Ask a Witness some of these 72 questions!

by Beans 10 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • Beans
    Beans

    I didn`t come up with any of these and I`m sure many of you have seen these questions which Quotes passed on to me.

    -1. 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.)

    -2. 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.

    -3. Has the Society ever taught anything scripturally incorrect?See

    Prophecy Blunders of the
    Organization.

    -4. Might the Society be teaching anything scripturally incorrect
    now?

    -5. 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 organizationis
    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.

    -6. Can Jehovah's Witnesses hold and discuss openly with other
    Jehovah's Witnesses opinions that
    differ from orthodox Watch Tower doctrine?

    -7. 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!

    -8. 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?

    -9. 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?

    -10. 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"?

    -11. 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"?

    -12. 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?

    -13. 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"?

    -14. 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?

    -15. 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?

    -16. 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!

    -17. 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?

    -18. 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?

    -19. 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 doesnot
    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)?

    -20. To what was Jesus referring to by the term "this temple" in Jn
    2:18- 19? See Jn 2:21.

    -21. If the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, why doeshe
    directly speak and refer to himself
    as "I" and "me" in Acts 13:2?

    -22. 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 wouldJn

    8:58 read?

    -23. In Rev 22:12-13, Jesus Christ, the one who is "coming quickly",
    says of himself, " I am the Alpha
    and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
    end". In Rev 1:17-18, Jesus, the one
    who "became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever",
    refers to himself as the first and the
    last. 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 48:12. How can this
    be since by definition of these words there can only be one first

    and one last?

    -24. Jn 1:3 says that Jesus created "all things", but in Isa 44:24,
    God says that he "by myself" created
    the heavens and the earth and asks the question "Who was with
    me?" when the heavens and the
    earth were created. How can this be since if Jesus was createdby

    God, then he would have been
    with God when everything else was created?

    -25. 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...".

    -26. The Watchtower Society teaches that the 144,000 of Rev 7:4 isto
    be taken literally. If chapter 7 of
    Revelation is to be taken literally, where then does the Bible
    say that the 144,000 will come from?
    (See Rev 7:5- 8).

    -27. If the soul is the body, why does Jesus make a distinction
    between the body and the soul in Mt
    10;28 ---28. 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 ..."?

    -29. 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)?

    -30. 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?

    -31. Jesus uses the phrase "Truly I say to you, ..." over 50 timesin

    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

    was placed after the word
    "you", how would it read?

    -32. The NWT translates the Greek word "esti" as "is" in almost every

    instance in the New Testament
    (Mt 26:18, 38, 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?

    -33. In Jn 20:28, Thomas refers to Jesus in Greek as "Ho kyrios moy
    kai ho theos moy". This translates
    literally as "the Lord of me and THE God of me". Why does Jesus,
    in Jn 20:29, affirm Thomas for
    having come to this realization? If Jesus really wasn't the Lord
    and THE God of Thomas, why
    didn't Jesus correct him for making either a false assumptionor
    a blasphemous statement?
    -34. If Christ will not have a visible return to earth, then how will

    he be seen by "ALL the tribes of the
    earth" (Mt 24:30) and by "EVERY eye" (Rev 1:7) when he returns?

    -35. If the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, how could
    he: Be referred to as "he" and "him"
    in Jn 16:7-8 and Jn 16:13-14; Bear witness - Jn 15:26; Feel hurt
    - Isa 63:10; Be blasphemed against
    - Mk 3:29; Say things - Ezek 3:24, Acts 8:29, 10:19, 11:12,
    21:11, Heb10:15-17, 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
    ; Be lied to and be God - Acts 5:3-4?
    -36. 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"?

    -37. Jn 1:3 says in reference to Christ, "All things came into
    existence through him, and apart from him
    not even one thing came into existence". How could Christ have
    been a created being if ALL things
    came into existence through him? If Jesus was a created being,
    then according to Jn 1:3, Jesus
    would have had to create himself.

    -38. If the spirit of a man has no existence apart from the body,why
    does Stephen just before his death
    in Acts 7:59, pray to Jesus to "receive my spirit"? How could
    Jesus receive Stephen's spirit if a
    man's spirit ceases to exist when the body dies?

    -39. If the great crowd is to have everlasting life on paradise
    EARTH, why does 1Thess 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"?

