Basic Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses
Everyday Life Teachings Taken from the Bible
With over 7,000,000 members in 235 lands worldwide it is not surprising that at one time or another most people have come across a JW. But what do they believe?
Basic Teachings
- That the whole bible is inspired by God ( 2 Timothy 3 : 16)
- Worship God (Jehovah) without the use of images
- Jesus is the son of God not part of a trinity
- God has a heavenly government that will solve all problems that are faced today
- Only 144,000 will go to heaven
- The earth will one day soon be a paradise
- The dead are not conscious of anything
- They should apply the bible in all aspects of their lives
They take very literally the command given by Jesus to preach from house to house. He first gave this command to his disciples as can be seen in Matthew 10 : 11 - 14.
They also follow the pattern of the 1st century Christians who also preached from house to house and wherever there were people. This can be seen in Acts 5 : 42 where the Apostle Paul says that he preached in the temple and from house to house.
Everyday Life
- Preach as often as possible (Matthew 24 : 14)
- Be good neighbors to each other and all they meet ( Matthew 22 : 36 - 39)
- No sex before marriage (Genesis 39 : 7 - 12)
- No smoking ( Romans 12 : 1)
- No overindulgence in food or drink (Proverbs 23 : 20)
- No Blood - Either by eating or transfusion ( Acts 15 : 28, 29)
- Attend weekly meetings ( Hebrews 10 ; 24, 25)
What is their day to day life like though? Do they follow bizarre rituals or strange routines? Not at all, although they do have a very rigid schedule that they follow, for study and attendance at their church, which they call a Kingdom Hall.
A typical Jehovah's Witness will attend three meetings per week and engage in the preaching work at least once. At home their worship involves spending time studying the bible, and preparing for their weekly meetings.
There is no set amount of time for any of this, but is left up to each one to decide for himself how much time he can spend studying and preaching. They view very highly the bible teaching (1 Timothy 5 : 8) that a person should provide for his family, and this comes first, but with a balance and emphasis put on staying away from the materialistic aspects of 20th century life as much as possible.
Jehovah's Witnesses are generally known to be a very honest and hardworking group of people who try their best to live good lives.
For more information look at their official website.
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