This little book came about following a "Bible Study" with a Jehovah's Witness couple in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It was from the weekly meetings we had during 1994 that I discovered the extent of anti-Catholicism behind the Watchtower's message. The research that I did to defend the Church resulted in this book.

The book is presented from a Catholic perspective and is based more on doctrinal differences than cultural ones. There are already many excellent resources on the internet and elsewhere that examine Jehovah's Witness history and culture. Some of the positions I take will definitely offend practicing Jehovah's Witnesses. Some may also offend Protestants. Nevertheless, this book can be a resource for Catholic and Protestants alike. Therefore, I hope that Protestant readers will look beyond the Catholic-Protestant issues and use whatever material is useful for dissuading more people from joining the Watchtower (and hopefully even reconverting ex-Christian Jehovah's Witnesses).

For Catholic readers, please let me know if any of my arguments are not completely in line with Catholic teaching. The intention of the book is to stay with the strict teachings of the Magisterium, but an occasional error may have been overlooked. I would also welcome any contributions to this book. If you want to add a paragraph or a chapter, send me a note. If your material is used, you will be publicly acknowledged for your contribution. If any of the links in the bibliography or the text become obsolete or if you notice any spelling/grammatical errors, I would appreciate a note to this effect.

You will notice that the original text of this book is copyright. This is not because of any hope for remuneration, but rather to protect the integrity of the text. Therefore, feel free to copy the book and give it to anyone you wish, as long as it remains complete and unaltered.

One of the major tenets of Jehovah's Witness doctrine is that God's select people will inherit a paradise on earth. This paradise will be like a wonderful fountain of youth where people of all races and nationalities will live together in perfect harmony. They appeal to science which they say cannot explain why people age. "Humans should be able to live forever," they assert. This was God's original intention when He placed people on earth, that "the entire earth [was to be] brought under the control of a righteous human family all living together in peace and happiness." If only Adam and Eve had not sinned, death would be unknown, and man would still be living in a garden of Eden. God never intended to have the world inhabited in such a manner as it is today, with war, poverty, illness and sin abounding everywhere.

Here a Christian must ask himself, "Is God capable of such a mistake?" Not if He is All Powerful, Almighty, and All Knowing. Surely if a meteorologist can predict whether a hurricane will hit the coast of Florida on Friday of next week, God knows this. He also knows if another one will hit the coast of Florida ten thousand years from now. How then, could He have not known that man would sin and rebel against His authority? Here the Witnesses will admit that God could know such things if it was His will to know. "But God chose not to know," they reply. For what purpose?

"We can be sure that God's purpose for the earth did not change." On this point we can agree. But what was God's purpose for the earth? Surely God did not intend the pinnacle of His earthly creations to be a slave to His will, mere robots. Rather, we all know that God created man in his own image. In order to do so, He also gave us free will. The difficulty, however, does not come from an inability to conceptualize a God that would allow His creation to disobey him, but rather from the inability to conceptualize infinity.

God is without beginning or end. Remember back to your summer holidays as a child. They seemed to go on forever. Having only lived a short time, two months was large stretch of that lifetime. Now that you are an adult, it seems like every time you sneeze, two months have gone by. It has become a smaller fraction of your life-span. Now imagine God. He has no beginning and no end. There is no relative time span. To Him, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (cf. Ps 90:4). He inhabits all time and all space. This concept is very important to an understanding of why the fall of Man could never have been unknown to God. The combined sins of man are as real to him now as the world before Adam, even before dinosaurs. This is why every time a priest celebrates mass, he offers the same sacrifice that Christ made when he died on the cross. Christ does not suffer over and over again during each eucharistic consecration. Time is an invention of man to help us put order into our lives.

