Actually, patriotic songs express the same fundamental ideas that are embodied in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. And since there is no Scriptural basis for the nationalistic pride that has so divided our world, we do not join in singing songs that extol any earthly nation.-Acts 17:26; John 17:15, 16. -- Watchtower Bible & Tract Society

Jehovah's Witnesses give our allegeance to Jehovah God and his Kingdom Government, over which he has appointed his Son Jesus Christ to rule as King. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Matthew 6:9, 10). We are a global community serving as Ambassadors or Envoys for that Kingdom, therefore we choose not to participate in divisive nationalistic practices such as singing a national anthem of any nation.

Michael decided to leave the religion for his own reasons, which were never made public.

Yes, he continues to be on of Jehovah's Witnesses up till this very day

Some in the world deny that the holocaust even happened. Jehovah's Witnesses recognize that the holocaust happened, in fact, many of Jehovah's Witnesses were murdered at the hands of the Nazis in concentration camps. There is an entire section of the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC dedicated to Jehovah's Witnesses. The website address for that is : http://www.ushmm.org/education/resource/jehovahs/jehovahsw.php Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Nazi Holocaust and all the other genocides that have occurred are all prt of the composite sign that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 24, Luke chapter 21, and Mark chapter 13, that indicate that we are living in the "last days" of this present system of things. Jehovah's Witnesses have been able to face, even death, because of the hope that we have that soon this present rulership will be done away with, and God's Kingdom with Jesus Christ as king will rule and even those who have died will be ressurrected to paradise on earth. See the article "Jehovah's Witnesses, Courageous in the Face of Nazi Peril": http://www.watchtower.org/e/19980708/article_01.htm == As one of Jehovah's Witnesses and can say that the Holocaust definitely happened and it was an extreme test of fait to be taken away from their homes and put in concentration camps but many were able to endure and survive. Those who died will have the chance to be resurrected and live forever in a paradise earth because they died faithful to Jehovah. Another test of faith was when they were tempted to deny Jehovah and offered relief by doing so.

Yes, we will not go to war or even assist war effort in any way. Many witnesses have been given sentences in prison due to being conscientious objectors. However, we believe that there was no footnote when God decided "Thou Shall not kill"

According to the United States Holocaust Museum, Jehovah's Witnesses were targeted for persecution because of their religious convictions. They refused to swear loyalty to the Nazi regime or perform the Heil Hitler salute, and refused to serve in the military.

Jehovah's Witnesses could escape their persecution by changing their stand and going along with the regime.

However, most Jehovah's Witnesses did not renounce their faith and ultimately around 10,000 were persecuted, some were tortured and an estimated 2,500 to 5,000 died or were killed in the concentration camps.

According to the AWAKE Magazine Jan 8th, 2002 p. 11 "...at least 14 Witnesses, who happened to be at or near the scene of the tragedy", died during the terrorist attacks of September 11. This number includes Captain James Amato, battalion chief and George DiPasquale, both firefighters in the New York fire department.

The bible states that we are dust. We return to the ground (grave) to dust and are "sleeping". We "sleep" until Jehovah awakes the righteous and unrighteous ones in the resurrection. Only a selected few (144,000) will go to heaven and rule with Jesus. The others will live on earth in a paradise was Jehovah originally purposed.

Jehovah's Witnesses don't know if 2012 will be the end of the world. When Jesus was asked when the "conclusion of this system"would be ("end of the world" - King James Translation) he said at Matthew 24:36 that nobody knew the date. The sign he gave in Matthew 24:3-14 (especially verse 14) matches our time very well. The Witnesses certainly think the end of this system is not far away. Note (as mentioned in verse 14) this would be "good news". The witnesses understand "the end of the world" to be the end of this corrupt system ruled by Satan. Not the end of the planet or humankind as is often meant when people talk of "the end of the world". Following the end, God's Kingdom will govern mankind. They look forward to such a change with hope, not dread.

Yes Hitler did not like Jehovah's witnesses because Jehovah's witnesses called themselves spiritual Israel so Jehovah's witnesses got locked in jail and went to the concentration camp too! Now here comes a little fun fact for you the old German national anthem Deutschland!

It's a Jehovah witness song from their first song book arise oh zion!

This gave Jehovah's witnesses quite a lot of problems in Russia because the Russians recognized the song as the German national anthem and they thought Jehovah's witnesses were affiliated with the Nazis at first!

Well the truth of the matter arise oh zion is just a religious Melody that's been around for 100 or so years and it by coincidence ended up being a Jehovah's witness song and also the German national anthem

In many countries Jehovah's Witnesses suffered a great persecution during WW2. Perhaps the greatest persecution occurred in Germany and the Soviet Union.

In Germany Jehovah's Witnesses (back then called Bible students - Bibelforscher in German) refused to support Hitler, because they always stay neutral on political matters. This led to their throwing into concentration camps and as a result some of them died. Unlike Jews if a Witness wanted to be released from a concentration camp, he simply had to sign a document stating he no longer want to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Very few did this. In Russia the situation was similar. Due to their neutrality Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted and thrown into prisons. The same happened in other countries as well.

0.225%

One Witness for every 447,

according to the published numbers in the 2012 annual report of Jehovah's Witnesses.

As dedicated servants of Jehovah God, under the headship of Jesus Christ, we do not use marijuana. Our scriptural reasoning for not doing so can be found at 2 Corinthians 7:1, which states, "Therefore, since we have these promises, beloved ones, let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God's fear." This text shows us that we have to cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh. If we were to smoke marijuana, we would be effecting our bodies in a negative way, which would be categorized as intentional defilement of our bodies. Not to mention it alters our mind when consumed. This brings us to another text that helps us to see that taking drugs is not something a servant of God would want to do. Titus 2:11-12 states, "For the undeserved kindness of God which brings salvation to all sorts of men has been manifested, instructing us to repudiate ungodliness and worldly desires and to live with soundness of mind and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things." Here we also see that we must live with soundness of mind. If we were to smoke marijuana, which impairs judgment and alters the mind after continuous use, would we be living with soundness of mind? In all actuality, we would not be. Therefore, servants of Jehovah do not use marijuana.

