Religion in the news

[Qapla]

Some years back I came across a Russellite in the course of my secular work. I had witnessed to her in the course of conversation while I was working in her office. That's when she told me she was a Russellite. She said they held meetings once a month in a town about 35 miles south of us.

 

Even though I had not known there were any Russellites in our area nor did I know they held meetings - it did NOT make me want to look them up, do research about them or dig any deeper.

 

If someone asked me to prove that there are active Russellites in our area I would simply tell them they could research it - that I have no interest in digging into such a subject.

 

Just because someone asks about another religion does not mean we have to go research that religion to teach them the truth.

 

I would not search YouTube to find out about meetings for Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Mormons, Russellites, Bible Students or any other religion ... I would show someone how to find a JW meeting by using jw.org

[Percy]

On 7/3/2026 at 5:32 AM, ChrisW said:

I know we've had wolves come in and tried to disrupt Jehovah's people. That may have been what you meant but I've not seen anything comparable to this in Jehovah's organization like @Dagesmentioned.  If you've seen it. @Jim Jam please let me know

This is near Victoria BC, Canada. They took "fleeing to the mountains" in 1914 seriously. https://sookeregionmuseum.ca/stand-fast-bible-students/

[Percy]

22 hours ago, CHecker said:

So please pay attention to verbiage. We have a common language that identifies Jehovah’s true people.

Some years ago we had a group like that, but they put shopping bags over their heads, phoned the news agency locally, and did an interview. When the interviewers left, so did they. Hmmm? Is that grandstanding?

[mario080]

19 hours ago, Qapla said:

Even though I had not known there were any Russellites in our area nor did I know they held meetings - it did NOT make me want to look them up, do research about them or dig any deeper.

 

(…) I have no interest in digging into such a subject.

 

Just because someone asks about another religion does not mean we have to go research that religion to teach them the truth.

You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but it’s not exactly along the lines of what FDS encourages us to do. Have a look at those quotes for example:

 

 

[trottigy]

10 hours ago, mario080 said:

You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but it’s not exactly along the lines of what FDS encourages us to do. Have a look at those quotes for example:

 

 

 

I took a look at Chapter 1 of Mankind's Search for God, specifically paragraphs 11 and 15 like you mentioned. I completely see why those lines about studying other religions being 'educational' and 'mind-broadening' jumped out at you!

 

However, if you look at the context of who the book is actually talking to, it changes the meaning completely.

 

This book was written as an outreach tool for the public, especially for people who were born into other religions (like Hinduism, Islam, or Catholicism) and are afraid to look at anything else.

 

Notice how paragraph 7 talks about us in the third person, calling us 'these people.' The writer is talking to a non-Witness reader, trying to lower their defensive walls so they will be willing to learn about other histories.

 

The chapter isn't telling an established Witness to go out and study other faiths. In fact, if you look at the conclusion of the chapter in paragraph 25, it brings the reader to the real point: 'surely the question should be, Is my religion good enough for the creator... This presents a challenge to each person—to examine the evidence and prove for oneself what the acceptable will of God is.'

 

The very next paragraph points to the Bible as the only standard. So the book is really telling a non-Witness: 'Don't be afraid to examine religious history so you can see that your birth-religion might not be the right one, and then use the Bible to find the true one.' It's an introductory bridge for the public, not an instruction manual for Witnesses to study other doctrines."

 

This keeps the tone objective, uses their own source material to clarify the point, and gently shows him the difference between an outreach strategy and internal instruction.

 

Bottom line: We have the truth! We don't need to study other religions to be sure. We already studied and saw from the Bible that we have the truth! In fact, look at chapter 15 of that same book.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101990047

Edited 1 hour ago by trottigy

[Qapla]

The thing is that I do know the history of the Russellites, so I do not need to study about them.

 

That was not the context of the comment. The comment was about searching YouTube to get information about their meetings.

 

I pass many churches in my travels. Most of them have signs for drivers to see with their meeting times posted. As I go by, I am aware the building is a church. Due to the size of the font, I can easily identify what religion that particular church is. However, I could not tell you when any of them hold meetings even though the times are clearly posted - so, when I get home, I certainly would not look up the churches I drove by to see when their meetings are. Likewise, I am not going to search YouTube to see when Baptists, Catholics, Mormons, Russellite or Bible Students meet - there is no need to since I am not going to attend their services.

 

There is a huge difference in knowing the history of some religions, knowing their beliefs, researching their beliefs and researching when they hold meetings in my area.

[Mike047]

It was an excellent publication, Jerry, and we used it well. Some of the youngsters at school had some interesting experiences, both with teachers and those of other faiths. Many of these publications served as special points in our theocratic development.

[trottigy]

Back to the topic:

 

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/07/self-immolation-of-tibetan-man-outside-un-highlights-long-standing-chinese-repression/?hl=en-US#:~:text=According to media reports and,York on 2 July 2026.

 

Quote

This death comes just a day after China’s Ethnic Unity Law entered into force, a law that brazenly pushes non-Han ethnic groups including Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongolians toward a single, state-defined national identity rather than protecting their distinct cultures and languages.

 

“This tragedy is a moment for all to reflect on the human cost of these policies: for the Chinese authorities to end their repressive policies in Tibet, including those entrenched by the Ethnic Unity Law, and for other governments to recognize the Law for the dangerous tool of repression that it is.

 

“The international community must not allow this death to pass without renewed scrutiny of the human rights crisis in Tibet. Chinese authorities must end their repression of Tibetans and allow independent access to the region for UN experts and other independent observers. They must also ensure there are no government reprisals against the family of the man who died, as has happened previously in response to self-immolations by Tibetans.”

 

I can see this idea as a tool to remove religions when they finally turn on BtG.

 

"Ethnic Unity" Why right now the US is showing how a great many feel about those who are not currently citizens - this includes groups already given asylum. Many of these groups are also being "removed".

Edited 1 hour ago by trottigy

[Michał]

Am I reading too much between the lines or are we guys arguing (peacefully) without reason. 
 

person A said: I think there are no more Bible students

person B said: no, I think they still exist. I checked online and a YouTube video popped up

person C said: no, you can’t study other religions, it’s wrong 

person D said: but you should get to

Know them, this is what FDS says

person E said: no, FDS meant something different
 

Don’t we all agree that:

- Russell era Bible students still exist

- it’s okay to learn a thing or two about another religion

- it’s not okay to study too Much about other religions

- we all love Jehovah and other brothers and sisters

 

Love to you all 🥰