Alexandra Rodriguez

English 1301

Dr. Loren Higbee

September 16, 2021

The Community of Jehovah Witnesses

There are many communities around the world that have disguised themselves as

religions, designed to benefit their groups, yet display concerning behavior. The religion known

as the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a very particular and strict set of beliefs. This is because they

must follow the written teachings of their Bible, which is titled, “The New World Translations of

the Holy Scriptures“. In this book, it is implied that members cannot celebrate any holiday that

praises anyone other than their deity, nor any holiday that originates from Paganism. Being a part

of this community can also be physically dangerous, considering they are restricted from

participating in certain medical procedures, even in situations of life and death. And lastly, they

are discouraged from closely associating with non-Jehovah's Witnesses and even cut ties with

those who have abandoned the faith, regardless of whether they are family members or not. For

these reasons alone, one would find themselves justified in defining the Jahovah’s Witness

community as a cult.

When Jahovah’s Witnesses go to hospitals for life threatening injuries, they may

sometimes need a blood transfusion to save their life. However, according to their Bible, it is

said that it is against God’s will to take blood. It states that it is God’s will to “abstain from

blood” The New World Translations of the Holy Scriptures, (Gen. 9:4). Through these scriptures,

members of the church have decided to eternally reject any procedure that may involve receiving

a blood transfusion, regardless of how it is administered. They also refuse plasma, even if it has
originated from their own blood. This all stems from their belief that a human must not continue

life through the use of another's blood regardless of how the blood is transmitted. They believe if

these treatments are performed, then they will lose eternal salvation. Because of the large number

of members of this religion, physicians are taught the challenges of treating a Jahovah Witness,

which usually involves using facts to instill fear in them, until they ultimately decide to choose

oneself over the church.

Another principle Jehovah Witnesses must follow is the refusal to observe most holidays

or events that most other Americans traditionally celebrate. There is a verse in The New World

Translations of the Holy Scriptures, (Matt. 4:10) which states, “It is Jehovah your God you must

worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” This means that Jehavah

Witness’ are not allowed to celebrate some holidays because of the implication that a different

individual, other than God, is being honored on those days. They even go as far as to refuse

celebrating Christmas, a holiday celebrated by even atheists, because it is not a certainty that

Jesus was even born on that date. One can assume that this is cult-like behaviour because the

reason this rule was implemented was so that the church may have more control over the lives of

its members. Without participating in these celebrations, Jehovah Witnesses are less likely to cut

ties with the religion and remain closely knit to their only sense of belonging, at church.

Generally, Jehovah Witnesses are told to cut ties with all ex-Jehovah Witnesses and non-

believers. They are only expected to keep other Jehovah witnesses in their social circles. They do

this because the religion views outsiders to be of bad association and a bad influence; they feel as

though they are disobeying the orders of God by forming close relationships with non-members

of the church. Their Bible states: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” The New

World Translations of the Holy Scriptures, (1 Cor. 5:13). When family members become ex-
members of the church, the rest of the organization shames that individual for their decision. By

doing this, they hope that it will shame these individuals into returning to the congregation and

wards any other current members from making the same decision. This helps drive the objective

of forming a cult, which is that the more isolated members are from the outside world, the less

likely they are to remove themselves from the church by means of self realization.

To sum up, Jehovah’s Witnesses exhibit many cult-like behaviours due to the teachings

of their Bible. They disallow forming relationships with those of other faiths to keep members

from being influenced by outsiders. They are obligated to refuse medically necessary procedures

and they are disallowed from celebrating non-Bible approved holidays. Using these said

methods, which are enforced by the church, the population of members in the Jehovah Witness

congregation has thrived and has been a consistently growing community for the past 75 years.

This will continue to be an unfortunate reality, until this organization ceases to isolate its

members from anyone who seems to contradict their beliefs, and returns their God-given right to

freedom.

Work Cited
“Genesis 9:4.” The New World Translations of the Holy Scriptures

“1 Corinthians 5:13.” The New World Translations of the Holy Scriptures

“Matthew 4:10.” The New World Translations of the Holy Scriptures