The true faith...

[sebii]

Hi all! I was born, baptised and confirmed a Catholic (Polish family), and recently I have become more interested in faith. The other day some Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the door and I talked to them for some time. They came back today and now they are coming back for a bible study thing next Saturday. I’m always one to keep and open mind and searching for the true faith is about the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I intend to ask them about their overy literal interpretation of the bible (I study law), and question their heavy reliance on Levitican law. Are there any JW here? Also, are there any Catholics that have gone through a similar process of trying to find truth?

Cheers,
Seb

 

[PaulDupre]

Have you undertaken a deep and serious study of your Catholic faith? I should think that would be your first step in looking for truth before you venture into studying 19th century cults. Are you sure you have a really solid understanding of Catholicism?

Note that JWs deny the divinity of Christ. They teach that he is Michael the archangel. They also teach that there is no hell and that only 144,000 will be with God in heaven. The rest of the righteous, called “the great crowd”, will live here on earth forever. Those who don’t qualify to be in the great crowd have their souls destroyed at death and are never resurrected (even though the bible clearly teaches that all will be resurrected - both the righteous and the wicked).

God love you,
Paul

 

[Robbinson]

Have you undertaken a deep and serious study of your Catholic faith? I should think that would be your first step in looking for truth before you venture into studying 19th century cults. Are you sure you have a really solid understanding of Catholicism?

Note that JWs deny the divinity of Christ. They teach that he is Michael the archangel. They also teach that there is no hell and that only 144,000 will be with God in heaven. The rest of the righteous, called “the great crowd”, will live here on earth forever. Those who don’t qualify to be in the great crowd have their souls destroyed at death and are never resurrected (even though the bible clearly teaches that all will be resurrected - both the righteous and the wicked).

God love you,
Paul

I’m glad you pointed this out. My wife always invites our local JW in to talk when they come by - they have lovely conversations about scripture, but these doctrines of faith you describe (which are, in fact, part of JW doctrine) never come up. On the face of things, they appear to be a strong scripture based faith, its only when you dig a bit deeper that you will find their beleifs on new revelation, different Bible translations and the signficiant doctrinal diversions you described above.

That being said - in my experience, they are sincere in their beliefs.

Blessings,

Brian

 

[Rolltide]

Yes, be very careful about using their version of the Bible, the New World Translation. It purposefully (and without any scholarly basis) rewrites passages to undermine the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. Some of their practices also border on cult-like.

 

[ricko]

As a Catholic you already have the one true faith but as PaulDupre said you need to study the Catholic religion deeper. The JWs prey on Catholic that don’t know their own religion. In addition to what has already been said about them, consider that they have predicated the end of the world several times and even told their members to sell their homes. These people have twisted minds as they also twist scripture to their own destruction. Stay away from them until you have learned more about your own religion. Catholic Answers has several pieces on them.

 

[Fishing]

I think that all of you have given wonderful advice. I truly believe that if all Catholics understood their faith and studied the roots of the Church, it would never lose a member.

 

[VociMike]

Be…very…clear…about…this. They do not want to do a bible study with you. They want to convince you that your faith is wrong and that their faith is right, and they want to convert you. The “bible study” is just the guise that their efforts will take.

 

[bpbasilphx]

Jehovah’s False Witnesses teach that Jesus did not rise from the dead in His glorified body, but as a “spirit creature.”

Jesus said, “Touch Me and see that it is I Myself. A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

Jesus said, “Unless you eat the fles of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”

JFW’s once a year pass around bread and wine and nobody receives.

What are they saying?

As I told one such, “I have the heavenly hope [one of their buzz words] that I’ll be a king and priest with Jesus in heaven. Why should I give this up to accept your second-class ‘jesus’ who can give only second-class salvation?”