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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on January 23, 2011 at 2:04am

Jehovah's Witnesses in a Nutshell

by Matt Slick

According to Jehovah's Witness' theology, God is a single person, not a Trinity, who does not know all things and is not everywhere.  He first created Michael the Archangel through whom He created all "other things," including the universe, the earth, Adam and Eve, etc.  This creative work took God 42,000 years.  At one point, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society taught that God ruled the universe from somewhere in the Pleiades star system.  They have since modified this to say that the "Pleiades can no longer be considered the center of the universe and it would be unwise for us to try to fix God's throne as being at a particular spot in the universe."1 Such changes and even contradictions in teaching are frequent in the Watchtower organization and when a doctrine changes, they tell their followers that the light of truth is getting brighter.

 

After Adam sinned, the paradise which God had created for them was ruined.  So, God instituted a system of redemption which was revealed in the Bible and would ultimately lead to the crucifixion of Jesus the messiah.  But, in the meantime, God needed to have a visible, theocratic organization on earth to accurately represent Him.  Throughout history, this true organization had a remnant of faithful Jehovah's Witnesses (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, etc.) but it wasn't until the late 1800's that Charles Taze Russell formally began what is now known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society which is run out of Brooklyn, New York.  This organization claims to be the only true channel of God's truth on earth today and that it alone can properly interpret God's word since it is the angel directed prophet of God on earth.

When it came time for the savior to be born, Michael the Archangel became a human, in the form of Jesus.  Jesus grew and kept all the laws of God and never sinned.  Finally, when Jesus died, it was not on a cross, but on a torture stake, where he bore the sins of mankind -- but this did not include Adam's sins.  Jesus rose from the dead as a spirit, not physically (his body was dissolved and taken by God) and during his visitations to people on earth, he manifested a temporary physical body for them to see and touch.  Thus began the true Christian church of Jehovah's followers.

 

Throughout history there have been faithful Jehovah's witnesses who have managed to keep The Truth in spite of the "demonic" doctrine of Trinitarianism that has permeated the Christian church in "Christendom."  Christendom is filled with pastors who are antichrists, in churches run by Satan, and who support the earthly governments which are all of the devil.  In other words, all of Christianity is false and only the Jehovah's Witness "theocratic" organization led by several men in Brooklyn, New York, is true.

 

In the late 1800's, a young man of 18 years, by the name of Charles Taze Russell, organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In 1879 he sought to popularize his ideas on doctrine so he co-published The Herald of the Morning magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society).  Russell served as the teacher and guide for the organization which taught that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 and is now reigning in heaven.  When Jesus finally returns physically to earth, which will happen at the time of the Battle of Armageddon, He will set up his earthly 1000 year kingdom.

 

During this 1000 year period, people will be resurrected and have a second chance to receive eternal salvation by following the principles of Jehovah's Organization on earth known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.  After the millennium, those who reject God and His organization will be annihilated; that is, they will cease to exist.  The rest of the Jehovah's Witness who have faithfully followed God's organization on earth will be saved from eternal annihilation and reside forever on Paradise earth.  Heaven, however, is a place for a special group of 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses -- the only ones who are "born again" and who alone are allowed to take communion in their annual communion service.  These are the ones who have "immortal life," all other Witnesses have "everlasting life."  Those with immortal life do not have resurrected bodies.  They have "spirit bodies."  Those on Paradise Earth have everlasting life and consists of a resurrected body that must be maintained through eating, rest, etc.

 

When you study with the Jehovah's Witnesses, you agree to attend five meetings a week where you are taught from Watchtower literature.  You cannot be baptized until you have studied their material for at least six months and have answered numerous questions before a panel of elders.  Men are not supposed have long hair or wear beards and women are to dress in modest apparel.  They refuse to vote, salute the flag, sing the "Star Spangled Banner," celebrate birthdays or Christmas, won't take blood transfusions, and they can't join the armed forces.  A schedule of door-to-door canvassing is required where you distribute the Watchtower literature, acquire donations, and forward all monies to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

If you ever leave the Jehovah's Witness organization, you are considered an apostate and are to be shunned. 

1. 1. Watchtower, 11/15/53, p. 703.

Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on January 23, 2011 at 2:08am

Jehovah's Witnesses' History

by Matt Slick

The Jehovah's Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell in 1872. He was born on February 16, 1852, the son of Joseph L. and Anna Eliza Russell. He had great difficulty in dealing with the doctrine of eternal hell fire and in his studies came to deny not only eternal punishment, but also the Trinity, and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.  When Russell was 18, he organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In 1879 he sought to popularize his aberrant ideas on doctrine.  He co-published The Herald of the Morning magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society). The first edition of The Watchtower magazine was only 6,000 copies each month. Today the Witnesses' publishing complex in Brooklyn, New York, churns out 100,000 books and 800,000 copies of its two magazines--daily!

