Beliefs & Teachings about Death Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when a person dies, their existence completely stops. This is because the Bible makes it clear that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies. Witnesses believe that Hell (as traditionally portrayed) does not exist.
Death is considered a state of non-existence, based on their understanding of Ecclesiastes 9:5: "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all." Witnesses believe that the only hope for life after death is in the resurrection, which they say involves re- ...
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is possible only through Christ's ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah. Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that are prompted by faith.
Members believe that only Jehovah's Witnesses will be saved at the end of the world, and of those, only a limited number of the most faithful. Witnesses believe in Heaven, but do not believe in Hell.
The Jehovah's Witnesses Funeral Service
The service is brief (generally between 15 and 30 minutes) and the body of the deceased is usually present. Following the service, the body is transported to either the crematorium or to the cemetery for a graveside service and burial.
As with many other religions, Jehovah's Witness does not prohibit cremation and considers it a personal family decision.
Jehovah's Witnesses reject foods containing blood but have no other special dietary requirements. Some Jehovah's Witnesses may be vegetarian and others may abstain from alcohol, but this is a personal choice. Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke or use other tobacco products.
Jehovah's Witnesses consider many actions to be "serious sins", for which baptized Witnesses are subject to a judicial committee hearing. Such actions include: abortion. adultery. anal or oral sex.
Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses regularly refuse transfusions for themselves and their children because they believe the procedure creates a risk of losing eternal salvation.
Religious beliefs and practices
For instance, they teach that Jesus is the son of God but is not part of a Trinity. By traditional measures of religious commitment, Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the most highly religious major U.S. religious groups.
Jehovah's Witnesses scorn these memorial events because they imply that something in a person survives death, which is a patently false notion according to the religion. However, it is acceptable for family and friends to visit the grave of the deceased in years to come, so long as the visit is made for their own sake.
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Cursing, then, is a sin among Jehovah's Witnesses, but it's a “nonjudicial” one—meaning it's not sufficiently grave to merit formal censure from Witness elders and cannot lead to “disfellowshipping” (expulsion from the congregation).
Marriages are required to be monogamous and legally registered. Marrying a non-believer, or endorsing such a union, is strongly discouraged and carries religious sanctions.
DIET - Jehovah Witnesses believe it is forbidden to eat blood or blood products. Although meat is usually acceptable, because animals are bled after slaughter, some Jehovah Witnesses may be vegetarian. Patients may wish to pray silently before eating and at other times.
Wives should be submissive to their husbands and husbands are to have deep respect and love for their wives, and are instructed to listen to them on all matters. Husbands are instructed to treat their wives as Jesus treated his followers. He should not hurt or mistreat his family in any way.
Witnesses hold a number of traditional Christian views but also many that are unique to them. They affirm that God—Jehovah—is the most high. Jesus Christ is God's agent, through whom sinful humans can be reconciled to God.
Rapper The Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, was raised in the Jehovah's Witness faith by his mother Voletta Wallace, who is still active in the religion today. Actress and television host Sherri Shepherd was raised as a Jehovah's Witness but no longer practices the faith.
Both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons identify as Christians, although their non-Trinitarian doctrine — both deny that Jesus Christ shares a single fundamental divine essence with God the Father and the Holy Spirit — has often brought them into conflict with mainline Christian tradition.
Jehovah's Witnesses accept medial and surgical treatment. They do not adhere to so-called “faith healing” and are not opposed to the practice of medicine.
They limit contact with non-Jehovah's Witnesses
Followers are discouraged from having close relationships with those who are not part of the faith. People who are “worldly” are seen as bad influences or “bad associations.”
Jehovah's Witnesses – According to the Watch Tower Society, the legal corporation for the religion, Jehovah's Witnesses do not encourage organ donation but believe it is a matter best left to an individual's conscience. All organs and tissues, however, must be completely drained of blood before transplantation.
The Witnesses have nothing against weddings or funerals, but they do have strict religious beliefs that impel them to avoid certain activities and celebrations which, they believe, violate moral principles found in the Bible.
Multiple transfusion alternatives have been developed, and many are generally acceptable to a Jehovah's Witness patient, including tranexamic acid, prothrombin complex concentrate, and fibrin glue.
However Jehovah's Witnesses have no objections to giving samples of their DNA or even their blood, as long as the blood is only being used for medical or forensic testing. Their only objection would be to receiving a blood transfusion or donating blood that will be used for a transfusion.