Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

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polonius
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Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #1

Post by polonius »

Do Jehovah Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be God? If so, does it maintain that there are two divine persons? God and Jesus Christ?

Are both God and Jesus eternal and coequal?

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

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Post by Elijah John »

polonius wrote: Do Jehovah Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be God? If so, does it maintain that there are two divine persons? God and Jesus Christ?

Are both God and Jesus eternal and coequal?
Yes, JW's are Christian. No they do not believe that Jesus is God, but rather, as Paul indicates "the firstborn of all Creation though whom all things were created." Not co-eternal*.

There is very little evidence the first disciples of Jesus considered him to be God either. Certainly not the authors of the Didache, a manual for new converts and attributed to the apostles.

*(Witnesses, please correct me if I'm wrong)
My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #3

Post by JehovahsWitness »

polonius wrote: Do Jehovah Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be God?
No we dont believe Jesus to be equal to YHWH Almighty God.
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 572#751572
polonius wrote: If so, does it maintain that there are two divine persons?
The word "divine" basically means "like god", "godly" it doesnt mean EQUAL to god ...there are millions of divine persons. None of whom are equal to the one, supreme Almighty Creator of all things Jehovah (YHWH).
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 896#870896
polonius wrote:
Are both God and Jesus eternal and coequal?
No, we dont believe so. We hold that Jesus is a created being that at one time didn't exist. Only the Almighty, YHWH is without beginning.
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 590#957590
polonius wrote: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?
Yes, absolutely. There is nothing in the bible that mandates believing Jesus equal to his Father to qualify as being Cnristian.
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 340#837340




JEHOVAH'S WITNESS


NOTE All posts I write represent my personal faith based beliefs as one of Jehovah's Witnesses
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

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Post by Checkpoint »

polonius wrote: Do Jehovah Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be God? If so, does it maintain that there are two divine persons? God and Jesus Christ?

Are both God and Jesus eternal and coequal?
Your title question is in no way furthered by your post content and questions.

For this thread, please specify the meaning intended by "a Christian religion".

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #5

Post by PinSeeker »

JehovahsWitness wrote: No we dont believe Jesus to be equal to YHWH Almighty God.
Right, so Jehovah's Witnesses reject John 5:18 (among other texts). From the NWT directly (along with the rest of the passage leading up to that verse:
  • "After this Jesus found him in the temple and said to him: 'See, you have become well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse does not happen to you.' The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things during the Sabbath. But he answered them: 'My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working.' This is why the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God." (emphasis mine)
The fact that John, the author of one of the four gospels, wrote this is all the evidence necessary to prove that the apostles all knew perfectly well what Jesus had claimed and affirmed it clearly.
JehovahsWitness wrote: We hold that Jesus is a created being that at one time didn't exist. Only the Almighty, YHWH is without beginning.
There is no merit to this at all. Christ is the firstfruits of all creation. To translate that as "first born" is not wrong, but easily misunderstood. Here is a fuller explanation:

Paul’s draws upon an agricultural metaphor to address errors that some Corinthians were promoting. Many of them held that most, if not all, of the final events in God’s plan had already happened in their day. Some believed there would be “no resurrection of the dead� (v. 12), teaching that the physical resurrection had already happened or that resurrection is merely spiritual and does not involve physical restoration (which still persists today; some on this very forum argue that). Both views are heretical. The first denies the literal bodily return of Jesus at the end of the age to judge the world (Acts 1:6–11). The second view is at odds with the Bible’s teaching that redemption will be consummated in a renewal of all creation. Though our spirits dwell with Christ when we die, they will be reunited with our glorified physical bodies on the last day, and we will dwell in a new heaven and earth (Daniel 12:1–2; Revelation 21:1–4).

The firstfruits are the first crops that farmers can gather from a harvest. These fruits are a foretaste and sure sign of the full harvest to come. Obviously, the full harvest is more abundant, but the firstfruits are not radically different than the fruit of the completed harvest. For example, if pears are the firstfruits, there will be a full harvest of pears, not corn. In describing Jesus’ resurrection as firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20, 23), Paul indicates that our resurrection will be of the same kind as our Lord’s. Like Jesus, each of us will have a resurrected physical body. Like Jesus, each of us will possess this body forever. Both the firstfruits and the final harvest, then, are physical, bodily resurrections. Moreover, just as firstfruits reveal the harvest’s certainty, Christ’s resurrection proves that we, too, will be raised if we are in Him.

Jesus was not "born" in the mere sense that until some point He didn't exist. To think so is a terrible misreading of Scripture.
JehovahsWitness wrote: There is nothing in the bible that mandates believing Jesus equal to his Father to qualify as being Christian.
Agreed, but it does propagate it as true over and over again. And if one denies -- proclaims untrue -- what God has said is true regarding Himself, then... Well, let's just say that's not a good position to be in. :)

Grace and peace to you all.

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #6

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 5 by PinSeeker]

No, we dont reject anything in the bible, we just interpret it differently than most.
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 519#935519


Grace and peace to you,


JW
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #7

Post by polonius »

Checkpoint wrote:
polonius wrote: Do Jehovah Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be God? If so, does it maintain that there are two divine persons? God and Jesus Christ?

Are both God and Jesus eternal and coequal?
Your title question is in no way furthered by your post content and questions.

For this thread, please specify the meaning intended by "a Christian religion".
RESPONSE: If you don't understand a term, check your dictionary.

"relating to or professing Christianity or its teachings."

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #8

Post by Tcg »

[Replying to post 1 by polonius]

The Jehovah's Witnesses aren't a Christian Religion, they are a branch of Christian Religion. They are sometimes presented as a unique religion but are in fact simply one branch of the many branches of Chrsitiantiy.

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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #9

Post by Tcg »

[Replying to post 1 by polonius]

The Jehovah's Witnesses aren't a Christian Religion, they are a branch of the Christian Religion. There are many branches of this religion. They are simply one of the more recent ones.


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Re: Is the Jehovah Witness Religion a Christian Religion?

Post #10

Post by Checkpoint »

Tcg wrote: [Replying to post 1 by polonius]

The Jehovah's Witnesses aren't a Christian Religion, they are a branch of the Christian Religion. There are many branches of this religion. They are simply one of the more recent ones.


Tcg
What?

They aren't but they are?

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