Indeed, the Watchtower undercuts their own argument in this respect. "God is able to foretell the future," they note. "He describes himself as 'the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done; the One saying, My own council will stand, and everything that is my delight I shall do.' (Isaiah 46:10)" Still, wishing to show that God "chooses not to foreknow," the Watchtower presents the following argument: "would it not have been hypocritical for God to offer the prospect of everlasting life to Adam and Eve, fully aware that they would be unable to realize it?" How dare they call God a hypocrite! What blasphemy! God always gave Adam and Eve "the prospect of everlasting life" even after the fall, through the eternal and Holy Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. If God wanted our first parents to remain in paradise forever, he could have done so by simply not creating a tree of knowledge, thereby preventing any means for disobedience. Yet, predestination in no way implies that choice is not given. One is predestined to heavenly glory by choosing this glory freely just as one who is predestined to eternal damnation makes the choice to follow such a destiny. There is nothing hypocritical about God knowing who will betray him and who will be faithful. Holy Scripture tells us, for example, that Judas was "destined to be lost" (Jn. 13:11; 17:12). Since Judas had not yet betrayed Jesus, he was indeed predestined to be lost, not by any interference from God, but by Judas' own free will which God knew "from the beginning."

Reverend Francis Spirago in The Catechism Explained clarifies this issue with the following analogy. "When God foresees that some man will be lost forever, God's foreknowledge is not the cause of the man's damnation. The physician foresees the approaching death of his patient, but his knowledge is not the cause of the man's death." The Watchtower argues, "If God has already chosen the ones to be saved, would this not dampen the zeal Christians show in evangelizing? Would it not make the preaching work essentially pointless." To such arguments, Rev. Spirago relates the following story: "The learned Franciscan Duns Scotus, once heard a farmer uttering terrible curses and begged him not to damn his soul so thoughtlessly. The farmer answered: 'God knows everything. He knows whether I shall go to heaven or to hell. If He knows that I shall go to heaven, why to heaven I shall go; if He knows that I shall go to hell, I shall go to hell. What then does it matter what I do or say?' The priest answered, 'In that case why plough your fields? God knows whether they shall bear a good crop or not. If He knows that they will bear a good harvest, the harvest will be good, whether you plough the land or not. If he knows that they will be unfruitful, why unfruitful they will be. Why then should you waste time ploughing?' Then the farmer understood that it is not the omniscience of God, but the free action of man, that determines both our temporal and our eternal happiness or misery." That free action of man is determined in the mind of God by His absolute foreknowledge and is thereby predetermined. By His foreknowledge, God already knows who will be saved and who will be damned. Through this foreknowledge, God has "chosen the ones to be saved" based on their faith, humility, and obedience. Only a feeble mind would consider such virtues "pointless" simply because God knows who possesses them.

Yet, the Watchtower maintains, "the Scriptures reveal that there are situations in which God chooses not to foreknow the outcome. Just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he declared: 'I am quite determined to go down that I may see whether they act altogether according to the outcry over it that has come to me, and, if not, I can get to know it.' (Genesis 18:21). This text clearly shows us that God did not foreknow the extent of the depravity in those cities before he investigated matters." Really? Remember that God is here in dialogue with Abraham, and that Abraham attempts to intercede on behalf of Sodom, just as the Saints in Heaven intercede and "pray for us sinners." God willed this dialogue between Himself and Abraham as a means of drawing out and demonstrating that His pleasure is that the righteous plead on behalf of the unrighteous. He shows us how to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt. 5:44). Also take note that the language used in this passage is how God revealed himself to Abraham, for at the end of the conversation, "Yahweh went away." In the literal sense this is impossible since God "fill[s] heaven and earth?" (Jr 23:24) and "all things" (Ep 4:10). Just as God is not constrained by a burning bush (Ex. 3), He chooses various forms through which He reveals Himself to man. God already knew the fate of Sodom and He never says anything to the contrary. "God is no human being that he should lie, no child of Adam to change his mind" (Nb. 23:19). We only change our mind because of imperfection, yet God is Perfect. Who are we to question His will that we "pray for those who persecute [us]" or His will that Abraham plead for Sodom.

The Watchtower's position also creates problems in logic. They say "that there are situations in which God chooses not to foreknow," yet they do not describe the method which God uses to make this choice. How does God decide which events He will foreknow and those He will not? In making this choice He must have criteria, yet knowledge of the criteria already suggests foreknowledge. For example, the Watchtower asserts that "God exercised his foreknowledge to reveal the succession of world powers," and "God can see certain events." How did God decide to know that foreknowledge of "the succession of world powers" was relevant to His purpose and that foreknowledge of other events, such as "the extent of the depravity of [Sodom and Gomorrah]" were not? Would He not need to foreknow the events which were to take place in Sodom and Gomorrah in order to make His decision not to foreknow those same events? The answer to this question, according to Watchtower logic, is as impossible to define as the riddle about whether the chicken came before the egg, or the egg before the chicken. The only solution is to admit that God knows all things at all times, including our destiny.

