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Doctrine/Belief |
JW
Support |
Christian Response |
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Only the Watchtower Society can interpret the Bible.
Individuals cannot. |
"...the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to
the Christian congregation as an organization, not to
individuals, regardless or how sincerely they may
believe that they can interpret the Bible...the Bible
cannot be properly understood without Jehovah's
visible organization in mind" (Watchtower,
October 1, 1997, p. 587). |
Ephesians 1:17, 18 states that the Spirit will provide
wisdom and illumination to the revelation of God in
the Bible. According to the belief espoused by JW's, all
people that lived until the JWs were Founded by Charles Russell
must have been doomed to failure, not being able
interpret the Bible. |
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The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
(the JW Bible version) is the best translation of the
Bible, and should be used over any other version. |
"Outstanding among Bibles is the New World Translation
of the Christian Greek Scriptures...Accuracy,
uniformity, clarity, and up-to-date language mark this
excellent work. Bible study aids without equal
make this an indispensable help to sincere searching
students of God's Word" (What Has Religion Done For
Mankind, 1951, p. 351. |
The JW Bible actually is plagued with errors.
Greek scholar Bruce Metzger said that "the Jehovah's
Witnesses have incorporated in their translation of
the New Testament several quite erroneous renderings
of the Greek." ("Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus
Christ," Theology Today, April, 1953).
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The Trinity does not exist, and is an evil doctrine
that teaches the existence of 3 gods. |
"Never was there a more deceptive doctrine advanced
than that of the trinity" (Reconciliation, 1928
)
"...sincere persons who want to know the true God and
serve him find it a bit difficult to love and worship
a complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God" (Let
God Be True, 1946)
"Satan is the originator of the trinity doctrine"
(Ibid.) |
Many religions have difficulty with an infinite God,
and try to put Him in a box - to define Him in terms
they can understand. While the word "trinity"
does not appear in the Bible as a description of God,
the scriptures definitely indicate one God with a
triune nature - existing in three persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. |
|
Jesus Christ was Michael the Archangel before becoming
a man. |
"...the Son of God was known as Michael before he came
to earth" (Reasoning from the Scriptures, p.
218). |
There is no basis for this anywhere in the Bible. |
|
After Jesus died, he was resurrected with His original
identity as Michael the Archangel. |
"Read carefully the following Bible account: 'War
broke out in heaven: Michael [who is the resurrected
Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon'"
(You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth,
1982, p. 21). |
Michael, on his own, could not rebuke Satan (Jude
1:9), yet in Mark 9:25 Jesus Himself rebukes Satan.
Hebrews 2:5 says an angel can't rule the world, but
Luke 1:32-33 and Revelation 19:16 show Jesus Christ to
be the one who will reign. Therefore, Jesus and
Michael can't be one and the same. |
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Jesus is "a god", and lesser than Jehovah God. |
In
the JW version of the Bible, John 1:1 says, "In the
beginning was the Word. The Word was with God,
and the Word was a god." [emphasis
added] "...that is the Word was a powerful
godlike one. Clearly, Jesus is not Almighty
God." (Ibid., p. 40). |
The JW Bible did not provide an accurate or legitimate
translation of this verse. |
|
Salvation must be earned through works |
"To get one's name written in that book of life will
depend on one's works, whether they are in fulfillment
of God's will and approved by his Judge and King." (Watchtower,
August 15, 1972). |
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith
- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV) (Emphasis added). |
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There are two classes of Christians: A "little flock"
who are born-again children of God, and the "great
crowd" or "other sheep", who will live in "Paradise"
on earth after the destruction of the unbelievers.
Only the "little flock" will go to heaven. |
"The Bible shows that only a limited number of
persons, a 'little flock,' will go to heaven...The
rest of faithful humankind will live on earth as the
subjects of these rulers" (Watchtower, February
15, 1984) |
There is not a caste system in Christianity. All
are one in Christ (Galatians 3:28). The "other
sheep" Jesus referred to are Gentile believers who
will one day join Jewish believers to form one body of
Christians. |
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We
will be gods when we join Christ in heaven. |
"...we are begotten of a divine nature...Jehovah is
thus our father...we are divine beings - hence all
such are Gods...Now we appear like men, and all die
naturally as men, but in the resurrection we will rise
in our true character as Gods" (Watchtower,
December 1881, 1919 repr.). |
This obviously flies in the face of the JW claim that
they are monotheistic. Isaiah 43:10 and 1
Timothy 2:5 are but two of many verses that confirm
there is only One God. To claim we will become
gods is blasphemy. |
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There is no eternal hell for the wicked. All
"unbelievers" will be annihilated, and simply cease to
exist. |
"The fiendish concepts associated with a hell of
torment slander God and originate with the chief
slanderer of God (the Devil)" (Reasoning from the
Scriptures, 1985). |
Oops! The "fiendish" concept of hell actually
comes from the Bible, not from a slanderer. (Matthew
25:46, Revelations 14:11, 19:20, and 20:10). |
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JW's are forbidden from saluting the flag or engaging
in political activities |
"..we view the flag salute as an act of worship" (School
and Jehovah's Witnesses, 1983)
"...Jehovah's Witnesses take no part whatsoever in
political activities" (United in Worship of the
Only True God, 1983). |
There is nothing in the Bible to keep us from being
politically active or saluting our flag. In
fact, the Bible commands us to have respect and
reverence for the government because it is an
authority that God has allowed to be placed over us
(Romans 13, 1 Peter 2:13-14) |
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JW's do not celebrate birthday parties, Valentine's
Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or other unbiblical
celebrations. Even Christmas and Easter are not
celebrated as they are pagan holidays.
|
"...birthday celebrations tend to give excessive
importance to an individual...Jehovah's Witnesses do
not share in birthday festivities (parties, singing,
gift giving, and so forth)...." (School and
Jehovah's Witnesses, 1983).
"...nowhere in the Bible do we find that parents are
to be worshiped, or that there should be a Father's
Day and a Mother's Day kept in their honor." (Awake!,
May 8, 1956).
"Christendom's chief holiday, Easter, therefore finds
no support at all in the Bible. It is of pagan
origin." (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life,
1968). |
These celebrations are harmless, and not contrary to
Biblical Christianity. To say that Mother's Day
or Father's Day is a worship of parents is absurd.
It is a show of respect and appreciation.
The Christmas and Easter holidays are very Christian
holidays that coincide with pagan holidays. They
were set on these dates to divert attention from the
pagan holidays to the truths of God. |
|
Blood transfusions are strictly prohibited. |
Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, and
Blood, Medicine and the Law of God, 1961, claim
Acts 15:29 as a prohibition against receiving blood
transfusions. |
Acts 15:28-29 addresses EATING blood - not having
blood transfused into your body to replenish your
life-sustaining fluids. |
|
Christ returned invisibly in 1914 and began setting up
His Kingdom. World War I was a sign He'd
arrived. |
"...Bible evidence shows that in the year 1914 C.E.
God's time arrived for Christ to return and begin
ruling...Christ's return invisible...Christ himself
gave a visible 'sign' by which we may know that he is
invisibly present...'NATION WILL RISE AGAINST
NATION'...Surely you have seen this part of the 'sign'
being fulfilled since 1914! In that year World
War I began" (You Can Live Forever In Paradise on
Earth ) |
Revelations 1:7
makes it clear that when Jesus returns, we'll know
it!! He won't do so invisibly. This
is one of many false prophecies the JW organization
has had regarding the end of the world/2nd coming of
Christ. |
