Stumping bible questions for JW's

by Dawn 23 Replies latest jw friends

  • Dawn
    Dawn

    I have a friend who is studying with the JW's right now. He's a very open minded guy and has been interested in hearing what I have to say on the matter. He has seen the Dateline show (I taped it for him) - and I've shown him some info about the history. However - what he REALLY wants is to look at bible doctrine. Basically - he thinks the JW doctrine is closer to the truth than any other religion.

    So I am compiling a list of a few questions/JW doctrines and asking him to prove these to me using only the bible.

    The first one I have asked is to prove that (1) The "other sheep" Jesus spoke of in Matthew is in fact the Great Crowd mentioned in Revelation, I personally feel he was referring to Gentiles; and (2) that the Great Crowd is a class of individuals AND THE ONLY CLASS who will inherit the earth AND will NOT be in heaven.

    The second one is to prove that the number of 144,000 in Revelation is a literal translation and the rest of the scripture is not.

    Do you have other stumpers like this that I can use? Remember - he wants to discuss doctrine issues with me only, not the history or media issues (although he has read up on it and is concerned).

  • NeonMadman
    NeonMadman

    How about:

    Do you worship the same God as the apostles did? (Of course, they will say "yes")

    What about the apostle Thomas? Do you worship the same God as he did? (Most will say "yes" to this one, too, though a few more astute ones will see where you're going with it)

    Show them John 20:28. NWT reads, "In answer Thomas said to him [Jesus], "My Lord and my God!"

    Ask whether Jesus is their God. He was Thomas' God; do the JW's worship a different god than Thomas did?

    Possible answers they might give:

    "Well, Jesus was a god"

    Answer: Thomas didn't say a god, he said my God. Is Jesus your God?

    "Thomas said the part about "my Lord" to Jesus, but in saying "my God," he was addressing Jehovah."

    Answer: The context makes it clear that Jesus and Thomas were the ones having the conversation. The text says, "Thomas said to him..." So, clearly, the entire remark was addressed to Jesus. Is Jesus your God?

    "What about this other scripture over here where it says....?"

    Answer: We can discuss any scripture you like, but let's finish with this one first. You still haven't answered my question: Is Jesus your God?

    (edited to remove excess white space)

    Edited by - NeonMadman on 5 October 2002 15:7:48

  • DanTheMan
    DanTheMan

    I don't think the Jesus-is-God or Jesus-isn't-God is a productive angle to follow. This is one of the main teachings that JW's use to draw Bible-believers from other denominations into their own, it is one of their most significant "brand differentiations" that lures dissatisfied churchgoers into their clutches.

    If your friend is interested in JW's and eventually becomes involved, well, I can do no better than to quote Mr. Hoffer:

    Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

    My 2 cents

    Edited to remove an unnecessary sentence.

    Edited by - dantheman on 5 October 2002 13:54:37

  • Buster
    Buster

    Dawn, I think your friend is already in the right direction. It won't be too difficult for you to stay with biblical doctrine. You have a great opportunity in that you can ask him to to insist that the Witnesses stick strictly to scripture. He will be unable to get them to limit their teaching to the bible alone. If he insists on just the bible, then he won't be able to go to any meetings, and he will drive the Witness he is dealing with absolutely nuts.

    Yes, my favorite, because it is so localized is the 144000. They won't be able to even try to support it without going to other media - WT, and secular history. But press really hard, it is the basis of their two-class system. Be sure to have him get an explanation of how the recognized living remnant has only shrunk from about 10,000 to about 8,000 currently in the past thrity years - in spite of the fact that even in the early seventies, they were the elderly last-of-their generation. That number was sealed.

    But on to new stuff. A brutally tough one for them is to support 1914 as the year Christ began his reign in heaven. Try that one without using non-scriptural resources. And don't let them back off from its relevance, or claim it is old history. It is the basis of their organization. It leads to God's selection of the JWs as their communication channel for the preaching work to the rest of the world. It is their base year used to start the generation that will not pass away before Armageddon. It is therefore their basis for the urgency and separation that defines them as a cult.

