Jehovah's Witnesses

[Fidei]

One thing that I find interesting also is that they believe Jesus is the “human” form of Michael the Archangel. So do they believe all angels are gods too?

Michael the archangel also has a title of prince in several passages on the OT, and the JW’s mistake him as Christ himself. Also because Christ “led the army against Satan with an archangel’s voice” (forgot the verse) and since, there is only one archangel, THE Michael Archangel, they erroneously conclude that Christ must be the angel.

I find it hypocrisy when they say they “follow the bible” when nowhere in the bible states that Christ is Michael! yet there are numerous passages to prove Christ as God!

 

[Regardless]

I find it even more striking that in this passage Christ is called “Mighty God,” what else — besides the obvious — can this mean?! I’d like to hear Regardless’ “explanation” of this verse!

Mighty God. - But not Almighty. Why is that?

 

[Regardless]

You mean changing God’s Name to something completely unheard of by anybody before? Is that what you meant?

Unheard of before what? Before English existed?
An english name unheard of before english existed? You surprise me.
The King James Translation calls Almighty God “Jehovah” at Psalms 83:18 and several other places. (Yet they change it to a title in the New KJT.) in 1600 or something.
Were they wrong to translate YHWH into English?

 

[adstrinity]

Unheard of before what? Before English existed?
An english name unheard of before english existed? You surprise me.
The King James Translation calls Almighty God “Jehovah” at Psalms 83:18 and several other places. (Yet they change it to a title in the New KJT.) in 1600 or something.
Were they wrong to translate YHWH into English?

Well, yes, actually. They were wrong because they didn’t have the authority to do it, they did not have the rights to the Bible, it’s a Catholic book. They not only had the right not to translate it, they didn’t have the right to guess at what YHWH sounded like. What’s wrong with making a footnote “YHWH”, pronounced, “Adonai”?

 

[Regardless]

…The reason Jehovah’s Witnesses translate John 1:1 as “a god” is because the Greek definite article ho does not appear before theos. …

As you can see, Regardless, the WBTS is not as good a translator as you might think. Since the majority of the time it translates the word theos and derivatives as the Almighty God, it should translate the last “theos” in verse one as the Almighty God, but it can’t because its identity would crumble.
…QUOTE]

Cool text on John 1. Tricky. I must look it up. Possibly something to do with grammer? Will google BeDuhn on that one.

But I will not dismiss your arguement just because you disagree with what I believe, like some seem to do with me.

At least we are starting to realise there are differnet words for god in greek. Thanks.

 

[Regardless]

The Watch Tower Society has been criticised for its refusal to reveal the names and academic credentials of the translators of its The Watchtower said the educational qualifications of the translators were unimportant and that "the translation itself testifies to their qualifications…

Check out the translation, don;t nit-pick about who worked on it. That is a similar excuse to digging up inaccuracies in early WT articles, to dismiss what the WT explains from the Bible.
Remember the JW’s used other translations for decades before and still do in many languages.

Some Bible scholars have noted that the translation of certain texts may be biased in favour of certain Witness practices and doctrines
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah’s_Witness#Biblical_criticisms

And some bible scholars think it is a very accurate translation. I see your quote is form a site called: “JW Bible criticisims” I am surprised. They won’t be biased of course.

There is a fascinating book called “Truth in Translation” where a very educated non-witness (I think a jew) named Jason BeDuhn compares 9 popular translations of the NT to the original greek.

He concludes that all the translations are biased, but “the NWT bias brings it closer to what the original greek actually says” (I quote from memory)
Alas, after finding evidence it was a good translation, Even he couldn’t believe we were actually trying to establish the truth.

 

[Regardless]

Well, yes, actually. They were wrong because they didn’t have the authority to do it, they did not have the rights to the Bible, it’s a Catholic book. They not only had the right not to translate it, they didn’t have the right to guess at what YHWH sounded like. What’s wrong with making a footnote “YHWH”, pronounced, “Adonai”?

Oh. A Catholic book, not God’s book?

