Jehovah's Witnesses View of Jesus Compared to the Early Church (page 14)

suavojr

Hey Cofty,

I am going to use this info for tonight's family worship. My wife is beating me up for not having any bible discussions in the last 2 years, let's see how it goes.... I have to figure out how to deliver this material in a subtle way and just let it sink in...

cofty

Sounds like it could be fun. Please let us know how it goes.

Alive!

Cofty,

Just referred to this post and article -I know it's old and you've moved past believing in God etc...but thank you for taking the time to point out all these scriptures.....

A few years ago, these same thoughts were going on in my mind - I noticed in scripture that most letters by the apostles begin with reference to God and our Lord Jesus Christ' - and I thought, why not to Jehovah and our Lord Jesus Christ etc.

Surely, if making Jehovah's name known was a huge part of the preaching work, you'd think they'd begin each letter, clearly to Jehovah or 'LORD' ....

But Paul and others consistently refer to God, they use God instead of Jehovah exactly where you'd expect 'Jehovah' to be the obvious usage....except in quoting Hebrew scripture that contains the Tetragrammaton - and NWT use Jehovah there.

I was out with a darling sister one day - full time pioneer, been to pioneer school etc - and after a study I shared some thoughts, using Jesus name, more than Jehovah's name, I didn't get weird or anything by the way - (By the way I noted she had sidetracked on some fairly direct questions from the 'study' as they didn't fit in with the study programme' )

I'll always remember she laughed nervously at some point and said 'alive! You sound like one of those happy clappy Baptist types!'

Actually, I'd simply followed the language format of the early Christian writers......incorporating it into our spiritual discussion, instead of saying Jehovsh every other word.

I know you don't believe - but I know you'll sympathise with my point.....it was really disturbing at the time!

cofty

after a study I shared some thoughts, using Jesus name, more than Jehovah's name... she laughed nervously at some point and said 'alive! You sound like one of those happy clappy Baptist types!

Thanks for sharing that. I think it is really significant that if a JW refers to Jesus in exactly the same way early christians did it would immediately sound suspicious to another JW.

I think this is one of the easiest ways to raise doubts in the mind of a JW.

FayeDunaway

That's exactly what woke me up. I didn't like a talk at a circuit assembly, actually it was a visiting GB speaker, and he was being really bombastic. I started reading the new testament instead (john i believe) and noticing how many times Jesus was mentioned along with the Father. Then I would stop and listen to see if the language was similar to what I was reading.. Nope, nothing but Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah. I was beginning to realize that they were pushing their own agenda which didn't sound like the Bible, and repetition of the name Jehovah was used because their organization has that name in it, and they could use the name 'jehovah' interchangeably to mean their organization. Staying loyal to Jehovah meant lapping up whatever they were feeding us. But there was way more emphasis on Jesus in the bible, and for them to ignore that was a serious issue with me. Even if they suddenly started paying attention to him, it was too late. How could an organization that had ignored Jesus for many decades be OK?

cofty

repetition of the name Jehovah was used because their organization has that name in it, and they could use the name 'jehovah' interchangeably to mean their organization

That's a very important observation.

EyesOpenHeartBroken

Marked.

Alive!

Yes Faye, your observation is spot on.....Jehovah has become interchangeable with 'the slave' and 'the organisation'.

Just like you, I started reading the scriptures without a WT 'study aid' publication, compared the pattern of phrasing and language - the early Christians were all about Jesus....everything was for Jesus.... Or God, the father.

I suspect they are changing this - guess they are turning more towards mainstream Christendom.

PS is there a scripture where Jesus invites his listeners to be Jehovah's friend?

JWdaughter

If nothing else this thread highlights the differences in the view of the early church internally. Scripture showing the contrasting views of Jesus before and after the crucifixion are q when stripped down. The Christology clearly developed as the church aged.

Ding

Great article, Cofty.

If JWs referred to Jesus the way early Christians did, they'd be DFd in short order...

Jehovah's Witnesses View of Jesus Compared to the Early Church

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