Abstract There is no shortage of misconceptions people from various religions hold about other religions other than those of their own. This text addresses the various misconceptions people from other religions have about Jehovah's Witnesses. Further, in addition to discussing whether misconceptions about other people's religions are common, this text also recommends the measures that could be taken to rein in these misconceptions.
Religious Services of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is essentially a Christian denomination that was founded in the 1870s. Currently, this particular Christian organization has an estimated 7.78 million members all over the globe that are involved in evangelistic activities. This text largely concerns itself with the misconceptions people have with regard to the religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Misconceptions about Jehovah's Witnesses
The emergence of Jehovah's Witnesses is credited to a Bible Student Movement initiated by Charles Taze (Holden, 2002). Adopted in 1931, the name Jehovah's Witnesses was meant to differentiate the denomination from other Bible student groups, and also as a symbolic breakaway from the legacy of Russell's traditions. Today, the denomination is directed by a council of elders known as the governing body of Jehovah's witnesses. The council is currently situated in Brooklyn, New York.
The beliefs held by Jehovah's witnesses are a result of their independent interpretation of the bible using their preferred translated version - the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Holden, 2002). Essentially, the denomination holds non-Trinitarian beliefs, which are different from mainstream Christian beliefs (Bowman, 1994). Indeed, it is such differences in belief that have raised a number of misconceptions among many non-adherents of the denomination. Some of these misconceptions arise due to a lack of a clear understanding of the denomination's doctrine and beliefs.
To begin with, there is a misconception that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in Jesus Christ. There are even those who believe that Jehovah's Witnesses do not invoke the name of Jesus Christ in their prayers. It is however important to note that members of this very denomination not only believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also his role in our salvation. Jehovah's Witnesses do not however believe in the trinity since they cannot reconcile their interpretation of the said trinity with that of mainstream Christians. For this reason, they deny that Jesus is part of God in the trinity. This is perhaps one of the reasons why some people think that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in Jesus (Shaw, 2006). Like mainstream Christians however, they believe that Jesus is the Son of God - just as it is stated in the bible. In fact, they consider Jesus to be their savior, and they always strive to live according to his teachings i.e. By going out to spread the gospel in response to the call in Matthew 28:10, 19, 20 and 1st Corinthians 15:6. It is also important to note that most Jehovah's Witnesses start their prayers by directing them to their father, Jehovah, and end them by invoking Jesus Christ. This is a clear indication that they do believe in Jesus Christ.
The second common misconception is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not partake any form of religious holiday. The truth, however, is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not observe holidays such as Christmas and Easter because they believe that the ideas behind these holidays are not compatible with true Christian beliefs. However, Jehovah's Witnesses do recognize the holiday wherein there is a commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ. For this commemoration, the Witnesses assemble in the Kingdom Hall where they say prayers and pass wine and bread around as symbols of Christ's body and blood (Larry, 2010).
There is also a general misconception that Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept medical care. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like ordinary mortals, Jehovah's Witnesses fall ill and routinely seek medical attention. In fact, there are witnesses who also engage in medical and clinical practice as doctors, pharmacists, etc. This misconception probably emanates from the fact that Jehovah's witnesses do not accept blood transfusions (Bowman, 1994). It should however be noted that Jehovah's Witnesses do not decline all forms of blood transfusions. They are open to the reception of transfusions from substitutes of blood such as 'blood expanders' (Shaw, 2006).
The subtle differences of Jehovah's Witnesses and their beliefs have led some to the assumption that the denomination is a cult. This is however untrue because unlike cults, the denomination is neither secret nor does it practice elaborate and questionable rituals. Cults also have fanatic beliefs and like I have pointed out above, are ritualistic in nature. These characteristics of cults are not present in the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination.
A look into these wrongly conceived assumptions has led me to the conclusion that Jehovah's Witnesses as a denomination is neither a cult nor a misguided religious grouping. I must say that my understanding of this religion prior to this particular research undertaking significantly differed from my current view of the same religion. Initially, I was convinced that Jehovah's Witnesses did not indeed believe in Jesus Christ. I was also convinced that they did not believe in the resurrection of Christ and life after death. However, after a scrutiny of their beliefs, I found out that the adherents of this denomination believe that Jesus is indeed the son of God. What they have a problem with is the reference made to Jesus as God. I also found out that they believe in Jesus' resurrection as well as that of Christians in the second coming of Christ. In addition to this, I also found out that Jehovah's Witnesses believe in a paradise that will be present on earth after the resurrection (Larry, 2010). In essence, I have come to the conclusion that the differences between Jehovah's Witnesses and mainstream Christians are largely ideological.
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