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#5 The Facts on Jehovah's Witnesses
The Worldview of the Jehovah's Witnesses:
Practices and Teachings
5. What is the religious worldview of the
Jehovah's Witnesses, and what logical results flow from it?
Three basic
beliefs, or assumptions, from the religious worldview of the Jehovah's
Witnesses:
(A) Divine guidance comes only through the
Watchtower Society.
This assumption leads Witnesses to live under an
authoritarian organization that suppresses independent thinking in the name of
God. Once a member accepts the organization's policies and decisions as being
God's will, disagreement with the Watchtower Society is disagreement with God.
It follows then that any criticism of the Society is defined as satanic. The
Society teaches that "Jehovah's organization is in no wise [way] democratic . .
. His government or organization is strictly theocratic" (which means ruled by
God alone).
(B) Jehovah's Witnesses alone have the truth
of God. They alone are the people of God.
This follows logically from their first assumption that
divine guidance comes only from the Watchtower. This belief causes an attitude
of exclusivism that stresses their uniqueness and superiority. This in turn
leads them to accept an alleged divine command to be separate from the entire
world system - society, political, military, and religious. Witnesses view the
whole world system as satanic.
The Watchtower tells them with divine authority that
Jehovah's Witnesses are to be separated and renounce such things as military
service, patriotism, and celebrating religious holidays (see Question 7).
Children of Jehovah's Witnesses are not permitted to engage in school activities
prohibited by the Society - like Christmas plays, saluting the flag, and the
Pledge of Allegiance - which sometimes leads to their being ostracized by their
peers.
(C) Jehovah's Witnesses are told that
Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic Christianity are false and controlled by
Satan.
Because of this belief, Witnesses avoid Christians and
completely reject their idea of the Christian faith (see Question 8).
John Ankerberg & John Weldon
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