| Number of Members | 8,687,000[1] | 9,240,000[2] |
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| How does one get saved? | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection to save you, be baptized, and do good works for the rest of your life. The 144,000 most faithful Christians will go to heaven; the rest will live on earth. | Repent of your sins; believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection; be baptized, participate in communion, and be sealed by an apostle in faith; and don't die with any unconfessed mortal sins. |
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| Who gets saved? | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved. | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved.[3] |
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| Can one lose his salvation? | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. |
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| Who gets baptized and why? | Saved people get baptized as a public demonstration of their new lives.[4] | The unsaved, often as infants, get baptized as the first sacrament of Christian initiation, washing away their original sin. |
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| How should baptism be done? | Baptism should be by immersion.[4] | Baptism should be by sprinkling water on the head. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | God's holy spirit is received after one prays for it, learns God's Word, and lives in line with it.[5][6] | The Holy Spirit is received at Holy Sealing. |
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| What is the trinity? | There is no Trinity. Jesus is God's first creation, and the Holy Spirit is not a person. | The Trinity is God existing as one god in three equal, eternal, cosubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. |
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| What is the human nature? | Human nature is corrupt and naturally inclined to evil. | Total depravity: Human nature is corrupt, naturally inclined to evil, and incapable of choosing God on his own.[7][3] |
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| Are we guilty of Adam's original sin? | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, but we did inherit the consequences and a corrupt human nature from him, causing us all to sin. | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, but we did inherit the consequences and a corrupt human nature from him, causing us all to sin.[8][7] |
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| Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament ceremonial laws? | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. |
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| Can Christians become sinless in this earthly life? | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life. | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life. |
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| Do the elements of communion become the body and blood of Christ? | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ.[9] | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ. |
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| Can one be baptized of behalf of someone who has died? | No, the dead cannot be baptized. | Yes, a living person can be a proxy for the dead to be baptized, who then can accept or reject it in the afterlife. |
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| What happens if a saved person dies without being perfect? | Death itself is the full and complete punishment for sin.[10] | Once Christians leave their sinful bodies, nothing else is needed to receive glorified, sinless bodies. |
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| Did Mary ever sin? | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. |
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| What are the requirements for clergy? | No clergy is employed. All members are ministers, but only men who have been ministerial servants may be elders. | |
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| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | The church has two ordinances: Baptism and Holy Communion.[9][11] | The church has three sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, and Holy Sealing.[12] |
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| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | Confession should be made directly to God, but confession to another believer is beneficial for some sins.[13] | No confession is necessary.[14][15] |
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| How should a church be structured? | | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the apostle in that church district, who in turn is governed by a district apostle, who is governed by the Chief Apostle.[16] |
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| What day of the week should Christians worship? | Jehovah's Witnesses meet on any two days of the week. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
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| How does God's revelation come to us today? | The Bible, as interpreted by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, is the only infallible source of God's revelation. | Prima scriptura: There are many sources of God's revelation, although none can contradict the Bible.[17][18] |
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| How many books are in the Bible? | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible: 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.[19] | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible: 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.[20][21] |
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| Who can speak with God's authority today? | The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is God's "faithful and discreet slave" and "spokesman", although it does so imperfectly. | The Chief Apostle proclaims revelations from God as binding doctrine.[22] |
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| How was the earth created? | The earth was formed by gravity pulling dust together, which ultimately came from the Big Bang.[23] | |
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| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman. | |
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| Is sex permissible outside marriage? | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible.[24] | |
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| When is divorce permissible? | Divorce is only permissible for adultery.[25] | |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | Yes, a Christian may remarry after divorce if the divorce was for a valid reason.[26] | |
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| When does a fetus become human? | Humanity begins at conception.[27] | Humanity begins at fertilization.[28][29] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[30] | Yes, contraceptives are permissible as long as they work before fertilization.[31] |
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| Are blood transfusions permissible? | No, blood transfusions are not permissible.[32] | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible.[33] |
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| Should women cover their heads? | Women should cover their heads when praying or teaching when a man normally would.[34][35] | |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk.[36] | |
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| Should Christians fight in wars? | No, Christians should never fight.[37] | |
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| How should Christians musically worship God? | | Any style of worship music is acceptable.[38][39] |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | God's holy spirit comes from God alone. | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.[40] |
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| Who can be demon-possessed? | | The extent to which demons can possess humans is a mystery.[41] |
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| Do icons glorify God? | | No, icons violate the First Commandment against graven images.[42] |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | After death, one's existence ceases until and unless God resurrects him.[43] | After death, souls are conscious in the realm of the dead, with the dead in Christ in proximity of God.[44][45] |
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| When does the Tribulation happen? | | Futurism: The Tribulation will happen at a time in the future which no man knows the time of. |
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| When will the church be raptured? | | Partial pretribulationism rapture: An unknown part of the church known as the "bridal congregation" will be raptured sometime before the Tribulation.[46][47][48] |
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| When is the millennial reign of Christ happen? | | Premillennialism: The millennial reign of Christ will be a long period immediately after the Tribulation.[49] |
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