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Essays

Is It Proper to Worship Jesus? (via Equip)
Consistent with their denial of the deity of Christ, the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that Christ should be worshiped. Such worship is viewed as unscriptural and a form of idolatry. What most Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t know is that for more than 60 years Watch Tower founder C. T. Russell (d. 1916) and his successor J. F. Rutherford (d. 1942) taught the worship of Christ, a belief that would be expressed even after Rutherford’s death. In 1944, the Watch Tower Society’s charter was amended and Article II stated that one of the purposes of the Society was for “public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ Jesus.” After changing this doctrine in 1954 by prohibiting the worship of Jesus, efforts were made to hide this portion of the charter whenever it was cited in Watch Tower publications. In the Bible, worship and prayer are consistently linked; consequently Witnesses must also deny that Jesus can be addressed in prayer — contrary to what Russell taught. Clearly, in Scripture Jesus was — and should be — worshiped, and Jesus invited His followers to address Him in prayer — which they did. The testimony of Jay Hess records how a once-dedicated Witness apologist concluded Jesus should be worshiped, which resulted in his disfellowship by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. After further investigation of the Scriptures, he concluded, “I have made Jesus my Lord and my God.”

Faith of Our Fathers (Part 2) (via Equip)
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force and deny His deity. They further deny that the soul survives physical death and that hell is a place of conscious eternal punishment for the wicked. Moreover, the Witnesses imply that the early church believed as they do about these doctrines. Examination of early Christian literature, however, refutes these claims. It demonstrates that the early church believed in the full deity and personality of the Spirit. It also reveals that they believed in a soul that survives death and in a place of conscious eternal punishment for the wicked. There is no historical evidence from the earlieat years following the apostles for any group believing as the Witnesses do today. The absence of such evidence provides an opportunity for Christians to undermine the legitimacy and authority of the Watchtower Society, a necessary step for leading Jehovah’s Witnesses to Christ.

Faith of Our Fathers (Part 1) (via Equip)
The Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) claims to be the sole religious group faithful to the teachings of Christ and the apostles today. The Witnesses believe that the Christian church, which they refer to as "Christendom," fell into a great apostasy after the death of the apostles and became corrupted with the doctrines and ideas of Greek paganism and philosophy. Among the doctrines corrupted was the nature of Christ, whom they maintain was the first creation of Jehovah God. The Witnesses further claim that there has always existed, since the time of the apostles, a group of faithful, anointed men who taught and believed as they do today. They often cite passages from the early church fathers to demonstrate that these men held the same beliefs as contemporary Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, examination of the writings of the early church fathers provides no evidence to substantiate the claim that a great apostasy occurred in the church following the death of the apostles. Moreover, the church fathers refute rather than support Watchtower teachings about Jesus Christ.

Getting over the Hurdles of the New World Translation (via Equip)
Believers who attempt to present the message of Christ to Jehovah’s Witnesses face several daunting obstacles, particularly those involving the Watchtower’s New World Translation of the Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses usually dispute several key passages and often are well trained in making presentations on these passages. Many believers feel inadequate to address questions that touch on the correct translation of the original Greek or Hebrew languages and so have no response. Others collect quotes from their favorite scholars about these passages, but the conversation usually ends in a stalemate because neither side can overwhelm the other with enough citations to settle the dispute. There is another approach to discussing the New World Translation and its questionable rendering of certain passages, one that not only bypasses the typical objections and defenses, but also provides a clear witness to the truth. This approach involves demonstrating the consistent testimony that the biblical context gives to the truth that a disputed passage contains, thereby exposing the underlying bias and inconsistency of the New World Translation. Even believers who have no training in Greek and Hebrew can use this approach to clear some of the hurdles commonly encountered when trying to reach Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Effectively Sharing the Deity of Christ with Jehovah’s Witnesses (via Equip)
How many times have you prepared ahead of time for a discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness on certain key Bible verses, only to get bogged down arguing over John 1:1, John 10:30, and other passages in which Jesus is called "God"? "Oh," the Witness responds, "we do believe Jesus is a god. Isaiah 9:6 calls him a mighty god. But he is not the Almighty God." Then you hear that men are sometimes called "gods" (John 10:34) and God made Moses to be a "god" to Pharaoh (Exod. 7:1). When the encounter is over, you feel about as frustrated as the Buffalo Bills after the Super Bowl. To avoid this problem we must learn to...

Discussing Deity with Jehovah’s Witnesses (via Equip)
Encounters between Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses typically revolve around a discussion of deity. The reason for this is twofold: 1) This is the area where Watchtower theology deviates most dramatically from orthodox Christianity. In contrast to the trinitarian concept of one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the JWs have been taught to believe that God the Father alone is "Jehovah," the only true God; that Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel, the first angelic being created by God; and that the Holy Spirit is neither God nor a person, but rather God's impersonal "active force." 2) The subject of deity is a frequent confrontational focus because both Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians (at least those who like to witness to JWs) feel confident and well-prepared to defend their stand and attack the opposing viewpoint.

The Wise and Faithful Servant (via Equip)
The Jehovah’s Witnesses most important claim is that after Christ Jesus began his supposed invisible reign in 1914, he examined the religious organizations on earth and selected the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as his “faithful and wise servant” (Matt. 24:45–47) in 1919. Jesus chose the Watch Tower to be his sole channel and only organization in which a person can serve Jehovah God and gain eternal life. The basis for their claimed selection was that the Watch Tower Society provided “the right sort of [spiritual] food, at the proper time.” If the Society’s current doctrinal “truth” is used as the standard, however, then this claim is suspect since much of what the Society taught before, during, and even after 1919 was later rejected by the Society as erroneous, including certain interpretations of Scripture, particular prophecies, creature worship, idolatry, and certain specific practices that were said to be pagan in origin. The Society even identified some teachings as deceptions of the Devil. This record of doctrinal changes does not support the claim that “God’s holy spirit” directed this organization. Even former Watch Tower leadership member Raymond Franz concluded, “It would be an insult to Christ Jesus to say that he selected this organization on the basis of what it was teaching uniquely and distinctly, as of 1919.”

Beth-Shan and the Return of the Princes (via Equip)
Beth-Shan, named only once in Watch Tower publications, gives another significant insight into the history and teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Predictions made concerning the resurrection of the pre-Christian "princes" failed, and the teachings concerning them over the years are in obvious self-contradiction. Positions taken and doctrines promoted in the 1940s have either been rejected by the Witness leadership or have been proven wrong by history. Beth-Shan, supposedly held in trust awaiting the "princes" return, was sold. Contrary to the Watch Tower Society’s claim, the testimony of history proves that this organization is not God’s chosen channel of communication.

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