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Mar. 21st, 2005
what i believe (long post)
Mar. 21st, 2005 11:50 pmWhat All Jehovah's Witnesses Believe (the simple stuff, as well as some not-so-simple):
-The Bible is inspired by God, and is his way of communicating with people today. What does this mean? The Bible is /sacred/ and therefore should be studied carefully and applied in everyday life. (1 Timothy 3:16, 17)
-God's name is Jehovah (not Jesus, as some believe, or Lord or God, for that matter. The latter are just titles. And the former...), which can be found at Psalm 83:13.
-Jesus is God's son. They are not the same being, nor should they be viewed as two parts of the same whole. Jesus was sent to Earth to redeem us from Adam's sin. (John 3:16, Romans 6:10, 11, 23)
-By taking in an accurate knowledge of Jehovah and Jesus (through diligent bible study), we have the chance for everlasting life in a paradise earth. (John 17:3)
-Not everyone has a heavenly hope (a chance to go to heaven). God chose 144,000 humans to rule and guide mankind in the future. (Revelation 14:1, 3)
-The rest of mankind (the 'great crowd'), those righteous and faithfully serving God correctly, will live in a peaceful paradise on Earth forever, free from all wickedness. (Revelation 7:9, 10)
-The Devil was an angel that rebelled against God and wanted to be worshipped. Because of this, God threw him out of heaven to the vicinity of Earth, where he has been wreaking havoc ever since. (Ezekiel 28:13-17; Revelation 12:7-9)
-Man is imperfect because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, not by eating an apple (the forbidden fruit, cause it wasn't an apple), but by disobeying a direct order from God to /not/ eat the fruit. Because they decided God could not set the rules of right and wrong, they doomed us to death and sin and corruption. (Romans 5:12)
-There is no Hell. When a person dies, that's the end. There is no thought or action after death. (Ecclesiastes 9:10) Plus, God is love. There is no way he would torture someone indefinitely because of what they did. (1 John 4:8)
-We have a directive from Jesus to go preach the good news of God's kingdom that will destroy all wicked mankind and bring about a peaceful paradise on Earth {a process called, in the Bible, Armaggedon}. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20; Daniel 2:44)
-We remain neutral in all political affairs, including war for two reasons: {1} God tells us not to learn war anymore (Isaiah 2:4) and {2} the identifying mark of true Christians is that they will love one another (John 13:;35).
-There is only one true religion. (Matthew 7:13, 14)
-We do not take blood (in any form or fashion: eating blood, drinking blood, blood transfusions...) because, in God's eyes, blood=life. Life is sacred to God. (Acts 15:20, 29)
-The name Jehovah's Witnesses comes from the Bible, actually. (Isaiah 43:10)
-Those that have died either not knowing about Jehovah and his promises, or those who died faithful to Him, will be resurrected to life in a Paradise earth, such as the repentant evildoer on the torture stake next to Jesus. (Acts 24:15; Luke 23:39-43)
-Jesus died on a torture stake, not a cross. (Here would be where I explain the torturous logistics of pain, how it would be more painful if a man's hands were above his head, and all his weight pulled down on it, instead of to his sides. And how the Latin term really did me a stake, tree or pole, not cross until much later in time. But that would just be gruesome and tedious and... well... the Greek term meant a pole. And the Latin meant a tree or something to hang on. It's been researched. Trust me.)
Things my family taught me, along with what's above (alright, I'm sure this is all the truth... but I can't remember exactly who taught what and what scriptures are with it):
-A JW must always be exemplary (in school, in work, in conduct, etc.) because we are a reflection of God's glory. How the world sees us is how they see Jehovah.
-"Seek first the Kingdom, and all the rest will be added to you." The kingdom being God's kingdom, and where it should be in our lives.
-You have a personal relationship with God that is strengthened through prayer.
-The Bible isn't meant to be taken literally: i.e. seven days of creation. It's more principles and examples for how we should live.
-Strong faith is built on your relationship with Jehovah, personal bible study, and association with true Christians.
-Your body is a 'sacrifice' to God (that is, how you serve him). Excessive piercings, tattoos, etc. are a blemish on that, and thus, a blemish on God.
-The way you know right from wrong is by a Bible-trained conscience.
-Anyone not serving Jehovah, and not encouraging you to, is bad association because they will break your faith (or, at least, wear it down).
-Dating is a search for a marriage mate. Because of the complications that would come from marrying someone that isn't a JW (what about the children? holidays? what are you compromising?), it is best to "marry only in the Lord" {that's a scripture... 1 Corinthians 7:39}. This means... date only those that believe the same as you... another JW.
-Serving Jehovah is a personal decision. No one can force you to do it. But there are only two sides: God's and Satan the Devil's. If you're not with God... you're with the Devil.
-Life as a JW is like a video game. This is stage one... the hardest stage. But it gets easier from here.
The things I've figured for myself:
-We all have an angel that protects us and gives a report back to Jehovah about what we're doing, and how we feel in our hearts. So, live life like you're being watched.
-Forgiveness has its limits (even with God). Here's to not reaching the limit.
-It's not important to believe everything, because that's impossible. We all have doubts. What is important is what you believe, how God feels about those things, and that you're making an effort to live your life in harmony with God's word, the Bible.
-Nothing is permanent. Everything is transient. Don't try to control it. There is always a way out.
-Everyone is a hypocrite. They say don't cuss... and they cuss. We're imperfect. Let it go.
-Jehovah must see something good in my heart. I'm still here. I'm still trying to serve him.
-The Paradise hope is real. Jehovah is real. Armaggeddon is real. They only seem far away.
I know I'm still not the best example of a JW... But I'm trying. And, it's important to me to try. And I at least wanted to tell you.