    -40. 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?

    -41. If there is no conscious awareness after death, how could the
    "spirits in prison" be preached to by
    Christ after his death (1Pet 3:18-20) and how could the good news

    be "declared also to the dead"
    (1Pet 4:6)?

    -42. In Phil 2:9, the NWT inserts the word "other", even though it
    doesn't appear in the original Greek
    (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). What is the reason 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" had not
    been inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the
    Bible? See Prov 30:5-6.

    -43. Heb 9:28, speaking of Christ, says "... and the second time he
    appears..." How can Christ APPEAR
    a second time if he will not have a visible return to earth?

    -44. Amos 4:11 says, "'I caused an overthrow among you people, like
    God's overthrow of Sodom and
    Gomorrah. And you came to be like a log snatched out of [the]
    burning; but you did not come back
    to me,' is the utterance of Jehovah." How can Jehovah speakingin

    this verse refer to another
    person as God ("... like GOD'S overthrow of Sodom ...")?

    -45. In Rev 19:1, where does it say that the "great crowd" will be?

    -46. If Christians are persecuted for the sake of Jehovah's name,why

    did Christ tell the first Christians
    that they would be persecuted for the sake of his (Jesus') name
    instead of Jehovah's (Mt 24:9, Mk
    13:13, Lk 21:12, 17, Jn 15:21, and Acts 9:16)?

    -47. 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?

    -48. 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).

    -49. In the sermon on the mount, when Jesus was addressing the "great

    crowd" (Lk 6:17), why did he
    tell them in Lk 6:22-23, "...your reward is great in heaven ..."?

    -50. In Mt 1:23, who is Matthew referring to here that has been given

    the name which means "With Us
    Is God"? -51. In Rev 14:13, how can the dead be "happy" and find "rest" if
    there is no conscious awareness after
    death?

    -52. 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
    have been posted above his head if his arms were stretched out
    over his head?

    -53. In Lk 4:12, the NWT translates "kyrios" (Gr-lord) as "Jehovah",
    which makes the verse read "...
    'You shall 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, putting
    Jehovah to the test or JESUS to the
    test?

    -54. 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 savior
    (Lk 2:11, Phil 3:20, Tit 2:13, 3:6, 2Pet
    1:1, 2:20, 3:18, etc.)?

    -55. 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 on coming in..."
    (v.9), how could the souls in Sheol
    "... speak up and say 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?

    -56. 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?

    -57. Heb 11:16, in speaking about some of the faithful 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?

    -58. 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"?

    -59. In Lk 24:36-39 and in Jn 20:26-27, 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
    the 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)?

    -60. If Christ was created by God and was the wisdom of God (Prov
    8:1-4, 12, 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?

    -61. 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 the 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, 7:14-15), where
    does that mean that the great crowd
    will be?

    -62. 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 angels with him, ...". Since "all the
    angels" would certainly include Michael
    the Archangel, is it possible that Jesus could return with
    himself?

    -63. In Lk 20:37-38, how could Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be "all
    living to him (God)", since they all
    died hundreds of years before Jesus said this?

    -64. 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
    ..."?

    -65. In Mt 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to baptize "people ofall
    the nations ...in the name of the Father
    and of the Son and of the holy spirit". Why would the disciples
    be
    instructed to baptize in the name
    of anybody 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"?

    -66. If the human soul IS the person, how could the soul go out ofa
    person (Gen 35:18) or come back
    into a person (1Kings 17:21)?

    -67. 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 says 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."?

    -68. Referring to Lk 12:4-5, what would be left of a person after
    they
    were killed that could be thrown
    into Gehenna?

    -69. 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?

    -70. In Jn 8:56, Jesus says, "Abraham your father rejoiced greatlyin
    the prospect of seeing my 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?

    -71. 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?

    -72. 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, then are
    you following the command of the Father who said "Listen to him"?

    I was wondering if anyone from bethel could put these in "Questions from readers"!!!

    Beans

  • Xander
    Xander

    While a very comprehensive list (and I'm sure it did good bringing people out of the bOrg in its time), it is obviously a bit dated.

    Even the revelation book specifically addresses a LOT of the points mentioned there, the society DOES have an explanation (even if a crappy one) for probably....mmmm...half? the items on that list.

