Bridge of Reason

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Thoughts from the Carts

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...

Why Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Observe the Lord’s Supper Differently from the Way Other Religions Do?

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...

The Pompey Generation

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...

Witnesses of...Jehovah?

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...

The Dangers of Adding to the Bible: Guest Post by Jacob Lambert

T oday, when we come across Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons we find that they are led by a group of people who hold unquestioned authority. Members of this group know this, some even believe it themselves. This puts them in a powerful position, even to the point where they can create their own Bible. Two examples are the J oseph S mith Translation of the Mormons and the N ew W orld T ranslation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. T hey can add words into their own Bible, words that are not in other, respectable, translations. F or example, in the Greek, C olossians 1:1 6 say s that J esus created all things: ‘ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.’ Col.1:15,16, ESV Jehovah’s Witnesses say that this runs counter to their understanding that Jesus is God’s first creat...

Resurrection or Cloning?

In the film “The Sixth Day”, based in the near future where cloning of pets is allowed but not of humans, the main character, Adam, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, wakes up in a taxi, not knowing how he got there. He travels home only to see another man inside with his family; this man looks exactly like him. Before being able to confront the imposter, Adam is attacked by unknown assailants and has to run. This being an Arnie movie there are lots of shoot outs and the body count is high as Adam attempts to find out what is going on. It turns out that he has been cloned and the cloning company is trying to clear up the loose ends. Spoiler alert; it turns out he is the clone and the other Adam is the original. The story highlights some problems with the Watchtower’s ideas about ‘resurrection’. They teach that, at death, who we are ceases to exist; there is no soul or spirit that survives death, nothing of our essence continues on. ...