She Shared Her Beliefs With Her Classmates
WOULD you like to help your classmates to have a better understanding of your Bible-based beliefs? Magdalena, an 18-year-old high school student in Poland, often talks to her classmates about her beliefs as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a result, she is frequently asked such questions as, ‘What does it mean to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?’ and ‘Don’t you believe in Jesus Christ?’ How could she help her classmates? Magdalena prayed to Jehovah for direction and acted in harmony with her prayers.—James 1:5.
One day, Magdalena asked a teacher who is favorably disposed if she might show the class the video Jehovah’s Witnesses—The Organization Behind the Name. * The teacher agreed to this. Magdalena then told her classmates: “I am arranging for a friend to present a 90-minute program to the class. It will include a video presentation and a discussion on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Would you like to come?” Everyone said yes. Magdalena and Wojciech, an experienced full-time evangelizer, started to prepare for the project.
The plan was to open the presentation with a 20-minute talk based on the brochure Jehovah’s Witnesses—Who Are They? What Do They Believe? * to be followed by a question-and-answer discussion. Then the video would be shown in the school library. Each student in the class would be given a gift—a large envelope containing a few brochures, the book Questions Young People Ask—Answers That Work, * and some tracts and magazines.
On the day of the presentation, the audience included 14 classmates, the teacher, and 4 other students who happened to be in the library. Wojciech first explained that a number of Polish poets and writers used the divine name, Jehovah, in their works. He also pointed to some old Catholic catechisms that contained the divine name. In explaining the modern-day activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he showed brochures of various branch offices and photographs of a number of Assembly Halls.
A lively discussion ensued. Magdalena and Wojciech used the Bible in answering the questions. This impressed the audience and convinced them that Jehovah’s Witnesses were not preaching their own ideas. What were some of the questions, and how were they answered?
Question: The Bible is full of vague language and metaphors, subject to many interpretations. How is it possible to live in harmony with the Bible?
Answer: Some say that the Bible is like a violin on which you can play any tune you like. But think: If you want to find out what a writer means by his statements, is it not best simply to ask him? Unlike the dead writers of human works, the Author of the Bible, Jehovah God, is alive. (Romans 1:20; 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6) The context of a scripture can indicate the right interpretation. Additionally, the Bible often deals with the same subject in several places, so comparing them would help. Thus we can let God guide our thoughts, as if he himself were explaining the scripture to us. By doing that, we can come to know and to live in harmony with his will as revealed in the Bible, can we not?
Question: What is the difference between Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Answer: We are Christians! But rather than just claiming to be Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to live in harmony with what they believe and with what God is teaching them for their benefit. (Isaiah 48:17, 18) Since all their teachings are based on the Bible, they know they have the truth.—Matthew 7:13, 14, 21-23.
Question: Why do you approach complete strangers and insist on talking to them? Is that not imposing your faith on others?
Answer: Do you think it is wrong when someone on the street speaks to you politely and asks for your opinion on something? (Jeremiah 5:1; Zephaniah 2:2, 3) (Wojciech and Magdalena then demonstrated how they asked passersby whether God cares about those who suffered in a recent flood in Poland.) Having heard the person’s opinion, we point to the Bible. If someone is not willing to talk, we wish him well and move on. (Matthew 10:11-14) Is that forcing others into a conversation? Or should people not converse anymore?
Question: Why don’t you celebrate holidays?
Answer: We observe the only event the Bible commands us to commemorate—the Memorial of Jesus Christ’s death. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) As for holidays, you can find out about their origin by consulting encyclopedias and other reliable sources. If you do so, you will easily see why we do not observe any such events.—2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
Many more questions were asked and answered. The discussion took so long that the video presentation had to be postponed.
What were the students’ reactions? Let Magdalena tell us: “I was surprised that some students who usually act silly and mock others asked serious questions. Although they claimed to be atheists, during the discussion they expressed faith in God!” Those in attendance gratefully accepted the gifts—a total of 35 books, 63 brochures, and 34 magazines were placed with them.
What marvelous results from a school project! Not only did it help Magdalena’s classmates to come to know and understand Jehovah’s Witnesses better but it also encouraged many of the young people to think about the purpose of life. Why not endeavor to help your classmates to learn more about what you believe?
^ par. 3 Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
^ par. 4 Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
^ par. 4 Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
[Picture on page 31]
Magdalena and Wojciech preparing for the discussion