Jehovah's Witnesses

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

SUMMARY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 3

CRITIQUE OF KEY BELIEFS OF THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 5

PROPOSED PLAN FOR SHARING CHRISTIANITY 7

CONCLUSION 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY 10

INTRODUCTION

The belief system of the Jehovah's Witnesses in many ways appear similar to that of mainstream Christians; however under closer scrutiny the religious belief system is easily seen for what it is: a cult that has deceived millions of unsuspecting believers. There are numerous beliefs that frame the Witnesses' religious system. Each of these beliefs has an air of truth about them as they mimic a Scriptural truth, but they do not stand up to a close comparison to the truths of the Holy Scripture. A systematic approach in sharing the principles of the Christian faith can be an effective evangelism tool in discussions with Jehovah's Witnesses converts.

SUMMARY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

Charles Taze Russell started the Jehovah's Witnesses authoritarian leadership system in the late 1870's. After Russell's death in 1916, a Missouri lawyer named Joseph "Judge" Rutherford assumed the presidency of the society. Nathan Knorr assumed the presidency in 1942 and reigned until a cerebral tumor claimed his life in 1977. Frederick William Franz assumed the leadership role in June 1977. Franz was the leading theologian of the Watchtower Society and had a key role in the preparation of the New World Translation (NWT) bible. He would lead the Society until his death at the age of 99 in Brooklyn, New York. Milton Henschel succeeded Franz on December 30, 1992. Henschel would continue as president until major organizational changes, which came about in 2000, resulted in his resignation of the office. Don A. Adams became the sixth president of the Watchtower society and continues in the role today; he serves in a purely administrative role and has not had the impact of the divinely guided leaders of the past. The society's theology and basic belief system was constantly challenged as each leader was forced to refute prior leader's claims and in some cases introduced controversial new beliefs of their own.

There are many unique beliefs that set the Jehovah's Witnesses apart from mainstream Christianity. In some instances (as in the various false end time prophecies from the Watchtower Society), the beliefs have brought negative publicity to the Society. There are several core beliefs that shape the doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

They deny the deity of Jesus Christ. They teach that Jesus was not God, but was God's first creation. Jesus existed in human form and after his death, God raised him as a spirit creature. Col 1:15 NWT provides an example of this belief: "He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation". In short, they do not believe in worshipping Christ, and that he is merely a created angel named Michael who is inferior to His Father.

Christ's death made salvation possible, but the institution of a works oriented system is also required for salvation. They believe that although salvation is possible through the vicarious death of Christ, one must not only have faith in Jesus but must also prove oneself a loyal subject of God. In order to be considered a loyal subject, one must accept Witness beliefs, must be baptized a Jehovah's Witness, and follow certain activities such as door-to-door witnessing and attendance at bible study groups in order to be saved.

The Witnesses believe that only the 144,000 people known as the anointed ones will go to heaven. This select group reached maximum membership in 1935, so all of the other estimated six million Jehovah's Witnesses will not go to heaven. Instead, they are the "earthly hope" that will live on the restored paradise of earth. The shed blood of Christ is reserved for the 144,000, which means most of the Witnesses do not have the hope of salvation based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

They do not believe in hell or eternal punishment. The doctrine of the Witnesses totally denies the existence of the traditional Christian view of hell as a place of punishment. They also believe that Satan created the concept of "hellfire" in order to turn people against God. Another belief held by the Witnesses is that hell is the "common grave of mankind" where people go when they die. They simply believe that, if not found worthy of eternal life, they remain in the grave, inactive, unconscious and entirely dead and therefore