To answer this question, we simply must look at what the Watchtower believes about the person and work of Jesus Christ. So, what do they believe? From their own site (http://www.jw.org) they state the following:
We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.—John 14:28.
Thus, in their own words, the Watchtower believes that Jesus is not God but rather only the Son of God. They also reject the Trinity, claiming there is no Scriptural basis for the belief. They also claim to be Christians, as their own words indicate.
Thus, the Watchtower is a group worth looking at. It's also quite nice that the Watchtower clearly lays their beliefs on the table and are not sketchy about them. For that, we can be thankful.
The Watchtower has spilled tons of ink trying to point out that the Trinity is not a correct belief, and in fact is a lie. They state on their website: "Neither the word “Trinity” nor the concept is found in God’s Word." Then they proceed to defend this belief with some Scriptures such as Colossians 1:15.
The first part of this argument is a non-argument. Yes, we know the word Trinity is not in the Bible. So what? Does that falsify it? The word "eschatology" is not in the Bible either, but the Watchtower has a decided eschatology revolving the Kingdom of God, and so on. The second argument regarding the concept is their real argument. In short, they are simply arguing that the Trinity is not taught in the Holy Scriptures.
Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason has given a rock solid answer to this and can be found here:
In essence, Koukl points out that based on John 1:3, Jesus is either fully God or He is not God at all. He cannot be what the Watchtower wants Him to be.
The Witnesses' belief of course, is nothing more than a rehashing of the ancient heresy of Arianism. The bigger problem with the Witnesses' belief here is that it completely trashes the atonement of Christ and as such, turns the Watchtower into a religion of works.
The argument simply goes like this: If Christ is not God, the atonement is insufficient in itself, because only God can forgive sin. And since God forgives sin based on the work of Jesus Christ, Jesus must be fully God, since only God can make an atonement that is worthy of forgiveness of sin. In other words, the atonement must be absolutely perfect and only God is perfect. If it is anything less than perfect, it's worthless, since then God could not forgive sin on its basis. Hence, for the atonement to be the basis of our Christian faith, Jesus must be God.
I'm not going to get into all the texts that show the Deity of Christ or ones where Jesus Himself says He is God, or ones where the Apostle Paul or Thomas say He is God. The Witnesses' have snappy pat answers for those. Not good ones mind you - and they're all ripped from context, misinterpreted, or re-translated to fit their theology, but they do have answers.
In summary, the Watchtower has an atonement that is useless, leaving the individual Watchtower believer to simply do their best, and then maybe God will save them for their following of Jesus. But if God is perfect, and the atonement was made by someone other than Almighty God, the atonement is not perfect. Hence, based on Watchtower theology, nobody will be saved - if they flesh their theology out to its conclusion.
The Watchtower is not a Christian theology or a Christian Church. In fact, it is really not very different from all other World Religions that deny the Deity of Christ. Historically, it is a product of the Second Great Awakening in the United States. The Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, were founded in the same era. We see historically, that all of the major new branches of Christianity so-called that began in the Second Great Awakening have a decided tendency to elevate man to a level where the Bible does not put him. The Enlightenment and Rational Humanism are partly to blame here. When these things sneak in, humanist theology and the power of the human will and works are the end result. In this manner, the Watchtower fits the bill, right along with the Mormons and the adherents of the abhorrent doctrines of Charles G. Finney.
The Jehovah's Witnesses may be a religion and a church, but they are not a Christian one.
+Pax+
+Pax+
Thanks for this article. We have them periodically come to our door. They are not admitted, but we give them a scriptural response at the doorway. The last time this happened, the junior of the two persons before us - possibly in training - had a mighty thoughtful look before he left.
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