~Ou sont les neiges d'anton?~
Morghan
-The Bible is inspired by God, and is his way of communicating with people today. What does this mean? The Bible is /sacred/ and therefore should be studied carefully and applied in everyday life. (1 Timothy 3:16, 17)
-God's name is Jehovah (not Jesus, as some believe, or Lord or God, for that matter. The latter are just titles. And the former...), which can be found at Psalm 83:13.
-Jesus is God's son. They are not the same being, nor should they be viewed as two parts of the same whole. Jesus was sent to Earth to redeem us from Adam's sin. (John 3:16, Romans 6:10, 11, 23)
-By taking in an accurate knowledge of Jehovah and Jesus (through diligent bible study), we have the chance for everlasting life in a paradise earth. (John 17:3)
-Not everyone has a heavenly hope (a chance to go to heaven). God chose 144,000 humans to rule and guide mankind in the future. (Revelation 14:1, 3)
-The rest of mankind (the 'great crowd'), those righteous and faithfully serving God correctly, will live in a peaceful paradise on Earth forever, free from all wickedness. (Revelation 7:9, 10)
-The Devil was an angel that rebelled against God and wanted to be worshipped. Because of this, God threw him out of heaven to the vicinity of Earth, where he has been wreaking havoc ever since. (Ezekiel 28:13-17; Revelation 12:7-9)
-Man is imperfect because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, not by eating an apple (the forbidden fruit, cause it wasn't an apple), but by disobeying a direct order from God to /not/ eat the fruit. Because they decided God could not set the rules of right and wrong, they doomed us to death and sin and corruption. (Romans 5:12)
-There is no Hell. When a person dies, that's the end. There is no thought or action after death. (Ecclesiastes 9:10) Plus, God is love. There is no way he would torture someone indefinitely because of what they did. (1 John 4:8)
-We have a directive from Jesus to go preach the good news of God's kingdom that will destroy all wicked mankind and bring about a peaceful paradise on Earth {a process called, in the Bible, Armaggedon}. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20; Daniel 2:44)
-We remain neutral in all political affairs, including war for two reasons: {1} God tells us not to learn war anymore (Isaiah 2:4) and {2} the identifying mark of true Christians is that they will love one another (John 13:;35).
-There is only one true religion. (Matthew 7:13, 14)
-We do not take blood (in any form or fashion: eating blood, drinking blood, blood transfusions...) because, in God's eyes, blood=life. Life is sacred to God. (Acts 15:20, 29)
-The name Jehovah's Witnesses comes from the Bible, actually. (Isaiah 43:10)
-Those that have died either not knowing about Jehovah and his promises, or those who died faithful to Him, will be resurrected to life in a Paradise earth, such as the repentant evildoer on the torture stake next to Jesus. (Acts 24:15; Luke 23:39-43)
-Jesus died on a torture stake, not a cross. (Here would be where I explain the torturous logistics of pain, how it would be more painful if a man's hands were above his head, and all his weight pulled down on it, instead of to his sides. And how the Latin term really did me a stake, tree or pole, not cross until much later in time. But that would just be gruesome and tedious and... well... the Greek term meant a pole. And the Latin meant a tree or something to hang on. It's been researched. Trust me.)
Things my family taught me, along with what's above (alright, I'm sure this is all the truth... but I can't remember exactly who taught what and what scriptures are with it):
-A JW must always be exemplary (in school, in work, in conduct, etc.) because we are a reflection of God's glory. How the world sees us is how they see Jehovah.
-"Seek first the Kingdom, and all the rest will be added to you." The kingdom being God's kingdom, and where it should be in our lives.
-You have a personal relationship with God that is strengthened through prayer.
-The Bible isn't meant to be taken literally: i.e. seven days of creation. It's more principles and examples for how we should live.
-Strong faith is built on your relationship with Jehovah, personal bible study, and association with true Christians.
-Your body is a 'sacrifice' to God (that is, how you serve him). Excessive piercings, tattoos, etc. are a blemish on that, and thus, a blemish on God.
-The way you know right from wrong is by a Bible-trained conscience.
-Anyone not serving Jehovah, and not encouraging you to, is bad association because they will break your faith (or, at least, wear it down).
-Dating is a search for a marriage mate. Because of the complications that would come from marrying someone that isn't a JW (what about the children? holidays? what are you compromising?), it is best to "marry only in the Lord" {that's a scripture... 1 Corinthians 7:39}. This means... date only those that believe the same as you... another JW.
-Serving Jehovah is a personal decision. No one can force you to do it. But there are only two sides: God's and Satan the Devil's. If you're not with God... you're with the Devil.
-Life as a JW is like a video game. This is stage one... the hardest stage. But it gets easier from here.
The things I've figured for myself:
-We all have an angel that protects us and gives a report back to Jehovah about what we're doing, and how we feel in our hearts. So, live life like you're being watched.
-Forgiveness has its limits (even with God). Here's to not reaching the limit.
-It's not important to believe everything, because that's impossible. We all have doubts. What is important is what you believe, how God feels about those things, and that you're making an effort to live your life in harmony with God's word, the Bible.
-Nothing is permanent. Everything is transient. Don't try to control it. There is always a way out.
-Everyone is a hypocrite. They say don't cuss... and they cuss. We're imperfect. Let it go.
-Jehovah must see something good in my heart. I'm still here. I'm still trying to serve him.
-The Paradise hope is real. Jehovah is real. Armaggeddon is real. They only seem far away.
I know I'm still not the best example of a JW... But I'm trying. And, it's important to me to try. And I at least wanted to tell you.
~Ou sont les neiges d'anton?~
Morghan