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dogknox
Guest
What do they believe?
What is the best approach when they come calling!?
**Dogknox **
What is the best approach when they come calling!?
**Dogknox **
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105lynne
Guest
First off, let me just say that any encounter that I’ve ever had with Jehovah witnesses have been good. They seem to be genuine, sweet people. HOWEVER, I do not like when they come knocking. I always tell them I’m Catholic and offer them a Rosary to take with them or I say “hang on, let me go grab a catechism for you to take.” They’re usually gone by the time I get back with one 
I’ve heard that you should answer the door in the nude, but I’m not exactly comfortable with that (lol!).
I’ve always wanted to say “I’m Catholic and I’m busy trying to get pregnant again…excuse me…” Wonder how they would react to that??
I’ve heard that you should answer the door in the nude, but I’m not exactly comfortable with that (lol!).
I’ve always wanted to say “I’m Catholic and I’m busy trying to get pregnant again…excuse me…” Wonder how they would react to that??
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Nicea325
Guest
On the best approach. When I’ve been approached, I have always told them that I am Lutheran, quite solid in my faith, and not willing to consider their teachings. I do this with respect and courtesy. It is ordinarily enough.
If its not, I offer them a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism. That usually does the trick.
Jon
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Cavaradossi
Guest
I’ve been told by a militant atheist Russian friend of mine (who incidentally is not above lying) that telling them you’re Russian Orthodox works rather well (although I have no idea why that might be). It is for situations like this that I am thankful that my apartment complex is closed off and does not allow solicitors in.
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followingtheway
Guest
They believe:
*] Jesus did not die on a cross, He died on a “torture stake”
*] They don’t believe in the trinity doctrine (three in one, one in three), they believe in the father, the son, and the holy spirit are three separate beings.
*] They don’t use blood transfusions because of their interpretation of the Bible verse teaching to abstain from [eating] blood.
*] They don’t believe in hell, wicked people just die and that’s it.
*] They believe only 144,000 people are going to Heaven. Every other Jehovah’s Witness goes to Paradise Earth.
*] They don’t celebrate holidays or birthdays.
*] They go to “kingdom halls” because they believe churches are run by the devil.
*] They believe people sleep until the last judgment.
Polite :sad_yes: Have to be…
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Mark_David
Guest
That Jesus isn’t God, for one thing. Jehovah’s Witnesses is heresies built upon heresies.
If you’re not well-versed in Scripture or theology, it’s probably best to tell them that you’re a Catholic and then politely decline to discuss anything further. If you have friendly chat, believe me, they’ll be back - again, and again…
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Nicea325
Guest
They also deny the Holy Spirit is a person…:nope: Not good!
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GEddie
Guest
- They deny that our LORD rose physically from death, but teach that HE became a spirit. Some also say that HE is also the Archangel Michael
- They forbid voting, participation in public office, or military service, because they believe the civil state to be under evil command
- They have a propensity for predicting the “end of the age,” most famously in 1914; when they published a book entitled “Millions Now Living will Never Die.” (Pretty much everybody living in 1914 has since died, though.) Their most recent such prediction was in 1975.
- They use a unique version of the Bible, the New World translation, which has “doctored” certain verses to support Watchtower teachings such as Non-Trinity and Human Soul-Sleep.
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mackbrislawn
Guest
The Watchtower deliberately teaches doctrines as different from “Christendom” as possible. This is on purpose, to show how wrong Christendom is!
One particularly virulent doctrine, and one they will not tell you at all, if they ever tell you, is that Jesus is the mediator not for you, but only for members of the 144,000, the “anointed” as they call them. Plus, the Christian scriptures are only written to the 144,000, NOT to any others. I’ll repeat that: the contents of the Christian scriptures are for the anointed and apply to them only, not to the vast majority of humanity, who are the “other sheep.”
This means also that only the 144,000 become children of God, nobody else is a child of God. Being a child of God is taken away from you. Also, the bread and wine at the Witness’s version of the Last Supper is only consumed by members of the 144,000. Only. Everybody else just passes the “elements” along without partaking. (There are only about 5,000 or so members of the 144,000 left on earth, so in most Witness congregations no one partakes.)
