stumpers for the jehovah's witnesses

8/14/2019 Stumpers for the Jehovah's Witnesses

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/stumpers-for-the-jehovahs-witnesses 1/5



made by an "anonymous" committee, which transliterated and altered passages thatwere problematic for earlier JWs. Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, Albert Schroeder,George Gangas, and Milton Henschel were later identified as the men that createdthe text, which is used by no other sect. Franz studied non-biblical Greek for twoyears, and taught himself Hebrew. The rest had no formal training in any biblicallanguage. The text of the NWT is more of a transliteration to fit theologicalpresumptions than it is a true translation. This can be seen in key verses thatthe WTS changed in order to fit its doctrines.

To undermine the divinity of Christ in John 1:1, the NWT reads, " . . . the wordwas a god." Non-JW Greek scholars call this "a shocking mistranslation,""incorrect," "monstrous," and "evidence of abysmal ignorance of the basic tenetsof Greek grammar." Furthermore, Col. 1:15-17 has been changed to "... by means ofhim all [other] things were created." If the text were left as the original Greekreads, it would clearly state that Jesus created all things. However, the WTScannot afford to say that anyone but Jehovah created all things, so it insertedthe word "other" four times into the text.

The 1950, 1961, and 1970 editions of the NWT said that Jesus was to be worshipped(Heb. 1:6), but the WTS changed the NWT so that later editions would support itsdoctrines. The translators now decided to render the Greek word for "worship"

(proskuneo) as "do obeisance" every time it is applied to Jesus, but as "worship"when modifying Jehovah. If the translators were consistent, then Jesus would begiven the worship due to God in Matthew. 14:33, 28:9, 28:17, Luke 24:52, John9:38, and Hebrews 1:6.

At the time of the Last Supper, there were over three dozen Aramaic words to say"this means," "represents," or "signifies," but Jesus used none of them in hisstatement, "This is my body." Since the WTS denies the Catholic teaching on theEucharist, they have taken the liberty to change our Lord’s words to "This meansmy body" in Matthew 26:26.

The NWT also translates the Greek word kurios ("Lord") as "Jehovah" dozens oftimes in the NT, despite the fact that the word "Jehovah" is never used by any NT

author. It should also be asked why the NWT does not translate kurios as "Jehovah"in Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 12:3, Philippians 2:11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, andRevelation 22:21. If it did translate kyrios consistently, then Jesus would beJehovah!

3. Is "Jehovah" God’s Name?

In Reasoning From the Scriptures the WTS teaches that "Jehovah" is the properpronunciation of God’s name, and so "Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovahwill be saved" (Rom. 10:13). They continue, "Many scholars favor the spelling

‘Yahweh,’ but it is uncertain and there is not agreement among them. On the otherhand, ‘Jehovah’ is the form of the name that is most readily recognized, becauseit has been used in English for centuries . . . " (p. 195).

However, the JWs’ own Aid to Bible Understanding says, "The first recorded use ofthis form [Jehovah] dates from the 13th century C.E. [after Christ]. RaymundusMartini, a Spanish monk of the Dominican order, used it in his book Pugeo Fidei ofthe year 1270. Hebrew scholars generally favor ‘Yahweh’ as the most likelypronunciation" (pp. 884-885).

New Testament Greek always uses the word "Lord," and never "Jehovah," even in



quotes from the Old Testament (OT). Encyclopedia Judaica, Webster’s Encyclopedia,Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Universal Jewish Encyclopedia andcountless others agree that the title "Jehovah" is erroneous, grammaticallyimpossible, and was never used by the Jews.

4. Do Humans Possess an Immortal Soul?

Another mistake made by JWs is their denial of the immortality of the soul. TheBible mentions the soul approximately 200 times, and it can be seen to have verydifferent meanings according to the context of each passage. This tract willsimply demonstrate that the soul is immortal according to Scripture.

Perhaps the strongest contradiction of the WTS doctrine is seen in Christ’sdescent to Hades. In 1 Peter 3:19, the apostle tells his audience how Jesus"preached to the spirits in prison." If the dead were aware of nothing, then hispreaching would have been futile. In the OT, the prophet Isaiah speaks of thecondition of the dead, "Sheol underneath has become agitated at you in order tomeet you on coming in . . . all of them speak up and say. . . . Those seeing you

will gaze even at you, saying . . . " (Is. 14:9-11). These verses indicate clearlythat the dead are conscious, and the NT tells the same story. To be absent fromthe body is not to be unconscious, but rather it enables one to be home with theLord, according to Paul (2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:23). The body is just a tent, ortabernacle that does not last (2 Cor. 5:1-4; 2 Pet. 1:13), while man cannot killthe soul (Matt. 10:28). In fact, the souls live past the death of the bodies,since John "saw . . . the souls of those slaughtered . . . and they cried with aloud voice, saying . . . and they were told . . . " (Rev. 6:9-11). Because thesoul does not die with the flesh, those in heaven are able to offer our prayers toGod (Rev. 5:8), and live in happiness (Rev. 14:13).

5. Is Hell Real or Not?

The WTS also maintains that everlasting punishment is a myth and a lie invented bySatan. Hell is merely mankind’s common grave, and is definitely not a fierytorture, according to them.

According to Scripture, if one is in hell, "he shall be tormented with fire andsulfur . . . the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and day andnight they have no rest" (Rev. 14:11). This is an "everlasting fire prepared forthe devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Jesus tells his listeners of Lazarus andthe rich man, where the rich man dies, and is "existing in torment . . . he sees .. . calls out . . . ‘I am in anguish in this blazing fire’" (Luke 16:19-31). As a

further illustration, Jesus stated that hell is likened to Gehenna. This "Valleyof Hinnom" was located southeast of Jerusalem, and was used as a garbage dumpwhere trash and waste were continuously burned day and night in a large fire.Jesus informs the listeners that hell is like this, "where the maggot does notdie, and fire is not put out" (Mark 9:42-48). It is the place where the wicked aresent, and from this "everlasting fire" (Matt. 18:8) will come "weeping and thegnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12). Now if hell were "a place of rest in hope" as theWTS teaches, then it is odd that Jesus would choose such contradictoryillustrations to convey this. Lastly, Revelation 20 calls hell a "pool of fire . .. [where] they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever"—all who are notin the book of life. So, if one’s name is in the book of life, one enters heaven



(Rev. 21:27). If it not in the book, then a literal hell awaits.

For more information on refuting JW beliefs, see the Catholic Answers tract MoreStumpers for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materialspresented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.

Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004

IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827permission to publish this work is hereby granted.+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004

stumpers for the jehovah's witnesses

Documents