(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell)
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
|
|
The incredible Creed of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Victor R. Claveau
There is a City full, as are all Cities,
of halt and main, blind and evil and the rest;
but it is the city of God…There are not
two such cities on earth. There is one…
Within that household the human spirit has
Roof and hearth. Outside it, is the night.
- Hilaire Belloc
In this series, I will cover the following topics:
1. What are sects and cults?
2. The Catholic Church's concern.
3. Why these groups are successful.
4. Brief history of Jehovah's Witnesses.
5. How the JWs make converts.
6. Authority in Interpreting Scripture
7. The Witnesses' doctrines.
8. Anti‑Catholic claims.
9. How to witness to Jehovah's Witnesses.
10. Pastoral challenges and approaches.
1. WHAT ARE SECTS AND CULTS?
CULT: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious.
SECT: A dissenting or schismatic religious body; especially one regarded as extreme of heretical.
In my opinion the Jehovah's Witnesses fall into both these categories.
Since the terms Cults, and Sects seems to have a negative connotation the Church usually uses the term "New Religious Movements".
The differences between these groups are usually found in the "sources" a group uses to establish their theology.
1. Some add to the Bible, such the Mormon's, adding the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrines and Covenants;
2. others take away from the Bible and deny Sacred Tradition, as do the Protestants;
3. and finally, there are those who radically change the Bible such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The United States Catholic Bishops have estimated that the Church in the US loses as many as many as 100,000 members to these various groups each year.
The JW'S have more than doubled their membership in the past 15 years.
60,000 Hispanic Catholics are lost each year to other religious groups, primarily fundamentalists.
Many mainline Christian denominations have seen drops in their memberships as well. Catholics and Southern Baptists seem to be the only religious groups that are experiencing annual growth. Partially, I suspect because these will not equivocate.
2. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CONCERN.
The Holy See and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops cannot but help to be concerned about these defections and studies have been conducted.
According to "Sects or New Religious Movements: A Pastoral Challenge" published by the NCCB, the reasons for the success of these groups can be found in an providing for an individuals needs.
A. These groups answer the quest for belonging.
B. These groups seem to provide the answers to life's most perplexing problems.
C. These groups seem to provide the answer to brokenness.
D. These groups provide a cultural identity. Each of us have a desire to belong to something or some group.
E. These groups cater to a persons need to be thought of as special.
F. These groups appear to answer one's search for spiritual transcendence; in other words, something or someone beyond ourselves that can offer a meaning for one's existence.
G. These groups appear to be able to provide spiritual guidance.
H. These groups provide a vision for the future that will include peace, harmony and joy.
I. These groups provide a concrete mission for a better world.
These groups are most effective with attracting alienated individuals; people who have been marginalized by society. When attacking a herd of caribou, wolves go for the weak members on the edge of the herd. The cults such as the JWs do the same. These groups go after Catholics that are not grounded in the Faith; those that can be easily be confused about Christ’s teachings.
3. WHY THESE GROUPS ARE SUCCESSFUL.
A. Primarily related to needs not being met in the Catholic Church. We must admit that we as Catholics do a very poor job, on the parish level, in meeting the needs of the poor, the lonely and the marginalized.
B. Poor religious training. We have been suffering from unbelievably poor catechesis on the part of the Church since Vatican II. Uneducated Catholics are easy prey for any group that appears to provide a panacea. Most leave the Church out of ignorance of the teachings of Christ as taught by the Church. The study of apologetics is many times discouraged as being too aggressive.
C. Recruitment and training techniques of the sects. These people who go door to door, whether they are Mormons of Jehovah's Witnesses are highly trained in evangelization techniques.
Unfortunately, these groups are not yet seen as a threat by many of our bishops; rather they are seen as a "pastoral challenge".
We need a dynamic pastoral approach at every level of our Church if we are to save the souls that our Lord has entrusted to us.
My personal apostolate was started eleven years ago because of my personal concern.
John Donne said it best:
"No man is an island, entire of itself; everyman is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee"
(Meditation XVII).
Each and every time a person leaves the true family of God, we are all diminished.
As adults, we need to have an adult understanding of Catholic doctrine and the Bible. 1 Cor. 13:11‑12 "When I was a child I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways aside.
