Bridge of Reason

  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...

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...