Tony Campbell added a new photo to the album: Branches of Christianity.

Branches of ChristianityJEHOVAH’S WITNESSES:

Jehovah’s Witnesses are a restorationist religious movement that began in the late 1800s in the United States under Charles Taze Russell. It was originally known as the Bible Students movement. After internal divisions, leadership consolidated under Joseph Rutherford, and the name Jehovah’s Witnesses was adopted in 1931.

The organization today is directed by a Governing Body operating through the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, headquartered in Warwick, New York. Authority in the movement is centralized. The Governing Body is viewed as the “faithful and discreet slave” of Matthew 24:45, meaning their doctrinal interpretations are considered God’s channel of truth on earth.

Jehovah’s Witnesses identify as Christian. However, their theology differs fundamentally from historic, orthodox Christianity on core doctrines that define the gospel and the nature of God.

THE DOCTRINE OF GOD:

Historic Christianity teaches one God in three co-equal, co-eternal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity. They teach that Jehovah alone is Almighty God. They deny that Jesus is eternally God. They teach that Jesus is the first created being, the highest of God’s creations, and identify Him with Michael the archangel. They also deny the full personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit, teaching that the Spirit is God’s impersonal active force rather than a divine Person.

This is not a small disagreement. It changes who Jesus is. And who Jesus is determines whether the gospel itself is intact.

THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST:

Orthodox Christianity teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully man, eternally existent, uncreated, and equal with the Father.

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was created by Jehovah before the world began. Their New World Translation renders John 1:1 as “the Word was a god,” rather than “the Word was God,” reflecting their theological position that Christ is divine in a lesser sense but not Almighty God.

They also deny the bodily resurrection of Christ, teaching instead that He was raised as a spirit creature.

THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION:

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not teach salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the historic Protestant sense. Salvation is tied to faith, loyalty to Jehovah’s organization, obedience, evangelism, and endurance.

They also teach a two-class system: 144,000 anointed believers who will rule with Christ in heaven The “great crowd” who will live forever on a restored earthly paradise

Most members do not expect to go to heaven.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SOUL AND HELL:

Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the immortality of the soul. They teach that the dead cease to exist until a future resurrection.

They deny eternal conscious punishment and instead teach annihilation, meaning the wicked are permanently destroyed rather than eternally judged.

AUTHORITY AND “NEW LIGHT”:

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe truth is progressively revealed through the Governing Body. Doctrinal adjustments are referred to as “new light.” Throughout their history, there have been prophetic date expectations associated with 1914, 1925, and 1975 that were later revised.

Members are discouraged from independent doctrinal interpretation. Open dissent can result in disfellowshipping, which includes social and familial shunning.

PRACTICES:

Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for door-to-door evangelism and literature distribution.

They refuse blood transfusions based on Acts 15:28-29.

They do not celebrate birthdays, Christmas, or Easter, viewing them as pagan in origin.

They refuse military service and decline to salute national flags, maintaining political neutrality.

ARE THEY CHRISTIAN?

Historic Christianity is defined by core doctrines: the Trinity, the full deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, salvation by grace through faith, and the authority of Scripture.

Because Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity, deny the full deity of Christ, deny His bodily resurrection, and alter key biblical texts in translation, most historic Christian traditions classify their theology as outside biblical orthodoxy.

This is not about hostility. It is about definitions.

But clarity does not mean contempt.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are not our enemies. They are people made in the image of God. Many are sincere, disciplined, and deeply committed to what they believe is truth. Sincerity does not determine accuracy.

We do not mock them. We do not attack them. We pray for them.

We genuinely hope they come to know the biblical Christ, not a created being, not Michael the archangel, but the eternal Son, fully God and fully man, who rose bodily from the grave and offers salvation by grace through faith alone.

If someone in that movement reads this, understand this clearly. We are not against you. We want you to know Christ as He is revealed in Scripture.

Truth and love are not opposites.

Clear categories create clear thinking. Compassion keeps the h