So, a question to ask a Witness is, to whom is the bible written? The answer should be, to the 144,000. Ask, is Jesus my mediator? If the Witness asnwers correctly, the answer should be no, Jesus is not your mediator.
This is vital to know, that for someone who becomes a Witness, Jesus is taken away from them as a mediator. Ask them, who or what then, is the mediator for the ordinary Witness? The answer given should be: the 144,000.
Ask also, what is the baptismal formula used by the Watchtower. Ask if it is the one found at Matthew 28:19.
Show them Acts 2:38, and then ask them what the Watchtowr teaches the purpose of baptism is.
These are questions the Witness would rather not answer; they may become evasive. It puts them on the defensive, and they much prefer to be on the offensive. It is even possible that the particular Witness you are talking to may not even realize the correct answers. If they don’t, insist that they consult with the Kingdom Hall elders and get the right answers there.
Maybe this will get the Witness to thinking, and who knows, maybe the Holy Spirit will be able to work on them.
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dogknox
Guest
A big “Thank You” to all who have replied to my request…Your information was useful!
On my first encounter with them I asked…
How do you know your church is the right one, because the Mormons also claim to have the True Church!! How can you prove you are not wrong and the Mormons not right!?
They tended to skip the answer with weird looks!! They could not answer… What should I have done. Pursued them for an answer ??!
What I did do was move on…
Then I mentioned the bible did not fall out of the sky, covered and pages all numbered! I asked; Where did they get their bible? Who made it?
They replied “It is inspired from God… God made it, we got it from him!”
I then said there was NO >>BIBLES<< for the first 400 years, it was the CHURCH that TAUGHT and Preached salvation! I said; The CHURCH made the bible, they replied “NO the church did not!!”
(I am Catholic) I told them “The Catholic Church made the bible”… “The Pope closed the canon of scripture in 400 A.D.!!”
They said; The Catholic Church was made by Constantine, there was no Catholic Church until Constantine.
They did come back but, I was not home, they left their pamphlets.
I want to be better prepared for the next visit… **Suggestions!!! **
**Dogknox **
On my first encounter with them I asked…
How do you know your church is the right one, because the Mormons also claim to have the True Church!! How can you prove you are not wrong and the Mormons not right!?
They tended to skip the answer with weird looks!! They could not answer… What should I have done. Pursued them for an answer ??!
What I did do was move on…
Then I mentioned the bible did not fall out of the sky, covered and pages all numbered! I asked; Where did they get their bible? Who made it?
They replied “It is inspired from God… God made it, we got it from him!”
I then said there was NO >>BIBLES<< for the first 400 years, it was the CHURCH that TAUGHT and Preached salvation! I said; The CHURCH made the bible, they replied “NO the church did not!!”
(I am Catholic) I told them “The Catholic Church made the bible”… “The Pope closed the canon of scripture in 400 A.D.!!”
They said; The Catholic Church was made by Constantine, there was no Catholic Church until Constantine.
They did come back but, I was not home, they left their pamphlets.
I want to be better prepared for the next visit… **Suggestions!!! **
**Dogknox **
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T_More
Guest
Dogknox, I was a JW for about 25 years. The statements made by these JW’s at your door are not surprising and pretty much reflect what the rank and file JW would say to you. There is so much ignorance of history that one cannot expect them to respond with anything other than what they fired back at you.
I know you probably don’t have access to this, but JW’s have a two volume Dictionary/Encyclopedia that they themsleves publish called “Insight on the Scriptures” (it used to be called “Aid to Bible Understanding”,you can find free PFD downloads online) that they use for reference material for subjects such as what you were discussing with them. Of course, the “history” presented in these publications are very biased and rudimentary. Under the section called “Canon” in volume 1, the book states that the canon of scripture was closed at the end of the 2nd century, but cites no source as evidence for this and expects the reader to take their word for it. They also name individuals such as Ignatius, Irenaeus, Polycarp, Justin Martyr and many others in this section (in a positive manner too), but don’t reveal who these men really were. It could be quite enlightening for them (it was for me, but I was searching) to see some of Ignatius quotes, for example, and show them how he names the Catholic Church in about 107 AD. Starting with history could plant a seed.
Something you could show as well:
“Catholic is the Anglicized (English) version of the Latin word Catholicus which is a Latinized version of the Greek word: καθολικη, transliterated into our alphabet as Katholikos. Katholikos means universal and is derived from kata (throughout) and holos (the whole).
