Mom and the Jehovas Witnesses

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jeanne71350

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Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
 
jeanne71350 said:
Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
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It depends on your judgment of how your Mom will respond. Do you think she will follow your advice? If not, you have to be less direct. You might have to resort to prayer. You sure aren’t obligated to familiarize yourself with Watchtower literature. But it might be necessary to read it if you think you could refute it successfully for your Mom. If you think you are unequal to the task, pray.

There is no universal answer. It is all prudential, depending on how you judge your relationship with Mom. God bless you and Mom both. I include her in my prayers at Mass tomorrow.

Rory
 
Well, how devout of a Catholic is she? How well does she know her faith? JW’s prey upon poorly catechized Catholics who don’t know scripture well enough.

Should you read it? What are your motives? Is it to understand the JW faith better? This can be accomplished by researching online. If you want to pose a question to the visiting JW’s, I would ask them why their bible is so different from yours. John 1 is the obvious, but that would be a good starting point and ask why the discrepency. They’ll probably answer that “Well we believe that Christ is the son of a God, but not God”, or something to that effect. A good response to that may be, "I can appreciate what you believe, but that’s not the point. Your beliefs cannot override what sacred scripture says, and the original text reads, ‘The Word was God’, not ‘The Word was a god’.

Following up with that might be something like, “So, by what rightful authority do JW’s have to change what sacred scripture says?” At that point, they’ll either end the discussion and leave (very likely), or, state that they have the right as they are God’s organization here on earth (very unlikely). Keep us posted, and pray, as it is above all, your greatest ally.
 
T_More said:
Well, how devout of a Catholic is she? How well does she know her faith? JW’s prey upon poorly catechized Catholics who don’t know scripture well enough.

Should you read it? What are your motives? Is it to understand the JW faith better? This can be accomplished by researching online. If you want to pose a question to the visiting JW’s, I would ask them why their bible is so different from yours. John 1 is the obvious, but that would be a good starting point and ask why the discrepency. They’ll probably answer that “Well we believe that Christ is the son of a God, but not God”, or something to that effect. A good response to that may be, "I can appreciate what you believe, but that’s not the point. Your beliefs cannot override what sacred scripture says, and the original text reads, ‘The Word was God’, not ‘The Word was a god’.

Following up with that might be something like, “So, by what rightful authority do JW’s have to change what sacred scripture says?” At that point, they’ll either end the discussion and leave (very likely), or, state that they have the right as they are God’s organization here on earth (very unlikely). Keep us posted, and pray, as it is above all, your greatest ally.
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Hi T More…:tiphat:

I have done exactly what you have said and most of the time I find them dodging the question or claiming they are God’s organization here on earth. JW’s are dangerous and I always tell Catholics to be aware of their tactics.
 
jeanne71350 said:
Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
Click to expand...
I always read JW’s material in order to catch all of their errors and swiss cheese theology. I have caught many errors or distortions about Catholicism.
 
Nicea325 said:
Hi T More…:tiphat:

I have done exactly what you have said and most of the time I find them dodging the question or claiming they are God’s organization here on earth. JW’s are dangerous and I always tell Catholics to be aware of their tactics.
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It’s not easy, I know. Baby steps have to be taken. I find easier to have their own bible (easy for me, I used to be one) or even better, their Interlinear, and having a listening ear, which is tough. They are there to convert you, so most are not in a listening mode, they’re in the sales mode. If their sales pitch is thwarted, then they instantly think that the person is a goat and not a sheep and aren’t generally interested in dialogue. You almost have to play dumb and asked questions rather than try and show them up.

Do not be fooled when they make the claim that they are happy to use whatever bible the other person would like. Their New World Translation is the most corrupted version you can ever run across.
 
jeanne71350 said:
Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
Click to expand...
Go to This Rock (here on catholic.com), type in Jehovas Witnesses and do some reading. They’re basically Arians, they beleive that Jesus isn’t really God. To them, only Jehova God is truely God. This is pretty easy and quick to dispell.
 
Make friends with a Baptist, invite them over and let them fight this battle for you.
 
