Do you think that just reading the Bible one would end up wanting to be a JW?

Question

Line Dancer: God allows different worship styles. We do not have to be from the same denomination to be saved.

Mormons are not Christians, they are in the same boat with JWs

Answer 1

No Nina and witnesses don't believe it either because they think we can't understand the bible without the watchtower society so it does them no good to read it without their publications....

In the smae way without the help of their publications they will not remain Jehovahs witness

Answer 2

LineDancer admits just reading the Bible will not lead to being a JW? Amazing. Is it possible he is going to admit that their beliefs are not found within its covers?  

To answer your question Nina no. I don't have the quote on hand but the WT has admitted that studying the Bible alone will lead one to believe what real Christians believe. Thus they warn against it.

EDIT: Look at the JW answers. They admit their beliefs are not clearly understandable from the scripture. Funny how thousands of years of Christians agree on the core beliefs merely by reading the word and yet they claim you can't do that.

EDIT2 : Actually VMO I have rather high reading comprehension. For instance I understand when the Bible says "the Word was God". That it means Jesus is God.

EDIT3: VMO - no I don't speak Greek and I doubt you do either. The thing is neither did the writers of the new world perversion. I say writers because they did no translating. All they did was change any verse that disagreed with your doctrine. John 1:1 is just one of many verses proving the divinity of Jesus. The apostles worshiped Him. Thomas called Him his God. There is so much more but I know you do not want to hear it and will not accept it.

EDIT4: VMO - I answered them. You just didn't like my responses. And now I am off. Other stuff to do.

Answer 3

The Watchtower says no:

Watchtower, August 15, 1981:

"They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago....

Anna - lol

Answer 4

Yes

(to the first question in bold).

Using a perfect translation of the Bible, a prayerful sincere individual can comprehend Bible truth without any additional material or human assistance. Many thousands each year recognize in the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses the plain Bible truths which Christendom ignores or betrays.

The shocking thing is that anti-Witnesses pretend they are students of the Bible yet somehow miss the fundamental purpose of the Christian congregation. Ironically, the do-nothing critics of Jehovah's Witnesses work at their innuendoes and negativisms while demonstrating no real effort to share in the joyous mission of the Christian congregation: proclaiming the "good news". By contrast, every active Jehovah's Witness Christian does so (seven million ministers do so each month as of 2008).

.. ..(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.

.. ..(Acts 5:42) Every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.

.. ..(Acts 20:20) I did not hold back ...from teaching you publicly and from house to house

.. ..(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching... You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

Answer 5

NO!  Not even if one read the NWT alone!  They rely heavily on their publications and meetings to keep their 'new lights' shining brightly.

Answer 6

no. There has to be other things in your life obviously. The need to join a cult maybe?

Answer 7

It has happened.

Answer 8

Greetings,

No because the JW will emphasis certain parts of the scripture and ignore other parts.

RCD

Answer 9

If anyone just picks up the Bible without any help whatsoever, they will have their own interpretations of the scriptures, so they will most likely choose their own path.

As stated in the prophecy of Isaiah, people in the last days will be taught by Jehovah. This is done by his holy mountain  aka his place of worship.

UPDATE:

Edge

Reading comprehension please.

We didn't say out teaches are clearly understandable, we're saying that people believe differently if they just pick up the Bible and just read it. Why do you think theres so many sects of Christianity?

When ever I go from door to door, you always hear a person say "My preacher said this" when it comes to the interpretation of the scriptures. Many don't even brother quoting scriptures at all.

EDIT: Can you understand Greek? Can you actually reason with scripture? It doesn't seem like you even know or do both.

If Word was God was a accurate translation, John wouldn't have made the statement in John 1:18. So, it doesn't seem like you do much reasoning with scripture, you just blindly accept inaccurate translated verses to support your doctrine and reject others that disproves of it.

EDIT:

Edge, what I also find funny is that you're so quick to answer my questions now, but you ignore my questions when I send them to you by email. Don't say you didn't get them either because I did receive some responses without the question being answered. :)

EDIT:

You again, didn't even read my post.

I never said anything about speaking it, I said understanding it. I can offer many translation from other bibles ect that renders it to the word was a God or the word was a divine being.

You yet again prove your ignorance and your inability to reason with scripture. If you know anything about Greek words like theos, you will know that it expresses someone in superior rank, and thats why Thomas called Jesus God and thats why Moses was referred to as a God too. So the truth is, you rather not listen, you rather only use scriptures out of their context to support your false doctrine.

EDIT: You never gave me answer to them. You just ask questions about them without even giving me a direct answer. Thats called a dodge tactic.

Answer 10

Nope I read the bible.

That's how I found Jesus and got out of Catholicism.

The WTBTS itself admitted in an article that reading the bible alone results in the beliefs of "christendom". lol

"They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home.  But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." (The Watchtower, August 15, 1981, pages 28-29)

Answer 11

no, because the Bible does not teach JW theology.  It's something they've made up in their literature and their manufactured bible translation.

Great question, by the way.  Very legitimate for anyone to ask of themselves when choosing a religion.  And I believe there are several religions one would not want to become upon thoughtful reading of the Bible

Answer 12

I think if anyone reads the bible from cover to cover (not just selected verses), they will become atheists.

It's a highly immoral book, full of mistakes and inconsistencies.

Answer 13

NO !

If I would have known then what I know now .....I would have tried to share the truth with them !

They are so lost !

Answer 14

Sad to say, but no reading the bible does not always do this, because people have their own thoughts on how to worship their Creator!

It is not an easy course to take - to become a witness of Jehovah - but once on the road, it gets easier due to WANTING to please God!