    Have him insist that they start by supporting their own scriptural translation. Have him insist that they support the hundreds of uses of the name 'Jehovah' in the Greek scriptures when there is no such basis in the historical documents. Even when the early christians quoted Hebrew texts, the earliest writers did not carry forward the divine name, either as a Hebrew tetragrammedon or a Greek translation thereof. They will have an answer, claiming a first- and second-century satanic consipracy. And they will have some translations from the 1600's back to Hebrew to use as a support. But that is all bunk. This is important because is shows that they are misdirected in that they de-emphasize Christ as the mediator. That is how they left the door open to claim themselves to be the Faithful and Discreet Slave and act as the mediator on earth.

  • SpannerintheWorks
    SpannerintheWorks

    Neon,

    I put something similar to my wife's sister. Thomas calls Jesus " My God." The Greek translates as " THE God of me..." Her answer?

    Yes, I believe Thomas thought that Jesus was his God. He is Thomas's god. But he is not the ALMIGHTY god, Jehovah. OK, then the two gods thing ensued.

    But my point is that JWs can twist scripture around and around until it fits in with what they have been taught to believe.

    Spanner

  • gumby
    gumby

    PROVING doctrine is a bad to to start with.

    Why not tell him that to be one of Jehovah's witnesses you have to agree and what a group of men who have decided what the scriptures mean. They cannot under ANY circumstances believe the way they see it.

    Tell them Jehovah's witnesses will not let him get baptised unless he believes ALL of the things APPROVED by this group. Tell him if he became one.....then later disagreed with them on ANYTHING ...and they found out about it.......and he still disagreed......they would kick him out and ALL Jehovah's witnesses could never ever talk to him for the rest of their lives unless he gave in and agreed with them and proved he was sorry for 1 year......then they could talk with him again.

    Let him know that anyone of his family or he himself cannot have a blood transfusion or have oral sex with his wife or he will be kicked out if he isn't sorry.

    Tell him he will have to go dodr to door about 10 hours a month or you get a LABLE of being ....low on your hours"

    Tell him he will not be able to hang around with his old friends anymore because they are" worldly"

    Tell him that to be a Jehovah's witness, he will be REQUIRED to believe that ALL of mankind....except for Jehovah's witnesses.....will be killed by God very shortly.

    If he thinks any of this sounds strange......show him that all of this is in their OWN LITERATURE.

    And it is

    Edited by - Gumby on 5 October 2002 14:44:31

  • NeonMadman
    NeonMadman
    I don't think the Jesus-is-God or Jesus-isn't-God is a productive angle to follow.

    dantheman, I'm inclined to agree. I don't think in general that the best topic to jump to with a JW is the deity of Christ or the Trinity. A lot of Christians do that as their first line of attack, though. What they need to understand is that JW's will never be able to see past the Society's explanations of scripture until they have been shown that the organization is not what it claims to be. For that reason, I think the best thing to focus on initially in speaking to a JW is the flawed nature of the organization, i.e., false prophecies, lies, official misconduct, hypocrisy, etc.

    However, Dawn was asking specifically for scriptural issues that the JW's would not be able to explain, and I've never yet heard an intelligent explanation from any JW source of John 20:28. The customary response is to say, "Yeah, but look at this other scripture over here..." Of course, we shouldn't let them get away with that. Demand that they explain John 20:28 and why they have a different God than the apostles did.

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    While i was still into the bible, i compiled a few of these. Here are some. They need a bit of work, getting them into a good order, so that one question leads to the next. Anyway, there are a few to choose from. Search the net and you'll find more.

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    55 QUESTIONS EVERY JEHOVAH'S WITNESS SHOULD BE ASKED

    1. Jesus uses the phrase "Truly I say to you..."over 50 times in the Bible. In the NWT the comma is placed after the word "you" every time except in Lk 23:43, where the comma is placed after the word "today". Why is the comma placed after "today" instead of after "you in this verse? If the translation of this phrase in Lk 23:43 was consistent with the translation of this phrase in all the other verses in which it appears (see concordance), and the comma as placed after the word "you", how would it read?

    2. What was Jesus' response to Thomas after Thomas referred to Jesus as "My Lord and my God!" in Jn 20:28?

    3. In Rev 19:1, where does it say the"great crowd" will be?

    4. If Christ was created by God and the wisdom of God (Prov 8:1-4 and Prov 8:22-31), then before Jesus would have been created, God would have had to have been without wisdom. How is it possible that God could have ever been without wisdom?

    5. If the "holy spirit" is God's impersonal force, why is the holy spirirt referred to as "he" and "him" in Jn 16:7-8 and Jn 16:13-14?