Many adults still have a child-like understanding of Catholicism that we received from the Baltimore catechism. We were not necessarily taught Catholic doctrine from Scripture and other traditional writings. As a result, the faith many Catholics can easily be shaken when confronted by those who appear to have a better understanding of Scripture.
We must become evangelists of these evangelists.
Today’s Witnesses can be found on street corners in just about every major city throughout the world, pacing down the boulevards with a Watchtower magazine in their hands. Each and every weekend you’ll find the going from door to door searching for prospective converts.
50 years ago there were fewer than 100,000 JWs; today, they number over 5.9 MILLION worldwide.
Jan. 90‑‑788,709 Witnesses in the US
Jan. 98--Membership in the US including Alaska 1,040,283
Jan. 99—Membership 982,667 LOSS of 68,606
For an increase of 251,574 members.
Jan. 90—there were 9,007 congregations in the US
Jan. 98—11,064 congregations in the US including Alaska
Jan. 99—11,286 congregations in the US
For an increase of 2,057 congregations
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ARE A PARASITIC ORGANIZATION
It has been estimated that 65% of new converts come from established churches. The remainder are either born into the organization or were recruited from the unchurched.
In order to provide personal attention the congregations usually split when they reach 200 members.
4. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY.
The Watchtower Society was founded by Charles Taze Russell (b.1852). Russell called himself God's mouthpiece. He made his living at the time as a haberdasher. He had been raised a s a Presbyterian and then became a Congregationalist. The false doctrine of pre-destination and the doctrine of eternal punishment in hell troubled him. In 1870 he found Second Adventism in a basement church in Allegheny, PA. He was 18 years old at the time.
A farmer named William Miller founded second Adventism. Miller predicted that Jesus would come again and the end of the world would occur in April of 1843. Then that date came and went, he recalculated and the predicted that this would happen in November of the same year. When his predictions failed to come to pass, he apologized and resigned from the movement in disgrace.
A remnant of this group eventually became the Seventh Day Adventists founded by Ellen G. White. But, that's another story.
Russell's encounter with the Adventists aroused his interest in Bible study and although he had no formal training in theology began to call himself "Pastor". As a matter of fact, he never completed High School.
In 1879, at the age of 27, Russell started publishing "Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence".
By 1880 there were 30 Russellite congregations in 7 States.
In 1881 he moved his organization to Brooklyn, NY where it is still headquartered.
Russell was a person of dubious past. He promoted a "Miracle Wheat" which he claimed was five times better than other existing wheat. He promoted bogus cures for skin cancer, pneumonia, grippe, and typhoid.
His wife divorced him on the on the charge of infidelity and "having an inflated ego" after 18 years of marriage.
Russell offered himself as a prophet and the founder of a new religion. His life should be an open book. One must ask the question, Is this the type of individual God would have chosen to renew His Church?
In 1910 Russell predicted that the return of Jesus and the end of the world would occur in 1914.
Russell originally taught that Jesus had become present invisibly in 1874, the harvest had begun, the saints would be raptured, and the world would experience a time of trouble and woe such as it had never seen before. All this was to culminate in the battle of Armageddon in 1914, when Christ's kingdom would have full sway.
A major teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses is that Bible prophecy had pointed to the year 1914 as the end of the "Gentile Times" of Luke chapter 21, verse 24, and that in that year Christ Jesus actively took up his Kingdom power and began to rule invisibly to human eyes. In Daniel chapter four, references to a period of "seven times" were the foundation for the calculations leading to that date and, by use of other texts, these "seven Times" were translated into a period of 2,520 years beginning in 606 BCE, was held to be the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian conqueror Nebuchadnezzar.
When 1914 came and went Russell changed the date to 1915. Russell died in 1916, so it is safe to assume that Jesus did come for him.
The Watchtower has predicted that the end would occur in 1918, and again in 1925, and finally in 1975.
"Judge" Joseph R. Rutherford, the son of a farmer, (b. 1869), succeeded Russell in 1917. Rutherford had joined the movement in 1906. He had been reader as a Baptist and became the Society's legal advisor and frequently appeared in court in Russell's defense when he was charged with blasphemy or inciting civil disobedience.
Rutherford was a court reporter and had no formal training in the law. Actually, he was not a real judge. He simply took on the title after he was asked to be a judge pro-tem. In other words he substituted for a real judge on four occasions.
