Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Are Jehovah's Witnesses The Only Religion Engaged In The Preaching Work?

I am sick and tired of this argument with witnesses. Every time I try to talk to anyone about anything related to Jehovah's Witnesses, there response is, "But no one else is preaching the good news door to door..."
Is their belief that they are the only ones that follow this command of Jesus justified?
The Watchtower's claim that only Jehovah's Witnesses do the preaching work as commissioned by Jesus is based on three false assumptions:
only Jehovah's Witnesses preach
only Jehovah's Witnesses discuss God's Kingdom
going "house to house" is a Christian requirement
Fundamental Watchtower Flaw
The Watchtower claims house-to-house preaching is a divine command that they alone fulfill. It will be shown that this is based on a Scriptural mistranslation, and the Bible does not advocate a house-to-house ministry
WHO PREACH: Jesus simply stated that the "good news" of the kingdom must be preached.
Mark 13:10 "Also, in all the nations the good news has to be preached first" Matthew 24:14 "And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come."
Are Jehovah's Witnesses the only group that preach the good news? If that was the case what accounts for the growth of other religions and Christianity becoming the largest religious group globally? Can the largely unknown message distributed by 6 million Witnesses really be thought of as having more relevance to Jesus prophecy than the spread of Christianity by Catholics that has resulted in over 1 billion members?
"Around the world today, who are making known God's Word and who endeavor to live in harmony with it?" Awake! 1989 March 8 p.10 It is incorrect to imply that only Jehovah's Witnesses preach.
Following are just some notable examples of religions actively engaged in preaching. Both Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists started at a similar period of time as the Watchtower Society and have similar numbers of members due to their active preaching. Seventh-day Adventists successfully preach the good news, including at peoples homes.
See the following quote from Chapter 13 of the Seven Day Adventist Church Manual;
"Our highest responsibility is to the church and its commission to preach the gospel of the kingdom to all the world…." Another group renowned for their preaching efforts are Baptists. Baptists have the most missionaries of any religion. In 2004 there were 7 million Baptists out side of America, 600,000 baptisms and 21,000 new churches. In 2004 Witnesses baptised only 200,000 globally. Interesting information on the significant efforts of Baptist missionaries can be viewed at http://www.internationalministries.org/ and http://www.namb.net.
A current success story is the Jesus Film Project. At www.jesusfilm.org (15th April 2006) it explains;
"The JESUS Film Project distributes the film "JESUS," a two-hour docudrama about the life of Christ based on the Gospel of Luke. The film has been seen in every country of the world and translated into hundreds of languages since its initial release in 1979. Our goal is to reach every nation, tribe, people and tongue, helping them see and hear the story of Jesus in a language they can understand. So whether a person speaks Swahili, French, or a language whose name is extremely difficult for most to pronounce, he or she will encounter the life and message of Jesus in a language "of the heart." Many mission experts have acclaimed the "JESUS" film as one of the greatest evangelistic success stories of all time. The ultimate success of this project won't be measured by how many people have already seen it, but by how many will follow Him after seeing this film. Through use by The JESUS Film Project, and more than 1,500 Christian agencies, this powerful film has had more than 6 billion viewings worldwide since 1979. On top of that, the great majority of those heard the story of Jesus in a language they easily understand. As a result, more than 201 million people have indicated decisions to accept Christ as their personal Savior and Lord." At http://www.gideons.org (15th April 2006) it discusses the preaching work of the Gideons;
"The Gideons International, founded in 1899, serves as an extended missionary arm of the church … The association has more than 250,000 members, located in 181 countries of the world. They are united in carrying out the same program using the same methods to accomplish the one objective of winning others to Christ. The emergence of more than 2,000,000 readers in the world each week creates an unprecedented need for reading material. … Annually, The Gideons International is placing and distributing more than 63,000,000 Scriptures worldwide. To God be the glory!" Pentecostalism is the world's fastest-growing Christian movement with over 150 million adherents, growing at an estimated 19 million members per year. The reason that Christianity is the world's largest religion with billions of followers is centuries of preaching work by self sacrificing Christians globally. Many millions of missionaries devote their lives to the preaching work, and hundreds of millions informally discuss the good news. Great disservice is shown to these individuals when ever it is said that only Jehovah's Witnesses participate in the work Jesus described. An article entitled "'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon"1. discusses the huge global preaching effort currently underway. It states that "40% of Americans believe that a sequence of events presaging the end times is already underway". The effectiveness of the Jehovah's Witnesses preaching work is noticeable from the absence of any mention of them in the article.
I am constantly preached to by Christians. There have been Christians at different companies I have worked that discuss their beliefs with me. At university there were Christian Campus groups, and several of my accounting clients are involved in missionary work. I have had Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians and people from the local Catholic Church come to my door. I have been approached in the street and in the local mall Christian groups organise groups that sing and give public lectures. On television, radio stations and the Internet there is no shortage of religious discussion.