    6. In the NWT every time the Greek word "theos" appears it is translated as "God" (Mt 1:23, 22:32, Mk 15:34, Jn 4:24, 11:22, 20:28, Acts 17:24, Rom 5:8, 8:31, 1Cor 8:4, 6, 15:28, 2Cor 1:3, 5:19, 9:7, Gal 6:7, Phil 2:13,4:19, 1Tim 2:5, Heb 1:8, 9, 3:4, 11:16, 12:29, Jas 2:19, 1Jn 1:5, 4:9, 12, 16, 5:11, Rev 7:17, 21:7), except in Jn 1:1c where the same Greek word "theos" is translated as "a god" (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). Why the inconsistency in the translation? If the NWT was consistent and translated "theos" of Jn 1:1c the same way it is translated in all the other verses in which it appears, how would Jn 1:1c read?

    7. In col 1:15-17, the NWT inserts the word "other" 4 times even though it is not in the original Greek (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). Why is the word "other" inserted? How would these verses read if the word "other" had not been inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the Bible? (See Prov 30:5-6 ).

    8. In 2Pet 1:1, the NWT inserts the word "the". Why is it inserted? How would the verse read if the word "the" was not inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the Bible? (See Prov 30:5-6).

    9. Mt 24:30 says : "And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH will beat themselves in lamentation, and THEY WILL SEE the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". How will "all the tribes of the earth" lament and "see the Son of man coming" if Jesus returned invisibly iin 1914?

    10. In the NWT, every time the Greek wod "proskuneo" is used in reference to God, it is translated as "worship" (Rev 5:14, 7:11, 11:16, 19:4, Jn 4:20, etc.) Every time "proskuneo" is used in reference to Jesus, it is translated as "obeisance" (Mt 14:33, 28:9, 28:17, Lk 24:52, Heb 1:6, etc.), even though it is the same word in Greek (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). Especially compare the Greek word "proskuneo" used with reference to God in Rev. 5:14, 7:11, 11:16, and 19:4 and used with reference to Christ in Mt 14:33, 28:9 and 28:17. What is the reason for this inconsistency? If the NWT was consistent in translating "proskuneo" as "worship", how would the verses above referring to Christ read?

    11. Referring to Lk 12:4-5, what would be left of a person after they were killed that could be thrown in Gehanna?

    12. Col 1:16, in talking about Jesus, says that "...All (other) things have been created through him and FOR HIM". If Jesus was Michael the Archangel at the time of creation, would an angel have created all things for himself? Isa 43:7 says God created "everyone...for my OWN glory..."

    13. Who or what does the spirit of Christ (Phil 1:19, Gal 4:6, Rom 8:9) refer to? In Gal 4:6, how is it possible that the spirit of Christ could come into our hearts? How is it possible that the spirit of Christ could reside in someone? If what the Watchtower Society teaches is true, how could Paul make this statement if Christ was a spirit person residing in heaven?

    14. In the sermon on the mount, when Jesus was addressing the "great crowd" (Lk 6:17), why did he tell them in Lk 6:22, "...your reward is great in heaven..."?

    15. In Mt. 1:23, who is Matthew referring to here that has been given the name which means "With Us Is God"?

    16. If there are 144,000 spirit anointed people who have a heavenly hope, and a great crowd of people who have another hope of everlasting life on paradise earth, why does Paul say that there is only one hope (Eph 4:4), instead of two?

    17. To what was Jesus referring to by the term "this temple" in Jn 2:18-19" See Jn 2:21.

    18. Jesus Christ is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 9:6 ("For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us...And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, ..."). Jehovah is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 10:20-21. How can this be if there is only one God (1Cor 8:4, Isa 43:10, 44:6)?

    19. If Jesus was executed on a torture stake, with both hands together over his head, why does Jn 20:25 say "...Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails...", indicating that there was more than one nail used for his hands?

    20. The NWT translates Jn 1:1 as "...and the Word was WITH God, and the Word was a god". How can the Word (Jesus) be a "god" if God says in Deut 32:39, "See now that I-I am he; and there are No gods together With me...'?

    21. In Rev. 14:13, how can the dead be "happy" and find "rest" if there is no conscious awareness after death?

    22. Mk 13:24-26 says, "But in those days, after that tribulation,...they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds...". How can they "see the Son of man coming", if he returned invisibly in 1914?

