JEHOVAH WITNESS CALLING: Part 4

The Jehovah's Witness belief behind Christmas and birthdays is a biblical stretch.

Yes, it's true that there has been pagan influences on holidays. But the church spit in Satan's face when it took such holidays away from him. Imagine how angry Satan had to be when Constantine (the Christian Roman emperor) took a pagan holiday (the celebration of the solstice on Dec. 25th) and declared that it would honor Christ from that day forward! That, to me, declares that all holidays are Christ's and will honor Him from now on.

It would be like a Rock star coming to know Christ and using his guitar for worship from now on. To say that Christmas is 'unholy' because there was a pagan ceremony originally, is like saying we can't drink our water because it was once polluted even though it has since been purified (reclaimed).

Or like saying I can't drive my minivan because a dysfunctional family may have owned it before I did. That's ridiculous.

To transform and reclaim something that was wicked into something that celebrates the Lord is at the essence of our faith. We are all sinners saved by grace.

• Do we not baptize because of wicked things done in water in our past?
• Do we not sing because of wicked songs our vocal chords have sung before?
• All throughout history, the nation of Israel celebrated holidays and would even use pagan occasions to proclaim God (look at Elijah with the prophets of Baal).

And why wouldn't we celebrate birthdays? The Bible is full of celebrations when children are born! John the Baptist is celebrated when he is born. Jesus is celebrated at His birth. And Hannah celebrates the birth of her son.

Here's the point. Your faith has substance, true, deep, and profoundly Scriptural substance. Stand on it. Don't be intimidated. And approach the Jehovah Witnesses that cross your path with gentleness and humility. In the end, God will bless you.
Check out the rest of my posts on Jehovah Witness Calling, Part 1,2,&3

JEHOVAH WITNESS CALLING: Part 3

So many times, the JW's give the impression that they are more biblical than we are. They cite Scripture to support their positions and act like they are more educated and more true to God's Word.

What they don't tell you (and, to be fair, what most JW's don't know) is that there are huge problems in the JW organization and, with just a little research, you'll find that there are huge problems with their theology. Let me give you a few examples:

1. They changed the Bible. Their New World Translation of the Bible has actually altered the text to fit their beliefs.

An example of this is John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
In their translation they wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." They insert the little word "a."

Now, why did they do that? Because they don't believe Jesus (who is "the Word" in this passage) is God. They believe Jesus is the Archangel Michael. So, in order to keep their belief, they changed the Bible!

Now, how can a movement be biblical if it changes the Bible?
They will argue that the Greek has an "a" there. But I've had five semesters of Greek and I can tell you that no Greek scholar in the world would translate this passage like they do.

And that's pretty easy to prove: If you ask a JW to show you the list of Greek scholars and their academic credentials who worked on their translation, you won't get anything. That's because no Greek scholars worked on their translation!

But you can easily find the list of names and credentials for the scholars who worked on legitimate translations like the King James and the New International and the New American Standard and even the Catholic American Standard.

2. They gave false prophecies. The Bible is real clear about any person claiming to be prophetic: if the prophecy doesn't come true, drop them like a hot rock (okay, that's my version of it, but look at Deuteronomy 13:1-4 which says basically the same thing).

JW's hierarchy gave three false prophecies in 1889, 1922, and 1966. In 1889, the Watchtower (JW publication) predicted that the great day of God Almighty from Rev. 16:14 would end (follow me here):

1. in 1914.
2. Then they prophesied that it would happen in 1925.
3. And then they predicted the return of Jesus would happen in 1975

Thousands of JW's sold their homes and gave away their money thinking that the end of the world would happen on these dates. When nothing happened, there was a mass exodus from the organization with many finding out the hard way that the organization was a fraud.

3. They misread Scripture. For example, where on God's green earth are they getting the idea that the three wise men wanted to kill Jesus and that the star was satanic? There is no evidence in Scripture of this at all! It's clear that the wise men were guided by God (just look at Matthew 2:11-12 where the text clearly says they "worshiped Him" and that they were "divinely" guided).

Check out the rest of my posts on Jehovah Witness Calling: Parts 1,2&4

JEHOVAH WITNESS CALLING: Part 2

Read 2Timothy Chapter 2 again.

Notice the descriptions Paul uses:

• kind
• able to teach
• not resentful
• gently instruct
• in hope

You will get nowhere if you fall into an emotional quarrel with these folks. When it goes that direction, excuse yourself humbly from the conversation.

As Paul says, "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments."
Why?
"Because they produce quarrels," he says.

But Paul doesn't say we're supposed to abstain from talking about our faith. Talk with them if:

• the spirit of the conversation is a true search for truth
• someone comes to you & asks, "Why do you believe what you believe?"

You are to be ready to give a solid, biblical, and thoughtful answer. Paul says we're to be "able to teach."

So, do your homework on Jehovah's Witnesses and be prepared to have a civil conversation about your faith.
Check out the rest of my posts on Jehovah Witness Calling, Parts 1,3&4

JEHOVAH WITNESS CALLING: Part 1

Help! What is this Jehovah Witness thing all about??! Many of us have been caught in the trap of hearing the doorbell ring & answering the door before it hits us “Jehovah Witness calling!” And then it's too late. Here's my advice. Do what 2 Timothy 2 says:

[23] Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. [24] And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. [25] Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, [26] and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Tim. 2:23-26 (NIV)

This is a very appropriate passage for us in this situation because the context is dealing with a group of people who hold to very a similar theology as that of JW's. For example, 2 Tim. 2:17-18:


[17] Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, [18] who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 2 Tim. 2:17-18 (NIV)

These guys, Hymenaeus and Philetus, believed that the believers' resurrection of the end times had already happened and was only a spiritual resurrection (which means that they logically believed Jesus' resurrection was only spiritual as well).

This is a hallmark of JW theology. The JW's do not believe Jesus rose physically, just spiritually. And Paul strongly rejects this teaching. Jesus was resurrected physically. At any rate, the point is that Paul is dealing with JW-like people in the passage and he gives the advice of 2 Timothy 2:23-26.
Check out the rest of Jehovah Witness Calling, Parts 2,3&4.