40 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes only Jehovah witnesses preached the good news of the KIngdom.
other Religions also preach but they are not preaching what Jesus told his disciples to preach.
Jesus said the good news of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom.
the other religions are not preaching the way Jesus and his disciples used to preached

Acts 5 don't remember the exactly the verse I guess is verse 42-44 the disciples were preaching from
HOUSE TO HOUSE.
when someone knock at your door to talk to you about God's kingdom. with what religion do you identify them?
you are right Jehovah Witnesses
even movies and TV show make fun of the Preaching work done by the witnesses.

Anonymous said...

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Jehovah's witnesses.

Need I say more. :) Ummmm...OK, I will.

We are the only ones KNOWN for our preaching work. We aren't the only ones doing it....it is what Jehovah's witnesses do, all the time, every where, to everyone, any time, by mail, by phone, as we meet out in public, any language, sign language, in print, on CD's, on the JW Internet site, to family, in prisons, to strangers, by boat in the Amazon, by plane in Alaska, by hiking in the Andes. We have the entire world divided up into small territories to be sure every house, village or commune is reached. If you don't answer your door, we note this, and we come back......over and over and over.

AND here is the caviot, the kingdom message is the same worldwide and it is FREE. Yes, Jehovah's witnesses are the only ones doing the preaching work as commissioned by Jesus.

Anonymous said...

Oh purlease. Get over yourselves. Your bloated sense of putrid self satisfaction is positively sickening. Mention real-life, USEFUL things that JWs have done for the world at large. Instead of putting their brainpower towards improving the human condition, you continue to insist that your empty pathetic 'good news' is the only thing differentiating you from everyone else. I suppose you can have that argument with fellow christians.

What is your justification to an atheist like myself? How would you even begin to convince me that not only did your pathetic god exist, but that he (and it had to be a HE!) had ordered you to do the pathetic things JWs do, and that you're the only favoured people (a mere 7 million) of the billions of people on the planet? Forget an atheist like myself. How would you go about convincing a hardcore muslim that your pathetic religion is the right one? You think you're trained to deal with dissent; you're woefully inadequate. And, oh purlease, quoting the same claptrap that's published in the Revelations Climax book doesn't give you brownie points - it only makes you look desperate and even more brainless. I'll bet you think you're doing a fine job of 'stinging locusts' and all that nonsense (boy is this religion full of excrement...lol). Unfortunately, like all fundamentalists, you just seem...delusional.

Anonymous said...

You haven't said that what I wrote previously is not true.

Anonymous said...

And that is a prime example of the workings of a delusional mind... You make stupid claims which are meant to somehow prove something, I scoff at the reasoning behind this, and you insist I haven't proved you wrong.. Lol, a true JW. Bethel would be proud of you..

PS: Perhaps you should actually read my post and begin to address the points raised, rather than avoid them, like JWs are trained to do when something doesn't fit into their script...

Anonymous said...

Do Jehovah's witnesse's do a preaching work as described? You don't have to believe the message. Do they do it?

Anonymous said...