I remember from history people being hunted and tortured and burned by its keepers - for trying to translate it into a language people could read. Those poor souls didn’t have the authority I guess.

But these persecutors of God’s word failed. How could they have succeded if it is Gods word?
It is loose now. Even the Catholic Church couldn’t keep it hidden. Now hundreds of thousands every year are learning what it says. Good.

As a side point, who’s side was Satan on in those days? (Days of the inquisitions I mean) On the side of those trying to translate and spread the Bible, or on the side of those fiercely trying to stop them? Which do you think?

 

[adstrinity]

Oh. A Catholic book, not God’s book?

I remember from history people being hunted and tortured and burned by its keepers - for trying to translate it into a language people could read. Those poor souls didn’t have the authority I guess.

But these persecutors of God’s word failed. How could they have succeded if it is Gods word?
It is loose now. Even the Catholic Church couldn’t keep it hidden. Now hundreds of thousands every year are learning what it says. Good.

As a side point, who’s side was Satan on in those days? (Days of the inquisitions I mean) On the side of those trying to translate and spread the Bible, or on the side of those fiercely trying to stop them? Which do you think?

St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin and finished in 405 AD

St. Mesrob Mashtots and St. Isaac translated the Bible into Armenian and finished in 436 AD

Sts Cyril & Methodius began translating the Bible into Slavonic in 863.

All did so when the Church was one.

I do not know of anybody who was killed in any way for translating a Bible. I DO know that, the Bible, being a Catholic Book, if found wanting in any way, for the love of the people was destroyed so as to not lead the faithful astray.

Easily Satan was on the side of not the Catholic Church. Obviously he wanted to pervert the Bible against Christ’s Papacy.

The Bible was read at every Mass, every Divine Liturgy. If the Catholic Church wanted to keep God’s Word from the people, they were going about it the wrong way by sharing it with people and teaching it to people, even for the uneducated people.

 

[excaliber]

I didn’t say the WT has no authority. We get a lot of our instruction through the articles of the WT. But always based on what the scriptures say.

Not inspired by God, like the Bible is. It is written by imperfect men. But it seems to have God’s “stamp of approval” as you put it.
Jesus prophesied in Matt 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (KJV)

Well, the full name of the WT includes: “Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom”. And is one of the main tools we use in teaching the Bible. The Feb 2010 issue is printed in 180 languages and 39.6 million copies were printed. Over 7 million unpaid volunteers are involved in this preaching work. Surely the largest educational campaign in history.

Would Jehovah allow a false religion to bear his name and do the preaching work his son commissioned?
Indeed, how could such a work be done without God’s “stamp of approval?”

Please pardon me, but I could not reply untill I finished LAUGHING.
2000 years late…JW’s are 2000 years late in there preaching campaign.

Did I forget to menchon that there are only around 7 million diciples of the watchtower organization.
The Church ALREADY had done the largest preaching work in history, that’s how Christianity
Got here…Otherwise Charlze Taze Russel your founder would not have been a protestant
To begin with…let alone inventing his own church.

This is clasic brain washing, when your mind is made to go against all logic and common sence, in order to remain in a state of ignorance.

 

[JeanneH]

Oh. A Catholic book, not God’s book?

I remember from history people being hunted and tortured and burned by its keepers - for trying to translate it into a language people could read. Those poor souls didn’t have the authority I guess.

The translators that were hunted down and killed were translating the Bible with there own theology, much like the WT, and were spouting heresy. That is why they got themselves in trouble.

Why is God spoken of as Almighty God and Mighty God.(Isa. 10.21) It seems to me that the two adjectives are used for Jesus and God which would tell me that Jesus and God are of the same essence.

Jeanne

PS If not for the Catholics preserving the sacred writings the WT and others would not have the Bible to translate into their own theology.
People seem to forget that it is because of the Catholics we have a Bible at all.

 

[excaliber]

Oh. A Catholic book, not God’s book?

I remember from history people being hunted and tortured and burned by its keepers - for trying to translate it into a language people could read. Those poor souls didn’t have the authority I guess.

