Of all items listed, only three have been discontinued. (marked with an asterisk) All are listed, however, to show the absurdity of Watchtower authority and the absolute control leadership has over the lives of members once they join.
1. Jehovah God is not a Trinity
2. The doctrine of the Trinity is inspired by Satan
3. Jesus Christ is a created being, who at one time did not exist (a.k.a.Michael the archangel)
4. The Holy Spirit is not a person but is "God's active force" i.e. gravity, electricity etc.
5. Heaven is only for select Jehovah's Witnesses
6. Heaven is limited only to 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
7. Jehovah's Witnesses are the only true Christians
8. There is no Hell (It is simply the grave)
9. There is no life after death (except for the 144,000)
10. Salvation is by good works not by Grace
11. You cannot be sure of salvation
12. Jesus is not to be worshiped or prayed to
13. Jesus did not rise from the dead bodily but as a spirit being
14. You are discouraged from attending college
15. The "first resurrection" occurred in 1918
16. All pastors are the "Antichrist"
17. All churches are of Satan
18. All governments are controlled by Satan
19. You cannot take a blood transfusion
20. You cannot be a police officer
21. You cannot salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, or own a flag
22. You cannot serve in the military
23. You cannot buy girl Scout cookies
24. You must attend five meetings per week
25. Jesus'second coming occurred in 1914 (only known to Jehovah's Witnesses)
26. You cannot marry a non-Jehovah's Witness
27. If one does not follow the rules of the Watchtower they will be shunned
28. You cannot read Christian literature from a Christian book store
29. You cannot be a cheerleader
30. You cannot celebrate any holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc.)
31. You cannot celebrate your birthday
32. You cannot run for or hold a political office
33. You cannot vote in any political campaign
34. You cannot serve on a jury
35. You are discouraged from giving to charity (except Watchtower causes)
36. You cannot speak to former members who are shunned (disfellowshipped)
37. You cannot accept Christmas gifts
38. You must read and study Watchtower literature regularly
39. Only Jehovah's Witnesses can understand the Bible
40. Angels direct the Watchtower organization
41. Jesus did not die on a cross but an upright pole
42. You cannot own or wear a cross
43. You must report your witnessing activity to the elders
44. You must go from door to door weekly to gain converts
45. You cannot have friends who are not Jehovah's Witnesses
46. You must refer to all Jehovah's Witnesses as "brother" or "sister"
47. You cannot play chess*
48. You cannot understand the Bible without Watchtower literature to explain it
49. A child abuser is reported to Watchtower elders and not the police
50. You must forgo vacations to attend annual conventions
51. You are discouraged from buying a two door car-A "Theocratic" or "spiritually strong" Jehovah's Witness will have a full size car for the door to door work
52. Men cannot wear beards
53. Men must wear short hair
54. Women cannot pray in the presence of men without a hat
55. You cannot have a tattoo
56. You forbidden to use any tobacco products
57. Only officially approved sexual practices are allowed in marriage
58. You must appear before a Judicial committee if you are caught breaking Watchtower rules (Secret files are kept on all members which record these meetings-these files are kept in New York and are never destroyed)
