Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Jehovah's Witnesses: Only One Problem

When that doorbell rings unexpectedly, especially around Easter or Christmas, it just might be a Jehovah's Witness coming to share her publications and a peculiar theological perspective. However, for many people, it is an unwelcome event—especially for Christians rooted in the truth of Scripture. For others it is simply an annoyance. But for a few people it is an opportunity to share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But the difficulty with sharing Christ with Jehovah's Witnesses isn't the information, but the receptivity. It can be a frustrating experience for the immature or the mature Christian. Yet, there is really only one issue that needs to be dealt with if any headway is to be made.

A Jehovah's Witness is trained to defend preconceived ideas and challenge established Christian theology. They have no interest in what you have to say, because you are deceived. Therefore, they are predisposed to not listen to any reasoned argument if it doesn't reflect the Watchtower organization's point of view. Being fully devoted to the Watchtower organization's theological framework they are willing to reinterpret and twist Scripture to agree with the Watchtower.

What makes it more difficult is that they are fully convinced in their own minds that mangling Scripture isn't what they are doing. Instead, they believe that the Scriptures teach what the Watchtower believes. However, when they prove this point they will jump from passage to passage with no regard for context to justify this notion. Then they claim that their way of interpreting Scripture is the norm. "See the apostles use different Scriptures to make their point." What they ignore is that apostles and prophets are clearly ordained by God through visible power and special appointment by Jesus, or God himself, while our goal is to understand what they taught. (The difference between inspiration and perspiration.)

Another issue that makes it very difficult to share with them is that they are willing to tell half-truths, or even lie, to convince people that what they are saying is true. They call this spiritual warfare. The idea is that since Christians are deceived, it is okay to employ this tactic in order to get them to acknowledge their truth.

What's the best approach?


Well, how do you share with people who do these types of things? Ignoring them certainly isn't going to much effective. (Although, there are times when this is the best approach.) When Christians choose to engage a Jehovah Witness, there really is only one problem to deal with. Rather than going through bunny trails and endless debating, just ask them to explain one issue: "Why do you trust that the Watchtower speaks for God?" That really is the issue, isn't it?

Although Witnesses may counter with statements such as, "They only speak what the Bible says", "They don't speak for God, they merely interpret what God said", or even, "Don't you use trusted sources to help you interpret the Bible?", it doesn't matter. Find out why they trust the Watchtower organization (these few men) for themselves—as individuals. Did the men in the Watchtower organization do something to illicit this trust? How can you know what they say matches the Scriptures, if you need them to explain the Scriptures? If they aren't prophets or speak for God, how can they have the authority to teach on extra-biblical theology such as the nature of the Spirit, celebrating birthdays, and so on? And if they are ordained to speak for God (as prophets), how were they ordained and what's the proof?

I've found many times that Jehovah's Witnesses place their trust in the Watchtower organization (men) because they feel deep down inside that these men are telling them the truth. Some have even said that the publications, the Watchtower produces, says that they are telling the truth. (I kid you not.) So the next question is an obvious follow-up: "So, if I told you that I am telling you the truth from God, then why don't you believe me?" Some get the point, while others choose to ignore the problem. But either way, the true issue is exposed, rather than engaging in endless debating.

Whatever happens next really doesn't matter, because the problem still remains: the Jehovah's Witness has her trust in a few elders in a N.Y. office called the Watchtower for no good reason, other than she has chosen to. It is incumbent upon the Witness at your door to demonstrate why you should believe that too.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:24 AM

    You make assumptions about Jehovah's Witnesses which are not founded in their teaching. Their training regularly tells them to engage people in conversation and to listen sincerely to their responses. They place their trust in the Bible, which they use as their authority, not a magazine. But then you conclude that it doesn't matter what happens next because they really want you to belive in a few elders in NY. That NEVER happens and doesn't even make sense. If you predict failure why to you encourage the effort at all? Instead of getting contradictory information spread by word-of-mouth on the net, sincere people will go to the source.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome. Thanks for reading.

    Does the Watchtower speak for God? If so, prove it. That's the only thing that matters. In my first-hand experience and conversations with Witness's that's the sticking point.

    Everyone says they use the Bible as their authority. That's easy to say. But the Witnesses interpret the Bible according to whatever the Watchtower says it says. The Watchtower theology determines how a Witness reads Scripture.

    My advice to Christians is to engage a JW on this issue. Don't spend the time discussing various Scriptures, because we are on different playing fields. Getting the Witness to consider their source of authority is more profitable, and they bear the burden of proof.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:03 PM

    Kerry,

    The short answer is that the Bible speaks for God’s. Always has and always will.
    But the question that should really be on your mind right now is:

    Do I really believe we are in the last days?

    This question is critical in light of the time we live in. The Great Tribulation will be horrendous and Armageddon will be the final executing of all people not found to be sheep.

    If you really believe we are in the last days, it would be prudent to ensure that you are doing what is required by God. That is what’s really critical for all at this point.

    God has used imperfect men to sound the alarms through many centuries. Just think about it! What bible character was perfect except for Gods son, Jesus? And yet, if it was about who was always right and never wrong, Jesus would stand out at the top. Still, people wanted him dead which eventually happened.

    So, when Gods was sounding the warnings through imperfect men (Prophets), imperfect man (Jews) did not listen and lost their lives in 740 and 607 B.C.E. When God used a perfect man (Jesus), imperfect man (Jews) did not listen and lost their lives in 67-70 C.E. So, it is clear that the focus is not so much on the messenger but the message.

    So here we are today, in the last days. The last days of what? What does it mean for mankind? What does it mean for you? Will you survive? If so, how? How much time is left? Is knowing just enough? Is doing just enough? What is required? Where can you get accurate information on how to survive? Is there a warning? If so, what and who has been sounding it and why? What will happen to the earth? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS AND ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!

    All this other stuff you are referencing in this blog adds to the confusion of peoples pursuit of truth, inflates egos, creates frustrations, provides no spiritual light or encourage.

    Who ever can accurately answers to these questions using God’s word is the one you should be putting your confidence. And make no mistake about it, they will be imperfect and make mistakes!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Steve7:23 AM

    Yes it does.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So, Anonymous, essentially, you are saying the Watchtower speaks for God because they are more right than anyone else.

    Thanks for proving my point. (We'll have to agree to disagree.)

    However, we agree about one thing. In the end, someone is right about how to be saved. And someone is dead wrong.

    ReplyDelete