But these persecutors of God’s word failed. How could they have succeded if it is Gods word?
It is loose now. Even the Catholic Church couldn’t keep it hidden. Now hundreds of thousands every year are learning what it says. Good.

As a side point, who’s side was Satan on in those days? (Days of the inquisitions I mean) On the side of those trying to translate and spread the Bible, or on the side of those fiercely trying to stop them? Which do you think?

Think don’t just repeat what someone told you. The Church was all over the world
Africa…East and West…etc. Just because there was an inquisition in one area, you think
The Whole world was without a bible?

Come on now.

 

[Fidei]

But these persecutors of God’s word failed. How could they have succeded if it is Gods word?
It is loose now. Even the Catholic Church couldn’t keep it hidden. Now hundreds of thousands every year are learning what it says. Good.

are you also happy that thousands have invented their own religions because of the bible?

I’d prefer magistrate over scripture-- “our faith, we should entrust to faithful teachers” for the church (members and leaders and institution alike) is the pillar and foundation of truth which has the power to BIND and LOOSE!

 

[JeanneH]

Oh. A Catholic book, not God’s book?

It is loose now. Even the Catholic Church couldn’t keep it hidden. Now hundreds of thousands every year are learning what it says.

What are you talking about?. The Catholic never wanted to keep the word of God hidden but pure. She didn’t want any Tom ,Dick and Harry translating Gods word to their own theology.

I would love to search out the article where you got the idea that the Church kept the Bible hidden.

Jeanne

Again–it is because of the Catholic Church that the WT has the bible to corrupt according to their teachings.

 

[T_More]

zach dunn;6206463:

…The reason Jehovah’s Witnesses translate John 1:1 as “a god” is because the Greek definite article ho

does not appear before theos. …

As you can see, Regardless, the WBTS is not as good a translator as you might think. Since the majority of the time it translates the word theos and derivatives as the Almighty God, it should translate the last “theos” in verse one as the Almighty God, but it can’t because its identity would crumble.
…QUOTE]

Cool text on John 1. Tricky. I must look it up. Possibly something to do with grammer? Will google BeDuhn on that one.

But I will not dismiss your arguement just because you disagree with what I believe, like some seem to do with me.

At least we are starting to realise there are differnet words for god in greek. Thanks.

Regardless, when inserting “a”, the WTS created a multi-god system. Big God, Jehovah, and little god, Jesus. How can this exist when Isaiah 44 clearly states (and I’ll use the NWT):

6 “This is what Jehovah has said, the King of Israel and the Repurchaser of him, Jehovah of armies, ‘I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. 7 And who is there like me? Let him call out, that he may tell it and present it to me. From when I appointed the people of long ago, both the things coming and the things that will enter in let them tell on their part. 8 Do not be in dread, YOU people, and do not become stupefied. Have I not from that time on caused you individually to hear and told [it] out? And YOU are my witnesses. Does there exist a God besides me?No, there is no Rock. I have recognized none.’”

Twice, YHWH denied there being another God in these few verses. How can this be if Jesus is clearly described as Mighty God? These verses are from the NWT. This creates a real problem when defending the WTS doctrine.

I think what you need to understand is what the CC teaches about the Trinity, and not what you think they teach.

In addition, I think it’s inappropriate to come to another denominations website as a guest and attack them about some of their history (you know as well as I do, you probably would get in trouble being here if others in your congregation knew you were lurking here), when the WTS has some skeletons as well. This isn’t keeping with Christ’s instructions about “He who is without sin…”.

Just my opinion.

Peace.

 

[raffo]

T More, what is the Holy Spirit to the JWs?

If they do believe in him, do they pray and ask for guidance? Thanks and Peace.

 

[T_More]

T More, what is the Holy Spirit to the JWs?

If they do believe in him, do they pray and ask for guidance? Thanks and Peace.

It is “God’s active force”. It is not a personification of anything to them. The Holy Spirit is typically written out by them as “the holy spirit”. In short, it’s defined by them as God’s power emanating from Him.