In 1917 Rutherford wrote "The Finished Mystery" and other works that contained virulent attacks on the clergy (who Rutherford labeled "The Swine Class") and military service. As a result he was arrested and charged with sedition. Rutherford and six of his Directors were tried, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. They were released on bail after serving only nine months and a year later the government dropped the charges. Rutherford came out of prison an angry man, even more determined to wage war on the clergy, politics, and big business.
In 1920 Rutherford published a booklet entitled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" This booklet predicted that the generation alive in 1914 would still be alive when Armageddon comes and the earth would become a paradise.
In 1921, Rutherford published his first full-sized book. “The Harp of God. It reaffirmed the Society’s confidence and faith in 1799 as the start of the “last days” and 1874 as the time Christ began his “invisible presence.”
In a steady stream of Watchtower articles during 1922 and 1923, the Society repeatedly used such terms as “indisputable,” “correct beyond a doubt,” “divinely corroborated,” “absolutely and unqualifiedly correct,” “incontestable established,” proven certainty,” “of divine origin” – terms applied to the whole chronological scheme including 1799, 1874, 1878 (the start of the resurrection of the anointed), 1881 (the time when Russell was fully appointed as the Lord’s steward), as well as 1914, 1918 and the most recent prophetic date of 1925, said to have “as much scriptural support as 1914.”
During the 1925 prediction his followers sold their homes and lands, quit their jobs and became pioneers for Rutherford.
How did the Watchtower handle the situation when Jesus did not return in 1925? Members were warned not to be easily swayed in favor of evidence from secular history that contradicted the Society’s chronology. The Watchtower wrote: “The fact that all the things that some looked for in 1914 did not materialize does not alter the chronology one whit. Noting the date marked so prominently, it is very easy for the finite mind to conclude that all the work to be done must center about it, and thus many are inclined to anticipate more than has really been foretold. Thus it was in 1844, in1874, in 1878 as well as 1914 and 1918. Looking back we can now easily see that those dates were clearly indicated in Scripture and doubtless intended by the Lord to encourage his people, as they did, as well as to be a means of testing and sifting when all that some expected did not come to pass. That all that some expected to see in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the date one whit more than in the other cases.”
Nothing strange is seen in this concept that God and Christ would use falsehood as a means of encouragement for Their servants.
In 1931, the organization changed its name to the Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 1934 phonographs were introduced in door-to-door evangelization, although Rutherford never went door-to-door himself.
Rutherford hated Catholics. He broadcasted on 403 radio stations and much of the literature produced was an attack on Catholicism. Eventually, he was not allowed to broadcast on the radio because of his hate filled diatribes. He claimed that all organized religion was a snare and a racket. Much of this anti-Catholic attitude still persists today.
In 1925 Rutherford predicted the return of Abraham. Isaac, and Jacob, King David, Gedeon, Samson, Samuel and other mighties of ancient Palestine. He had a ten room Spanish mansion called Beth-Sarim (House of Princes) built in San Diego to house the patriarchs (with a two-car garage) and actually had it deeded to them. Rather than leaving the mansion vacant, Rutherford lived there himself.
Rutherford was an alcoholic and during the prohibition days had booze smuggled in from Canada. He died at Beth-Sarim in 1942 of bowel cancer. His wish was that he be buried at Beth-Sarim. Officially, he was buried in on Staten Island New York, but many believe he was buried at Beth-Sarim. Eventually, the property was sold in 1948, as it had become an embarrassment to the organization.
Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr (b. 1905 - d. 1977) Knorr did away with the phonographs and began to train members in serious door-to-door techniques.
Frederick (Freddy) Franz succeeded Knorr in 1977. Franz was in his late nineties and had 3 years of college. Knorr was the Society’s Bible scholar, lead theologian, and principal Bible translator of the NWT. Other members of the Committee were Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder and George Gangas; Fred Franz, however was the only one with sufficient knowledge of Bible languages to attempt a translation of this kind. He had studied Greek for two years in the University of Cincinnati but he was only self-taught in Hebrew.
In 1966 Jehovah's Witnesses literature once again predicted Armageddon (You would think they would have learned by then) in 1975.
Franz explained that Adam had been created in the year 4,026. Man had been allotted 6,000 years. 6,000 minus 4,026 = 1975. When this prediction failed as well, Franz explained that the time should have been reckoned with the creation of Eve rather than Adam and since we do not have any accurate knowledge of when she was created we'll just have to wait; but it's just around the corner. Remember that it must happen before the year 2014. As a result of the failed prophecy 390,000 members left between 1976 and 1978.
