During the “Ask The Pastor” meetings on Wednesday nights at the church I serve, many questions come up that I don’t have the time or equipment to be able to give a full answer to. I believe there are many who have similar concerns and questions, so for a little while I’m going to use this forum to share a few resources to dig deeper into these important topics.
Jehovah’s Witnesses come up in conversation more times than one might think. I guess that it’s because there are many people who know JW’s and there don’t seem to be many obvious differences between their faith and ours. Many JW’s are nice people, talk about Jesus, share their faith, and care about their families… just like Christians. So what are the differences? Are they just a different kind of Christian?
The short answer is simply this: No, they are not Christian. When you look deeper into their beliefs, theology, and religious practices, there are some very important and striking differences that cause the evangelical community to purposefully separate themselves from the JW’s and call them a cult. That may seem harsh, but if you check out the links below, you’ll understand why.
Important Note: I’m not giving this to you so you can bible-thump the JW’s that come to your door, but for the strengthening of your own faith, and to equip you to address the differences with clarity, grace and love.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
GotQuestions is a great place to start for a quick history and overview of their beliefs.
John Ankerberg has been helping Christians understand other religions for a long time and has some helpful links:
- A summery of JW’s history and beliefs
- Facts Jehovah’s Witnesses won’t tell you when calling at your door [Some of these seem pretty far fetched at first -- like them believing that the cross is a pagan sex symbol or that Jesus is the Archangel Michael-- but I checked some of them out (not all) on the Jehovah's Witnesses own website, and they were confirmed! Their records only go back to 2000, so some of the older stuff wasn't there.]