    23. What is the meaning of Rev 14:9-11, which says, "...If anyone worships the wild beast...he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur...And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever...". Where could "anyone" be tormented ...forever and ever"?

    24. In Jn 8:56, Jesus says ,"Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing any day, and he saw it and rejoiced". Since Abraham died hundreds of years before Jesus said this, how could Jesus say that Abraham "saw it and rejoiced", if there is no conscious awareness after death?

    25. Rev 22:12-13, in speaking of Jesus Christ, says, "...I am coming quickly...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end". Rev 21:6, in speaking of God, says. "...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.,..". God is also referred to as the "first" and the "last" in Isa 44:6 and Isa 48:121. How can tthis be? How can there be two firsts and two lasts?

    26. If the holy spirit is God's impersonal active force, how could he: Bear witness - Jn15:26; Feel hurt - Isa 63:10; Be blasphemed against - Mk 3:29, Say things - Ezk3:24, Acts 8:29, 10:19, 11:12, 21:11, Heb 10:15-17, Rev 2:7; Desire - Gal 5:17; Be outraged - Heb 10:29; Search - 1Cor 2:10; Comfort - Acts 9:31, Be loved - Rom 15:30"...through the love of the spirit..."; Refer to himself as "me" - Acts 13:2; Be lied to and be God - Acts 5:3-4?

    27. Rev 1:7 in speaking of Christ says "...and EVERY eye shall see him..."when he returns? How can this be if Christ returned invisibly in 1914?

    28. The Bible says that only God is our savior (Hos 13:4, Isa 43:11, 45:21, etc). How can it be then, that the Bible repeatedly says that Jesus Christ is our saviour (Lk 2:11, Phil 3:20, Tit 2:13, 3:6, 2Pet 1:1, 2:20, 3:18, etc.)?

    29. If the great crowd is to have everlasting life on paradise earth, why does 1Thes 4:17 say, "...we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR; and thus we shall always be with the Lord"?

    30. If the soul is the body, why does Jesus make a distinction between body and the soul in Mt 10:28?

    31. The NWT translates the Greek word "kyrios"(Gr-lord) as "Jehovah" more than 25 times in the New Testament (Mt 3:3, Lk 2:9, Jn 1:23, Acts 21:14, Rom 12:19, Col 1:10, 1 Thess 5:2, 1 Pet 1:25, Rev 4:8, etc). Why is the NWT no consistent in translating kyrios as "Jehovah" in Rom10:9, 1Cor 12:3, Phil 2:11,2Thess 2;1, and Rev 22:21 (see Gr-Eng Interlinear)?

    32. If Jesus was executed on a torture stake, with both hands together over his head, instead of on a cross with both hands outstretched, why does Mt 27:37 say that the sign "This is Jesus the King of the Jews" was posted above his HEAD" instead of being posted above his hands? How could it haved been posted above his head if his arms were outstretched over his head?

    33. The Watchtower Society teaches that the 144,000 of Rev 7:4 is to be taken literally. If chapter 7 of Revelation is to be taken literally, where does the Bible say that the 144,000 will come from?

    34. Jn 1:3 says in reference to Christ, "All things came into existence through him, and apart fromo him no even one thing came into existence." How could Christ have been a created being if ALL things cme into existence through him? If Jesus was a created being, then according to Jn 1:3, Jesus would have had to create himself.

    35. Referring to Isa 14:9-17, if there is no conscious awareness after death, how could Sheol "...become agitated at you in order to meet you coming in..."(v.9), how could the souls in Sheol"...speak up and sday to you..."(v.10-11), how could the souls in Sheol when "...seeing you will gaze even at you: they will give close examination even to you, (saying,) 'Is this the man..."(v.16-17), and how would you be aware that this was happening?

    36. Heb 3:1 refers to "holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling". In Mk 3:35, Jesus says, "Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother...". Therefore, according to the Bible, whoever does the will of God is a brother of Jesus and a partaker of the heavenly calling. How can this be if the Watchtower Society teaches that only 144,000 people go to heaven?

    37. Heb 11:16, in speaking about some of the familiar people of the Old Testament (Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc.) says, "But now they are reaching out for a better (place), that is, one belonging to heaven..."and,"...their God for he has made a city ready for them." The footnote on the word "city" refers to HEAVENLY Jerusalem of Heb 12:22 and Rev 21:2. How can this be since according to the teachings of the Watchtower Society, the only people who will go to heaven are the 144,000 spirit anointed who have been chosen from people who lived after Christ died?