Watchtower members are not encouraged to read the writings of Russell or Rutherford. All materials are now published anonymously.
Franz was succeeded by Milton Henshell in 1992 and is the current president. Today's Watchtower Society is a very strict organization. A person can be excommunicated for being an unrepentant sinner, a smoker, for working in the Dept. of Defense, for entering churches, for being employed by a religious organization, receiving a blood transfusion, for saluting the flag of one's country, for patriotism, for celebrating birthdays or holidays, for speaking to a person who has been disfellowshiped (including relatives) or for disagreeing with doctrine. As of July 1984 disfellowshiping is now called voluntary disassociation, but it still amount to the same thing.
Approximately one million persons have left the Watchtower Society in the past ten years either voluntarily or by being disfellowshiped. The organization disfellowships an average of 28 people each day.
5. HOW THE JWs MAKE CONVERTS
The Watchtower Society has developed highly sophisticated recruitment and training techniques. When they knock on your door their approach has been well orchestrated and rehearsed. They have been trained in the techniques of social and psychological manipulation. The Society publishes a small book entitled "Reasoning from the Scriptures". This is their "how to" manual.
The first publishing of this book was 2 million copies - 3 for each Witness. It contains 76 topics. For example: abortion, ancestor worship, Paradise, philosophy, women and the world. It also teaches door--to--door techniques.
A few of the Catholic doctrines discussed are: Apostolic Succession, Baptism as a sin eradication sacrament, confession, holidays & holy days, Images, Marian doctrines, Mass, and purgatory. Approximately a tenth of the book is aimed at Catholics.
The book begins with a section entitled "Introductions for use in field ministry" and "How you might respond to potential conversation stoppers".
There are seven steps to conversion:
Step 1: The first step is to get someone to accept a Watchtower magazine.
Step 2: Complete records are kept on each and every person called upon. The call back is the second approach and its purpose is to invite the person into a home Bible study.
Step 3: The home Bible study. The prospect is there to learn not to teach. If you argue with them they will leave and mark you down as a "goat". Remember the parable about the sheep and the goats?
Step 4: Is an invitation the study further at the Kingdom Hall'
Step 5: Is an invitation to Sunday services. This is not like any Christian service whether Catholic or Protestant. There are no hymns sung and no preaching. An "elder" will deliver a 45-minute lecture on the latest Watchtower magazine. Scripture will be studied for field use.
Step 6: Wednesday or Thursday night meetings for Bible study. The average is 5 hours of "Bible Study" each week. At this time there is also story telling of successful field encounters, and the filling out of the monthly log of hours dedicated to witnessing.
Step 7: Admission to the sect. Baptism by immersion. Must agree to work as a missionary. Some work part-time; some log as many as 150 hours per month. Those who work full time as pioneers receive a small stipend.
1,144,566,498 hours were devoted to witnessing worldwide in 1999 which equates to 193 hours per member.
174,905,417 hours were devoted to witnessing in the US in 1999, which equates to 178 hours per member.
Their hierarchy is congregation elder, circuit or district overseer, branch overseer, zone overseer, and the god in Brooklyn.
They have no ordained ministry. The main task of the organization is to enlarge its rolls. The have no public service organizations such as hospitals, orphanages, welfare agencies or schools or colleges except the Gilead Missionary Training School in Lansing NY. Why bother with the welfare of others if the end is near?
The Society does not recognize the legitimacy of any earthly authority. All is of Satan. If you are not a Witness you are with the anti-Christ. Everything they do is focused on the end of Satan's rule and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. Keep in mind that Witnesses are taught that Christians are under the dominion of Satan, which is why they will not accept literature that does not originated with the Society.
6. AUTHORITY IN INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE
The Society states that the ultimate authority for them is the same as for Protestants, the Holy Scriptures. In actuality, the ultimate authority for Watchtower members is the Bible as it is interpreted according to the governing body of the Society. The witnesses claim that their doctrines can be found in the Bible.
The Society claims that all its doctrines come from the Bible. In actuality, much is made up by the Governing Body that sits in Brooklyn. The Governing Body acts as sole judge in all matters and its decisions are final. Nathan Knorr described the Society as “a theocratic organization, ruled from the divine Top down, and not from the rank and file up. The dedicated, baptized members of it are under a Theocracy!” (Watchtower, Dec. 15, 1971).
