Bridge of Reason

In an article in the  July 2014 Ensign magazine , t he current Mormon president, Russell M Nelson, a Mormon apostle at that time , addresses the issue of the gathering of Israel and the second coming. The theme is a subject for another time but I want to pick up on one almighty untruth right there towards the end of the piece. Claiming that the Book of Mormon is  “the instrument to bring about the gathering,”  and that it clarifies the connection of the Mormon Church with the biblical house of Israel, Nelson goes on to assert: “ The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel. Without the Book of Mormon, we would know little about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” A footnote to this astonishing claim states: “ The word atonement in any of its forms appears in only one verse of the King James Version of the New Testament (see Romans 5:11). It appears in 24 verses of the Book of Mormon.” ‘ In any of its forms?’ Of course, as a Christian, I instinctively react ...

Isaiah 43:10 is a familiar text in this ministry. It is routinely misused by Jehovah’s Witnesses as an apologetic for their use of ‘the name’ It is not, however, a call to use God’s name, but a call to witness before a world full of gods the character and works of God, his sovereignty, aseity. He alone is God and his people are called to witness to these things. You Will be my Witnesses God demonstrates his determination to be glorified in his works, his delivering of Israel out of bondage in Egypt: ‘ For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you, peoples in exchange for your life.’ Isaiah 43: 3,4 Isaiah paints a picture of a great trial in which these other gods are openly challenged: ‘ Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! All the nations gather together, and the people assemble. Who among you can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them brin...

  I recently spent a day in London as a tourist. I had come down to spend time with my son who works in London and lives just inside the M25 ring. During the day I had the opportunity to interact with a number of Jehovah’s Witness teams on their carts. The conversations went much like I expected, having had many such conversations, but there were a few points that stood out for me. The first team I noticed were outside the tube station in Theydon Bois where my son lives. This was at 7:30am, just as the morning commuter rush hour was getting going. This cart couple were well dressed, as always, and made no attempt to interact with us as we passed, as always. My immediate thought was why were they there at that time and place bearing in mind that no one had the time to stop and chat at that point in their days?  I think the most likely reason was that they didn’t expect anyone to  stop, which was the whole point of choosing that time and place. Many former-Jehovah...

  The above title comes from a jw.org article as an answer to one of their Frequently Asked Questions .   This is of particular interest around this time as they have just celebrated their annual memorial of Christ’s death.   I have to say, for full disclosure, that I have never attended one of these memorial meals despite having been invited several times.   I just don’t think I could manage to bite my tongue hard enough not to respond to the talks being made.   However, I have read and listened to a number of accounts from non-Jehovah’s Witnesses who have attended, some repeatedly over many years.   The Memorial Meal , as Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to their version of communion, only takes place once a year and is always regarded as a very special event.   As they do not celebrate any other event, such as Easter, Christmas, birthdays, Pentecost, and so forth, they do make a big thing of it. Potentially millions of invites are handed out around the...

Pompey   The first permanent stone theatre in Rome was built by the Republican general and political leader Pompey in 55 BC. The Theatrum Pompeii was the biggest of three theatres built in the Campus Martius . It was described as wanton, licentious, the stronghold of every vice. The censors of the day, concerned for the moral welfare of the public, often sought to close down shows, even close the theatres. Pompey, concerned for his legacy, attempted to get around the censors by building a temple to Venus over his theatre, ‘under which,’ he said, ‘we have put rows of seats for the shows.’ A newly converted Tertullian wrote: ‘Thus did he cloak this damned and damnable work under the name of a temple, and by the aid of superstition eluded the rule.’ (From De Spectaculis , or Treatise on Public Shows ) It seems to me that many churches today have followed the example of Pompey. The sense of the sacred has been replaced by the call of the carnal as clowns and jesters roam the court...

  Jehovah’s Witnesses were originally members of Charles Russell’s Bible Student Movement . It was in 1931, under the leadership of Joseph Rutherford, who had seized control of the movement, that they became Jehovah’s Witnesses. Isaiah 43:10 is the organisation’s apologetic for being Witnesses of Jehovah: “ You are my witnesses,’ declares Jehovah, ‘Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and have faith in me…’ On the face of it that seems reasonable enough. However, the Watch Tower Society is a Restorationist as well as an Adventist movement and claim to have restored Jehovah’s Organisation of the 1 st Century. While they emphasise how the early church was organised, they seem to have misunderstood what they were organised to do. In the above linked article, they write: ‘ Jesus made God’s name known.   In prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus said: “I have made your name known.” ( John 17:26 ) In line with Jesus’ example, Jehovah’s organization does eve...