And if I answer yes, then you feel justified in your delusion?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but there's loads of groups that do this 'preaching work'. Personally, I'd rather all of you stopped it and minded your own goddam business and stopped bothering the rest of humanity, but you won't. Because you're convinced in your own superiority.
You would even accept validation from someone who doesn't believe in god, so long as they confirmed you do the preaching work in the way you've described. What next? You'd go around boasting "Yes - even the atheists confirm that only we are doing the preaching work in the way that Jesus commanded!" Yep, you've imbibed the spirit of the Watchtower alright. If only it wasn't so pathetic and reeking of desperation...

Anonymous said...

By the by...
I'll bet your time spent on here 'preaching' is going onto your report card, eh... Remember - Jehovah bloody well sees...lol, you JW defenders never cease to make me laugh with derision..

Anonymous said...

No, you are wrong. This is a conversation...sort of...not any preaching work that I can see. And you can believe me or not, but I would never consider "counting" this time as something I would report. Why so mad?

Anonymous said...

When, and I say when, you get your act together and leave that excuse of an organisation, you'll understand my anger. It's actually not so much anger as it is sadness that people choose to waste their lives this way, and destroy their families in the process. It's pathetic cults like this that mean we do not make any progress, scientific or otherwise. The cult would have us back in the dark ages, and I find this unacceptable.

Anonymous said...

By the by

The question is....do they do it?

And I would never use an athiests comments as validation for this particular subject. That would be absurd!

Anonymous said...

I can never understand how you can be so contentious and believe that someone can accept your claim that you are Gods representatives.

If there is a God you misrepresent him and I believe he can´t be happy about that.

Come to your senses and be reasonable.

You can´t pesuade anyone speaking with this arrogant style as if you had the infalible of the Pope.

Sincerely
berty

Anonymous said...

berty:

It is not arrogance to try to stay on point. Name calling and insults are not productive to an intelligent conversation.

Do they do it?

Bye

Anonymous said...

I am not calling names. You are always telling that everyone else is wrong and only you have the "true".
You are sarcastic to someone that says he/she is atheist.
You see, by believing that all, except you, will die sooner or later steals from you feelings like love and understanding for the others. Because we, one day would be manure for the fields and for this you don´t care how you speak.
But allow, please, some space for wrong assessment, just in case....
Sincerely
berty

Unknown said...

Yes all the other Religions are wrong.
they teached doctrines not based on the bible. for example

let's say trinity, one God in 3, immortality of the soul, Hell fire, they participate in Pagan celebrations, like christmas for example. etc....

if you don't believe in God we can help you let me give you one proof not a scientific one even though there are plenty
Read Jeremiah 10:23
Men think they can bring peace and security on Earth, but God say in Jeremiah it does not belong to men who is walking to direct his steps.

is that true? men think they know better than God, many say there is no God. but look at history.
can men really direct his steps without an almighty.
that's what they think, but what is the reality?
if you are sincere you will see Jeremiah was right, we need a superpower to help us, but sadly most reject him.
and the world is what it is today.

if you need scientific proof I will be happy to give them to you.


if you are not a pride man, thinking you have all the answers, if you are willing to change your prejudice mind, we will be able to see the truth.

but you might not be able to see it if you are not looking for it.
Satan according to the bible will blind you see 2 corinthians 4:4
and that's the reason why you might have something else to say even thought the facts prooves what you are going to say is wrong.

and open your eyes you are one example. the facts prooves that only the witnesses preached God's kingdom, and you have something to say against that, but your opinions will not change the facts.
the other religion they don't even know what the kingdom is. their belief is all good people are going in heaven.

and again when someone knock at your door to talk to you about God's kingdom you know his religion do you?

if someone find you on the street and want to talk to you about Joseph smith you know is not a witness. what about believe in christ and you will be saved, does that sound like a witness screaming on the street or approach you to tell you that?

open your eyes, open it, it is not too late

Anonymous said...

@ frank;

JWs only teach truth? All other religions teach falsehoods?

Ok, find a Bible. It's over their under your Watchtower.

Open it at Matthew 8:11.

