Jehovah’s Witnesses: Christian or Cult, Part I

I had an opportunity two weeks ago to speak with a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses that were going door-to-door in my neighborhood. Having not read my copy of The Kingdom of the Cults recently, I was admittedly a little rusty on what beliefs they held that placed them on the cult list in the first place. So I listened to their speech for a few minutes to pick up on some clues. The Holy Spirit was ringing alarm bells in my head as I stood there outside my home and listened to their heretical teachings. After pointing out some scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15 and referencing a passage in Matthew about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob being in heaven, the duo excused themselves citing a need to do more studying before they could address my Bible-based statements that clearly contradicted their belief system. Before they left, one of the gentlemen handed me a copy of their booklet, What Does the Bible Really Teach?, a publication from their parent organization, the Watchtower Society. And as they left, I reminded them that Jesus is the only way and invited them back once they had an opportunity to study so we could chat.

I took the time to dissect their What Does the Bible Really Teach? booklet and was astounded by the number of unbiblical “truths” spread by this organization. In fact, the quotes from scripture contained in the booklet were off somewhat from everything I’d read and been taught. While the two individuals were talking with me, I noticed that they were reading from a Bible, so I did some research into the translation being used, the New World Translation, and was equally stunned at what I discovered.

Strike One: Jehovah’s Witnesses have their own version of the Bible that twists scripture to make it fit their belief system.

According to this Wikipedia article, the New World Translation was created specifically for the Watchtower Society, the parent organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And instead of giving credit to the translation committee responsible for it, the members asked the Watchtower Society to keep their names anonymous, stating that they did not want to “advertise themselves but let all the glory go to the Author of the Scriptures, God,” and that the translation “should direct the reader… to… Jehovah God”. It sounds like to me that the members who made up this committee, which was comprised of multinationals, didn’t want their true affiliations to be known. After having read some of their scripture, it’s clear to me to whom some, if not all, of its members have their allegiance.

Why the new translation? From Wikipedia:

According to the publishers, one of the main reasons for producing a new translation was that most Bible versions in common use, including the Authorised (King James) Version, employed archaic language. The stated intention was to produce a fresh translation, free of archaisms. Additionally, over the centuries since the King James Version was produced, more copies of earlier manuscripts of the original texts in the Hebrew and Greek languages have become available. The publishers claimed better manuscript evidence had made it possible to determine with greater accuracy what the original writers intended, particularly in more obscure passages. They said linguists better understood certain aspects of the original Hebrew and Greek languages than previously.

During my research, I compared the scriptures from the New World Translation against the New American Standard Bible, which was published just after the NWT. For this post, I will reference comparative scripture from the NIV, which was published later than the NWT, and should certainly contain additional better-understood aspects of the original Hebrew and Greek languages. And since it’s never, we should have an even better sense of what the original writers intended. After all, that’s why they came up with the New World Translation, right?

Strike Two: You can lose your salvation.

On page 130 in the aforementioned Watchtower Society booklet, the commandment from the book of Acts to abstain from blood, among other things, is referenced. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe this means individuals should refuse blood transfusions, else the believer would be in direct violation of God’s word. Regardless of whether or not blood transfusions are included as part of Acts 15:28-29, page 130 in the Watchtower guide says this: “But if we tried to save our present life by breaking God’s law, we would be in danger of losing everlasting life.” This is in direct contradiction of John 10:29 (NIV) where Jesus made clear that salvation is eternal: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” John 3:16 (NIV) says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Our salvation isn’t dependent on how good we are or what works we can perform and it’s sealed from the day you became a believer and your sins don’t put it in jeopardy. Either you’re saved or you’re not. No one becomes unsaved, or John 10:29 is a lie. We know from scripture that God does not lie (Hebrews 8:18).

Strike Three: Jehovah’s Witnesses think Christmas is a pagan holiday that real Christians should not celebrate.

Pages 158 and 159 of the Watchtower guide refers to Christmas as unclean because of its supposed ties to a pagan Roman festival which celebrated the “birthday of the unconquered sun.” At the top of page 159, the guide says this: “…those who want to please God do not celebrate it or any other holiday that has its roots in pagan worship.” This contradicts scripture in two places. The first is in Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) which reads, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” It is by faith that we please God, not by our decision to not celebrate Christmas or any other works. The Watchtower guide is also in direct contradiction of Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV) which reads, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Aren’t the Jehovah’s Witnesses judging us for celebrating Christ’s birth at Christmas?

Next time, I’ll delve into additional topics from the Watchtower book that are contradictory of scripture and help you further understand why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cult and not a Christian-based organization.

Click to read Jehovah’s Witnesses:  Christian or Cult, Part II