I am sorry to disagree with you, but God (Jehovah) does not allow different worship styles!  For example in: Epthesians 4:5 tells us that there is only one God and one Faith.  There are other scriptures that also make it clear that there is only one way to our Creator, and Jehovah's Witnesses are the only ones that really look into the bible and pay attention to what it says and then acts on it.

If you can point (figuaratively) to scriptures that prove what you say, I would be really interested in seeing.

Answer 15

No, not a chance in h**l,....spiritually speaking of course!

Answer 16

No

It takes time and diligent study to get to know what the Bible really teaches.

Consider the example of Philip & the Ethiopian:

"So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him."Acts 8:27-31 (NIV)

Many who become Witnesses do so because, like myself, they see the total disregard for Jehovah's laws that Christendom displays, the disrespect that she shows towards his holy name, the immorality she condones and her backing of political and military affairs. They come to realize her blood-guilt is tremendous and her shameless idolatry is clearly seen. They come to realize that God has a personal name and that he is not just our Creator---he is our friend.

So no, it takes much more than just reading God's word daily; it takes lots of study and help from Jehovah's spirit to acquire accurate knowledge. Taking in knowledge will help us to gain everlasting life. This we look forward to.

LOBT

Answer 17

Dear Nina,

Absolutely NOT!!!  That would be the very last thing reading the Bible from cover-to-cover many times has made me want to do.

This morning I read Daniel 1-3 in The Daily Walk Bible and I made a note regarding Daniel 2:47 - King Nebuchadnezzar was talking to Daniel after Daniel told the king his dream and the interpretation of the dream.  The king acknowledged that Daniel's God is "... a revealer of mysteries ..."  It immediately came to mind that Jesus also revealed the mysteries of people's hearts.  Jesus IS God!

I've been pondering what I read yesterday to finish Ezekiel.  Ezekiel 44:2 mentions that the LORD, the God of Israel entered through the gate of the sanctuary facing east, therefore it was to remain shut.  But then at 47:12 the gate facing east is to be opened for the prince making an offering to the LORD.  If only the LORD was to use the gate facing east and the prince uses the gate facing east the prince has to be God.  That makes me want to do more research and speak to some great researchers like Anna.

Reading the Bible makes me want to read the Bible more.

Three years ago I gave my mom a copy of The Daily Walk Bible and told her that if she would read from cover-to-cover throughout the coming year with me then I would read the nwt throughout the following year with her.  She turned me down that year and the following year when I again made the same offer.  The third year I told her that I would read the nwt from cover-to-cover with her.  Guess what!  She turned me down again saying that she reads the whole Bible every three years at the KH.  I was amazed when I glanced through What the Bible Really Says because it said people should read the whole Bible each year.

For His glory,

JOYfilled

Answer 18

No

Answer 19

No, but Jehovah's Witnesses can help those who read the Bible to come to a better understanding of what they read, just like Phillip, who helped the Ethiopian eunuch to comprehend what he was reading.

We can even help you. Would you like to begin with the book of Genesis? If you don't know, that's the first book of the Bible.

Why don't you broaden your question to include ALL professed Christian religions?

Why not ask: "Do you think that just reading the Bible one would end up wanting to be a JW?

                                                a Catholic?

                                                a Greek Orthodox?

                                                a Pentecostal?

                                                a Lutheran?

                                                a Baptist?

                                                an Anglican?

                                                a Christian Scientist?

                                                a Mormon?  

                                                and so on?

What do you think the answer would be then? It is more than evident that you and others have an unchristian prejudice for Jehovah's Witnesses. That's why the answers to your one-sided question are so predictable.

Edge says: "I have rather high reading comprehension. For instance I understand when the Bible says "the Word was God". That it means Jesus is God."

You have a high reading comprehension? Not hardly. Did Jesus say he was God? No. At John 10:36, he called himself the Son of God. Did Peter say Jesus was God? No At Matt. 16:16, he called Jesus the Son of the living God. Did Jesus' cousin, John, say he was God when he saw the heavenly spectacle following Jesus' Baptism? No. At John 1:34, he concluded that Jesus was the Son of God. You bank your incorrect beliefs on a single mistranslated verse while ignoring everything else.

To further point out your confusion, you claim to believe in the trinity. According to the trinity doctrine, God is not a single person; he's three persons who are co-equal and co-eternal. So to say that Jesus is God is to show poor comprehension of the confusing trinity doctrine. On his own, Jesus is merely a person of God, along with the persons of the Father and the holy spirit. Combined, they make up the triune godhead.

Nina, ask your friends below why they didn't join YOUR religion by just reading the Bible.

.

Answer 20

Not if they are applying Proverbs 3:5-6 as they study the scriptures. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth, gives us the wisdom we need when studying the scriptures. We need to rely on God's understanding and not our own. If they truly want to know the truth of God's word, the Lord will reveal it through His Spirit. But yes they must study the scriptures!! Not just believe what their church is telling them- but open their bibles and pray for the Holy Spirit to teach them, then find a good bible teaching church!

Answer 21

I do not see how.  Even the Watchtower Society is afraid when people read the Bible alone.   They have stated that if one does, within a short time they will believe what typical Christendom believe...the trinity!

"From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah's people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." The Watchtower, August 15, 1981.

Obviously, the Watchtower organization tells its members what to believe.  From the last quote, we can clearly see that the Bible teaches Trinitarianism, since that is what we would conclude if we simply read the Bible without the Watchtower guiding our thoughts.

Answer 22

No... if the Jw's would just  read the  bible and not allow the governing body to do it  for them and  tell them what it says they would not  be part  of the organization.

They always claim new light and a new understanding and that justifies  all the changes in their doctrines.  But guess what...  God don't change and  neither  has the bible  just what they teach.