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

JW’s are very well meaning folks. Although their belief system is Anti-Catholic, be prepared to hear some outrageous things about the Pope, Priests, statues, Mary etc. It may pay to revisit the scriptures on these Church doctrines.

I would recommend beginning with each one’s foundation by recognizing each ones founders name, date of inception and where? If time allows, learn when where and from “who” did their teachings come from?

Here are a few scriptures I would recommend to discuss with non catholics;

Ecclesiastes 1:10 Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say:
Behold this is new: for it hath already gone before in the ages that were before us.

1 John 4: 1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh be longs to God,
3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus 2 does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. 4 You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5 They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.
6We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Galatians 1: 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by (the) grace (of Christ) for a different gospel
7 (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed!
11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4: 11 And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
12 to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, 5 for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, 6 to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
15 Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, 7

Knowing this following scripture might become useful;“Do not fear”. God bless you in planting the seed, God will allow another to water and God will give the increase according to his Holy Will.

2 John 7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. 5
9 Anyone who is so “progressive” 7 as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him in your house or even greet him;
11 for whoever greets him shares in his evil works.

The Eucharist is a biblical proclamation of Jesus death and resurrection with the gift of coming in the “Flesh” in his True Presence.

Peace be with you

 

[Rolltide]

I work as a professional historian. Maybe it would help to take a look at the history of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’ll be taking this information and the quotes from the Catholic Answers (CA) article and the Wikipedia (W) article on the JW’s. My commentary is in bold.

Also before we begin, a definition:
Eschatology: a part of theology and philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world or the ultimate destiny of human kind, commonly phrased as the end of the world.
**
Here is what the two articles state, in summary, with my own commentary added:**

1. Charles Taze Russell has a crisis of faith as a Congregationalist at age 17, and becomes an agnostic. (He doesn’t believe in God, but doesn’t deny the possibility of God.) This is a young man who is having a crisis of faith, and struggling to find out what he believes.
2. After a few years, he goes to an Adventist meeting. This group, led by William Miller, believed that the world would end in 1843, but it doesn’t So, they mysteriously “find” an error in their calculations and repredict the end of the world in 1844. Again, it doesn’t happen (obviously). Most people leave this movement, believing it to be a fraud, although a few, led by Ellen G. White, go on to found the Seventh-Day Adventists. In other words, the Adventists have TWICE incorrectly predicted the end of the world, causing most (but not all) followers to abandon their ideas.
3. Jonas Wendell gets Russell interested in Bible prophecy again. In 1876, Russell met Nelson H. Barbour and subsequently adopted Barbour’s eschatology. Barbour had predicted a visible return of Christ for 1873, and when that failed to occur, he revised the prediction to 1874. In other words, Russell hooks up with Nelson Barbour, who also incorrectly predicts a visible return for Christ (the end of the world)… twice!
4. Soon after the second disappointment, Barbour’s group decided Christ had returned to the earth in 1874, but invisibly. They differed from most Second Adventists by teaching that all of humankind descended from Adam would be given a chance to live in a paradise Earth. The year 1914 was seen as the final end, marking a forty-year period from 1874. So, his predictions did not come true, and changes his story to claim that Jesus came to Earth “invisibly” in 1874. After forty years on Earth, the world would then finally end in 1914. This is a skeptical claim from someone who had so clearly failed to predict the future. (I’d also like to point out at this point that are several apparations and miracles that Catholics believe, such as Fatima, that did correctly predict the future.)
5. It was this diminished Adventism which influenced Russell. In July 1879, Russell broke with Barbour over the concept of substitutionary atonement and he soon began publishing his own magazine, Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence (now known as The Watchtower). After the break, Russell retained the bulk of Barbour’s eschatological views. He was known as “Pastor Russell” (who took the title “Pastor” even though he never got through high school), and in 1881 formed the legal entity which developed into the non-profit organization: The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (currently headquartered in New York City). In 1884, it was incorporated with Russell as president. He authored the six-volume series, Studies in the Scriptures. Now, we have Russell breaking with Barbour, but keeping his views about the end of the world (the one thing that he’s clearly been wrong about in the past!). It’s also important to note that Russell doesn’t even have a high school education. Now, this isn’t necessarily bad or uncommon for that day and age, but the less educated are far more susceptible to having people who know more than them talk them into an idea that may be incorrect. They won’t have the knowledge to refute it.
6. Before he got his religious career well underway, Russell promoted what he called “miracle wheat,” which he sold at sixty dollars per bushel. He claimed it would grow five times as well as regular wheat. In fact, it grew slightly less well than regular wheat, as was established in court when Russell was sued. Later he marketed a fake cancer cure and what he termed a “millennial bean”. **At first, it might seem like this doesn’t have anything directly to do with his faith, but it demonstrates a pattern. Whether he was actively conning people, or whether he was just gullible (possibly due to his lack of education), he was involved in at least three other false, and possibly corrupt, schemes in his early life.
   **
7. Russell taught his followers the non-existence of hell and the annihilation of unsaved people (a doctrine he picked up from the Adventists), the non-existence of the Trinity (he said only the Father, Jehovah, is God), the identification of Jesus with Michael the Archangel, the reduction of the Holy Spirit from a person to a force, the mortality (not immortality) of the soul, and the return of Jesus in 1914. Important here is the idea that Russell is picking up some of his doctrine (including the imminent end of the world) from the Adventists, which were wrong time and time again. If their denomination is wrong, why did Russell adopt ideas from it? If they are right, why isn’t everyone Adventist today?