    It'd be great if someone were to cull the list down to show only 'open' doctrinal problems.

    Xander F
    (Unseen Apostate Directorate of North America - Ohio order)

    A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
    --George Santayana

  • Yerusalyim
    Yerusalyim

    Beans,

    Thanks dude, You're pretty cool to accomidate my prudishness.

    YERUSALYIM
    "Vanity! It's my favorite sin!"
    [Al Pacino as Satan, in "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE"]

  • TheOldHippie
    TheOldHippie

    73. Why not type out the questions more readbly?
    :-)

  • bitter mango
    bitter mango
    73. Why not type out the questions more readbly?

    why don't you use ACTUAL words?

    when you blow out like a dead star it reminds me how uniform your beautiful is

  • Mulan
    Mulan

    I agree.........this is hard to read. Edit please, and I will print this out and use it. But some of it is pretty dumb, and easily rebutted.

    Marilyn (aka Mulan)
    "No one can take advantage of you, without your permission." Ann Landers

  • SYN
    SYN

    A lot of nice, damning questions, esp. the first few. Nice work!

    "Until they become conscious, they will never rebel. Until they rebel, they will never become conscious." - George Orwell

  • Beans
    Beans

    -74 The work I must do for my fellow Apostates is gutwrenching yet worth it.

    -75 I only copied it all I wasn`t aware I was to edit it also.

    Requests have been granted and I`m not doing anymore so you can copy it to Word and edit the rest for your needs!

    Love Beans

  • gem
    gem

    The following are excellent questions to ask JWs:
    http://www.freeminds.org/psych/openmind.htm

    It makes them think rather than give a rehearsed answer.

    More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One
    path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total
    extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
    -- Woody Allen

  • teejay
    teejay

    -1. 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.)

    -2. 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.

    -3. Has the Society ever taught anything scripturally incorrect? See Prophecy Blunders of the Organization.

    -4. Might the Society be teaching anything scripturally incorrect now?

    -5. 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.

    -6. Can Jehovah's Witnesses hold and discuss openly with other Jehovah's Witnesses opinions that differ from orthodox Watch Tower doctrine?

    -7. 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!

    -8. 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?

    -9. 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?

    -10. 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"?

    -11. 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"?

    -12. 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?

    -13. 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"?

    -14. 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?

    -15. 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?

    -16. 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!

    -17. 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?

    -18. 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?

    -19. 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)?

    -20. To what was Jesus referring to by the term "this temple" in Jn 2:18- 19? See Jn 2:21.

    -21. If the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, why doe she directly speak and refer to himself as "I" and "me" in Acts 13:2?

    -22. 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?

    -23. In Rev 22:12-13, Jesus Christ, the one who is "coming quickly", says of himself, " I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end". In Rev 1:17-18, Jesus, the one who "became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever", refers to himself as the first and the last. 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 48:12. How can this be since by definition of these words there can only be one first and one last?

    -24. Jn 1:3 says that Jesus created "all things", but in Isa 44:24, God says that he "by myself" created the heavens and the earth and asks the question "Who was with me?" when the heavens and the earth were created. How can this be since if Jesus was created by God, then he would have been with God when everything else was created?

    -25. 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...".

    -26. 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 then does the Bible say that the 144,000 will come from? (See Rev 7:5- 8).

    -27. If the soul is the body, why does Jesus make a distinction between the body and the soul in Mt 10;28 ---28. 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 ..."?

    -29. 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)?

    -30. 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?

    -31. 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 was placed after the word "you", how would it read?

    -32. The NWT translates the Greek word "esti" as "is" in almost every instance in the New Testament (Mt 26:18, 38, 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?

    -33. In Jn 20:28, Thomas refers to Jesus in Greek as "Ho kyrios moy kai ho theos moy". This translates literally as "the Lord of me and THE God of me". Why does Jesus, in Jn 20:29, affirm Thomas for having come to this realization? If Jesus really wasn't the Lord and THE God of Thomas, why didn't Jesus correct him for making either a false assumptionor a blasphemous statement? -34. If Christ will not have a visible return to earth, then how will he be seen by "ALL the tribes of the earth" (Mt 24:30) and by "EVERY eye" (Rev 1:7) when he returns?

