Bridge of Reason

  In Questions from Readers, the Watch Tower Society addresses the question: ‘ Does Stephen’s prayer to Jesus, as found in Acts 7:59, show that he understood Jesus to be Jehovah?’ The New World Translation gives us: ‘ And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal, and said: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: ‘Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.’ And after saying this he fell asleep in death.’ vv 59,60 They put the name Jehovah in the text where the Westcott and Hort Greek text has the word Lord translating the Greek kurios. Their own Kingdom Interlinear also translates Lord. The article they use is from a 1959 Watchtower: ‘The prayer offered by Stephen when he was being martyred is recorded at Acts 7:59, 60, which says: “And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal and said: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: ‘Jehova...

The Watchtower Society of Jehovah's Witnesses teaches that the doctrine of the Trinity is not found in the Bible or in the teachings of the early church Fathers, that it is of pagan origin. They believe there is a single Deity, named Jehovah, and reject that there are three distinct persons revealed in Scripture, all God, making up the compound "One" of Deuteronomy 6:4. “ The central doctrine of religions of Christendom. According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another, each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three ‘Persons’ are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists. Thus some Trinitarians emphasize their belief that Jesus Christ is God, or that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are Jehovah. Not a Bible teaching.” - R...

  The Watch Tower Society deny the deity, even the personhood of the Holy Spirit. They refer to him as ‘holy spirit,’ in all lower case letters, and often without the essential determiner ‘the’ that indicates personhood. ‘ The correct identification of the holy spirit must fit the scriptures that refer to that spirit ( note they don’t write ‘him’). With this viewpoint, it is logical to conclude that the holy spirit is the active force of God. It is not a person but is a powerful force that God causes to emanate from himself to accomplish his holy will.’ Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p.381 I t is important we have a correct understanding of the Holy Spirit. Only those who confess ‘Jesus as Lord’ are saved (Romans 10:9), and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ and mean it except by the Holy Spirit(1 Corinthians 12:3). Is the Holy Spirit a Person? There are three things that identify personhood: Intellect : The faculty of reasoning, objective understanding Will : The ability t...

  Image by  Dimitris Vetsikas  from  Pixabay   In the Watch Tower book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived we read about Why Jesus Came to Earth (ch.24) ‘ Jesus came to earth particularly to preach about God’s Kingdom, which will vindicate his Father’s name and permanently solve all human ills. However, to give evidence that he is sent by God, Jesus performs miraculous healings. In the same way Moses, centuries before, performed miracles to establish his credentials as God’s servant.’ The Kingdom It is clear from so many texts that Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. John the Baptist, we are told, preached, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ (Mt.3: 2 ) Later in Matthew’s gospel we read, ‘He went throughout Galilee, teaching in t heir synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…’ (Mt.:4:23) Jesus himself insisted, ‘I must preach the good news of the k i ngdom to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.’ (Lk.4:43) Je...

  In last week’s Watch Tower Wednesday on the Facebook Page we saw i n the Reasoning book, p 328, the question 'How can a person know which religion is right?' They suggest a series of tests, beginning with: '(1) On what are its teachings based? Are they from God, or are they largely from men? (2 Tim. 3:16; Mark 7:7) Ask, for example: Where does the Bible teach that God is a Trinity? Where does it say that the human soul is immortal? '(2) Consider whether it is making known the name of God. Jesus said in prayer to God: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:6) He declared: “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Matt. 4:10) Has your religion taught you that ‘it is Jehovah you must worship’? Have you come to know the Person identified by that name—his purposes, his activities, his qualities—so that you feel you can confidently draw close to him?' Do they hav...

Last week, on the Facebook page, I wrote about a discussion I had recently with a Jehovah’s Witness. The name of God inevitably came up. This issue has been done to death, I know, the usual texts thrown back and forth (what Doug Harris would call ‘Wimbledon witnessing’). He came up with the usual argument from Matthew 6, the idea in the Lord’s Prayer that we should sanctify the name. I pointed out, as I always do, that Jesus didn’t use the name in praying, to which he replied: ‘You don’t use his name when you are addressing your father.’ I must agree with him. I never used my father’s name, neither have my children used mine in addressing me. Jason Michael Learner, in the Facebook discussion, wrote: ‘To be fair, there are loads of names for God, Elohim, El Shaddai , LORD and each of these tell us something about His character and personal attributes. Abba is another example, it shows us something about the nature of God's character and the type of relationship that not only Jes...

  In last week’s Watch Tower Wednesday on the Facebook page we saw the International Bible Students of Charles Russell's day became, in 1931, Jehovah's Witnesses. This was under the leadership of Joseph Rutherford, although many groups of International Bible students stayed faithful to Russell, and have survived until today. Jehovah's Witnesses, on their website, address this question of God's name and justify the change, making several main points: Jehovah is the name God gives himself in Isaiah 42:8 and Exodus 3:15. Jesus calls us to 'sanctify' God's name In Matthew 6:9 Joel tells us our salvation is in God's name Joel 2:32 God's name reveals his character But is that name Jehovah? Did Joseph Rutherford create more questions than answers for subsequent generations of Jehovah's Witnesses in his determination to give his followers their distinct identity, as opposed to the simpler name of International Bible students? A Lively Discussion A ...