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Saturday, 17 January 2009 13:20 |
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One of the issues, which continually surfaces when dealing with the cults, is that of the deity of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. They attempt to deny His deity by twisting Scripture, reading out of context, removing or inserting words and phrases, attributing new or inaccurate meanings to words or by re-translating the Bible. This is claimed to be done in the name of clarification and improved scholarship.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 13:36 |
 Section 1: Should You Believe It?
1. Arthur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity (New York/London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1928), 197.
2. George Brantl, ed. Catholicism (New York, NY: George Braziller, 1961), 78.
Section 2: How Is the Trinity Explained?
3. The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. XV (New York, NY: Encyclopedia Press, 1912), 47.
4. Heraklion, Crete, Greece, court decision 87/1986, April 7, 1986, pp. 17, 19.
5. Athanasios S. Frangopoulos, Our Orthodox Christian Faith, 3rd ed. (Athens, Greece: Brotherhood of Theologians, 1985), 71.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Wednesday, 17 July 1985 00:00 |
Trinity - Biblical Overview
Theology is the study of the nature and character of God as revealed in his Word, the Bible. The Bible itself, however, is not a book of systematic theology; it does not always provide us with the answers we seek regarding God and his activity. The Bible provides statements regarding God and his creation, and often a person must reason on the Scriptural texts in order to determine certain truths. Christianity holds many doctrines that are derived from the Scriptures, though the Scriptures themselves may not present the complete doctrine in any one passage.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Monday, 06 January 1986 00:00 |
Biblical Overview
Those who have embraced the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and have been born again are referred to as the true Church, the Bride of Christ (1 Cor. 15:9; Rev. 21:2). This church was formed on the day of Pentecost in the year 33, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 disciples of Jesus waiting in an upper room (Acts 2:14).
In Acts 15:13-18, the disciple James recalls the prophecies of Amos 9:11,12 and Jeremiah 12:15, where it was foretold that Israel would be restored to God's favor, and the Gentiles would see salvation as well.
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Written by Edmund J. Fortman
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 08:27 |
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excerpts from the 1971 book by Catholic scholar Edmund J. Fortman.
If we take the New Testament writers together they tell us there is only one God, the creator and lord of the universe, who is the Father of Jesus. They call Jesus the Son of God, Messiah, Lord, Savior, Word, Wisdom. They assign Him the divine functions of creation, salvation, judgment. Sometimes they call Him God explicitly. They do not speak as fully and clearly of the Holy Spirit as they do of the Son, but at times they coordinate Him with the Father and the Son and put Him on a level with them as far as divinity and personality are concerned. They give us in their writings a triadic ground plan and triadic formulas. They do not speak in abstract terms of nature, substance, person, relation, circumincession, mission, but they present in their own ways the ideas that are behind these terms. They give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons. But they do give us an elemental trinitarianism, the data from which such a formal doctrine of the Triune God may be formulated. (pp xv-xvi)
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Written by Randall Watters
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Monday, 14 January 1985 00:00 |
Biblical Overview
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus in the night to talk with him. The story is told in John chapter three. Nicodemus began by saying that his fellow Pharisees knew Jesus was from God, for no man could do what he did apart from God. Why, then, did Nicodemus come at night, seeking to avoid notice? Perhaps he was afraid of losing face among his peers, who were critical of Jesus. Jesus saw the emptiness in Nicodemus' heart and said to him, "Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God" (verse 3). Nicodemus' responded by asking, "How can a man be born when he is old?" Jesus answered and elaborated on what he had just said, adding an element of mystery, saying that we must be born of water and the Spirit, and that the operation of the Spirit is incomprehensible to the natural man (v. 58).
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Written by Mark Hunter
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Tuesday, 09 June 2009 08:17 |
 Should Jesus be worshipped? Jesus being in receipt of worship is an absolute corner stone teaching and belief among Christians. Christians point to the many occasions in the Bible where Jesus Christ received - and accepted - worship. Jehovah's Witnesses, however, balk at this idea. A Jehovah's Witness who persists in believing that Jesus is worthy of our worship will be disfellowshipped. The purpose of this article is to, in brief, point the reader to two references, one from the Bible and one from the 'Reasoning' book*. |
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Written by Randall Watters
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Monday, 16 September 1985 00:00 |
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reprint of the Sept./Oct. 1985 Bethel Ministries Newsletter
From my experience these last five years of being a former Jehovah's Witness, the hardest part of all has been helping other JWs and ex-JWs to understand the churches. I feel that I am in a position to contribute helpful insight into this area for several reasons. For one, I myself have struggled with understanding the churches, and still have much to learn. I have discussed the problems of the churches and our view of them with many individuals, both pastors, ex-JWs, and others. Secondly, I am a licensed pastor, and have assisted in starting a church in Venice, Calif. Though never having been reimbursed for my services by any church (other than for a speaking engagement), I have worked together to help many churches of various denominations, as well as non-denominational churches.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Thursday, 21 May 2009 16:45 |
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The curse of man's imperfection is that our lives sooner or later slip out of our control. Not only are circumstances often beyond our control, but we find ourselves not living up to our own principles. We are unable to attain to a perfect moral structure, and this is troublesome to our conscience. When we sin against another person or our own bodies, this also bothers our conscience.
