If so, then why are JWs so against using the term "church"? I found this link that explains how the word "church" came to be in the bible. http://www.theexaminer.org/volume2/number6/editor.htm
The Myth of
The "CHURCH" of the Bible
The English word "church" should not be in the New Testament (NT) Scriptures at all! That is why it is put in quotation marks in the title. That English word is not a translation of the Greek word "ekklesia" Modern use of the word "church" almost always has reference to (1) a religious institution or organization, or (2) to a material building called a "church." That was not the meaning of the common Greek word "ekklesia" in the time the Scriptures were written.In the day of Christ and His apostles, the word "ekklesia" was an everyday word that simply meant "assembly," "congregation,' or "gathering" of people. Any gathering of people, whether religious, political, or even criminal in purpose, was called an "ekklesia." The word itself gives no indication of the kind or the purpose of the assembly (ekklesia). In Acts 19:32, 41, ekklesia is translated "assembly" and refers to an unlawful gathering, a mob. In the same context it has reference to a "lawful assembly" in Acts 19:39. The word ekklesia appears more than 100 times in the Greek NT Scriptures, but only in these three instances in Acts 19 is the word actually translated! Isn't that incredible? Why? If the Greek word "ekklesia" really means the same thing as the English word "church," why did not the translators render it "church" in these three cases?
There is a reason why the word "church" is substituted for a translation of ekklesia, but it is without any justification whatever. To put it simply, the word "church" appears in the King James Version (KJV) because King James ordered it there. He demanded that the word ekklesia not be translated by the word "congregation" or "assembly!" Thus the translators were forbidden to render the true meaning of the word, except in the three above instances and were required by the King to substitute the word "church." In fact, Rule 3 of the "Rules to be observed in the Translation of the Bible" specifically says: "The old Ecclesiastical words [were] to be kept, viz. the word church not to be translated congregation, etc." The translators obeyed the King and that version is rightly called the King James Version! The English word "church" does not belong in the Scriptures!
Hopefully you can now understand the reason for the heading of this article: The myth of the "church" of the Bible. The Lord does not have a Church! In the February 1987 Examiner Dusty Owens dealt extensively with this subject under the heading: "CHURCH: From God or Man?" Read and study it.
The Myth of
The "CHURCH" of the Bible
The English word "church" should not be in the New Testament (NT) Scriptures at all! That is why it is put in quotation marks in the title. That English word is not a translation of the Greek word "ekklesia" Modern use of the word "church" almost always has reference to (1) a religious institution or organization, or (2) to a material building called a "church." That was not the meaning of the common Greek word "ekklesia" in the time the Scriptures were written.In the day of Christ and His apostles, the word "ekklesia" was an everyday word that simply meant "assembly," "congregation,' or "gathering" of people. Any gathering of people, whether religious, political, or even criminal in purpose, was called an "ekklesia." The word itself gives no indication of the kind or the purpose of the assembly (ekklesia). In Acts 19:32, 41, ekklesia is translated "assembly" and refers to an unlawful gathering, a mob. In the same context it has reference to a "lawful assembly" in Acts 19:39. The word ekklesia appears more than 100 times in the Greek NT Scriptures, but only in these three instances in Acts 19 is the word actually translated! Isn't that incredible? Why? If the Greek word "ekklesia" really means the same thing as the English word "church," why did not the translators render it "church" in these three cases?
There is a reason why the word "church" is substituted for a translation of ekklesia, but it is without any justification whatever. To put it simply, the word "church" appears in the King James Version (KJV) because King James ordered it there. He demanded that the word ekklesia not be translated by the word "congregation" or "assembly!" Thus the translators were forbidden to render the true meaning of the word, except in the three above instances and were required by the King to substitute the word "church." In fact, Rule 3 of the "Rules to be observed in the Translation of the Bible" specifically says: "The old Ecclesiastical words [were] to be kept, viz. the word church not to be translated congregation, etc." The translators obeyed the King and that version is rightly called the King James Version! The English word "church" does not belong in the Scriptures!
Hopefully you can now understand the reason for the heading of this article: The myth of the "church" of the Bible. The Lord does not have a Church! In the February 1987 Examiner Dusty Owens dealt extensively with this subject under the heading: "CHURCH: From God or Man?" Read and study it.