Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Christians?

Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Christians?
Why are they spoken against? What is their aim?
A TRADITIONAL pattern in religious worship and practice has been established among the orthodox religions of Christendom. They have a clergy class and a laity class, with the clergy doing all the preaching and the laity the listening. They have their social activities, money-raising programs, political interests and many commonly accepted teachings and holidays. Any religious group that does not conform to this pattern is, more often than not, considered to be peculiar. Political and legal authorities may even refuse to recognize it as a religious group and may deny it constitutionally guaranteed liberties. Orthodox religious leaders may ridicule it, accusing it of being a deceiver, false prophet and not Christian. This has been the experience of Jehovah’s witnesses in this twentieth century.
The treatment given the Witnesses is similar to what was experienced by Christians in the first century for not conforming to the popular religious pattern among the Jews and Romans of that day. Those early Christians were a minority whose worship, beliefs and religious practices were strikingly different from the idol-worshiping Romans and the tradition-bound adherents to Judaism. It was the popular thing to show intolerance toward them. Roman emperors put them in the arenas to be burned alive or to be torn by wild beasts. The religious leaders of Judaism incited mobs against them, causing them to be persecuted from city to city. Jesus Christ foretold this when he said to some of those orthodox religionists: "I am sending forth to you prophets and wise men and public instructors. Some of them you will kill and impale, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city."—Matt. 23:34.
Those same religious leaders decorated the memorial tombs of the prophets that lived before their day, saying: "If we had been in the days of our forefathers, we would not have been sharers with them in the blood of the prophets." (Matt. 23:30) Yet they treated Christians as their forefathers had treated the Hebrew prophets who did not conform to what was popular.
Although many centuries have passed since the days of the early Christians and many millions of people now profess Christianity, nonconforming Christians are still mistreated. Orthodox religious groups may deplore the mistreatment that was shown the early Christians and say that if they had lived then they would not have been among the persecutors, but they will turn around and persecute Jehovah’s witnesses for not conforming to the popular religious pattern of today. Jesus Christ foretold that this would be so when he spoke about those followers of his living in the last days: "Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name." "The hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God."—Matt. 24:9; John 16:2.
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
That which determines a Christian is not adherence to the popularly accepted beliefs of orthodox religious organizations or participation in popular religious practices and religious holidays. Conforming to the popular concept of a Christian does not make a person a Christian. What does is the meeting of Scriptural qualifications. The apostle Peter said: "Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely." (1 Pet. 2:21) One must follow the example Christ set.
Aside from making himself thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures and living by its right principles, Christ bore witness to the name and purposes of his heavenly Father. "I have made your name known to them and will make it known." (John 17:26) He stated that his purpose in coming was to bear witness to the truth. (John 18:37) Christians of the first century followed his example by bearing witness to the truth, although this conflicted with the traditional teachings that were popularly accepted in those days.
Those early followers of Christ refused to adopt any of the philosophical beliefs or religious formalisms of the pagan Greeks and Romans. They knew that a Christian’s worship must be pure, undefiled by pagan influence. "Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?"—2 Cor. 6:14.
The kingdom of God was made prominent in the preaching done by Jesus Christ. He laid great stress on it, and told his followers to seek "first the kingdom and [God’s] righteousness." (Matt. 6:33) This is a requirement that Christians must meet, and, like the early Christians, they must not only seek the Kingdom but talk about it as well.—Matt. 10:7.
As Jesus kept integrity to his heavenly Father under the most trying circumstances so must the person who seeks to be a Christian. When men of the world try to force him to break integrity to God, he must do as Peter said: "We must obey God as ruler rather than men." (Acts 5:29) A Christian must not break his integrity when persecution comes upon him for refusing to conform to what is popular but contrary to God’s Word. He cannot expect all men to speak well of him. "All those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted."—2 Tim. 3:12; Luke 6:26.
The fruits of the spirit are produced by a Christian at all times, not just one day a week. Regarding these fruits the Bible says: "On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control." (Gal. 5:22, 23) These qualities must be given more than lip service by the person wanting to be a Christian.
Because Jehovah’s witnesses are unlike orthodox church members in their beliefs and religious activities, some persons may claim that they are not Christians; but let us see if they meet the Scriptural requirements that determine a Christian. This is what counts, not what is popular.
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES MEET REQUIREMENTS
The activities of Jehovah’s witnesses fit their name. Like Jesus Christ, who is called by Scripture "the faithful and true witness," Jehovah’s witnesses bear witness to the name, purpose and truth of God. (Rev. 3:14) They do not hide his name but publicly declare that it is Jehovah. As you will note, it appears prominently on the cover of this magazine, which is the principal publication used by the Witnesses. It is Jehovah’s will that his name be made known to earth’s inhabitants.—Ps. 83:18; Heb. 13:15.