In 1942 Society published "The Emphatic Diaglott", which was purported to be a translation of the New Testament from the original Greek text, "according to (small print) the Recension of Dr. J. J. Griesbach." This, I believe, was the first attempt to provide a translation of the NT to the members of the Society. The justification for this new translation was that the King James version was faulty: “Though freely acknowledging that it is sufficiently plain to teach men the social and religious duties of life, and the path to immortality, yet it is a notable fact the King James’ Translation is far from being a faithful reflection of the mind of the Spirit, as contained in the original Greek in which the books of the New Testament were written. There are some thousands of words that are either mistranslated, or too obscurely rendered, besides others which are now obsolete, through improvement in the language. Besides this, it has been too highly colored in many places with the party ideas and opinions of those who made it, to be worthy of full and implicit confidence placed in it as a genuine record (Emphatic Diaglot, pp. 6-7).
An “anonymous” committee (identified above) developed The New World Translation, which is the JWs version of the complete Bible. The NWT was first introduced in 1961, revised in 1970, and further revised in 1984. These revisions were said to have been necessary because of improved scholarship. In actuality, it was because they recognized that certain of their doctrines were contradicted by the Scriptures. Rather than changing their doctrines, which would admit to their lack of infallibility and Scriptural bias, the Governing Body elected to revise the Scriptures.
In my personal opinion, that the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is made up of men who lack intellectual, and moral integrity.
It is very difficult to prove the Governing Body wrong because individual members are taught that everything of the world is corrupt. They are also taught that all Christians are in league with Satan and that materials published by Christians can have demons attached to them. JWs will not accept Christian literature of any kind.
7. THE WITNESSES’ DOCTRINES:
I do not intend to delineate and refute each and every one of the Society’s doctrines here. I will only address the doctrines that are in conflict with revealed truth as taught by the Catholic Church. T
he Watchtower Society has changed the Word of God in so many ways that it is sometimes difficult to recognize various texts. I will occasionally compare translations from the NWT with the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (RSVCE).
Belief and Scriptural reason.
Bible is God's Word and is truth.
2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; John 17:17
Here, the Society teaches that the Bible and the Bible alone is all that is needed to "completely" equip a person for every good work.
NWT - "All scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."
RSVCE - All scripture is inspired of God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Notice the not-so-subtle difference in translation here. The NWT states that the Bible is all that is needed, while the RSVCE states that it equips a man. If you compare verse with verse, throughout the Bible, you will readily see how the Society twists Scripture to its own ends. Anytime the Bible has contradicted the teachings of the Society the Bible became subordinated to the Governing Body.
Bible is more reliable than tradition
Matt. 15:3; Col. 2:8
We would agree in the full sense of these passages; that the Bible is more reliable than human traditions. The Society is implying that the Bible supercedes Sacred Tradition, which is divine revelation.
God's name is Jehovah
Ps. 83:18; Isa. 26:4; 42:8, AS; Ex. 6:3
In Exodus 3:13-15 God revealed His name: "Moses said to God, 'If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you…this is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.'"
Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (Yhwh) is replaced by the divine title "Lord" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: "Jesus is Lord." (CCC, p. 57)
God's name is "I AM". The personal name of the God of Israel is written in the Hebrew Bible with the four consonants, J H W H and is referred to as a "tetragrammaton". By the 3rd century BC. Jews held the name of God in such high esteem that it was never written out in full or vocalized. The Jews used terms such as "The Eternal One, Blessed be He" rather than actually saying the divine name. The Hebrew word "Adonai" or the Greek word "Kyrios" both of which mean "The Lord" were used instead. In the early Middle-ages, when the consonantal text of the Bible was supplied with vowel points to facilitate its correct traditional reading, the vowel points for "Adonai" were used with J H W H, thus producing the form YeHoWaH. When Christian scholars of Europe first began to study Hebrew, they did not understand what this word really meant and introduced the hybrid name "JEHOVAH." This error has since been corrected and Jehovah God is not found in the Bible today. (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 7, p. 680)
Christ is God's Son and is inferior to him.
NWT - Matt. 3:17: "This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved."
RSVCE - "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
NWT - John 8:42: "Neither have I come of my own initiative at all, but that One sent me forth"
RSVCE - " for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me."