59. You must not own wind-chimes (they are for chasing away evil spirits)*
60. You cannot read any anti-Jehovah's Witness material
61. You cannot use pet foods made with blood or blood products
62. You cannot join any clubs or sports teams
63. You cannot wear jade jewelry*
64. You cannot purchase Christian products (books, music, plaques, pictures etc.)
65. You cannot wear any Christian jewelry
66. Jehovah's Witness meeting places have no windows
67. If you see another Jehovah's Witness breaking the rules you must turn them in to the elders to be interrogated
68. Jesus could have sinned and failed in his mission
69. Jesus was not born the savior but became the savior at his baptism
70. The Watchtower organization is God's prophet on earth today
71. Women must submit to Watchtower elders
72. You cannot support your country
73. One must study Watchtower books at least six months before he can be baptized
74. Before baptism, one must answer over 80 questions in front of a panel of elders
75. Most of The Book of Revelation applies to the Jehovah's Witnesses
76. You cannot celebrate Mothers or Fathers day (it may produce pride)
77. Kingdom Halls cannot have pews for seating
78. JWs are are fobidden to say "good luck"
79. God is not omniscient "all knowing"
80. God is not omnipresent
81. God only speaks through the "Governing Body" in Brooklyn, New York
82. The Holy Spirit is only for select Jehovah's Witnesses
83. The Lord's supper is only to be eaten by select Jehovah's Witnesses (144,000 group-99.99% of Jehovah's Witnesses are forbidden from taking the Lord's supper)
84. The Lord's supper can only be offered once per year
85. JWs in times of crisis, are strongly discouraged from consulting with family counselors, including mental health professionals who are not Jehovah's Witnesses
86. Only faithful Jehovah's Witnesses will survive Armageddon
87. If you have a non-Witness spouse your first loyalty is to the elders over your spouse
88. Jesus was equal to Adam (just a man)
89. Judgment day is 1000 years long
90. If you leave Jehovah's Witnesses or are expelled from the organization you will not be resurrected
91. Only Jehovah's Witness prayers are heard by God
92. Man's salvation is secondary in God's plan; Jesus was sent to "vindicate Jehovah's name"
93. God will destroy all non-Jehovah's Witnesses at armageddon
94. You forbidden to say "God bless you" when someone sneezes.
95. You must never enter a church building
96. You must never attend a church service
97. You cannot be involved in martial arts, boxing or wrestling
98. You cannot participate in a school play
99. You cannot donate blood or your organs when you die
100. You can never question what is printed in Watchtower literature
10l. You are forbidden to attend a funeral of an ex-Jehovah's Witness
Is this the craziest religion or what? i think all religions are crazy. but that's just me. lol, whenever a jahovy came to harass, i mean talk to us, we would just stand there and look dumb...lol, never answer any questions, so on.
they had quite enough after a while.
to me, and i'm not a folower, but buddhism makes the most sense. it's not about any god, or rules, you just have to be considerate, and honest, and everything will work out for you.
but whatever. religion is a form of control, and i think it should all be outlawed, like cults.
Is this the craziest religion or what? Some of those statement are not true. Report It
Is this the craziest religion or what? That's a long question.
Uh, what was the question anyway?
At least a third of these are untrue. Report It
Is this the craziest religion or what? Um, sounds more like a cult to me. And God is all knowning. And Jesus did die for our sins. Anyone says otherwise is a fool. Report It
Is this the craziest religion or what? religion in general is crazy
Is this the craziest religion or what? I'm a Jehovaha's Bystander.
It's like being a Witness but you don't get involved!
Is this the craziest religion or what? what about scientology? that's pretty crazy
Is this the craziest religion or what? yawn too much text
Is this the craziest religion or what? Crazy is NOT good enough too describe it.
We have to invent a better words for these kind of scenarios.
Is this the craziest religion or what? Characterizing someone as crazy is dismissive and rude. Most religions look crazy to outsiders. Peace and tolerance toward all is a better path.
Is this the craziest religion or what? Well!!! You seem to really know alot about the witnesses...are you a former witness?
I do, however, agree that some of the doctrines listed above, are not truly Christian, but man made, just as there are man made doctrines in every other religion, that don't allow people to think for themselves, as Christ would want us to.
So your question about whether it is the craziest religion, is true, but the witnesses are not the only ones to control others by brainwashing...I've been in a controlling religion, which I got out of, many years ago. It and many other religions, have taught me to go directly to the source of truth, the Bible, without man getting in between God and my spirituality...
Is this the craziest religion or what? damn this is more than crazy
Is this the craziest religion or what? no .i think the crazist religion is islam !
Is this the craziest religion or what? Form of Godliness, denying the Power thereof...
Oh, if they only KNEW, all working to get to Heaven has already been settled at Calvary...Jesus did ALL the work/suffering and His precious Blood covers it all.