But what is that destiny for the ones chosen to be saved? The Watchtower cites Scriptural passages which they feel imply that the earth will last forever, and that the righteous will always inhabit it. However, one must be careful to read the quoted passages in context. Often they refer to the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon and Egypt. Other times, as in Psalms 67 and 72, they refer to blessings bestowed upon the king. In contrast, the Bible proclaims that His Kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36). Neither will ours be.

What makes us Christians is our belief that God became Man. He only lived among us for a short time, after which He died to pay the ransom for our sins. This is a major point of contention with Jehovah's Witnesses who proclaim that Jesus is none other than Michael the Archangel. This will be discussed later in the book. However, this point is particularly relevant when interpreting Revelation 21: 3, 4. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as bride dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone' (Rev 21:1-4)."

The Watchtower chooses to interpret the above passage as a reference to a renewed earth where there will be no death or sadness, and God will live among them. However, there are several problems with such an interpretation. First, cross reference this passage to Matthew's account of the nativity (Mt 1:23). Here, Immanuel is the name used to describe the child Jesus, meaning God-with-us. Surely in Jesus, God does live among human beings. Second, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, is a metaphor used by Jews and early Christians to describe heaven. This is particularly evident in an account given in the letter to the Hebrews (Hb 11:8-16). In this account, Abraham's descendants, which are "as numerous as the stars" are looking forward to "their heavenly homeland" since God has "founded the city for them." They recognize that they are "strangers and nomads on earth."

The story of Abraham and his descendants is also relevant to the question of time, which was discussed above. We know that salvation only comes through Christ Jesus as we are reminded in the famous passage of John 3:16. How then could God have founded the city of heaven for them unless Christ died for our sins for all time. For an infinite God this is possible; for one constrained by time, only those alive after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can be saved, as only they will know who he is. Yet this is what the Watchtower proposes. Before Christ, nobody could even hope for a "heavenly homeland." As evidence, they point to John 3:13: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven." Yet what is the context in which he says this? After Jesus describes how one must be "born again" through baptism before he can enter the kingdom of God, Nicodemus asks, "How is that possible?" (Jn. 3:9). In reply, Jesus notes, "In all truth I tell you, we only speak about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence. If you do not believe me when I speak about earthly things, how will you believe me when I speak about heavenly things?" (Jn. 3:11,12). The point he is making here is not that nobody has ever gone to heaven, but that among those living, nobody has seen heaven, and therefore nobody, Nicodemus included, can understand it.

Quoting Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Francis de Sales supplements Jesus' point with the following parable: "Picture a pregnant woman who is put into prison, where she remains until the time of her delivery. She even gives birth there and is then condemned to pass the remainder of her life in the dungeon and to bring up her child there. As he grows older his mother desires to give him some idea of things in the outside world, for having lived only in continual darkness he has no idea of the light of the sun, the beauty of the stars, or the loveliness of nature. Since the mother wants to teach him all these things, they lower a lamp or a lighted candle to her. With this she attempts to make him conceive, as best she can, the beauty of a bright day. She tells him: 'The sun and the stars are made like this and spread out a great light.' It is all in vain, for the child, having had no experience of the light of which his mother speaks, cannot understand." Even though Abraham and his descendents could not understand heaven, heaven was still their hope. They trusted their Lord (Ps. 22:4) and His promise was their hope, just as the child in Gregory's parable trusted his mother and hoped that one day he would see the light of day, green flowing hills, and towering forests.

