wasn't sure if I was in the right forum. Are we in "Christianity" forum?

Christianity, from its own nature, has several characteristics that are absolutely non-negotiable, one of which is believing in Jesus as God's son and his resurrection from the death and accepting him as a personal savior. Those who have different views on Jesus than this, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses, are not Christians. For that reason, they are called a heresy. This does not mean that those people are bad or to be despised. I know that they are super nice people that many of us would give great respect for their moral characters. All I'm saying is, they are not Christians. Also, they are not considered a "Christian denomination." Perhaps calling them a cult is unduly harsh, so I would call them people with a belief system of their own.

This comment---
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrillobyte View Post
Listen, Jehovah's Witnesses is no better or worse than the 35,000 other Christian sects out there.
I would rephrase like this---
Jehovah's Witnesses is no better or worse than million other people with any religious belief out there.

But....... is it really so? Is it really no better or worse than any other religion?

In fact, there is inconvenient truth. You say that everyone's religious freedom ought to be respected, just to be politically correct. However, some religious freedom cannot be respected in the society, if the practice and exercise of their religion clash with the societal norm. For example, we do not respect religious freedom of fundamental muslim's intention to kill Americans, no matter how noble they believe that would be. We do not respect Fundamental LDS people's freedom to have multiple wives. And the list goes on.

When it comes to JW, they have several issues that are at odds with the common sense in the society. For example, they choose to die rather than taking blood transfusion. If they decide it for their own life, maybe fine, but the problem is, if they have medical emergency with their child, JW parents do not give consent for transfusion and let the child die. Of course, within their church, this is highly noble and they gain great respect, but for us, it is very difficult to respect them for that decision. Now, would you still say that you respect their religious freedom?

Sorry I'm not offering any help here, I know. OP, you are in a tough situation.
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Old 03-28-2014, 12:39 PM
 
19,942 posts, read 17,082,427 times
Reputation: 2014
I would suggest you read up on the JW's. This site is documented with actual Watchtower material -- so it says what they believe, based on their own publications.

Jehovah's Witnesses | Jehovah Witness | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
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