continued…

 

[Rolltide]

Here is part 2, still discussing the history of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Another comment before we get started. Isn’t it interesting how so far, the major ideas of the Jehovah’s Witnesses seem to have nothing to do with the Bible, but the personal opinions of two individuals who clearly have major theological problems of their own?

1. When 1914 had come and gone, with no Jesus in sight, Russell modified his teachings and claimed Jesus had, in fact, returned to Earth, but that his return was invisible. His visible return would come later, but still very soon. It would result in the final conflict between God and the Devil—the forces of good and the forces of evil—in which God would be victorious. This conflict is known to Witnesses as the battle of Armageddon, and just about everything the Witnesses teach centers around this doctrine. Here we have a FIFTH incorrect prediction in the life of Russell. He didn’t make the first four, but he believed in them. Now he becomes more vague, saying that Jesus is still here invisibly, and that the visible return would be “soon”. For someone who is supposedly guided by Jehovah in things like scriptural interpretation, he is making (and following people that are making) a tremendous amount of errors.
2. Russell died on October 31, 1916, and following his death, an editorial committee of five was set up to supervise the writing of the Watch Tower magazine, as set forth in Russell’s Last Will and Testament. On January 6, 1917, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (also known as “Judge Rutherford”) was elected second President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. New by-laws were passed at the same business meeting that strengthened the President’s authority. Initially, the board of directors for the Watch Tower Society accepted this change, but four of the board members withdrew their support. The June 20, 1917 meeting of the full board of directors tabled, for one month, a proposal to return control of the Society to the board, but Rutherford prevented their attempt. Matters came to a head on July 17, 1917 when the book The Finished Mystery was published. Rutherford announced that he was dismissing the four directors and replacing them with new members. Dissension and schisms ensued in congregations worldwide as a result of these events, and of the consequences of new predictions made for the years 1918, 1920 and 1925. At one time Rutherford claimed Russell was next to Paul as an expounder of the gospel, but later, in an effort to have his writings supplant Russell’s, he let Russell’s books go out of print. It was Rutherford who coined the slogan, “Millions now living will never die.” By it he meant that some people alive in 1914 would still be alive when Armageddon came and the world was restored to a paradise state. The death of Russell causes dissent and schism. The organization itself can’t even keep control of its beliefs. THREE more failed predictions occur, bringing the total to eight (if you include the Adventist predictions). Rutherford tries to seize control and impose his own beliefs on the group. He even has his own books replace those of Russell! All of this causes many people to become disillusioned and leave.
3. In the 1925 prophecy, Rutherford stated that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets would return to Earth, and so he prepared for them a mansion named Beth Sarim in San Diego, California. He moved into this mansion (where he died in 1942) and bought an automobile with which to drive the resurrected patriarchs around. The Watch Tower Society quietly sold Beth Sarim years later to cover up an embarrassing moment in their history, namely another failed prophecy. This paragraph pretty much speaks for itself. Try searching for Beth Sarim on the internet and see what you find. I can provide you with links, articles, and pictures if necessary. Also note that Watchtower Publications have continuously changed their story regarding Beth Sarim over the years (to cover up their mistaken prophecy), and this can be historically documented.