    -35. If the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, how could he: Be referred to as "he" and "him" in Jn 16:7-8 and Jn 16:13-14; Bear witness - Jn 15:26; Feel hurt - Isa 63:10; Be blasphemed against - Mk 3:29; Say things - Ezek 3:24, Acts 8:29, 10:19, 11:12, 21:11, Heb10:15-17, 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 ; Be lied to and be God - Acts 5:3-4? -36. 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"?

    -37. Jn 1:3 says in reference to Christ, "All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence". How could Christ have been a created being if ALL things came into existence through him? If Jesus was a created being, then according to Jn 1:3, Jesus would have had to create himself.

    -38. If the spirit of a man has no existence apart from the body, why does Stephen just before his death in Acts 7:59, pray to Jesus to "receive my spirit"? How could Jesus receive Stephen's spirit if a man's spirit ceases to exist when the body dies?

    -39. If the great crowd is to have everlasting life on paradise EARTH, why does 1Thess 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"?

    -40. 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?

    -41. If there is no conscious awareness after death, how could the "spirits in prison" be preached to by Christ after his death (1Pet 3:18-20) and how could the good news be "declared also to the dead" (1Pet 4:6)?

    -42. In Phil 2:9, the NWT inserts the word "other", even though it doesn't appear in the original Greek (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). What is the reason 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" had not been inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the Bible? See Prov 30:5-6.

    -43. Heb 9:28, speaking of Christ, says "... and the second time he appears..." How can Christ APPEAR a second time if he will not have a visible return to earth?

    -44. Amos 4:11 says, "'I caused an overthrow among you people, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. And you came to be like a log snatched out 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...")?

    -45. In Rev 19:1, where does it say that the "great crowd" will be?

    -46. If Christians are persecuted for the sake of Jehovah's name, why did Christ tell the first Christians that they would be persecuted for the sake of his (Jesus') name instead of Jehovah's (Mt 24:9, Mk 13:13, Lk 21:12, 17, Jn 15:21, and Acts 9:16)?

    -47. 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?

    -48. 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).

    -49. In the sermon on the mount, when Jesus was addressing the "great crowd" (Lk 6:17), why did he tell them in Lk 6:22-23, "...your reward is great in heaven ..."?

    -50. In Mt 1:23, who is Matthew referring to here that has been given the name which means "With Us Is God"? -51. In Rev 14:13, how can the dead be "happy" and find "rest" if there is no conscious awareness after death?

    -52. 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 have been posted above his head if his arms were stretched out over his head?

    -53. In Lk 4:12, the NWT translates "kyrios" (Gr-lord) as "Jehovah", which makes the verse read "... 'You shall 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, putting Jehovah to the test or JESUS to the test?

    -54. 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 savior (Lk 2:11, Phil 3:20, Tit 2:13, 3:6, 2Pet 1:1, 2:20, 3:18, etc.)?

    -55. 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 on coming in..." (v.9), how could the souls in Sheol "... speak up and say 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?

    -56. 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?

    -57. Heb 11:16, in speaking about some of the faithful 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?

    -58. 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"?

    -59. In Lk 24:36-39 and in Jn 20:26-27, 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 the 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)?

    -60. If Christ was created by God and was the wisdom of God (Prov 8:1-4, 12, 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?

    -61. 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 the 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, 7:14-15), where does that mean that the great crowd will be?

    -62. 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 angels with him, ...". Since "all the angels" would certainly include Michael the Archangel, is it possible that Jesus could return with himself?

    -63. In Lk 20:37-38, how could Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be "all living to him (God)", since they all died hundreds of years before Jesus said this?

    -64. 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 ..."?

    -65. In Mt 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to baptize "people of all the nations ...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit". Why would the disciples be instructed to baptize in the name of anybody 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"?

    -66. If the human soul IS the person, how could the soul go out ofa person (Gen 35:18) or come back into a person (1Kings 17:21)?

    -67. 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 says 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."?

    -68. Referring to Lk 12:4-5, what would be left of a person after they were killed that could be thrown into Gehenna?

    -69. 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?

    -70. In Jn 8:56, Jesus says, "Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing my 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?

    -71. 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?

    -72. 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, then are you following the command of the Father who said "Listen to him"?

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