In Acts 9:31, the Greek phrase: ekklesia kath olos, translated as “the church throughout all” (RSV) or “the church everywhere” (NCV), seems to me a likely origin of the phrase “the Catholic Church” (katholikos ekklesia) first documented in Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Smyraeans in A.D. 107.”
Acts 9:31 (RSV)
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Sama’ria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.
So, you could show them that “Jehovah’s Witnesses” aren’t mentioned in the NT, but here we have this description and ask what they make of that.
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dogknox
Guest
T More Thank you for the information.
Question: Do the JW’s have Bishops in their congregation? Scriptures have Bishops and Deacons and Elders!
Do they Baptize for the forgiveness of sins?
Acts 2… “Repent be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins”!
Do they Baptize to “**ADD **people to the Body of Jesus”!? AS Catholic’s do and have always done!
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Do they believe Jesus is ALWAYS with his Church? I reason I ask this is… Do the JW’s have some sort of timeline for the growth of their (church) from Jesus up to today!
If not, Can they believe Jesus said “I am ALWAYS with” when he was NOT always with them!!
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely** I am with you always**, to the very end of the age.”
I have asked this same question to Protestants, “Has Jesus been** ALWAYS with** your church”?
I did point out to them “Russel formed their Church” they replied … “NOPE… Jesus formed the JW Church”!
Do they have history back before “Russel?” What sort of direction should I proceed from this point with them!
Dogknox
Question: Do the JW’s have Bishops in their congregation? Scriptures have Bishops and Deacons and Elders!
Do they Baptize for the forgiveness of sins?
Acts 2… “Repent be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins”!
Do they Baptize to “**ADD **people to the Body of Jesus”!? AS Catholic’s do and have always done!
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Do they believe Jesus is ALWAYS with his Church? I reason I ask this is… Do the JW’s have some sort of timeline for the growth of their (church) from Jesus up to today!
If not, Can they believe Jesus said “I am ALWAYS with” when he was NOT always with them!!
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely** I am with you always**, to the very end of the age.”
I have asked this same question to Protestants, “Has Jesus been** ALWAYS with** your church”?
I did point out to them “Russel formed their Church” they replied … “NOPE… Jesus formed the JW Church”!
Do they have history back before “Russel?” What sort of direction should I proceed from this point with them!
Dogknox
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Nicea325
Guest
The next time JW’s tell you Constantine founded the RCC,ask them to present ancient documents and sources clearing showing Constantine founded a “new” Christian Church? Ask them who joined it and give names of those indivduals who left the “Christian” church to go join this “new” Church?
I can bet all of my life savings,they will never come again to show you such proof.
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Nicea325
Guest
But T, you should know of all people that is their source of tension: History outside their own organization.They are so quick to jump the gun by calling it and label it apostasy and a bunch of other hoopla.
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dogknox
Guest
Very good point… If Constantine formed the Catholic Church, where o where is the Christian Church in his day!?The next time JW’s tell you Constantine founded the RCC,ask them to present ancient documents and sources clearing showing Constantine founded a “new” Christian Church? Ask them who joined it and give names of those indivduals who left the “Christian” church to go join this “new” Church?
I can bet all of my life savings,they will never come again to show you such proof.
Thank you
Dogknox
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Nicea325
Guest
Trust me on this. I once lived with a JW for 6 years and he never would answer me or go out of his to prove me wrong. I have yet to encounter a JW who is well versed in historical matters,especially the early church. Most simply parrot what they have been told or have heard.
Indeed,my JW ex-roommate would tell me Jesus founded the JW organization? Really? Wow! Please provide historical evidence where the JW can trace their roots back to Jesus? :whacky:
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mackbrislawn
Guest
Actually, JW;s do have bishops and deacons and elders. They just don’t call them that. Bishops they call overseers, such as district and circuit overseers. That is what the word bishop means scripturally, overseer. Episkopos.
They have elders in the congregation, which kind of correspond to priests. Deacons would be ministerial servants. Why they don’t use the scriptural term I don’t know. Of course, the Watchtower has changed terminology over the years.