I studied with JW`s for years and then stopped for this reason..

I must thank God Jehovah gave us marijuana. Billions of people throughout thousands of years have been using it to improve the quality of life if not save it all together. Jehovah said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. Genesis 1:29

I suffer from chronic fatigue and the reason why I can live a healthy life is because of Jehovah`s marijuana. I respect Gods instructions by not defiling it by letting anyone brainwash me into believing that God does not want me to use marijuana. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 1 Corinthians 6:19

The elders in the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses already have outlines for Jehovah's Witness funerals. If you contact the local congregation, they can give you more information. If you are trying to plan a JW funeral, it may be possible that much of what you need is already outlined for you.

Yes they do; they go there to bury their dead and to visit the graves of other individuals that were not Jehovah's Witnesses.

Answer 2: Jehovah's Witnesses are just ordinary people like everyone else. We lose loved ones in death, some are buried in cemetaries and others are cremated. We may actually visit cemetaries to look in the Bible and offer comfort from the scriptures when we see ones visiting grave sites of their dead loved ones.

as long as it's not for Christmas you can give it how you like

You make give a gift at any time with being for a specific holiday like say Christmas or birthday etc.. We also give gifts to our families and loved ones from the kindness of our heart at any time. Come from love and not with the idea of receiving one in return.

http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/people/VictJeho.htm

The following is from the above link.

[The Nazis also began to suppress several Christian minorities whom they felt were subversive to their goals. Even before the war, Jehovah's Witnesses had been considered heretics by other Christian denominations and individual German states sought to limit their activities. In the early 1930's, Nazi storm troopers broke up their meetings and beat up individual Witnesses. After the Nazis came to power, the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses intensified.

On July 27, 1933, the Gestapo--the Nazi street police--closed the printing operation of the Watchtower Society, an organization of the Witnesses. The Gestapo ordered all state-police precincts to search regional Witness groups and organizations. The Witnesses, however, defied Nazi prohibitions by continuing to meet and distribute literature smuggled in from Switzerland.

For defying the ban on their activities, many Witnesses were arrested and sent to prisons and concentration camps. They lost their jobs in both private industry and public service and were denied their unemployment, social welfare, and pension benefits.

On April 1, 1935, Jehovah's Witnesses were banned by law. However, they refused to be drafted into the military services or perform war-related work and continued to meet. In 1935, some 400 Witnesses were imprisoned at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. By 1939, an estimated 6,000 Witnesses were detained in prisons and camps. Some were tortured by police to force them to renounce their faith. Few did so.

The children of Witnesses also suffered. They were ridiculed by their teachers because they refused to give the "Heil Hitler" salute or sing patriotic songs. They were beaten up by their classmates and expelled from schools. The authorities took children away from their parents and sent them to reform schools and orphanages, or to private homes to be brought up as Nazis.

In the concentration camps, Jehovah's Witnesses were required to wear a purple triangle to distinguish them from other inmates. Many of them died from disease, hunger, exhaustion, brutal treatment, and exposure to the cold. About 10,000 Witnesses were imprisoned in concentration camps during the Nazi period. An estimated 2,500 to 5,000 died.]

http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/people/USHMMJeh.HTM[Jehovah's Witnesses endured intense persecution under the Nazi regime. Actions against the religious group and its individual members spanned the Nazi years 1933 to 1945. Unlike Jews and Sinti and Roma ("Gypsies"), persecuted and killed by virtue of their birth, Jehovah's Witnesses had the opportunity to escape persecution and personal harm by renouncing their religious beliefs. The courage the vast majority displayed in refusing to do so, in the face of torture, maltreatment in concentration camps, and sometimes execution, won them the respect of many contemporaries.]

You can find out more at these websites.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005394

http://www.watchtower.org/e/20000622/article_01.htm

In the Jehovah's Witness religion there is no clergy laity division. All dedicated, baptized members, both male and female, are viewed as "ministers," and all engage in the public preaching of the gospel. Only male members take the lead in their meetings (worship services) but all members of the congregation participate and/or have parts in the program.

Certain experienced ministers are given the responsibility of organizing and overseeing the programs; these ones are referred to as "elders" but the term is not used by the Witnesses as a title. They refer to each other uniquely as "brothers" and "sisters".

The only "priest" we have is our leader, King, and High Priest in heaven, Jesus Christ.

Answer2: There is no class distinction among Jehovah's Witnesses. Jesus issued these instructions at Matthew 10:8 You received free, give free." Sadly to say many religious leaders instruct for a hefty price and have become rich with money they have collected from the flock. However, Jehovah's Witnesses endeavor to imitate Jesus and his early disciples. They have no paid clergy. The work of Jehovah's Witnesses is funded by voluntary donations as mentioned above, and they NEVER solicit money. As true ministers of God, they are not peddlers God's word. (2 Corinthians 2:17)

Of course... Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy sexual relations with their marriage mate, just as anyone else. It would be pretty difficult if they slept in separate beds.

However, I guess there's nothing wrong with sleeping in searate beds, if you're both in agreement !

All Jehovah's Witnesses are aware that the divine name, as represented by the four Hebrew letters YHWH, comes from the root meaning "to cause to be" and alludes to the fact, that the creator, as he declared to Moses "Will be what he shall prove to be". In other words, the name reflects Gods ability to be whatever he so wishes to achieve his purpose and fittingly is connected with his limitless power and might.