Jehovah's Witnesses Literature QUESTION from Mary on July 29, 2002 Thank you for your response to my question on the New World Translation--your answer confirmed my thoughts on this particular translation.
You asked if I had any literature pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses--I have tons of it! JW's pride themselves on having lots of literature, and always boast about the many languages it comes in (my answer: so do Catholics!) Please let me know how to get these books and pamphlets to you--they are very helpful in learning just how corrupt the Watchtower is.
Another point I have about the JW's--many of them have told me that I need to do my research on my church (which I have), especially when it comes to the divinity of Jesus Christ. What are the best bible verses to use in discussing this?
They are well versed in defending their belief that Jesus was just the greatest man and nothing more. Also, are you aware they believe Jesus is also Michael the Archangel? Do you know how that came about?
Once again, thank you for your help! I'm on my way to see the Pope in Mexico:)!!!
God bless
Mary
ANSWER by Mr. Troy Martz on August 26, 2002 Mary:
Thank you for your diligence.
As to the divinity of Jesus, here are a few Scriptures that are a small portion of the evidence that His Divinity was taught from the earliest days of the Church: *John 1:1 -- the Word was God *John 8 -- knowing Jesus IS knowing the Father, before Abraham was, I AM (this is quite literally YHWY, the Sacred Name of God)
At this point, I could spend the next several paragraphs citing the Gospel of John. It is very clear in John's Gospel that Jesus claimed to be God. You must either accept that He made such a claim, reject the authenticity of John's Gospel (as the Modernist critics do), or twist the translation to water down Jesus' claims (as the JW's do).
One to the greatest Biblical tools we have against JW's is St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians. Part of the problem at Colossae was a form of angel worship that threatened the newly formed Christian church there. To differentiate between Jesus and other divine beings, St. Paul says defines Jesus' divinity(Col 2:9). To make his point perfectly clear, Paul avoids a common Greek term implying a participation in divinity (like the heros in Greek myth). Paul actually creates a new word -- theotekas (I apologize for the spelling) -- that is exactly as if someone added the suffix -ness to the word God. Paul is very clear that in Jesus dwells the fullness of Godness, bodily.
Again, these are just a sampling of the available passages. We should also examine how the early Church interpreted the evidence. Even a cursory reading of Early Church Fathers shows that from the very beginning the Divinity of Jesus was universally accepted. Virtually every heresy fought by the early Church had to do with reconciling the true Divinity and the true Humanity of Jesus. Sts. Ignatius, Irenaeus, Cyril, Athanasius, Justin Martyr -- these and nearly every other writer of that time whose works have survived proclaim the fact that Jesus is both Truly God and Truly Man. Many of them gave their lives for refusing to deny the Creed:
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God eternally begotton of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made.
Pax Christi, Troy
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