Digest.

The WTS teach that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are going to be resurrected on earth. Yet Jesus - who, let's face it, may actually know what he's talking about - says they'll be in the Kingdom of the Heavens. At a table. Dining. With Him.

Confused?

Open your Bible to Hebrews 11. Read verses 15 and 16.

Now we find Paul saying that, for their PROVEN faith (unlike the faith of ANY of the Governing Body, for example), Abraham and the other previously cited men and women, will have their reward in a city...in heaven. Check the cross-references to 'city' in verse 16.

So, do JWs teach the truth?

Anonymous said...

To all of the JWs arrogantly claiming to the be the ONLY ones preaching the way the disciples and Jesus himself did, ask yourself this question;

When did anyone in the 1st Century preach a 'warning message'?

kimmy jo said...

anonymous...well said....
"I can never understand how you can be so contentious and believe that someone can accept your claim that you are Gods representatives.
If there is a God you misrepresent him and I believe he can´t be happy about that.
Come to your senses and be reasonable.
You can´t pesuade anyone speaking with this arrogant style as if you had the infalible of the Pope.
Sincerely
berty"

Theocratic Joker said...

"open your eyes, open it, it is not too late"


Hey frank, the same to you Buddy!

Anonymous said...

Jehovah's Witnessses go from door to door recruiting for their religion. They are unpaid workman, who think they are doing the will of God. They are pawns and dupes used by the Watchtower. When Russell first sent out men and women to sell his books, he paid them for their time. Then Rutherford, that crafty old lawyer, thought up a way for them to do it for free. Just throw some scriptures at them and tell them this will gain them entrance into paradise earth. Wa-la! Free workers.

Unknown said...

we can say anything you want, the facts are only the Jehovah Witnesses preached the Good news of the Kingdom, anoymous or password tell me when was the last time you knock at someone door to preach about God's kingdom?
all you are doing is coming to a website to criticise a Religious group, tell me what good that accomplish?
so you think you know better than the Governing Body of Jehovah Witnesses, Who are doing the most good you or the Governing Body of the Witnesses?
The witnesses who apply what the Governing Body teach based on the bible are very Happy and have close Relationship with God, are you accomplishing that with your criticism?
Before I answer you password on Matthew 8 think about this.

Let's see the wisdom of the Governing Body,
this is from the new Book about Young People page 248.

Why your choice matters.

Those who play these violent or Sexually graphic games may say:
no harm done. It's not real. It's just a game. But don't be fooled by such false Reasoning!
The bible says: Even by his parctices a boy makes himself recognized as to whether his activity is pure and upright. (proverbs 20:11)
if you play violent, immoral games, could you be described as being pure and upright?
Studies repeatedly show that watching violent entertainment increases aggression in those who view it. In fact, some experts say that because of the interactive nature of electronic games, they can have a stronger effect than TV.

Choosing to play violent and immoral electronic games is like choosing to play with radioactive waste....etc.....

did you see the wisdom?
the Governing Body of Jehovah Witnesses Help people young and old to apply Bible principles in their lives, are you doing the same?
those who apply the counsels have great joy and happy family life.

you think you know better, keep dreaming.
oh I almost forget, matthew 8:11
should I give you password an answer to that?
it is not necessary since password is blind he might not understand
why not just give password
John 3:13 to read.
Jesus said:
"No one has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven the Son of man.
before Christ came on earth no one ascended into Heaven.
no one has the hope to go there.

should I explain to you Matthew 8:11 and Hebrew 11
why should I?
go figure it out for yourself,
pay attention to Hebrew 11:19, and john 3:16, Acts 24:15, and you might get it.

Unknown said...

oh I forgot you might have in mind why happen to Elijah since you don't understand the scriptures.
keep in mind Jesus word no one before him went in heaven
and try to figure it out.

Anonymous said...

Frank, please, get a clue. I'm sick of self-righteous JWs saying, "Oh, well, when was the last time anyone knocked on your door to talk about Jehovah?".