    38. Rev 20:10 says, "And the Devil...the wild beast and the false prophet (already were); and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Where will the devil, the wild beast, and the false prophet be "tormented day and night forever and ever"?

    39. In Lk 24:36-39 and in Jn20:26-27, Jesus showed his disciples the wounds in his body as proof of his resurrection. If Jesus' body had been destroyed by God after he died, how could Jesus show his disciples his body which had the wounds in his hands, feet, and side and claim that he is not just a spirit,"because a spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you behold that I have" (Lk 24:39)?

    40. The NWT translates the Greek words "ego eimi" as "I am" every time it appears (Jn 6:34, 6:41, 8:24, 13:19, 15:5, etc.) except in Jn 8:58 where it is translated as "I have been". What is the reason for the inconsistency in this translation? If "ego eimi" was translated in Jn 8:58 the same way it is translated in every other verse in which it appears, how would Jn 8:58 read?

    41. Heb 9:28, speaking of Christ says, "...and the second time he APPEARS..."How can Christ appear "the second time," if his second coming was invisibly in 1914?

    42. Rev 7:11 says that "before the throne" is in heaven where "all the angels were standing". Rev 14:2-3 says "And I heard a sound out of heaven...And they were singing as if a new song before the throne...". Rev 7:9 says, "...look, a great crowd...standing before the throne.,..". Rev 7:14-15 says, "...There are the ones that come out of th great tribulation...That is why they are before the throne of God...". Therefore, if "before the throne" means in heaven (Rev 7:11, 14:2-3), and "the great crowd" is "before the throne" (Rev 7-9:14-15), where does that mean that the great crowd will be?

    43. The NWT translates the Greek word "esti" as "is" in almost every instance in the New Testament (Mt 26:18, Mk 14:44, Lk 22:38, etc.), See Greek-English Interlinear. Why does the NWT translate this Greek word as "means" in Mt. 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, and Lk 22:19? Why the inconsistency in the translation of the word "esti"? If the NWT was consistent and translated the Greek word "esti" as "is" in these verses, what would these verses say?

    44. If Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel, how can Mt 25:31 say, "When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angles with im...". Since "all the angels" would certainly include Michael the Archangel, is it possible that Jesus could return with himself?

    45. In Lk 20:37-38, how could Abraham, Issac, and Jacob be "all living to him (God), since they all died hundreds fo years before Jesus said this?

    46. If the soul dies when the body dies, how could the "souls" of Rev 6:9-11, who were of those who had been "slaughtered" (i.e. killed), cry out "with a loud voice, saying: 'Until when Sovereign Lord..."?

    47. In Phil 2:9, the NWT inserts the word "other", even though it doesn't appear in the original Greek (see Gr-English Interlinear). What is the reasaon for inserting this word? Is the word "Jehovah" a name? See Ex 6:3, Ps 83:18, and Isa 42:8. How would the verse read if the word "other" has not been inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the Bible? See Prov 30:5-6.

    48. In Mt 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to baptize "people of all the nations ...in teh name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit." Why would the disciples be instructed to baptize if the name of any body or anything who was not God? Do Jehovah's Witnesses follow the command of Jesus and baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit"?

    49. If the human soul is the person, how could the soul go out of a person (Gen 35:18) or come back to a person (1Kings 17:21)?

    50. The Watchtower Society teaches that the earth will never be destroyed or depopulated. How can it be, then, that God, says in Isa 51:6," ...the earth itself will wear out, and its inhabitants will die like a mere gnat...", and that Jesus in Mt 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away...", and that John says in Rev 21:1 that he saw "...a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the FORMER earth had passed away, and the sea is no more?

    51. In Lk 4:12, the NWT translates "kyrios" as "Jehovah", which makes the verse read"..."You should not put Jehovah your God to the test." See Gr-Engl Interlinear. Why is kyrios translated as "Jehovah" in this verse? Was the devil, in Lk 4:9-11, puttiong Jehovah to the test of Jesus to the test?

    52. Amos 4:11says, "I caused an overthrow among you people, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. And you came to belike a log snatched our of (the) burning: but you did not come back to me." is the utterance of Jehovah." How can Jehovah speaking in this verse refer to another person as God ("...like GOD'S overthrow of Sodom...)?