But the Watchtower also has a president of the Watchtower corporation, which corresponds to the pope! And they have a governing body of the corporation, which is like the college of cardinals! So you can see that the organization of the Watchtower Society is very similar to that of the Catholic Church. They are a miniature Catholic Church.
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sedonaman
Guest
Some Catholics [moi included] figure that if you tell them you are Catholic, they will assume you are firm in your faith, thank you, and be on their way. However, this is not the case. JWs consider the Catholic Church a main target. One of them, upon hearing I was a Catholic, immediately said, “Oh, I used to be Catholic, too!” Quite the salesman!
There is a Catholic website that will give you an insight to JW, but in order to carry out the various strategies for countering their arguments, you have to be as practiced as they are. Few are ready to commit that much time preparing for an event that happens unexpectedly only once or twice a year. They seem to have a different question they open with each week. They rehearse these with fellow JWs and try to anticipate what the prospect will ask at different places in their pitch and develop a response.Sample Openings
Five openings are given under the heading “Bible/ God.” The first reads this way: “Hello. I’m making just a brief call to share an important message with you. Please note what it says here in the Bible. (Read Scripture, such as Revelation 21:3-4.) What do you think about that? Does it sound good to you?”
Notice the hook: “an important message.” It works for the advertising industry; why not in this context? Then come the Bible verses, followed by questions. The missionaries don’t tell their listener what to think – at least not at this point. Instead, they elicit his views. Once he gives them, it’s awkward for him to back out of the conversation. They can toss out a few more questions, then make their point.
Notice also in this example and in many of the ones which follow, JWs typically ask prospective converts for their own opinion or feeling on a theological matter. The advantage this approach has for JWs is that virtually everyone has some kind of opinion on the subject matter presented, so this approach practically guarantees that JWs can successfully engage a person in a dialogue. Once the dialogue has been established, the JW is then on his way to potentially making a convert. Fortunately for the JW, the average person fails to realize that theological or religious truth does not depend on one’s mere opinion or feeling.
Strategies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/Strategies_of_Jehovah_Witness.asp
History of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/History_of_the_Jehovah_Witnesesses.asp
Stumpers for the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/Stumpers_for_Jehovah_Witnesse.asp
One approach I’ve tried with some success is to let them do all the talking, and I mean all of it. Don’t answer any questions, don’t agree or disagree, don’t even say “yes” or “no”. Whenever you even ask a question, you are giving them information. IOW, Let them make their case.
Good luck!
There is a Catholic website that will give you an insight to JW, but in order to carry out the various strategies for countering their arguments, you have to be as practiced as they are. Few are ready to commit that much time preparing for an event that happens unexpectedly only once or twice a year. They seem to have a different question they open with each week. They rehearse these with fellow JWs and try to anticipate what the prospect will ask at different places in their pitch and develop a response.Sample Openings
Five openings are given under the heading “Bible/ God.” The first reads this way: “Hello. I’m making just a brief call to share an important message with you. Please note what it says here in the Bible. (Read Scripture, such as Revelation 21:3-4.) What do you think about that? Does it sound good to you?”
Notice the hook: “an important message.” It works for the advertising industry; why not in this context? Then come the Bible verses, followed by questions. The missionaries don’t tell their listener what to think – at least not at this point. Instead, they elicit his views. Once he gives them, it’s awkward for him to back out of the conversation. They can toss out a few more questions, then make their point.
Notice also in this example and in many of the ones which follow, JWs typically ask prospective converts for their own opinion or feeling on a theological matter. The advantage this approach has for JWs is that virtually everyone has some kind of opinion on the subject matter presented, so this approach practically guarantees that JWs can successfully engage a person in a dialogue. Once the dialogue has been established, the JW is then on his way to potentially making a convert. Fortunately for the JW, the average person fails to realize that theological or religious truth does not depend on one’s mere opinion or feeling.
Strategies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/Strategies_of_Jehovah_Witness.asp
History of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/History_of_the_Jehovah_Witnesesses.asp
Stumpers for the Jehovah’s Witnesses
catholic.com/library/Stumpers_for_Jehovah_Witnesse.asp
One approach I’ve tried with some success is to let them do all the talking, and I mean all of it. Don’t answer any questions, don’t agree or disagree, don’t even say “yes” or “no”. Whenever you even ask a question, you are giving them information. IOW, Let them make their case.
Good luck!
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