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Witnessing to Jehovah's Witness: The Watchtower organization

for any religion and faith there is a source that provides the defining elements of that religion.  For Jehovah's Witness their source is the Watchtower publications that define how the bible should be interpreted.  The bible is not their source but the Watchtower is.  The Watchtower agrees that logic helps lead man to know truth as they use logic to define their doctrine and interpret scripture.  Therefore logic can help us discover not only truth but also lies. 

There are statements that can not be true no matter how many people believe it.  Jehovah's Witnesses and rational mankind alike can all agree there is no such thing as a square circle.  Or the statement "nothing is something".  This can no be as nothing is a term to describe the lack of existence.  Therefore by definition the truth can not be something because there is nothing. There can be millions of examples of a logical contradiction that all logical and rational human beings can understand.  If Jehovah's Witnesses can not agree to the existence of truth discovered through logical reasoning than their efforts to define their religious doctrine are hypocritical and contradictory; thus can not be true in the same respect as nothing can not be something and a square circle.  We can apply logic to their source of defining elements to help us see if they are true or untrue. 

Jehovah's Witnesses believe in a god and creator.  They claim their source of defining elements come from outside of this physical world from the heavenly realm and is passed on through the Watchtower publications.  Therefore; what the Watchtower teaches essentially claims to be from divine sources of truth.  We can test that statement about themselves. 

TEST 1:  Only Source of Divine Truth
"We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the 'faithful and discreet slave' organization,'" (Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981).
By their own statement there is no other way to understand the bible than through their organization.  They are the only source of correct interpretation.  But with that statement, they run into a logical problem.
"The Vatican belittles Bible study by claiming it is the only organization authorized and qualified to interpret the Bible," (Watchtower, July 1, 1943, p. 201).
Here we run into a logical contradiction in teachings.  If claiming to be the only organization that can correctly interpret scripture actually "belittles" studying the Bible; therefore the Watchtower states that it also belittles bible studies as it also claims the same.

These 2 statements come from the publication that claims their words as from a divine source.  These 2 statements are in conflict with each other and are a logical contradiction.  Willing contradictions are hypocrisy.  Therefore;  their divine source is hypocritical and contradicting or it is not from a divine source.

TEST 2: Divine Office Holder(s)
"Thousands of the readers of Pastor Russell's writings believe that he filled the office of 'that faithful and wise servant,' and that his great work was giving to the household of faith meat in due season. His modesty and humility precluded him from openly claiming this title, but he admitted as much in private conversation," (Watchtower, Dec. 1, 1916, p. 357). 
In 1916 the Watchtower published that Pastor Russell was the "the faithful and wise servant" Jesus talked about in Matthew 24:45.  First, Jesus' statements were in parable form therefore he was not being literal.  Secondly the question needs to be asked; If Jesus was the suffering servant that remained faithful to the point of death; why would he not be the "the faithful and wise servant" feeding God's chosen?  But that is another matter.  Remember, the Watchtower claims divine interpretation and dictates what the bible is saying (besides the fact of failing the first test).  Later the Watchtower publishes this:
"Jesus foretold that among his people there would be a "faithful and discreet slave" class who would be providing the spiritual food to God's family of devoted servants on earth, acting as his channel of communication and overseeing the carrying out of the Kingdom interests world wide. (Matt. 24:45-47) These anointed overseers serve as though being guided in their activities by the right hand of Christ," (Watchtower, Jan. 15, 1969, p. 51).
In 1969 they started steering away from teaching that Russell was that office holder and began to open the door for a plural office holder.   "A" office holder became a "class" of "overseerS".  But as issues of a logical problem began to mouth and their divine source in question they later published this statement 4 years later:
"From this it is clearly seen that the editor and publisher of Zion's Watch Tower disavowed any claim to being individually, in his person, that "faithful and wise servant." He never did claim to be such," (God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years has Approached, 1973, p. 346).
This statement now contradicts the one published in 1916.  He did not openly claim the title but in private he did; and not in 1973 he did not.  So is the 1916 statement incorrect or is the 1973 statement incorrect?  Either way; there is an incorrect statement made by the Watchtower; thus contradicts its divine source claim.

