Bridge of Reason

  It is popularly believed that Christians, when we go to church, hang our brains up at the door. Yet it is my experience that when I try and engage unbelievers in intelligent conversation about great issues of faith, it is so often they who shut down their thinking, who refuse to intelligently engage. This is because they have already decided faith has nothing to offer by way of intelligent conversation. Of course, this is a poor caricature of faith as being by nature unreasonable, like superstition. You either have it, or you don’t, and who can explain it? It’s rather embarrassing, and who would admit to it? An example I think of is that of creation. However you understand the Bible creation narrative, one thing is certain, the universe had a beginning. Science tells us that space, time, and matter came into being at the same moment. There was nothing, then there was...well, everything. That makes the universe contingent. Think of oak trees. If you see an acorn, you would be f...

  The Watch Tower Society insists the title 'Word' means Jesus is 'God's spokesperson': “ The beginning” refers to the time when God began his creative work and produced the Word. Thereafter, the Word was used by God in the creation of all other things. (John 1:2, 3) The Bible states that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation” and that “by means of him all other things were created.”—Colossians 1:15, 16. "The phrase “the Word was a god” describes the divine or godlike nature that Jesus possessed before he came to earth. He can be described in this way because of his role as God’s Spokesman and his unique position as the firstborn Son of God through whom God created all other things." This effectively makes him no more than a great prophet, much as in Islam. As a created being, albeit the first to be created, the only difference between him and other prophets is one of precedence. Does the Bible say Jesus was created? Is Jesus just another spokesperson ...

  The Watch Tower Society has much to say about John 1:1. ‘ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.’ —John 1:1, New World Translation. In Insight on the Scriptures they write: 'This scripture reveals details about Jesus Christ’s life before he came to earth as a human. (John 1:14-17) In verse 14, “the Word” (or “the Logos,” Greek, ho loʹgos ) is used as a title. The title “the Word” apparently describes Jesus’ role in communicating God’s commands and instructions to others. Jesus continued to make known God’s word during his ministry on earth and after he returned to heaven.—John 7:16; Revelation 1:1.' It is noteworthy that the Watch Tower Society utilises words like 'apparently' ‘evidently’ and 'seemingly' quite a lot in their commentary on Bible teaching. It's as if they are determined to not be nailed down and so use ambivalence as a backstop. Their understanding of the word, 'Word,' is that it 'a...

  In our latest Watch Tower Wednesday on the Facebook page we saw the Watch Tower Society teaches , 'The New World Translation is based on up-to-date scholarly research and the most reliable ancient manuscripts. 'Unlike paraphrased translations, the New World Translation renders words literally as long as doing so does not result in awkward wording or hide the thought of the original writings. Translations that paraphrase the Bible’s original text may insert human opinions or omit important details.' This is a big issue with Jehovah's Witnesses, who confidently believe they are bringing the very best translation today to our homes. How would you respond to such claims? Is the NWT superior to other translations? On the Facebook page Bavesh Roger observed , ‘... the NWT actually paraphrases words to fit their teachings. For example, Dr. Bowman correctly points out the paraphrasing of the Greek word " pneuma " in the NWT which has been paraphrased as ...

  In last week’s Watchtower Wednesday on our Facebook page we asked, How can Jesus be 'with God' at the same time as being God? On their website the Watch Tower Society addresses this question: 'The statement “the Word was with God” indicates that two separate persons are discussed in the verse. It is not possible for the Word to be “with God” and at the same time be God Almighty. The context also confirms that the Word is not Almighty God. John 1:18 states that “no man has seen God at any time.” However, people did see the Word, Jesus, for John 1:14 states that “the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory.” There is so much wrong with the Watch Tower article it is difficult to know where to start. They present several ‘facts’ that are really doctrinal assertions. They say: ‘ In the original-language text, the two occurrences of “God” (Greek, the·osʹ ) at John 1:1 are grammatically different. In the first occurrence, the word “God” is ...

I spend a significant amount of time speaking with Jehovah's Witnesses about the deity of Christ. It's one of their favourite topics, since they have memorised verses which seem to indicate that Jesus was created and somehow “less than” the Father. If you are willing to go down this theological rabbit hole with one of Jehovah's Witnesses, you are a brave soul indeed. Yet, such a discussion needn't scare us. Some Christians say that the only thing we can do is share our personal testimony with Jehovah's Witnesses, as any other discussion is fruitless. Whilst a testimony is powerful and I'd certainly encourage sharing it, the fact remains that at some point the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses need to be addressed biblically. Therefore consider: every Jehovah's Witness has one main argument against Jesus deity. If you address their core misunderstanding, the rest may fall down like a house of cards. Let's explore this together and hopefully, h...

In his Theological Word Book of the Bible (an essential on every Bible scholar’s shelf) Alan Richardson points out: ‘The knowledge of God is not reached by abstract speculation as in Gk. philosophy, but in the actual everyday business of living, or social relationships and of current historical events. God is not known by thinking out ideas about him, but by seeking and doing his will as made known to us by prophetic men and by our own consciousness of right and wrong. (cf. John 7:17 , Jas.1:27, 1 John 4:7 .,f 12)’   He cites in particular Jeremiah 22:15-16 , “Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me?’ declares the LORD.” The error upon error of the Watchtower Society is mainly the product of their having sought God in books. This arises from the laudable 19th century preoccupation with universal education and the peculiarly America...

A few years ago a friend of mine gave me an ornament he had made in the shape of the name of God. It must have been about eight inches long, three inches high and perhaps half an inch deep.The idea was that it should sit on the mantle piece, ready for when Jehovah’s Witnesses visit, in the hope that it would be the first thing they would spot on entering our sitting room. What a conversation starter! How could they now claim that we do not know or use “the Name”? Well, it worked – after a fashion. The Witnesses calling on me that summer were charming people and we got along just fine. One of them was intrigued by the name of God sitting above the fire, and we discussed its origins and purpose. I explained that it served as a reminder of the God we serve and as a witness to the fact that we know Him by name. His wonder at the idea that I, a “born-again” Christian, should both know and use the name of God turned to astonishment when, saying that I knew how precious it might be to him, ...