As I mentioned on another thread, I received a hand written letter posted to my home by 'a neighbour' who gave only her first name and email address (not recognised by me). The letter invited me to join a 'Bible Reading Group' in my locality to understand the world's current problems and made no secret of the fact that writer is a Jehovah's Witness. I regarded this as an unusual opportunity because, when they call at the door, they are prepared and we are not so they have us 'on the backfoot'. But when you are emailing them, you have plenty of time to prepare your points and time to respond to theirs. I already knew a few of their unconventional beliefs but did a bit of research and sent her several queries about the inaccuracy of their bible 'translation' and raised one or two other points (e.g. their belief that Jesus and the Archangel Michael are one and the same!). Initially I was getting fairly rapid responses but I was ready for her 'standard' responses and answered them from a Catholic perspective (which is eminently more logical). After a half dozen or so exchanges, she has suddenly stopped replying. My guess is that some of my more difficult points have been 'passed upstairs' and she has been instructed to end contact. However, I found a lot of useful information in my research and I would particularly like to share this from an ex-JW which he says always confuses them as they are unable to provide a logical response. You: ‘Before we begin this conversation, will you answer me a couple of questions to my satisfaction and then you can ask me anything you like, is that OK?’ JW: ‘Yes’. You: ‘So you believe that Jehovah is Almighty God?’ JW: ‘Yes’ You: ‘So, is Jehovah a true god or a false god?’ JW: ‘A true god, of course.’ You: ‘You don’t believe that Jesus is Jehovah, do you?’ JW: ‘No, absolutely not.’ You: ‘But in your translation of the Bible, John 1:1 it says ‘In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was A god’. So, was Jesus a false god or a true god?’ (Note; only their New World Translation includes the indefinite article which should not be there but don’t argue this point.) JW: ‘A true god’. You: ‘Now in Isiah 9:6 is says of Jesus, ‘He will be called…..mighty God….. And note, your translation does not, this time, include the indefinite article and call Jesus A god. Please check that if you wish.’ JW: ‘Yes, that’s correct.’ You: ‘So you have TWO TRUE GODS?’ (JW will pause for a while, this will almost certainly be a line of interrogation that is new to him). JW: (Something along the lines of) ‘They are both gods but Jehovah is the first and almighty God’. You: ‘But in your own translation Isiah 43:10 it says: ’Before me no God was formed, and after me there has been none’. So there is and can only be one God according to Isiah in your own translation but you have already told me that you recognise at least TWO TRUE GODS.’ At this point you have won but they will not concede and they may bring up the fact that Satan (to them) is a god. To which you ask, ‘Is he a true god or a false god?’ and they will say ‘He’s a false god’. You: ‘So you still have TWO TRUE GODS.’ The JW may refer to Exodus 7:1 where God says to Moses: ‘I have made you like God to Pharoah and Aaron…’ But, this of course does not make Moses a God which he/she will be forced to admit. The JW will probably want to raise points on unrelated matters but you say. ‘No, sorry, you haven’t answered my points and we agreed that, unless you did then you couldn’t ask me any questions. Thank you and goodbye. (You might say: 'Here is my email address, if you wish to know about other inconsistencies in JW beliefs, please feel free to contact me.') DOOR CLOSES.
after the pandemic started they just went away with their proselytizing around here, the last time I witnessed their visit most of the conversation was about my astigmatism and myopia problem.
I figured with the cov id they would stop knocking on doors and it seems they have. But I see they are using other methods now although there has never been anything in our mailbox...
My funniest one was with two young Mormons I met on the street. Really nice pleasant young Americans. I was not trying to be difficult but was very curious about the underwear, the very special underwear they have to wear. No one tells them about this until they are truly bought into joining up, then it is sprung on them. Apparently it's truly horrible but a big , big secret that no one out side the Mormons is ever supposed to know about. But of course with the internet every body knows everything. Well my first question was about their underwear and they looked like they had had a fatal shock , their mouths dropped open and they were truly horrified. One said to the other, 'How did he know?' in tones of shocked awe. 'The internet!!' the other hissed in tones of deep disgust. Then they both stomped off in a fury after wheeling round and turning their backs on a surprised but amused me. Poor people, that underwear thingy must be a murder picture.
One thing about the Jehovah Witnesses that pleased me was this. They are atrociously and fiercely anti Catholic, its almost a full time mission with them. Anyway years back when the Clerical Child abuse thing came out in the open they really went to town. The Watch Tower Magazine was just full of it, week after week delighting in it all that the Whore of Babylon had been exposed etc. Then a truly horrendous series of child abuse scandals were exposed in their own highest ranks. Suddenly no mention about the goings on of the Whore of Babylon in Rome...
Another point made to my JW friend (which might be helpful to anyone else who finds themselves dealing with these poor heretics) arises from the fact that the JW's believe that Jesus and the Archangel Michael are one and the same. They conclude this from 1 Thess. 4:16 which says 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with an archangel's voice, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first'. So they conclude that the archangel's voice comes from the Lord and that he must therefore also be the archangel. The word 'archangel' is used only twice in the whole bible (to my great surprise), the other being Jude 1:9 when the archangel is specifically called Michael. So they conclude that there is only one archangel and he is Michael and also 'The Lord/Jesus'. My response was: you might be aware that in the time of Jesus and before, a kings arrival in a place was announced by a herald and by a fanfare (played on a trumpet or similar instrument) so that the people would be warned and readied to show appropriate respect and to welcome him. This is exactly what is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: The Archangel is the herald and not, of course, the King who is Jesus. Perhaps C.T. Russell had not studied the ways in which the arrival of a King was announced in Biblical times and certainly well beyond.