That's because this is the 21st C and people don't reach out by knocking on doors anymore.

Think about it, Russell pioneered the Photodrama of Creation. It was cutting edge technology. Under Rutherford JWs reached millions via their radio stations.

Now, in 2008, JWs rely almost solely on...knocking doors between 9am and 12pm when there is no one at home.

So, yes, JWs are the ONLY ones knocking doors to reach people with their unique warning message/good news of the kingdom (which amounts to little more than peddling of magazines). But that's because TRUE Christians realise that there are much more effective ways to reach people. Little things like TV, radio and the internet. That's why so many other Christian groups are expanding at a rate Brooklyn can only dream of.

Anonymous said...

Frank says;
"oh I forgot you might have in mind why happen to Elijah since you don't understand the scriptures.
keep in mind Jesus word no one before him went in heaven
and try to figure it out."

Oh man. So Jesus was contradicting himself?

Whenever the resurection to heaven starts, and let's face it, it didn't start in 1918, Jesus will decide who gets to be there. And he says Abraham will be with him.

Just because the Governing Body don't agree doesn't mean they're right.

S said...

Yes, JWs are the only ones fulfilling Matt 24:14.

Mormons only go out for 2 years. Other religions do it locally for a day.

But they are not preaching the kingdom. They are preaching politics.

As for those in the first century preaching a warning message: What does that have to do with anything.

Matt 24:14. The good news of the kingdom.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ringwielder said...

Jehovah's Witnesses are not known for preaching the 'Good news of the Kingdom.' They are known for not celebrating Christmas or Birthdays and not taking blood and knocking on peoples doors with their magazines.

I have made a point of asking people since I left what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. Not one person has ever said that the JWs believe that God's Kingdom is ruling in heaven and will soon extend its blessings to the earth. Not one.

The message is not getting through, sorry folks.

S said...

Steve:

"Jehovah's Witnesses are not known for preaching the 'Good news of the Kingdom.'"

Then get busy and start preaching it.


" They are known for not celebrating Christmas or Birthdays and not taking blood and knocking on peoples doors with their magazines."

Well, we can't help it that the world does not follow the Bible and our following of it makes us different.

And the magazines and door to door is the preaching of the kingdom.


"I have made a point of asking people since I left what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. Not one person has ever said that the JWs believe that God's Kingdom is ruling in heaven and will soon extend its blessings to the earth. Not one."

That is because they are too closed minded to listen. Like all of those who leave, they are closed minded too. You all have Bibles and can read Matt 24:14 and Dan 2:44.


"The message is not getting through, sorry folks."

Then get busy and start preaching the kingdom. Matt 24:14 and Dan 2:44

Anonymous said...

jws are preaching that the kingdom was set up in 1914 and its made up of 144000 jws. Both of these teachings are wrong and cannot be proved scipturally. Luke 10 : 7 says don`t go house to house, not a scripture often quoted in the watchtower.

S said...

"jws are preaching that the kingdom was set up in 1914 and its made up of 144000 jws. Both of these teachings are wrong and cannot be proved scipturally."

Well, one of those is wrong.

The kingdom was set up in heaven in 1914. That is scriptural and is proven.

The other we do not believe that 144,000 JWs make up the kingdom. Well, essentially they are Jehovah's Witnesses because they worship Jehovah. But by proper name many were chose prior to 1931.

" Luke 10 : 7 says don`t go house to house, not a scripture often quoted in the watchtower."

Let's see what it says in context:

Luke 10:1 "sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." What would they do in that city but preach to the people's houses.


Luke 10:7 "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house."

So the one preaching would stay overnight at someone's house and he would stay there until he is done with the city and not go and stay at different houses.

Anonymous said...

let`s see what it say`s in context! that`s very funny. jw`s get all their unique beliefs by taking scriptures out of context, the 1914 teaching being a perfect example.

S said...

"let`s see what it say`s in context! that`s very funny. jw`s get all their unique beliefs by taking scriptures out of context, the 1914 teaching being a perfect example."

That, above, makes no sense.