    53. In 1Tm 2:5 Paul says. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Jesus Christ." Why does Paul refer to Christ as "a man" if according to the WTS, Christ was a spirit anointed person devoid of a body when Paul wrote this?

    54. In Jn 6:51, Jesus says that a person must eat "of this bread" in order to live forever", and that "the bread that I give IS my flesh". In Jn 6:63, Jesus says "...Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." In Jn 6:54-55, Jesus says, "He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life..." and "...for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." Do you partake of the flesh of Christ, as Jesus commanded, in order to have life in yourself and in order to live forever?

    55. Every true Christian would agree that we should follow the commands of God. In Mk 9:7, God the Father commands us to listen to Jesus. Do you follow this command and listen to Jesus? After all, Jesus died for your personal sins. (1Jn 2:2,1Pet 2:24). Jesus tells us to go directly to him (Mt 11:28-30), and the Father commanded us to listen to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus gives us everlasting life (Jn 10:28), and so that Jesus will enter our house and be with us and give us the right to sit on his throne (Rev 3:20-21). Do you pray to Jesus as Paul and the early Christians did (1Cor 1:2)? Do you partake of the flesh of Christ as Jesus commanded (Jn 6:51)? If not, than are you following the command of the Father who said "Listen to him"?

    Here's a closing thought from one of the Watchtower's key works, YouCan Live Forever on Paradise Earth, pgs. 32-33. Ponder it in light of the questions you've just been asked.

    "How would you feel if proof is given that what you believe is wrong? For example, say that you were in a car traveling for the first time to a certain place. You have a road map, but you have not taken the time to check it carefully. Someone has told you the road to take. You trust him, sincerely believing that the way he has directed you is correct. But suppose it is not? What if someone points out the error? What if he, by referring you to your own map sows that you are on the wrong road? Well then, if you, learn form an examination of your Bible that you're traveling a wrong religious road, be willing to change. Avoid the broad road to destruction; get on the narrow road to life."

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    Esther 9:18-29:
    Holidays and birthdays are celebrated to commemorate important events in the life of a person or society. "Purim" was instituted by the Jews for just such a reason.

    Romans 14:4-6; Colossians 2:16,17:
    Christians are free to celebrate "days" as one's own conscience permits.

    What Does it Mean
    to Declare the "Name" of God?
    (Ps 22:22; John 17:26).

    Tell people His title is Jehovah:

    Exodus 6:1-3:
    God instructs Moses to call Him "Jehovah."

    BUT: The word "Jehovah" (or better "Yahweh") is from the same root as the term "I Am" (see Exod 3:14). The point of the name is that it indicates Gods eternal, self-existent nature.

    Tell people about the nature of God:

    Genesis 2:23; 3:20; 17:5,6; 32:28:
    The word "name" in Scripture does not refer to simply a title but indicates something of the character, reputation, or nature of the person (see also Ps 135:13; 138:2; Prov 10:7; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 1Cor 1:10,14f).

    God has several different "names" in Scripture. Each one is used to indicate a different aspect of His Being:

    God Most High (Gen 14:18-22)
    Almighty God (Gen 17:1f)
    Jealous (Exod 43:14)
    Eternal God (Deut 33:27)
    Living God (Josh 3:10)
    God of hosts (Isa 1:24)
    Holy One (Isa 43:3)
    God of heaven (Jonah 1:9)
    Heavenly Father (Matt 6:26)
    King eternal (1Tim 1:17)
    Only Potentate (1Tim 6:15)
    Father of lights (James 1:17)

    We "praise the name of God" by worshipping Him for possessing these attributes, not by exalting a word (Psalm 48:10; 69:30).

    Who are Christians to be Witness of?

    Jehovah:

    Isaiah 43:10:
    Jehovah declares, "You are My witnesses."

    BUT: This is the OT and was addressed to Jews, not Christians (see 43:1).

    Jesus!

    Throughout the NT it is Jesus that Christians are said to be witnesses of.

    In the Book of Acts:
    1:8; 3:6; 4:10-12,18; 5:28,40-42; 8:5,35; 9:16,20; 11:20,26; 15:26; 16:31; 17:18; 20:21; 21:13; 23:11; 26:28; 28:23,30f.