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Monday, 05 April 2010 09:06 |
 The founder of Christianity was Jesus. Most of his ministry consisted of face-off confrontation with fellow believers.
As a devout Jew, members of his own faith questioned his piety, faith, credentials and orthodoxy. Jesus answered them back with questions and accusations of his own. Was Jesus apostate? Did he encourage apostate thinking in Judaism?
Or, was it the signal of a thinking and rational intellectual honesty to do so by Jesus?
Since being a footstep follower of Jesus would mean imitating his ministry and methods, what question should we now be asking concerning this charge of apostasy?
Why would it be any different for Christians today?
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:20 |
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Every Jehovah's Witness is familiar with the concept of the "ransom sacrifice" of Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind. The thought is that Jesus died as a substitute for sinful man. But does the concept as taught by the Watchtower Society adequately explain what the Bible intends to convey? Consider this question: Where is the justice of Jehovah in the death of the innocent Jesus for guilty mankind? Not, "Where is the mercy?" Or, "Where is the grace?" The question is: Where is the justice in the death of Jesus Christ? |
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 14:06 |
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Biblical Overview
The apostle Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith is also vain." In the same passage, Paul gives the gospel formula:
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. . . . (1 Cor. 15:14)
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 11:10 |
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reprint of the Mar/Apr 1988 Bethel Ministries Newsletter
While Jesus was still with his disciples on earth, He spoke to them about heavenly life:
Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-3)
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:10 |
Biblical Overview
The word sin comes from the Greek hamartia, which means "to miss the mark," just as an archer would shoot an arrow that could never quite make it to the target. Likewise, the target that we are supposed to be reaching is moral perfection and close communion with God. To sin is to fall short of this target. Fornication, sensuality, idolatry, strife, drunkenness, etc. are some of the sins that we can become victims of, according to Galatians 5:19-21. The apostle Paul says that practicing such things will keep us out of the kingdom of God. But exactly why are these actions called sins?
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 11:54 |
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Biblical Overview - SON OF GOD
Jesus was often called "the Son of God," and made allusions to this title himself on occasion. The apostle Paul speaks of him as the Son of God who emptied himself of His glory and took upon Himself a human body along with its limitations in order to accomplish the salvation of man. Philippians 2:68 tells us about this surpassing and unfathomable love:
Although He existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Friday, 24 October 2008 13:42 |
I often get a letter along the lines of this: "Whenever I ask one of those that claim to be of the `remnant' (144,000 chosen to go to heaven among the JWs) just how they know that they are anointed, they usually say something like, `It's a desire to be with Christ.' A lot of Christians say the same thing. Yet as an average earthbound JW, I was led to believe that this was some kind of supernatural experience that most people don't have, and when you have it you KNOW. What is the real story?"
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 13:28 |
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The following is a dialogue with three persons on this subject, that expresses my feelings in the matter.
Hi Randy.
Hope things are going well for your ministry. I want your opinion on something, if you would. I have put much consideration into the idea of doing a picket type situation up here in Vancouver. The target and time would be wherever the largest "Memorial" will be held on April 16th. Please let me outline my reasons:
(1) The Memorial last year was attended by more than 15 million people "...most of whom were not Jehovah's Witnesses" (April 1 Watchtower, back cover). There will be access to more people at ONE PLACE who are NOT yet brainwashed than at ANY possible place or situation, including regional conferences.
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Sunday, 26 April 2009 17:31 |
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Jesus himself said: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” So our entire future hinges on our knowing the true nature of God, and that means getting to the root of the Trinity controversy. Various Trinitarian concepts exist. But generally the Trinity teaching is that in the Godhead there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yet, together they are but one God. The doctrine says that the three are coequal, almighty, and uncreated, having existed eternally in the Godhead.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 04 April 2009 14:12 |
Commenting on the intrigue of human relationships and the trials men place on one another, Watchtower Circuit Overseer Floyd Kite once jokingly told me that "half of us are here to test the other half." As a devout Jehovah's Witness and an organization man, I was determined to be the "half" that tested the others. I kept close watch on others' conduct as a Bethel elder and overseer. The study of Romans and Galatians while at Bethel changed my life, however, prompting me to discover the following truths, new to us but not to the Christian church.
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Though the Bible does not specifically describe the instrument that Jesus died upon, tradition has it that he was put to death on a cross consisting of a stake and a crossbeam. The Greek stauros is sometimes used to describe a simple stake, and other times a more complex form such as the cross. To determine what appearance the stauros took in Jesus' death, we need to consider what the Greek language tells us, what history tells us, and most importantly, what the Bible tells us.
As is widely known, the Watchtower Society insists that Jesus did not die on a two-beamed cross but on a single-timber "torture stake". I agree with most people that this issue is pretty pointless and amounts only to a historical curiosity. As most Christians of faith would say, "It doesn't matter what he died on; it matters that he died for us". The purpose of this discussion is not to detract from that theological issue but instead to show that this subject is yet another instance of the Society's intellectual dishonesty and failure to represent the sources they quote.