Part 3 to follow…

 

[Rolltide]

1. An emphasis on preaching house-to-house began in 1922. By 1928, attendance at their yearly Memorial dropped nearly 75% from 1922, due to the previous power struggle, the failed predictions for the year 1925, and the evolving doctrinal changes which alienated those who sided with Russell’s views.

From 1925 to 1933, their eschatological beliefs underwent radical changes. In 1931, the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” was adopted. By 1933, 1914 was seen as the beginning of Christ’s presence, his enthronement as king, and the start of the last days instead of being considered the terminal date in their chronology.

Under Rutherford, membership grew from about 44,000 in 1928 to about 115,000 at the time of his death in 1942.
**
So, the doctrine changed SO MUCH by 1928, that over 75% of the organization simply quit. They officially adopt the name "Jehovah’s Witnesses, and, as seen in point #9, adopt the idea that some of the people alive in 1914 WILL be alive at the time of the Second Coming. They also begin house-to-house preaching. They really almost had to, since their numbers were declining so severely.**

1. Nathan Homer Knorr succeeded Rutherford as president of the Watch Tower Society. Known as an efficient administrator, Knorr founded the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead to train missionaries, as well as the Theocratic Ministry School to train preaching and teaching at the congregational level. (It is under Knorr that the Jehovah’s Witnesses earn their reputation as skillful deliverers of “personal testimonies.”

Knorr’s vice-president Frederick William Franz became the leading theologian, and is believed to have been the principal translator of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Also produced were a Greek-English New Testament interlinear (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures) and a Bible dictionary (Aid to Bible Understanding). Since the Bible, as preserved through the centuries, did not support the peculiar doctrines of the Witnesses, Knorr chose an anonymous committee to produce the New World Translation, which is used by no sect other than the Witnesses. By means of former Witnesses, the names of the five members of the translation committee eventually came to light. Four of the five members completely lack credentials to qualify them as Bible translators, and the fifth member studied non-biblical Greek for only about two years.

The offices of elder and ministerial servant (deacon) were restored to Witness congregations in 1972, with appointments being made from headquarters. Membership rose from 115,000 to over 2 million under Knorr’s leadership.

What seems to be the conclusion, based on what we’ve learned so far? The Jehovah’s Witnesses, having changed doctrine so many times and with so many failed predictions, were forced to alter the Bible to support their beliefs. Four of the five translators couldn’t even translate Greek! Now, this next quote came from the Catholic Answers article, but it indicates the types of things other religions accuse the New World Translation of changing:

**“The New World Translation was produced because it buttresses Witnesses’ beliefs through obscure or inaccurate renderings. For example, to prove that Jesus was only a creature, not God, the New World Translation’s rendering of John 1:1 concludes this way: “and the Word was a god” [italics added]. Every other translation, Catholic and Protestant—not to mention the Greek original—has “and the Word was God.””

IF this is true, you can see that such a rendering would eliminate the references to the divinity of Jesus and his equality with God. Such a change would undermine Trinitarian religions. Mind you, I’m NOT telling you to automatically accept that is what happened. You can decide for yourself. But, you can at least acknowledge that if such a change DID occur, it would change the entire interpretation of the Bible. Catholics and Protestants argue that similar subtle changes were made throughout the Bible.**

Part 4 to follow…