Jehovah's Witnesses

Yesterday we interviewed L., a woman who is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses hold beliefs that are very different from mainstream Christian religions, and we learned many interesting facts about this faith. If you want to learn more about this faith after reading our interview, you can visit the Watchtower website, which is the official homepage of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The interview started with our standard question: Were you raised in this religion, or did you convert? We learned that L. first started attending the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall when she was five years old with her mother and then was baptized ten years later. Jehovah's Witnesses do not baptize infants. They believe baptism is for those who have studied the faith and are able to make choices.

 We also learned that Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas because the tree, the presents, and even the date originated from pagan traditions. In fact, the Witnesses do not celebrate any holidays. They only remember the date of Jesus' death, and that date is not the same as Easter. Witnesses do not believe in celebrating birthdays because we were told that in the Bible, there are only two birthday celebrations mentioned and neither of those people were Christians. L. said it was sometimes difficult not to celebrate birthdays as child, but she understood the reasons. She added that most Witnesses prefer to marry within their own faith to avoid difficulties with holidays.

We also asked L. if Witnesses have any symbols in their Hall. She told us that they have no symbols, because the Bible says we are not to make any images of God. Witnesses do not have any images of the cross, either, because they believe that Jesus died on a stake. She told us that the direct translation in the Hebrew language amounts to "stake" and not "cross." They believe the cross is a pagan symbol.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that people go straight to heaven once they die. They believe that when people die, they are unconscious, unaware of anything, and stay this way until the Resurrection. They believe that 144,000 people will go to heaven to live with Jehovah and the angels at that time, and the rest will live on a paradise on earth.

Unlike most other Christian religions, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that because the Bible says people must abstain from blood, that this means they cannot receive blood transfusions. We felt odd asking about this because there was a card advertising a Red Cross blood drive on the table of the restaurant where we interviewed L. She told us that if Witnesses need a blood transfusion, they will refuse to have one. Even if it means they will die, Witnesses are awaiting the time of the eternal paradise and do not want to break Jehovah's law. L. told us that Witnesses can have problems when their children require blood transfusions and there have been cases where hospitals filed reports against them.

L. told us that Witnesses have been persecuted, which means that they are a minority group that others don't respect. They do not want to be involved in politics or government and because they are waiting for the paradise on earth, they do not vote in elections, and they do not join the military. She told us that Witnesses were taken into prisons and concentration camps along with Jewish people during World War II.

We asked L. whether she believes that hers is the one true faith. She said yes, otherwise she would still be looking for a religion. We asked if she believes that people who are not Jehovah's Witnesses can live in the eternal earthly paradise or go to heaven, and she said she is glad that people are not the judges of who will get eternal life, but that millions of people will go and they will not all be Jehovah's Witnesses.

-Soklabi

"Live as you would and let people discover who you are and what you do"

Today, we were invited to visit the home of one of our mother’s colleagues who happens to be a practicing Druid.  She was willing to show us her worship space and some of the items used in her practice. As Druids generally worship outside, we were not surprised to see an outdoor circle raked in the leaves. We entered the circle from the west, facing the sunrise. Inside the circle, there was an altar and four mounds of stones in each of the four directions (north, south, east, and west). On the stones were objects symbolizing the four elements, one in each direction. There was earth for North, feathers for air for the East, fire for South, and water for West. She showed us her Grove opening ceremony. During the opening, she invoked a circle of protection to protect the circle and make it sacred. She said the Druid prayer of peace, purified the sacred circle, performed a chant and said another prayer. 

At that point, it was pretty cold outside, so we went inside her house. Inside her house, there were symbols of Druidism, such as an orange candle, which she explained stood for Fire and Air mixed together. She lights it when she wants to be inspired, since Fire and Air are elements she identifies with. She also explained and showed us that she had an Earth room, since the qualities of Earth were the ones she most lacked. Inside the Earth room, which was painted brown with trees, there was a small altar, a closet with some of her beautiful Druid robes, and many, many books. She invited us to take a look at the items.

We were soon joined by another member of her grove. We are going to identify them by initials—our host is D, her grove member is T. At that point, we were able to interview them both. They gave thoughtful and extended answers to our questions, and we really learned a lot from their responses.

Interview

Q. Do you believe in an after life?

A. Not all Druids believe in an after life but if they do, they see it in a different way then most people. Many Druids believe in reincarnation, and they also believe that not only humans have souls—trees and animals can all have spirits, so we can communicate with trees or animals.

Q. Do Druids have to make a pilgrimage?

A. Druids do not have to make a pilgrimage, but ruins are a source of inspiration and some Druids like to visit ruins, especially in the UK—Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor are some of the most popular places to visit.

Q. Do you have a celebration every week?

A. Not every week, but there are 8 main celebrations during the year that almost all Druids celebrate (see the drawing of the Druid calendar in our previous post).

Q. Why did you choose Druidism?

D: I was raised in a fundamental evangelical Christian faith. I always loved nature as a child and when I discovered Druidism I said, "That’s what I am.” I felt like I had come home when I discovered Druidism.

T: I grew up in a conservative Jewish home, but my father encouraged me to ask questions, and I did have a lot of questions as I was growing up. As an adult, I was introduced to Native American theology, which shares a lot of similarities with Druidism. My husband was studying Druidism, and had lots of books on the subject, so I first learned a lot about Druidism from all those books. Later on, I traveled to England, and stayed there for about a year, and explored Druidism there as ll.

We also asked them both questions about being open about practicing Druidism, and how people react when they learn that a person is practicing Druidism. We also wanted to know about children raised as Druids. These questions will be in the next post, and we will also be posting the rest of the interview from our Universal Unitarian friends.

As always, we would love to hear from people who practice the religions we are studying. If you would like to leave a comment that adds to our explorations, please do so!