TEST 3: The Worship of Jesus
"Question: The fact that our Lord received worship is claimed by some to be an evidence that while on earth he was God the Father disguised in a body of flesh and not really a man. Was he really worshiped, or is the translation faulty?   Answer: Yes, we believe our Lord Jesus while on earth was really worshiped, and properly so . . . It was proper for our Lord to receive worship in view of his having been the only begotten of the Father, and his agent in the creation of all things, including man," (Watchtower, July 15, 1898, p. 216).
In 1898 the Watchtower validated the worship of Jesus and admits he did in fact deserve to be worshiped, then gives reasons why he deserved worship.  Later leaders of the organization also taught to worship Jesus.
"Jehovah God commands all to worship Christ Jesus because Christ Jesus is the express image of his Father, Jehovah, and because he is the Executive Officer of Jehovah always carrying out Jehovah's purpose (Heb.:3-6)." Watchtower 1939 Nov 15 p.339
"During the Millennium, "the princes will lead the people in their worship of Jehovah and of Christ." Vindication Volume 3 (J. F. Rutherford, 1932) p.295
"The people of all nations who obtain salvation must come to the house of the Lord to worship there; that is to say, they must believe on and worship Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus Christ, his chief instrument (Philippians 2:10, 11)." Salvation (J. F. Rutherford, 1939) p.151
In 1945 the organizations leader Knorr even changed the organizes charter to state the following:
"send out to various parts of the world Christian missionaries, teachers and instructors in the Bible and Bible literature and for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ Jesus;" ( See a scan of the 1945 page)
But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says:  'And let all God's angels worship him,'" (New Heavens and a New Earth, 1953, p. 27-28).
In 1953 the organization and religion began struggling with the worship of Jesus or not.  In this publication the religion reaffirmed the worship of Jesus.  But this only intensified their struggle with this issue and finally not too long after New Heavens and a New Earth was published, another publication attempted to settle the issue.
"He taught men, not to worship him, but to worship Jehovah his Father . . . 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God,'" (Make Sure of All Things, p. 283).
Although the statement quoted from the bible does not say what Make Sure of All Things says it does; this publication contradicted the statement made by the Watchtower in 1898.  To reinforce this new contradictory teaching; below was published in 1987.
"What I learned was so different from what I had heard at the "Christian" school I had attended.  Jehovah's Witnesses do not worship Jesus.  Rather, they worship Almighty God, the One that Jesus himself worshipped," (Awake, Dec. 22, 1987, p. 22).
In 1999 the organization changed their charter again and completely removed it.

The current teachings openly contradict the foundational teachings until recently.  The Watchtower of their 1800s to the 1950s taught the worship of Jesus but now the Watchtower teaches not to worship Jesus.  Both can not be true.  Either way, because one is untrue, this logically reveals the non divine nature of the Watchtower.

In Conclusion:

The historical hypocritical statements of the Watchtower logically shows the truth that it is not true in its divine nature.  Adherents of this faith that come to see the logical contradictions and the hypocrisy in the teachings must ask themselves if they will continue to trust in untrustworthy teachings by a source that can not be divine in nature.  Simply proven by logic and its own historical teachings.

3 comments:

  1. Odd, I looked in the archives and vindication vol. 3 book does not have a page 295. And I also checked on pg.151 in the 'Salvation' book it does not say what is claimed here in this post.

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    Replies
    1. What is the printing date of the document your reading? Those publicans have been revised several times.

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  2. You have to find a copy of the earliest publishing date. Recent reprints are changed. Notice the publishing dates of the citations. There is a reason for the revisions and changes ;) hence one of the points of the article.

    A friend who was once a Jehovah's Witness stated that he was once tasked with going to Half Price Bookstores and other locations were JW material was publicly available in his area to find older JW publications and purchasing them. He would turn them into his local community leadership. The purpose was to prevent anyone from discovering what this article is addressing.

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