NWT - John 14:28: "the Father is greater than I am."
RSVCE - "for the Father is greater than I."
NWT - John 20:17: "I am ascending to my Father and YOUR Father and to my God and YOUR God"
RSVCE - " I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."
NWT - 1 Cor. 11:3: "the head of the Christ is God."
RSVCE - "the head of Christ is God."
NWT - 1 Cor. 15:28: "But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone."
RSVCE - When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.
The aforementioned verses refer to Christ's humanity, not his divinity. This aspect of the JWs theology is crucial.
NWT John 10:30: "I and the Father are one."
RSVCE - "I and the Father are one."
John 14:9: "Jesus said to him: 'Have I been with you so long a time, and yet, Philip, you have not come to know me? He that has seen me has seen the Father [also] (NWT).
JWs do not believe in the Holy Trinity, they are Unitarians. For them, only the Father - Jehovah - is God. The Son is the first created creature. The Holy Spirit is Jehovah's power.
In interpreting John 10:30, "I and the Father are one," JWs say that this means that they ore "one in agreement, purpose and organization."
They ignore the next verse: "Once more, the Jews lifted up stones to stone him. Jesus replied to them, "I displayed to you many fine works from the Father. For which of those works are you stoning me?" The Jews answered him: "We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy, even because you, although being a man, make yourself a god" (NWT).
Yet, in the NWT Interlinear the word "God" is capitalized in the Greek. Men were sometimes called gods in OT times if they were in a position of prime importance, such as a magistrate. Why would the Jews consider stoning Jesus if He was only putting himself on a par with other important persons? Obviously, they wouldn't. They considered it blasphemous because Jesus equated himself with God.
They ignore the import of "The Great Commission" found in Matt. 28:19: "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit" (NWT).
Realizing that the JWs are taught that the doctrine of the Trinity was "invented" at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. I submit the following for your edification only.
"The Father, however, with the same only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit is one in deity and of an equal and undivided nature. Our Lord entrusted the fulness of this faith to the Apostles, saying, ' Go, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit'. 'In the name', he said, not in the names, so that in those in whom there is one strength, one power, one deity, one eternity, one glory, one omnipotence, one blessedness, one operation, and one nature, there would also be the integrity of one name. Indeed, nothing in the deity is divided, when only what is proper to the persons is designated by a clear distinction. All, therefore, that is the Trinity remains consubstantial and undivided divinity" (Pope Vigilius, Letter to all people of God [Feb. 5, 552] DS 415).
NWT - John 17:22: Also, I have given them the glory that you have given me, in order that they may be one even as we are one.
RSVCE - The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one.
Forty times the NT speaks of God as threefold.
The Father is called God:
Gal. 1:1
Jn. 6:27
The Son is called God:
NWT - But with reference to the Son: "God is your throne forever and ever, and [the] scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness."
RSVCE - Heb. 1:8 "But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom."
NWT - Acts 20:28: "Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own [Son].
RSVCE - "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of the LORD which he obtained with the blood of his own."
See also Jn 1:1; 14; 5:18
The Holy Spirit is called God:
Acts 5:3-4
1 Cor. 3:17
More than one person is spoken of as God in the OT:
Gen. 1:26-27
Gen. 19:24
Zech. 3:2
Where the Bible tells us that there is only one God.
Is. 44:6,
Mk. 12:29
NWT - John 1:1: In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
RSVCE - John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
One of the original translations of John 1:1 and Matthew 27:52-53, used by the Society was taken from "The New Testament: A New Translation Based on the Oldest Manuscripts by Johannes Greber, 1937, p. 164.
Johannes Greber was a Catholic priest turned spiritist who translated the New Testament with the help of God's "spirits." His experiences with spirits and their communications with him are related in his book, Communication With the Spirit World, published in 1932. Greber was a well known spiritist and familiar to the Watchtower Society. The Society's writers quoted favorably from Greber 's New Testament translation for nearly thirty years, knowing full well of his connection with the occult. They have quoted him at least nine times in their publications dating from 1956 to 1983.
There are five instances in the NWT Interlinear translation of the NT where the word God is used in the Greek in exactly the same way: John 1:1; John 3:16; Acts 15:8; Acts 19:11; and 1 Cor 1:3.
In John 1:1 the word God is translated with a lower case g. In each of the other instances, it is translated with a capitol G, which shows a lack of integrity in the translations.