Jehovah's Witnesses

The Jehovah's Witnesses is a sect of Christianity that believes:

(1) Bible: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, they hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs.

(2) God: They worship Jehovah as the only true God and freely speak to others about him and his loving purposes toward mankind. Anyone who publicly witnesses about Jehovah is usually identified as belonging to the one group—“Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

(3) Jesus Christ: They believe, not that Jesus Christ is part of a Trinity, but that, as the Bible says, he is the Son of God, the first of God’s creations; that he had a prehuman existence and that his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin, Mary; that his perfect human life laid down in sacrifice makes possible salvation to eternal life for those who exercise faith; that Christ is actively ruling as King, with God-given authority over all the earth since 1914.

(4) God’s Kingdom: They believe that God’s Kingdom is the only hope for mankind; that it is a real government; that it will soon destroy the present wicked system of things, including all human governments, and that it will produce a new system in which righteousness will prevail.

(5) Heavenly life: They believe that 144,000 spirit-anointed Christians will share with Christ in his heavenly Kingdom, ruling as kings with him. They do not believe that heaven is the reward for everyone who is “good.”

(6) The earth: They believe that God’s original purpose for the earth will be fulfilled; that the earth will be completely populated by worshipers of Jehovah and that these will be able to enjoy eternal life in human perfection; that even the dead will be raised to an opportunity to share in these blessings.

(7) Death: They believe that the dead are conscious of absolutely nothing; that they are experiencing neither pain nor pleasure in some spirit realm; that they do not exist except in God’s memory, so hope for their future life lies in a resurrection from the dead.

(8) Last days: They believe that we are living now, since 1914, in the last days of this wicked system of things; that some who saw the events of 1914 will also see the complete destruction of the present wicked world; that lovers of righteousness will survive into a cleansed earth.

(9) Separate from the world: They earnestly endeavor to be no part of the world, as Jesus said would be true of his followers. They show genuine Christian love for their neighbors, but they do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation. They provide for the material needs of their families but shun the world’s avid pursuit of material things and personal fame and its excessive indulgence in pleasure.

(10) Apply Bible counsel: They believe that it is important to apply the counsel of God’s Word in everyday life now—at home, in school, in business, in their congregation. Regardless of a person’s past way of life, he may become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses if he abandons practices condemned by God’s Word and applies its godly counsel. But if anyone thereafter makes a practice of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, drug abuse, drunkenness, lying, or stealing, he will be disfellowshipped from the organization.

Do JW's celebrate holidays?

In general, JW's are against various celebrations:

New Years - A form of worship to the Roman God Janus. MLK Day - It gives honor to humans and not Jehovah or Jesus Groudhog Day - Not covered. Valentines Day - Form of worship to a 'false God' Washington's Birthday - Joho's do not celebrate any birthdays because in the old testament, John the Baptist was killed and beheaded as a gift for Herod's daughter.

Easter - Is not celebrated for two reasons: the first is because they do not believe Jesus rose on easter (shallow reasoning focused on possibly invalid data) and because of the mythical creatures involved. Mother's Day - See MLK day Memorial Day - See MLK day. ALSO: The Johos do not believe in honoring nationalistic themes, colors or other such memes. Thus there are verboten from saluting the flag, singing the anthem or partaking in military service. They are allowed to remove their hats and stand during sporting events as a sign of respect and in consideration for other people's beliefs (which is a contrast of how they react about their own beliefs) Flag Day - The Johos view the US Flag and other national flags as idols, and their stance on idolatry is extremely firm: namely, saluting the flag is tantamount to worshiping the flag and not giving that worship, honor and reverence to God. Independence Day - See Flag day. Father's Day - See MLK day. Labor Day - This holiday is observed and has no known written statutes. Columbus Day - See Labor Day. Halloween - The Johos believe this holiday is a form of appeasing demons, and inviting them into your house. I don't need to explain why this is bad for your health. Thanksgiving Day - Although no written statute is in place, Joho's have been known to decline invitations from family members to partake in dinner celebrations and watch football because it is a holiday, and the course of action that many were raised to believe is that 'I don't celebrate holidays so I can't go'. Christmas - As with Easter, the Joho's believe that everyone has the date of Jesus' birth wrong, so they refuse to celebrate it or even say Merry Christmas (if you want to blame anyone for the Happy Holidays debate, I wont stop you). Also the involvement of mythical creatures. Belief in mythical creatures is a way to incur the wrath of God upon your family as they can sway your belief from him and you might start worshiping the devil. I wont state the obvious, but we all know.

See also

• Religious Scandals