Something has been nagging at my brain lately. Jehovah's Witness don't believe in the holy trinity. Most other Christian sects do. Acknowledgement of said trinity is not specifically written in the Bible to be required for salvation, but most evangelicals say it is. Assuming that the requirements in place, which include but are not restricted to: acceptance of Christ as lord and savior, belief in biblical teachings, confession of sins, etc., are universal for all Christians, does the evangelical Christian of another denomination believe that the Jehovah's Witness will have the same access to Heaven? And if so, why the fuck are there denominations at all? If the minutia of practice and belief is unimportant to the end goal, why bother with it? Any theists want to weigh in? Trying to understand you people is confusing.
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Trying to understand emotion with logical thought tends to lead to frustration.
@Jared Alesi: "why the fuck are there denominations at all?"
Why do we have Coke and Pepsi? They're basically indistinguishable apart from the packaging and advertising, and both are equally harmful and useless. We could live a lot better without either of them.
The JWs are the modern descendants of the Arian heresy in 349CE. they disclaim the divinity of Jesus.
The founder of the JWs was a very dodgy salesman and in the 40s/ 50's (unsure exactly when) the whole tenet had to be rewritten when they realised that there were more than the 144,000 JW's (See Revelations) who were promised resurrection and to reclaim the earth.
The model of the JWs way of life is based around enforced tithing, ostracism for infractions, strict codes of internal authority and social interraction. Teens are monitored for "bad influence" as are all who have to work. Vast get togethers are regular events where mass hysteria rules, its a very Amway/MLM kind of atmosphere.
Regarding Child Abuse, the "elders" make the decisions on reporting this and more often than not it is suppressed and the victim held accountable. Much written in the Royal Commission (Australia 2017) enquiry where they "promised to mend their procedures...which of course is bollocks.
I've included some links below but I had a long working association with some JWS
What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe? | Jehovah's Witnesses—Who ...
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/.../what-do-jehovahs-witnes...
The Witnesses believe that “all Scripture is inspired of God.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Jason D. BeDuhn, an associate professor of religious studies, wrote: “[Jehovah's Witnesses built] their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there.” They align their beliefs with ...
9 Things You Should Know About Jehovah's Witnesses
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/.../9-things-you-should-know-about-je......
Apr 29, 2016 - Jehovah's Witnesses (hereafter JWs) consider themselves to be Christians (but not Protestants), even though they reject the doctrine of the Trinity. JWs claim that Jesus was not divine and that the Holy Spirit is an “active force” and not a person. JWs believe that Jesus is God's only direct creation, “the ...
Jehovah's Witnesses - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
"Why are there denominations at all? If the minutia of practice and belief is unimportant to the end goal, why bother with it?"
A lot of denominations are primarily regional. Keep in mind that what the protestant reformation did was bring the Bible to the people, allowing the individual to decide how they want to serve God. So as the Bible became translated into new languages, those people could now set up their own churches under the umbrella of Protestantism. Today all these churches have spread and overlap with each other. But back in the day a German Protestant would have been Lutheran. The French were Huguenots. Presbyterianism in Scotland. Anabaptists in Switzerland.
I think most of the well known churches were born in England: Methodists, Anglicans, Puritans. Then you have the churches in America, such as Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses.
Good Point Breezy,
Like after the invention of the automobile each country produced an auto suitable for local conditions and income. Basic marketing then. Fill up the market until competition weeds out the weaker (Shakers,Original 7th Dayers) and all the other failed sects too numerous to mention.
So I get your point Breezy, christianity since its inception has just been a giant marketing ploy perpetrated to enrich the few at the expense of the credulous many. Bravo,I concur!
@ Jared Alesi
You hit on a good point. If the christian god is real there would not be denominations. The fact is the myth is so convoluted that there is NOT a standard. That essentially indicates that none of it is real. It's like play "whispers", a myth that changes with each telling!
I consider all religions equally invalid. Their sectarian differences only concern me if people get hurt or one sect gains political power.
That belief that Jesus rose from the dead is the only doctrine that I can think of that seems common to every branch of Christianity. After that it is pretty much a free for all.
Jehovah Witnesses are cultish and not considered basic Christianity They don`t celebrate holidays or birthdays your correct in stating that they don`t recognize the trinity. They have there own bible based on errors in the Greek The translation of the world new testament is rife with errors. Do you know that they disassociate from family members if they leave the cult and have nothing to do with them.
@AB Re: "Jehovah Witnesses are cultish..."
Yeah, and various other Christian denominations aren't cultish at all...... Riiiiiiiiight....
These pages are full of atheists who have either been abandoned (or worse) by (non-JW) Christian family because of their atheism, or are living in fear that they will be, should their secret get out. What you are describing as a cult, is your own religion.
Like YOU don't belong to a cult AG. You believe in a myth and yet you denigrate people that believe in YOUR FUCKING MYTH! You're a fucking hypocrite!
The Roman Catholic church used to dominate Europe in the dark ages. In 1525 Martin Luther, at odds with the Catholic church because he disagreed with indulgences, began forming what is now known as Protestantism. In 1534 Henry VIII broke away too, and formed the Church of England. Interestingly, that triggered modern capitalism, the result being that England began to grow into the global superpower it enjoyed for many,many years. Amazing what happens when you break away from an organization that cripples free thought and nation-building.
That started a cascade, splinter organizations broke off because of different interpretations from Protestantism or Catholicism. And today, we have approximately 40,000 different organizations, all with their own unique spin on the bible.
That is how whacked the bible is, because of it's many discrepancies and ways to be interpreted, there is no clear path to Christianity. Everyone who reads the bible comes away with their own perspective.
IMO the decline in absolute power and restrictions on thought by the Catholic church at that time also allowed thinkers to begin to advance the sciences. Up to that point, scholars were more concerned debating on how many angels danced on the head of a pin.
In 1534 Henry VIII broke away too
Henry initially opposed the Reformation and wrote a book defending the supremacy of the Pope, who in gratitude granted him the title of Defensor Fidei (Defender of the Faith). When the Pope wouldn't give him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Henry created his own church. But British monarchs ever since have proudly claimed the title of Defensor Fidei. It was even inscribed on English coins (not sure if that's still the case).
If there was such a thing as objective morality, you wouldn't have the various religions condemning each other.