And if 1914 is wrong, why can't anyone ever say why?

Anonymous said...

Many have said why 1914 is wrong. Some have written books, `The Gentile Times Reconsidered` by Carl Jonsson is a good one to start with.

Anonymous said...

re Ronde saying `that above makes no sense`, i`ll try to explain myself. you said we should look at the context of Luke10:7 while you were defending a jw teaching. I said that was funny coz teachings peculiar to jws are all supposedly proven by using various verses from the bible completely out of context, a good example being the way they get 1914.

S said...

"Many have said why 1914 is wrong. Some have written books, `The Gentile Times Reconsidered` by Carl Jonsson is a good one to start with."

Well ole Carl did not even reconsider the Gentile Times.

All he did was argue when Jerusalem was destroyed.

That is not reconsidering anything
as the gentile times are not based on the destruction of Jerusalem.

Anonymous said...

I don`t see how you can say the gentile times are not based on the destruction of Jerusalem when the wt insist that it is that destruction that begins the gentile times. Only by giving the 607bce date as the start of the gentile times can they then get to 1914. Carl Jonnson gives 14 lines of evidence against the 607 date but also discusses much more such as the response of the wt to evidence against their interpretation.

S said...

Anonymous said...

"I don`t see how you can say the gentile times are not based on the destruction of Jerusalem when the wt insist that it is that destruction that begins the gentile times."

Get a clue.

The start and end of the Gentile times are not based on what the Watchtower Says. It is based on Jehovah's covenant with David. When the kings in the line of David lost their sovereignty, that is when the gentile times started.

" Only by giving the 607bce date as the start of the gentile times can they then get to 1914."

Right. They started in 607, but not with the destruction of Jerusalem as people don't believe the destruction was in 607.

"Carl Jonnson gives 14 lines of evidence against the 607 date but also discusses much more such as the response of the wt to evidence against their interpretation."

Well, carl fails because all he does is argue against the Watchtower, and does not consider anything.

Where did the WTS, Russell, get the start of the gentile times? From Nelson Barbour. Where did Barbour get his information?

What Carl did not reconsider is that prior to Barbour, the belief in the Gentile times was that it started not at the destruction of Jerusalem in 586, but at the first invasion in 606. So they still got the start of the gentile times at 606/607 and the end in 1914. Just different events.

Thus Carl did not reconsider anything, he just argued himself, and failed, out of a paper bag.

Anonymous said...

So are saying the wt society are wrong when they argue in their publications for 607 being the date for Jerusalem`s destruction by Babylon? How is it that the Gentile Times ended in 1914 when the wt society counted from 606 and then they still ended in 1914 when they counted from 607?

Anonymous said...

sorry, first line was meant to say `are you saying....`

S said...

"So are saying the wt society are wrong when they argue in their publications for 607 being the date for Jerusalem`s destruction by Babylon? "

I don't believe that they argue anything. And they are not historians so what they say on that is not important. It is the Biblical prophetic impact that is important. And they are right on that.

I just choose to go by the pre-Barbour understanding, which incidently concludes the gentile times at the same time as the post Barbour reconing, that way people who argue that 1914 is wrong in their attacks against the WT have no basis.

"How is it that the Gentile Times ended in 1914 when the wt society counted from 606 and then they still ended in 1914 when they counted from 607?"

When people believed in 606, they counted a zero year. Later historians removed the zero year. Since old dates like 606 are relative to today, meaning that they count back from today; removing the 0 year took away a place holder and pushed things back a year. Same result.

Anonymous said...

"I don`t believe that they argue anything" I would say that the appendix to ch14 of the `let your kingdom come` book is an arguement for 607 being the date of Jerusalem`s destruction. "They are not historians, what they say on that is not important" I agree. You go by the pre-Barbour understanding which is fair enough but the wt society don`t. It would be interesting to see the reaction you would get if you taught your understanding from the platform while highlighting the error of the 607 date for Jerusalem`s destruction. I don`t think the elders would agree that what the society say on this is not important.