Continuing on, the Watchtower proclaims that the earth was made for man, and that the earth will last forever, even though Paul reminds the Philippians that "they will be lost...since their minds are set on earthly things. But our homeland is in heaven...(Phil 3:19-20)." Saint Luke also reminds us that when Christ comes again, "no one on the housetop, with his possessions in the house must come down to collect them...Remember Lot's wife (Lk 17:31-32)." Certainly there is greater glory in the presence of God in His heavenly kingdom than can ever be attained through all the riches of the world. Over and over, scripture tells us to set our eyes on God who has prepared the city of heaven, the new Jerusalem, for a multitude as numerous as the stars in heaven (cf. Hb 11:12). Those who set their eyes on the riches of this world will only find death. Of course Witnesses will deny that they are coveting the things of this world. The transformed earth will be vastly different from the one of today, since there will be no hoarding or greed. In fact, what they are describing is a perfect socialist utopia. In developing countries, the ranks of the Jehovah's Witnesses are swelling in alarming numbers. The poor of those countries are buying into a dream of a life that they cannot hope to attain in their present state. They are told that in the last days when the angels of God come to execute His judgement, only Witnesses will survive. Afterwards, they will be free to take what is left behind from wealthy Catholics, Protestants, Atheists, and others, who will not survive the final judgement. In the meantime, these hard working peasants will send what little they have to support the multimillion dollar publishing empire which the Watchtower has established in Brooklyn, New York.

Watchtower books are filled with beautiful colour illustrations of the paradise on earth. Happy smiling faces are waiting to greet those wanting to convert. "Look how healthy and youthful they appear! If you were told that these people had already lived thousands of years, would you believe it?," exclaims the Watchtower. To back up their claims about this, yet undiscovered, fountain of youth, they cite Job 33:25. There Elihu, Job's young and proud friend, tells Job that "his flesh will recover it's childhood freshness, he will return to the days of his youth." If you recall the story of Job, you will remember that Job had lost all his family and his wealth when God decided to prove Job's faith. In his despair, Job was counseled by four sages. The last and youngest to speak was Elihu. We know that Elihu cannot be trusted for God declares, "Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words? (Job 38:2)" When challenged on this, the Witnesses will respond that God was only referring to the other three sages. Yet, it is not until chapter 42 that the other three are rebuked (Job 42:7-9). Still, they will maintain that Elihu was wise and inspired by God. But this argument doesn't wash. First, in the same chapter quoted by the Watchtower, Elihu announces, "keep quiet, and I will teach you wisdom (Job 33:33)." Certainly Elihu was not only proud, but arrogant to declare himself as such in the presence of God's favoured servant Job. Doesn't Saint Matthew tell us that "Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up (Mt 23:12)." After all, "God opposes the proud, but he accords his favour to the humble (Jas 4:6)." As further evidence of his pride, Elihu also declares, "I guarantee, nothing I shall say will be untrue, you have a man of sound learning here (Job 36:4)."

What was lost by Adam's sin was the garden of Eden. The Watchtower promises that this state will be restored under Jesus Christ and the faithful of Jehovah will be permitted to reside in this paradise on earth. As evidence they cite Luke 23:43. Remember that Christ is speaking with a thief who, near death, sincerely professes his faith in our Lord. Jesus then "answered him, 'In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'" In the Watchtower's New World Translation (NWT), the comma is shifted so that it falls after today. "Truly I tell you today,..." it reads, thus permitting an interpretation where the good thief will be resurrected at Armageddon and live with Jesus in his earthly paradise. The thief will not be in paradise today. Jesus is telling him "today," that he will live in a paradise on earth some thousands of years into the future. This goes back to the conception of time and how man measures the seasons in a way far different from God, as we discussed earlier. But all this is beside the point. Paradise is referred to elsewhere in the New Testament. For example, Paul describes a vision in a letter to the people of Corinth. "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—still in the body? I do not know; or out of the body? I do not know—God knows—was caught up right into the third heaven. And I know that this man—still in the body?—or outside the body? I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise (2 Cor 12:2-4)." Here, Paradise is equated to the third heaven.

