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Talk:Jehovah's Witnesses

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ed Poor (talk | contribs) at 20:56, 20 September 2002 (shunning & the Amish). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Removed from article:

The Jehovah's Witness faith unfolds from those two starting beliefs in a mathematical fashion.

This seems unlikely to me.


Would an NPOV alternative be to say:

"The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that their faith unfolds from those two starting beliefs in a mathematical fashion"?

Is this an article of faith, or one author's opinion? Is the author a Witness? Is this a common way of expressing the reasoning behind the Witness' faith?

Mathematics is numbers, and so it's certainly the wrong word. I think the core belief is that the bible is true and doesn't contradict itself, and therefore, that where the bible appears to contradict itself in a substantive way, the interpretation/understanding is mistaken (for example, perhaps some passage is meant to be metaphorical rather than literal). So "logically unfolds" would be better. Is the author of that sentence a Witness? -- I don't know. Is that ("mathematics") a common way of expressing the reasoning? -- no. -- Marj Tiefert, Sunday, June 23, 2002

Nevertheless, it is true. Mathematics is a style of thinking and reasoning based on assumptions, where each step in a chain of reasoning follows inevitably from what came before. Numbers are commonly associated with mathematics, but mathematics is by no means limited to numbers. It deals with almost anything that can be dealt with by the mind in a reasonable way, in a logically rigorous fashion that leaves no room for doubts. So I feel it is appropriate to describe the Witness faith as "following mathematically from those two beliefs", since this is exactly how they attempt to develop their religion. -- 209.53.16.55, Friday Aug 23, 2002

If you mean "logically rigorous" then you can say "logically rigorous" -- it's not the same as mathematics (except, perhaps, to a mathematician... ;-) -- Marj Tiefert 22:00 Aug 27, 2002 (PDT)

I didn't mean "logically rigorous". I meant "mathematically". Mathematics isn't just logical, but demands proof. The style of reasoning in the JW religion is very similar to that used in mathematics when presenting a new finding. However, it has occured to me that many non-mathematicians might have a different understanding of the word "mathematics", so I have put in your suggested "logically rigorous". Clutch, Wednesday Aug 28, 2002 (PDT)

Thanks, and I take it you're a mathematician?  :-) -- Marj Tiefert 10:30 Aug 28, 2002 (PDT)

Henotheistic teology? I don't think so. Their insistence of called God by name (Jehova) is not to distinguish them from other gods, but just to emphasize that its his personal name. AstroNomer 21:38 Aug 14, 2002 (PDT)

From the article:

Their theology is Henotheistic.

Please explain HOW their theology in henotheistic, or at least state WHO says it is. Otherwise, this sentence should be deleted.

A lot of people dislike Jehovah's Witnesses' theology. I'm not a big fan of it myself, but this is an encyclopedia. We have to describe things accurately, or not at all. 208.246.35.242

If the definition of henotheism is accurate, then they're not. If the definition of henotheism can be changed to other gods may exist, not that they do exist, then it's probably OK. People can make a god of anything - a rock star, a statue, even their stomach - but that doesn't mean these things really are gods. ($0.02) -- Marj Tiefert 17:11 Aug 15, 2002 (PDT)

The definition of henotheism is accurate, and Jehovah's Witnesses are henotheistic. The Bible says several times that the Devil and the Christ are, not just gods, but powerful ones; but the JW religion restricts worship exclusively to Jehovah, who they hold to be a separate entity from Christ. Since the JW's believe in the whole Bible, it follows that they believe Christ and Satan are gods, although they don't worship them. One of their main beefs with other denominations is the taking parts of the Bible out of context. The JW definition of "a god" is "a powerful being, one who has power over the lives of others". As such they acknowledge that even other humans can be gods, as the Roman emperors were. -- Clutch, Friday Aug 23, 2002

Vaccination hasn't been an issue for more than 80 years. It is not generally known except by people who make vaccines whether vaccinations are made from blood or not. If they are, that is the only possible reason a JW would refuse one, or if the particular vaccination was known to have possible harmful effects. -- Clutch, Sunday Sep 8, 2002

Haven't other groups practiced "shunning", like the Amish? The concept was dramatized in Witness, when the woman who falls in love with the Harrison Ford character is warned not to have an affair with him lest she be shunned. --Ed Poor

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