There are different degrees of Hell and Heaven, I would not want to be one of these leaders/shepherds who lead these flocks.
Thank you Jesus for making me free, free indeed....
Is this the craziest religion or what? Speaking as a well-informed bystander who knows a lot about the organization (albeit not everything) you have some of your facts wrong. Many are true. They have their reasons, and when spelled out they seem to be good ones.
P.S. Still, when you put it that way it gives me a belly ache, lol. Seriously, though, not many organizations could withstand such scrutiny in absence of a defense.
P.S. OPM said it best.
Is this the craziest religion or what? If Jehovah needs Witnesses, I've always wondered what crime He needs an alibi for. Personally, I consider myself a Witness for the Prosecution :oD
Is this the craziest religion or what? Crazy is an understatement. Is this accurate? Any JW's that want to dispute this? What incredible and awful mind control. These guys are every bit as cult crazy as Scientologists.
One of my favorites is #78 - JWs are are fobidden to say "good luck" I also like the "no wind chimes" rule. I wonder if they have rules for toileting.
Good luck ya'll.
Is this the craziest religion or what? This list is about 25% accurate, about 25% false, and about 50% mixed up.
As to the parts that are true, they are based upon Scripture.
Things like this happen when one's opinion is based on hearsay rather than facts.
Is this the craziest religion or what? This just tells me Jehovah's witnesses are more of a cult, not really a religion. I agree, the "Witnesses" are crazy... Modern society doesn't understand their beliefs..
Is this the craziest religion or what? No, this is not particularly crazy, as religions go. Indeed, much of it is not crazy at all. For example, how is #93 any different from what most Fundamentalist and evangelical Mainline Protestants believe, if you replace the words "Jehovah's Witnesses" with "Christians"? How is #1 any crazier than the Doctrine of the Trinity itself in Roman Catholic doctrine ("God has three Persons and one Nature")? How are any of these any crazier, for example, than:
1. If you love a person of the same gender, you will burn in hell.
2. If you were born in a non-Christian country, and never heard of Jesus, but lived a morally exemplary life, you will go to hell. If you are a serial child-rapist who embraced Jesus in prison, you will go to heaven.
3. America, a country whose Declaration of Independence was written by a Deist and whose Constitution was written mostly by Deists, was "founded on Christian principles," and therefore should be run according to Christian evangelical social values.
...and so on.
Isn't the bottom line that one's own religion is always totally rational, even transcendently true, and others' religions always crazy?
Is this the craziest religion or what? Actually it is not crazy. This is what you get with sola scriptura. They have good reasons for everything. The only specific I fault them with is a mistranslation of one word in John's Gospel, chapter 1. All of this ends up following from that one article adjective, believe it or not.
Scripture without the context of tradition yields 46,000 Protestant denominations. Each is what man can imagine given a text that is open to as many interpretations as man has imagination.
This isn't crazy, it is the extreme point in the logic of sola scriptura. It is a warning to Protestants to rethink a non-biblical doctrine (in fact a counter biblical doctrine).
Is this the craziest religion or what? I'm confused about the point or purpose of this question.
Unless you are trying to stir up some more religious intolence.
(Holy crap! There's more than enough of it on this particular category
already)
Personally I feel we've had enough hostility and war down thro the ages, to have learned the lesson by now. Attacking the religious faiths or beliefs of others causes nothing but trouble.
We all have a basic right to believe and practice whatever religion we choose.
Conversely,we also have the right to not believe or practice a religion.
That includes you.
So what's the real problem here?
Is this the craziest religion or what? I can assure all Beliefs of jehovah's witnesses are firmly rooted from bible scriptures, and many of the things listed above are not true. In particular #'S 15, 20, 26, 28, 35, 39, 45, 46(dont have to but its nice), 48, 49, 50, 54(outloud for a group if a baptised man is present.), 66, 68, 74, 88, 90, 93, 101.