Your Mom may be in real trouble here, if she agrees to listen to these people. Jehovas Witnesses are looking for converts, not dialog or interesting discussion; they will zero in on anyone who cannot defend the faith. I would try and persuade your Mom to not be home when these ladies come back and not answer the door if they return after that, they will be very persistent. The next best thing would be to have someone there with your Mom, when they come back, who will be able to provide the Catholic answers to their pitch. Of course, she can always tell them that she is Catholic, no longer intersted in what they have to say, thank them for their time and then send them on their way.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicea325
Hi T More…
Click to expand...
I have done exactly what you have said and most of the time I find them dodging the question or claiming they are God’s organization here on earth. JW’s are dangerous and I always tell Catholics to be aware of their tactics.
Click to expand...
It’s not easy, I know. Baby steps have to be taken. I find easier to have their own bible (easy for me, I used to be one) or even better, their Interlinear, and having a listening ear, which is tough.
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But wouldn’t that defeat the purpose,if one uses their Bible? I usually ask them what Bible they prefer I use? The NKJV? RSV CE 2nd edition? Orthodox Bible?
They are there to convert you, so most are not in a listening mode, they’re in the sales mode.
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Oh yes they are on a mission to convert and seem to ignore everything one says.
If their sales pitch is thwarted, then they instantly think that the person is a goat and not a sheep and aren’t generally interested in dialogue. You almost have to play dumb and asked questions rather than try and show them up.
Click to expand...
I am sorry,but I usually challenge their doctrines and try to show them how flawed it is with orthodoxy.
 
jeanne71350 said:
Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
Click to expand...
I would bone up on my apologetics and go over there with her the day they come back, and run iterference.
 
They used to not let me talk very much, so I would always try to slip in a couple of questions about what they had left me, mostly because of the pairs they come in, one is usually in training. I always hoped to plant a seed of doubt.

At our old house, she used to come by every couple of months, but after the second time here, they stopped coming. 😦
 
Don’t even let them in the door…hand them back their literature…arguing, talking with them is insane…Ask your Mother to remember Christ, God and the Holy Spirit…and pray a whole lot.

stormy
 
jeanne71350 said:
Hi there,

Well, the other day my mom told me that some Jehovas Witnesses came to our house and started talking to her. She told me she didn’t tell them that she’s Catholic, so they gave her a booklet to read called “What’s Really in the Bible”. She told me that they are coming back next week to discuss it with her. She’s been reading it a lot, and she told me to read it, but I don’t want to.

What should I do about this?

-Jeanne
Click to expand...
have her ask them, why their founder Charles taze russell, was twice found to be a purgerer in a court of law. once for his so called miracle wheat, that was actually inferior, and the second time, when he stated he knew the hebrew language and couldnt read a few simple letters while up on the stand. if the founder is a fraud, then… the movement probably is too. Peace 🙂
 
There right. They are here to convert. I went to a Thursday evening service of theirs just to listen. While they had a nice opening prayer, what jumped put at me was how they actually actually rehearsed twice, scenarios when they go to a house. But, what regrettably made me mad was that I told a few that I was catholic and they went out of their way to try to discredit saints. Now, I don’t believe them, as it all sounds rehearsed and I’m a newly baptized catholic and won’t ever change that. but, as I didn’t know the bible quote to justify the catholic belief in saints I just stayed silent. Anyone know the bible quote justifying our belief in saints? The only reason I went there was curiousity.
 
gmcbroom said:
There right. They are here to convert. I went to a Thursday evening service of theirs just to listen. While they had a nice opening prayer, what jumped put at me was how they actually actually rehearsed twice, scenarios when they go to a house. But, what regrettably made me mad was that I told a few that I was catholic and they went out of their way to try to discredit saints. Now, I don’t believe them, as it all sounds rehearsed and I’m a newly baptized catholic and won’t ever change that. but, as I didn’t know the bible quote to justify the catholic belief in saints I just stayed silent. Anyone know the bible quote justifying our belief in saints? The only reason I went there was curiousity.
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Which particular aspect? Praying to them?
 
Nicea325 said:
Quote:

But wouldn’t that defeat the purpose,if one uses their Bible? I usually ask them what Bible they prefer I use? The NKJV? RSV CE 2nd edition? Orthodox Bible?
Click to expand...
Allow me to clarify. If one has possession of one of their bibles, then one can familiarize themselves with that version, and then compare that to whatever translation you wish, and ask them why does a verse says what it does. In other words, quote a verse from an authentic bible that you know is clearly altered in the NWT. When the NWT is pulled out by them and you both see that it is different from your own when you pull yours out, ask whose is right? They’ll go through all their gyrations to defend it, but in the end, they’ll lose all creditability. Why? They can’t tell you who translated it! The WTS won’t reveal the translators, although this info is know readily available on the internet.

The JW’s do not know the bible as well as some think they do. Look at some of the converts from mainline Protestanism such as Marcus Grodi or Scott Hahn, that did not know 1 Tim.3:15. These men were intensely trained at the university level, and they didn’t know this scripture! Why? Because they looked at the bible through their Calvinist glasses. Same thing with JW’s. So they do know their doctrinal teachings from their bible, but if one knows the bible even better and points to them some key verses that support the divinity of Christ, heaven for all, the Eucharist, etc. then at the very least a seed can be planted.
 
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