As his witnesses they testify to the fact that he is one God and that he rightly demands exclusive devotion. Consider this expression of theirs in The Watchtower of January 1, 1956: "Exclusive devotion to Jehovah God is a very serious requirement. . . . He is exclusive. Everyone else stays outside this most honored position that he only can hold. He is alone in his exalted place in the universe. He will not include anyone else with himself. His glory he does not share with another." This fact eliminates religious devotion to images and human leaders.—Ex. 20:5.
Like the early Christians, Jehovah’s witnesses insist upon keeping their worship of Jehovah God undefiled. They refuse to use icons, symbols, processions, clerical robes and the many other things that religious Christendom adopted from pagan religions many centuries ago. They refuse to defile their worship with the observance of religious holidays that have roots in paganism or with religious creeds that sprang from human philosophy and not from God’s Word. This determination to maintain undefiled worship puts the Witnesses out of step with popular religious beliefs and practices. As the religious leaders of Jesus’ day became greatly upset over the Scriptural truths he taught, so religious leaders in Christendom become upset over the preaching activities of Jehovah’s witnesses.
As clearly shown by the resolution passed by the Witnesses at their Divine Will International Assembly in 1958, the kingdom of God is the principal theme of their preaching. It stated: "The only stable government in the universe is the established kingdom of God in the hands of his anointed Son." They follow the example of Jesus by "seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness."—Matt. 6:33.
Like the early Christians, Jehovah’s witnesses maintain integrity to God despite the many vicious efforts that are made to silence them. In the United States during 1940, 600 mobbings did not frighten them into silence. Hitler failed to break them in prisons and concentration camps where he tortured 10,000 of them, and the Communists are failing to do it in their frightful prisons and slave-labor camps. The Witnesses have found the following words of Jesus to be as true today as they were 1900 years ago: "If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on this account the world hates you."—John 15:19.
Making public proclamation of Scriptural truths is an obligation that rests upon all who strive to follow Christ’s example. Jehovah’s witnesses do not ignore this fact. All of them engage in the ministry by preaching to others. In 1959 over 870,000 of them devoted more than 126 million hours to this divinely authorized work. They know that preaching is one of the things required to get salvation. "For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation."—Rom. 10:10.
By manifesting the fruits of the spirit they give further proof that they are Christians. Their love, mildness and self-control is publicly revealed when they hold assemblies. At the time of their 1958 assembly in New York city the Daily News said that an official of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau "called the Witnesses an ‘asset to the community’ and said their conduct was ‘out of this world’ for mannerliness."
BELIEFS ARE SCRIPTURAL
Although the beliefs of Jehovah’s witnesses frequently differ from what Christendom considers as orthodox, they are Scriptural. It is believed by the Witnesses that persons who die are in a condition similar to sleep, a condition of unconsciousness. The hope for the dead is to awaken to life by resurrection. This belief is Scriptural, for Jesus himself compared death with sleep. He said: "Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am traveling there to awaken him from sleep. Jesus had spoken, however, about his death."—John 11:11, 13; Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:10.
The fate of the wicked is another point of difference between the beliefs of the Witnesses and those of orthodox religions. Instead of preaching that the wicked are tormented in a fiery hell after death, they contend that the wicked go into eternal death. This too is according to God’s Word. It is written: "Jehovah is guarding all those loving him, but all the wicked ones he will annihilate."—Ps. 145:20; Rom. 6:23.
A popular belief in Christendom is that God is three persons in one, all three persons being coequal and coeternal. Jehovah’s witnesses reject this belief because it is not found in the Bible. It is, instead, found in Hinduism and in other pagan religions. The Witnesses follow the Scriptural teaching that the Father and the Son are different persons, with the Son having been created by the Father. It is written that Christ was "the beginning of the creation by God." (Rev. 3:14) Jehovah is his Father and the God whom he worships. This was stated by Jesus himself: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God."—John 20:17.
Human salvation is recognized by the Witnesses as being possible by no other means than by Christ’s ransom sacrifice. This too is a Scriptural teaching. (Matt. 20:28) The kingdom over which Christ was made King is proclaimed by the Witnesses as a heavenly government that will rule the earth. It is a very real government.—Isa. 9:6, 7; 1 Cor. 15:24.
It will be this divine government, established in the heavens, that will destroy all human government and authority that do not have God’s sanction. (2 Pet. 3:7) The earth will then be inhabited by meek persons who, because of their faithfulness to the Creator, will receive the gift of eternal life. The Scriptures support this belief by saying: "For those being blessed by him will themselves possess the earth." "Happy is the man that keeps on enduring trial, because on becoming approved he will receive the crown of life, which Jehovah promised to those who continue loving him."—Ps. 37:22; Jas. 1:12.
These and the other things that Jehovah’s witnesses believe, while being different from orthodox beliefs in Christendom, are Scriptural. They are things made known by God’s Word and do not come from pagan religions of ancient times. By their beliefs and their activities Jehovah’s witnesses prove that they are true Christians. They meet the Scriptural qualifications of a Christian. Their principal aim is to preach the good news of God’s kingdom "in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations." In this and in many other ways they follow closely Christ’s steps as it is required of true Christians.—Matt. 24:14.