 

Russell claimed that the Bible could be only understood according to his interpretations. A dangerous arrangement since he controlled what was written in the Watchtower magazine.  This kind of assertion is typical among leaders of cult religions.

 

After the death of Russell on Oct. 31, 1916, a Missouri lawyer named Joseph Franklin Rutherford took over the presidency of the Watch Tower Society which was known then as the International Bible Students Association. In 1931 he changed the name of the organization to "The Jehovah's Witnesses."

 

After Rutherford's death, Nathan Knorr took over. After Knorr, Frederick William Franz became president.

The Society was led by Mr. Henschel who died in 2003. The group has over 4 million members world wide. The Watchtower Society statistics indicate that 740 house calls are required to recruit each of the nearly 200,000 new members who join every year.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have several ‘book studies' each week. The members are not required to attend, but there is a level of expectation that gently urges converts to participate. It is during these ‘book studies' that the Jehovah's Witness is constantly exposed to counter Christian teachings. The average Jehovah's Witness, with his constant Watchtower indoctrination, could easily pummel the average Christian when it comes to defending his beliefs.

 

The Jehovah's Witnesses vehemently portray the doctrine of the Trinity as pagan in origin and that Christendom, as a whole, has bought the lie of the devil. Along with denying the Trinity is an equally strong denial of the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the belief in hell, and eternal conscious punishment in hell.

Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on January 23, 2011 at 2:12am

Is the Jehovah's Witness religion Christian?

 

by Matt Slick

The answer to the question is, "No. It is not Christian." Like all non-Christian cults, the Jehovah's Witness organization distorts the essential doctrines of Christianity. It denies the deity of Christ, His physical resurrection, and salvation by grace.  This alone makes it non-Christian.  To support its erring doctrines, the Watchtower organization (which is the author and teacher of all official Jehovah's Witness theology), has even altered the Bible to make it agree with its changing and non-Christian teachings.

 

Typical with cults that use the Bible to support its position is a host of interpretive errors:

Taking verses out of their immediate context.

• Refusing to read verses in the entire biblical context.
• Inserting their theological presuppositions into the text.
• Altering the Biblical text to suit their needs.
• Latching onto one verse to interpret a host of others.
• Changing the meanings of words.
• Proclaiming some passages to be figurative when they contradict their doctrines.
• Adding to the Word of God.

Additionally, the Jehovah's Witness organization requires of its members regular weekly attendance at their "Bible Study" meetings where they are repeatedly indoctrinated with anti-Christian teachings. This is done by reading the Watchtower magazine, following along with what it says, reading the questions it asks, and reciting the answers it gives.  In other words, the Watchtower Organization carefully trains its members to let the Organization do their thinking for them.  For confirmation of this, please read Does the Watchtower organization control the JW's thinking?

 

The Witnesses are told they will be persecuted when they go door to door teaching their doctrines.  They are further told that this is simply the enemy fighting against God's organization because they are in "the truth."  So, when someone disagrees with them, they are conditioned to reflect on what the Watchtower has told them.  They then feel confirmed in being in God's true organization on earth (like all cults claim).  They are strongly encouraged to have friends and acquaintances that are only JW's, thereby keeping outside examination to a minimum. They are told to shun those who leave their group, for in this way there is no way to see why someone has left and no way to find out that they are in error from those who have found the truth in Christ. They are conditioned to shy away from any real biblically knowledgeable person.  An example of this is frequently found on the Internet.  I was once banned from a Jehovah's Witness chat room after I not only answered their objections to the Trinity and deity of Christ, but challenged them in return. Subsequently, my name was passed around to all other Jehovah's Witness rooms where I was banned from them as well.  This is a frequent occurrence on the Internet where the Jehovah's Witnesses are alive and well.  It is obvious that critical examination of their doctrines is not encouraged by the Watchtower Organization.

 

The Jehovah's Witnesses consider themselves to be Christians because they believe they are serving the true and living God.  Like many cults, they think they are the only true church on earth.  Yet, they deny the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the personhood of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' physical resurrection, and salvation by grace through faith.

 

The Jehovah's Witnesses are discouraged from looking into Jehovah's Witness history or old Watchtower literature which is replete with contradictions, altered doctrines, and false prophecies.  Instead, they are indoctrinated repeatedly against basic Christian doctrines (Trinity, deity of Christ, etc.) and into the notion that they alone are the true servants of God and that all others are either in "Christendom" or simply unbelievers.

 

Primarily, the Jehovah's Witness organization is a mind-control organization that uses its people to pass out literature and send in "donations" to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

"Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible."1

The Watchtower organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses is a non-Christian organization that uses its people to promulgate false doctrines, and collects "contributions" for distribution of a multitudinous amount of literature, and expand its grip into the lives of its members and their families.

It is a non-Christian cult.

Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on January 23, 2011 at 2:25am

Questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses

by Matt Slick

The Watchtower organization has claimed to be the prophet of God1 yet it has made numerous false prophecies. The excuse given for their false prophecies has been to quote Proverbs 4:18, which says, "But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established." Whether or not the "light gets brighter" or not, does not change the fact that the Watchtower made false prophecies.  The Bible says in Deut. 18:20-22, "‘However, the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: "How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?"  When the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak..."