    Elsewhere in the NT:
    Mark 9:38-40; Luke 24:47; John 16:13f; 1Cor 2:2; 2Cor 4:5; 5:20; Eph 3:8; Phil 1:15-21; 3:8-10; Col 1:27f; Heb 12:1; 2Pet 3:18; Rev 22:21.

    What Should Christians Call God?

    Jehovah:

    Exodus 6:1-3; Isaiah 43:10,11:
    Jehovah is God's proper name.

    BUT: This is the OT. Jesus has opened "a new and living way" into the presence of God (Heb 10:20).

    Father!

    Through faith in Christ, a person can move beyond relating to God on a mere proper-name basis into an intimate, filial relationship with Him! (Heb 4:14-16).

    Matt 6:9; Rom 1:7; 1Cor 1:3; 2Cor 1:2; 6:18; Gal 1:4; Eph 1:2; 2:18; Phil 1:2; 4:20; Col 1:2; 1Thes 1:1,3; 3:11,13; 2Thes 1:1f; 2:16; 1Tim 1:2; Phlm 3; Jam 3:9; 1Pet 1:2; 1John 1:2f; 2:13,23f; 3:1; 2John 3f,9; Jude 1.

    Those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation can even cry out, "ABBA FATHER!" (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6).

    Notes:
    Additional Scripture Studies with questions relevant to JWs are: The Person and Life of Jesus Christ, The Afterlife, Eternity, and Christians and the Government.

    See also the three studies on the doctrine of the Trinity: Doctrine of the Trinity, Arguments Against the Trinity, More on the Trinity.

    All Scripture references from: The New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, unless otherwise indicated.

    Questions for Jehovah's Witnesses: Scripture Study. Copyright 1999 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry (http://www.dtl.org).

    -----------

    If the organization did not actually prophesy the end in 1925 and 1975, then how come so many Witnesses left the faith immediately afterwards? ("They lost roughly three-quarters of the movement between 1925 and 1928, then suffered huge losses after 1975, when the end didn't come as they had implied over and over again," said Jim Penton, an ex-Witness who writes entries on Jehovah's Witnesses for the Encyclopedia Americana.)

    If the Watchtower organization rejects others calling them "inspired" yet the Watchtower organization does call themselves "God's Spirit-directed Prophet" what is the difference? Is there such a thing as an "uninspired prophet"? See Organization claims inspiration

    Has the Society ever taught anything scripturally incorrect?

    Might the Society be teaching anything scripturally incorrect now?

    Since the Organization has received "new light" regarding the 1914 generation, and completely changed their view on this, does this mean that all the former Jehovah's witnesses who were disfellowshipped years ago for the same view the organization is now teaching will automatically be accepted into fellowship again? Were these Ex-Jw's in fact disfellowshipped for truth and knew things that the governing body did not? See Jw's were disfellowshipped for rejecting generation doctrine

    Can Jehovah's Witnesses hold and discuss openly with other Jehovah's Witnesses opinions that differ from orthodox Watch Tower doctrine?

    Can individuals read & understand the Bible alone, or do they need an organization and it's publications to do so? Click here find the answer!
    How do you prove from the Bible that 1935 was the year for the selection to heaven stopped due to being filled? What is the difference between a Catholic appealing to "what the organization tells him" about December 25 being the date of Jesus birthday and a Jw appealing to "what the organization tells him" about the date 1935? Is it not hypocritical when you chide the "poor deluded Catholic" that his faith cannot find a Bible passage to support it, when the same goes for you and 1935?

    How do you know that there were any vacancies, if any, in the 144,000 class if Jesus offered this to first century Christians? How can the organization know the exact number of vacancies today without any records from the first century?

    Why are you called, "Jehovah's Witnesses" and not "Christians"? Since Jehovah's Witnesses appeal to Isa 43:12; 44:8 for scriptural support that they should be called, "Jehovah's Witnesses" then what was the "new name" prophesied in Isa 62:2? Can't be "Jehovah's Witnesses", for God already used it 20 chapters earlier. Could the new name be "Christian" after our savior "Christ"?

    Why would the name God gave to His people not be "Christians" since Acts 11:26 says, "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch"? Why is the name "Jehovah's Witness" found nowhere in the New Testament, if that is God's divine name for His people under the new covenant? Why would God wait almost 2000 years to suddenly start using the name "Jehovah's Witness". Does this mean that first century Christians were not known as Jehovah's Witnesses"?

