This topic is not one that I had planned for Grown Girl's Rules; well at least not as a stand alone. I figured that somewhere down the line, the discussion would evolve out of another post. However, God has His own plan and this blog is more His than mine so here we are.
Yesterday, I posted this on my Facebook status...
"...finds it funny that when I'm outside, available for discussion, the Witnesses just walk on by. I guess they can see my light shining and everyone doesn't like to be exposed to the Son, afraid of Son Burn!"
So that sparked a debate. The first question was, asked by my little brother, "Aren't Jehovah's Witnesses Christians?" And it went on from there.
My response was that in the literal sense of the word, yes. Webster's dictionary defines the word Christian as "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ." But for those of us who live as Christians, we know that definition doesn't even scratch the surface. And thus the debate began! Here are some of the comments:
From MMB So are [Jehovah's Witnesses] like the unloved stepchildren of Christianity? Which sects are considered valid by the overall Christian community and which are not? And doesn't it take more than a belief in Jesus Christ to be a Christian?
From BB Unfortunately many ''Christians" have been taught that people who are Jehovah Witnesses are considered to be like a cult, bc of their extreme walks in their faith and their practices...in my opinion, I believe that people are afraid, or fear what is different from them..that goes for Christians as well... See More..So many of us (myself included) can be judgmental when it comes to people practicing their faith different from our own..so therefore I feel that Jehovah Witnesses may have different views then mine, but despite our differences, all that matters in the end is having a relationship with Christ and believing in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That is the basis of our faith..Hope that helps ;)
This one kinda brought it home:
From AJ Jehovah Witnesses are not Christians. To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ and believe in his teachings. They believe that Christ is not GOD but a smaller god that is presides over this world. The thought is that if there are other worlds out there their... See More could be other gods of those worlds. Fundamental Christianity believes in the the trinity - GOD in 3 distinct forms. If the belief in Christ was just the definition of a Christian then most muslims who believed Christ to be a great prophet would be considered Christians as well. But they consider Muhammed greater then Christ and also considered him a lunatic in some texts and senses.
I wish that I could copy and paste all of the comments. But I've asked those involved to post here and I hope that they oblige my request. I will continue to respond through out the day as well. But I am curious to see what you all have to say. We also sparked a discussion around celebrating Easter vs the Resurrection of
Christ. I'll save that for later on today. We first have to believe in Christ as the Son of God before we can believe he died and rose again for our salvation. Not sure you all are ready for that one yet! LOL
Readers, please, ask your questions, post your comments...
Enjoy. Comment. Be blessed!
1 comment:
"We also sparked a discussion around celebrating Easter vs the Resurrection of
Christ. I'll save that for later on today."
The discussions are actually related; one of the issues that drive people to sects such as JW is the issue of the pagan rituals incorporated in so-called Christian holidays. That's why Witnesses don't celebrate Easter or Christmas, or even birthdays.
As one of the commenters in the discussion on BB's Facebook page mentioned, the pagan rituals (which include tree decoration, egg-hunting, etc. as well as the dates of some of the holidays) were incorporated by the church in order to unify the pagan population under Christianity.
These decisions were made by popes and councils of bishops, as were the decisions regarding which books of scripture to include in the biblical canon, as well as whether to regard God as a Trinity represented by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It was not just the holidays, rituals, and traditions that were altered to placate and appease the pagans -- it was the Bible itself.
As far as what a Christian really is, I'll leave that for someone else to answer. I'm interested in what everyone else thinks.
Post a Comment