If the New World Translation (NWT) condemns false prophesying and states that it is proof that God is not speaking through that prophet, then doesn’t this prove that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is not speaking for God?

1. Why does the NWT insert the word Jehovah in the New Testament when there are absolutely no Greek manuscripts that have it in there? Isn’t this playing with the text?
2. In the book, "Salvation,"2 (a Watchtower Publication) it says, "At San Diego, California, there is a small piece of land, on which, in the year 1929, there was built a house, which is known as Beth-Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim mean "House of the Princes"; and the purpose of acquiring that property and building the house was that there might be some tangible proof that there are those on earth today who fully believe God and Christ Jesus and in His kingdom, and who believe that the faithful men of old will soon be resurrected by the Lord, be back on earth, and take charge of the visible affairs of earth. The title to Beth-Sarim is vested in the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society in trust, to be used by the president of the Society and his assistants for the present, and thereafter to be forever at the disposal of the aforementioned princes on earth [italic added]. . . . while the unbelievers have mocked concerning it and spoken contemptuously of it, yet it stands there as a testimony to Jehovah’s name; and if and when the princes do return and some of them occupy the property, such will be a confirmation of the faith and hope that induced the building of Beth-Sarim."
   This place was sold in 1942 after Rutherford’s death. Therefore, it appears that the faithful were misled since the house was to "be forever at the disposal of the aforementioned princes." Is this really a testimony to Jehovah’s name as it said? How can it be if they sold the house?
3. The Watchtower organization states that Jesus died on a stake, not a cross. The typical Watchtower representation of this is with Jesus on a single vertical stake, hands over his head with a single nail in his wrists. If Jesus were crucified on a cross, then two nails would be necessary, one in each hand. How then does the Watchtower organization handle the verse in the Bible that states that Jesus had nails (plural) in his hands: "Consequently the other disciples would say to him: 'We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them: "unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe,'" (John 20:25, NWT).
   Jesus had one nail in each hand. This is made clear by the use of the word ‘nails’ not ‘nail.’ Jesus must have been crucified on a cross, and not a stake as the Watchtower organization teaches.  Why is it, then, that the Watchtower teaches something that is so clearly unbiblical?
4. The Watchtower organization states that through good works and sincere effort only 144,000 elite JW’s will go to heaven. The 144,000 are mentioned in two chapters in the Bible: Revelation 7 & 14. By looking at the verses it is obvious that the 144,000 are literal Jews of the ancient tribes with no Gentiles among them (7:4-8). They are all males (14:4) and virgins (14:4). If the JW states that the usage of Jewish male virgins is figurative, what gives them the right to state that number of 144,000 is literal?
5. Where does it teach in the Bible that Jesus is Michael the archangel?  Why isn't Jesus called Michael right now since he is in heaven?
6. According to the Watchtower Organization, Feb. 15, 1983, p. 12, there are four requirements for salvation as taught by the Watchtower magazine.  The second is relavant here:  "Many have found the second requirement more difficult. It is to obey God's laws, yes, to conform one's life to the moral requirements set out in the Bible. This includes refraining from a debauched, immoral way of life. ' 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; 1 Peter 4:3, 4."  Question.  Must the JW obey God's laws in order to have his sins forgiven so he can go to paradise earth?

Permalink Reply by feet breath on June 5, 2012 at 7:02pm

"The Witnesses are told they will be persecuted when they go door to door teaching their doctrines.  They are further told that this is simply the enemy fighting against God's organization because they are in "the truth."  So, when someone disagrees with them, they are conditioned to reflect on what the Watchtower has told them.  They then feel confirmed in being in God's true organization on earth (like all cults claim).  They are strongly encouraged to have friends and acquaintances that are only JW's, thereby keeping outside examination to a minimum. They are told to shun those who leave their group, for in this way there is no way to see why someone has left and no way to find out that they are in error from those who have found the truth in Christ."

 

What can a person do than? I know if one wrong thing is said to them they'll cry persecution (experience). I don't want them to brain wash mom into believing "I'm persecuting Jehovah's people" and that I'm "sent to plant seeds of doubt" and to just plain put it that I'm "of Satan"...They'd make her get baptized. She'd only be allowed around other JW's and potential converts. That'd destroy this family.

 

Another thing. What happens if they find out the things that I've done? I've thrown away material and have tried to "get help" online since like Sept. 2011. If they found out I've been communicating with ex.-JW's and people in "Christendom"...No offence about saying "Christendom" like that. They just really don't like it...

 

The main problem is this. Just about any wrong thing will get them to think they're being persecuted. Mom's in trouble (and this family is as well) if she's forced to cut out association with "wordly people". It'd be easier to talk to her if it wasn't for the whole "shunning" issue. That's what's really got me in a mess.