    If the name Jehovah is so important, then why is it never used in the entire Greek New Testament? If men edited out the name of God, "YHWH" when they copied the New Testament, as only the Watchtower organization claims, then how can we have any confidence in any of the New Testament? Should we discard the New Testament or the Watchtower organization as unreliable?

    If the name "Jehovah" is so important, then why does Acts 4:12 say, "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name [v10 Jesus Christ] under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved"? Would this not have been the logical place for God to have used the name "YHWH"?

    What is the correct spelling of God's proper name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah"? If Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that "Yahweh" is more proper, why do they misspell it "Jehovah"? If the name of God is so important, then should you not only pronounce it correctly, but spell it correctly too? Is not spelling more important than pronunciation?

    Since the Jehovah's Witness organization currently rejects most of the teachings of its founder Charles Taze Russell (who was president of the organization from 1879-1916), and since they also reject "Judge" Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who succeeded Russell as president from 1916 - 1942, how can we be sure that in 25 more years, Jehovah's Witnesses won't also reject the current president, Milton G. Henschel (1992 - present), as they did Russell and Rutherford?

    What kind of confidence can anyone have in an organization that rejected its founder and first two presidents for the first 63 years of its existence? This represents about 53% of the time they have existed!

    Since the Watchtower organization claims "apostolic succession" who was it that "passed the torch of God's Spirit" to C. T. Russel when he founded the organization? What was the name of this individual?

    In the NWT, every time the Greek word "proskuneo" is used in reference to God, it is translated as "worship" (Rev 5:14, 7:11, 11:16, 19:4, Jn 4:20, etc.). Every time "proskuneo" is used in reference to Jesus, it is translated as "obeisance" (Mt 14:33, 28:9, 28:17, Lk 24:52, Heb 1:6, etc.), even though it is the same word in the Greek (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). Especially compare the Greek word "prosekunhsan" used with reference to God in Rev 5:14, 7:11, 11:16, and 19:4 and used with reference to Christ in Mt 14:33, 28:9, and 28:17. What is the reason for this inconsistency? If the NWT was consistent in translating "proskuneo" as "worship", how would the verses above referring to Christ read?

    The NWT translates the Greek word "kyrios" as "Jehovah" more than 25 times in the New Testament (Mt 3:3, Lk 2:9, Jn 1:23, Acts 21:14, Rom 12:19, Col 1:10, 1Thess 5:2, 1Pet 1:25, Rev 4:8, etc.). Why is the word "Jehovah" translated when it does not appear in the Greek text?

    Why is the NWT not consistent in translating kyrios (kurion) as "Jehovah" in Rom 10:9, 1Cor 12:3, Phil 2:11, 2Thess 2:1, and Rev 22:21 (see Gr-Engl Interlinear)?
    To what was Jesus referring to by the term "this temple" in Jn 2:18- 19? See Jn 2:21.

    If the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, why does he directly speak and refer to himself as "I" and "me" in Acts 13:2?

    The NWT translates the Greek words "ego eimi" as "I am" every time it appears (Jn 6:34, 6:41, 8:24, 13:19, 15:5, etc.), except in Jn 8:58 where it is translated as "I have been". What is the reason for the inconsistency in this translation? If "ego eimi" was translated in Jn 8:58 the same way it is translated in every other verse in which it appears, how would Jn 8:58 read

  • onacruse
    onacruse

    Jo. 2:19 is another stumper...Jesus raising himself from the dead. As I recall, there have been only a couple of convoluted WTS attempts to explain this, and those attempts were made many many years ago.

    Also, Jo. 14:14...praying to Jesus. The Kingdom Interlinear shows the extra "me" in the Greek text (translate "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."), but the NWT omits it. Again, there have been a couple of QfR's on this, mainly arguing that other Scriptures (supposedly) justify ignoring the extra "me."

    However, in the main, I tend to agree that doctrinal argumentation has limited value...it's the human dimension of WTS policies and abuses that would, imho, really catch most people by their heart strings. Weighed in the scales, all the "correct" doctrine in the world doesn't count for spit against the agony of cutting off lifelong friends and family blood ties.

    Craig

  • Navigator
    Navigator

    I agree with Onacruise. Arguing doctrine is fruitless. In some cases, the JWs are right for the wrong reasons. The things to emphasise are the damage to families, the abuses, the mind control exerted, the shunning, etc..

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