The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and the Trinity

[DannyM]

What's their story?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NIV

The Watchtower's New World Translation renders the third clause of this verse: "The Word was a god."

What?

Now read this link all the way through (it should take no longer than 5 or 10 minutes) and see how these people distort the Word and how they distort the Trinitarian views of the early Christians:

The Watchtower and its apologists justify this translation by citing context ("The Word cannot be the God He is with") and a host of grammatical suppositions ( 2 ). Numerous scholars refute the Watchtower's position on the same grounds of context and grammar ( 3 ). An effective argument can also be made by considering what early Christians believed about Jesus and His divinity. Most of them were fluent in the Koine Greek of the Fourth Gospel, and, in the case of Ignatius of Antioch (see below), were instructed by John the Apostle himself. Thus, if their writings reflect the Son as a secondary god or created angel, the Watchtower position is strengthened. However, if their writings present Jesus as fully divine and co-equal with the Father, Trinitarian scholarship gains powerful support.


http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/e ... arians.htm

So we need to find out what is going on behind the scenes with this group - what is it? Why distort early Christian writings in order to support a theological view which is obviously flimsy in the first place and must therefore alert the perpetrators’ supporters to this fabrication? Are this religion’s adherents encouraged to investigate?

blessings

[Gman]

Hi Danny.. No need to worry about these guys. They are bunk.. They are a cult group that started here in the U.S.. They have made numerous prophetic assumptions that have never come to pass. Their twisting of scripture is well known among the Biblical scholars.

[PaulSacramento]

The JW's are not the only non-trinitarians, there are many of course.
They may be the most numerous though ( not sure about that).
Their view of the trinity is incorrect though, they preach that the Trinity preaches 3 Gods as opposed to ONE God made of 3 persons in perfect harmony.
The preach that Christ was created and that begotten only means "before or foremost" and that Christ is NOT God in nature or essence, that his is as divine as any other heavenly creation, that he was the archangel Michael and that there is only ONE archangel.
The Jw's preach that the HS is nothing but "God's active force", that the HS is impersonal much like an electrical current or something like that.
The preach that the Trinity is a Pagan doctrine and is blasphemy to God.

[DannyM]

Hi Danny.. No need to worry about these guys. They are bunk.. They are a cult group that started here in the U.S.. They have made numerous prophetic assumptions that have never come to pass. Their twisting of scripture is well known among the Biblical scholars.

Thanks Gman. I understand that it is bunkum. But I'm wondering if its followers are a) encouraged to be sceptical, b) discouraged from being sceptical or c) are as deliberately delusional as its leaders. . .

[PaulSacramento]

Hi Danny.. No need to worry about these guys. They are bunk.. They are a cult group that started here in the U.S.. They have made numerous prophetic assumptions that have never come to pass. Their twisting of scripture is well known among the Biblical scholars.

Thanks Gman. I understand that it is bunkum. But I'm wondering if its followers are a) encouraged to be sceptical, b) discouraged from being sceptical or c) are as deliberately delusional as its leaders. . .

JW's are told to use ONLY WT material.
They are told to question all other religions and that the RCC is the Great Babylon that will fall as per Revelation.
They are told that the Trinity is a pagan ideology that has no basis on 1st century and 1st generation Christianity.
The evidence they are presented comes from the books and magazines published by the WTBTS.
They have their own translation of the bible that they pass of as the most correct and in that bible the doctrines of the WT have been enforced by "selective" interpretation of the verses.
They preach that the parousia of Christ started INVISIBLY in 1914 and that in 1919 the WT and the JW's were chosen by Christ as the ONLY group with the truth, they the annointed (144K) are only JW's and that only THEY will go to heaven, the rest of the JW's will live in a paradise on Earth as promise din Revelation.
The annointed are the faithful and discreet slave "class" mention in Matthew.
The Governing Body are the leaders of the Annointed and that the "rank and file" JW's are under them.
Jesus is the mediator ONLY of the annointed and the annointe mediate for the rank and file to Jesus.
So, in order, we have:
Rank and File JW's- Annointed- Governing Body- Jesus- God.
Their baptizmal vows are to Christ, Jehovah AND the organization that is the WT.
The HS is simply and "impersonal" force and the spirit is only like an "electrical current", nothing can be learned from it.
The Lord's supper is held only once a year and ONLY the annointed may partake.
There were only 144K annointed SINCE the death of Christ and once that more is filled in Heaven, the end will come ( eventually).
The do NOT accept blood transfusions, preferring to die rather than get treatment ( if transfusion is the only treatment available).

[DannyM]

Thanks paul

JW's are told to use ONLY WT material

So they are in fact discouraged from scepticism

Makes sense

[PaulSacramento]

Thanks paul

JW's are told to use ONLY WT material

So they are in fact discouraged from scepticism

Makes sense

They are discouraged into questioning the WT but are encouraged to question everything else.
They are point blank told that the WT is the ONLY organization with the truth and even if that truth turns out to be wrong, it is merely a "new light" ( whatever doctrine is replacing the old one proven to be incorrect) to help guide the rank and file.
They are shown all the passages that show the trinity to be incorrect, including John 1:1 in its CORRECT translation of " a god".
Jesus is simple another incarnation of the archangel Michael ( the ONLY archangel according to the WT docrtine).
Jesus is a created being, albeit the first created one.

[DannyM]

They are discouraged into questioning the WT but are encouraged to question everything else.

And what if they read a credible bible and see conflict with their version, are they then encouraged to follow the natural way of inquisitiveness and question this? Or does the encouragement end there?

They are point blank told that the WT is the ONLY organization with the truth and even if that truth turns out to be wrong, it is merely a "new light" ( whatever doctrine is replacing the old one proven to be incorrect) to help guide the rank and file.

Well then surely to any sensible individual this sounds fishy.

They are shown all the passages that show the trinity to be incorrect, including John 1:1 in its CORRECT translation of " a god".

Yeah that’s weird, and my original link goes into that.



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[PaulSacramento]

The WT doctrines dictated the need for a NEW translation of the bible and that is what they did,
The translated the bible according to the WT doctrines.