by researcher1 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hello, my name is Brian Jackson. I am a seventh-day adventist and I am doing a BIBLE project for my 11th grade RELIGION Class and I chose the topic of the Trinity and decided to compare that of the Seventh-day Adventist teachings with that of your teachings.
What do you believe about the trinity?
Also, a little off the topic, but why don't you believe in having an American Flag in your sanctuary?
THANK YOU in advance for your help.
Hey Brian, welcome to the board.
Please keep in mind this is an Ex-Jehovah's Witness board. However, there are many people on here with decades and decades of experience with the Witnesses. I was raised in it and spent 22+ years in it.
The JW's do not believe in the trinity. They believe that God is Jehovah and his Son is Jesus. Two seperate people. Just like you are your father's son. Allied in cause yes. But unique individuals. Also, the "holy spirit" is God's active force. A part of him. Not a seperate identity...just a description of how God excercises his power. Make sense?
Also, the JW's do not put any flag of any nation or organization in their KH (Kingdom Halls = temple, church, etc.). They believe in strict neutrality with regards to this. (However there has been some violation of this as they have had a 10 year relationship with the United Nations that they broke off about 4 years ago. You can go to the UN website and type in Watchtower) They believe Jesus taught that they should be no part of this world and pay Ceasar's things to Ceasar. So therefore they do not support any governments but will abide by their laws so long as they do not conflict with their own beliefs. That being said... there have been instances of "conflict", but I will leave that to you to ask about or do further research as I'm not sure exactly how in-depth your research is going to go.
Brian, while some of us still attend meetings at the kingdom halls of Jehovah's Witnesses, most of us have left and no longer attend.
The official site is www.watchtower.org
PR
No the WTS does not teach that Jesus, God, and the holy spirit are three persons in one God. They do not teach that Jesus is the NT manifestation of the Jehovah of the OT. They teach that the holy spirit is not a person, but is an impersonal force.
For the most part they have not altered this belief. The first few years from 1879, there were members/editors of the WT that felt differently, but they left a few years later.
Other beliefs have changed radically over the years, even flipflopping back and forth. That we could help you with.
There is an SDA from Australia, barry, who posts here. You might be interested in checking out his posts.
Blondie
I like the new avatar blondie...it's more suiting :)
As regards the flag in their meeting places,
They do not put them in buildings they own
but
if they rent a building and there is a flag in it, they do not remove the flag, but leave it where it is.
My grandparents were part of the Watchtower Society when they rented rooms or buildings from the Oddfellows and other organizations that had flags in the room. The flag stayed and they had their meeting.
In large venues, such as areas or stadiums, where flags are displayed on the walls, these flags remain in place during the whole convention of JWs.
Go figure.
Blondie
So you JW's believe in taxes? Because that is supporting the government?
I don't understand how any JW cannot believe in the Trinity. Look at the verses below. They show the similarity between God and Jesus. It shows their equality.
GOD
- From everlasting (Psalm 90:2)
- His years have no end (Psalm 102:27)
- The First and the Last (Isaiah 44:6)
- Alpha and Omega (Revelation 21:6)
- Beginning and the End (Revelation 21:6)
- Remains the same (Psalm 102:27)
- Creator (Psalm 102:25)
- Called God (Isaiah 54:5)
- Called Father (Matthew 23:9)
- Called Lord (Isaiah 50:7)
- Worshipped (Exodus 34:14)
- King of Kings, Lord of Lords (1 Timothy
- Savior (Isaiah 43:11)
- Forgives sins (Isaiah 43:25)
- Redeemer (Isaiah 43:14)
- Knows the heart of man (2 Chronicles )
JESUS CHRIST
- From everlasting (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:4-6)
- His years have no end (Hebrews )
- The First and the Last (Revelation )
- Alpha and Omega (Revelation -16
- Beginning and the End (Revelation -16)
- Remains the same (Hebrews )
- Creator (Hebrews )
- Called God (John )
- Called Father (Isaiah 9:6)
- Called Lord (Romans 10:9)
- Worshipped (John and )
- King of Kings Lord of Lords (Revelation )
- Savior (2 Peter 1:1, 11)
- Forgives sins (Luke )
- Redeemer (Titus , 14)
- Knows what is in man (John , 25)
- In God?s form (Philippians 2:6)
- The express image of God (Hebrews 1:3)
Also, I was researching about their NEW World Translation and found that it has been altered.
For example, in Colossians -16 in the New World Translation it says, ? He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth?.? The word other was actually added to your translation and as you can see that changes the whole meaning of the verse. This is to give the impression that Jesus was a created being, and that He created all other things. In t he original 1950 edition of the New World Translation, the word other was not even put in brackets! How can loyal and sincere Jehovah?s Witnesses like yourself ever find the truth when the organization you have put implicit faith in, tampers with the Bible like this?
Another example is in John 1:1, your translation says, ?In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.? And then in Isaiah 9:6 it portrays him to be the mighty God. So is He one God or two? They contradict themselves many times. The Bible truth is that Jesus is much more than a god ? especially when the Bible shows that men, and even Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4) is called a god. Jesus is fully divine, He is God.
I just have a suggestion, if you are trying to convince a JW that his/her religion is wrong, don't start with the trinity. They are taught how to deal with that issue.
I would start with their history of prophetic dates that have failed 1874, 1914, 1915, 1925, 1975.
Blondie
JWs believe that Jesus is Michael the Archangel (angel as in created being), and I believe so do many in the SDA Church, (though the SDA that believe this belive that Jesus is God, and not a created angel).
There are problems with any Jesus - Michael teaching.
HEY! I just had a great idea: I will go to a Jehovah's Witnesses' board and say I have some doubts about their religion... then I will show them some verses to prove how wrong they are!!
How come no one has ever thought of this before??
Well, FYI...
1. Many, many people have done that before.
2. All of them did not take the time to realize that this is an EX-Winessess board.
Good luck to you!