Then we are asked to put ourselves in God's shoes (those are pretty big shoes to fill). "Would you bring to an end all the things that cause human suffering?...of course you would," declares the Watchtower. It's a good thing were not God. He has given us free will so that we can chose between good and evil, between Jesus and Satan, between Heaven and Hell. After all, if God could see no benefit in allowing us to sin and to suffer, he could have ended those things long ago. But then how would we ever hope to share in his divinity as mere automatons. Suddenly, your JW study partner objects. "You're not suggesting that Jehovah God created evil are you?," he retorts. God forbid, as St. Paul would say. All I am saying is that when man was created in the image of God, he was also created with free will. Along with free will comes Ego. And with Ego comes the desire to be God (cf. Gen 3:5). It is this desire to become God that has helped popularize the New Age movement. Take for example a family. The parents become one flesh, and through the gift of God, create new life. The children born unto them will grow up and become like them. They will make mistakes, but they will also have successes. They will hate, but they will also love. When my child does wrong, am I responsible? Not if I have given good guidance to the best of my abilities. On the other hand, children learn from their mistakes, which helps them to become more responsible, like mom and dad. Parents know in advance that when they procreate, their offspring will commit sin. Just because they sin, doesn't mean that couples should not have children, nor are they (usually) responsible for the sins of their children. So it is with our Heavenly Father. He knew that we would sin, but he chose to create man in his image so that man could someday share in his divinity. We are responsible for our own sins. God has given us a conscience and his Holy Word to guide us. We are free to choose.

To add to this, refer to Paul's letter to the Romans. "[God] decided beforehand who were the ones destined to be moulded to the pattern of his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many brothers; it was those so destined that he called; those that he called, he justified, and those that he has justified he has brought into glory (Rm 8:29,30)." In essence, God knows what we are doing today, tomorrow, and the next day. To Him, it is as though those things have already happened. Notice the tense used in the above verse. He knows that path our lives will take and to Him, those who love Him already share in His glory. As an illustration, if a king could see into the future and know the paths his children will take in life, he will be better able to plan the inheritance of his kingdom by those children who have shown to be responsible. Still, he must allow them to run the course of their lives so that they are able to mature and learn from their mistakes. If he were to suddenly divide his estate beforehand, he would be interfering in their destiny and impeding their ability to mature.

Our predestined salvation through Christ is also mentioned in Ephesians 1:4,5. We are told that He chose us before the world was made. The Watchtower condemns this theology since "they could not fail, regardless of what they did." There they make the big mistake of assuming that we are saved by our works, rather than the grace of God. If it were only for our actions that we are chosen, then none of us could ever hope to share in His glory. Rather, those who accept Christ are ransomed from death by His sacrifice from the cross. Instead, the Watchtower suggests that there will be a class of people who will prove faithful and receive a just reward. This notion does nothing but belittle Christ's sacrifice.

The Watchtower suggests that the passage in Saint Paul's letter to the Ephesians is paralleled by Luke 11:50, 51 where the founding of the world refers to "the time of Abel," and thus after the fall of man. In this passage Jesus warns his listeners that they will be held accountable for the blood of the prophets which has been shed since the foundation of the world from Abel to Zechariah. There is false logic in this argument which I will illustrate in the following example. Suppose we transpose the words "blood of the prophets" with the words "airplane crashes." If we now say that they will have to pay for the airplane crashes since the foundation of the world from the Wright brothers to Locherbey, would this suggest that the foundation of the world corresponds to the invention of the airplane? God forbid! All it would mean is that there were no airplane crashes before the Wright brothers because there were no airplanes! The same holds true for the passage in Luke since there were no prophets murdered before Abel. Don't let them tell you that there were no prophets before Abel. What was Adam if not a prophet. Did he not speak to God and receive reply, and did he not hand down his story to his sons so that it could eventually be recorded by Moses into the book we now call Genesis. Still, Adam was never murdered.

To counter this argument, they will say that the world does not refer to the earth, but rather to mankind. This will not help their argument, however, since Adam and Eve were the first humans and they were created without sin or shame. Therefore, when God speaks to us about those who are predestined to share in His glory, He does so from a vantage point before (and after) sin came into the world. If some are predestined to share in His glory, then others are not. Since the wages of sin are death, then He must have known that man would disobey Him even before mankind came into being. For this reason we all need a Saviour, and by putting our faith and trust in Him, He may redeem us from our sin, and lead us to everlasting life (cf Jn 3:16).

Next comes the Watchtower's proclaimed end to wickedness on earth. "It will mean an end to only bad people and their way of living." Would this not mean an end to us all? Absolutely, if it were not for the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Again, JWs are led to believe that they will be saved by their works and only the righteous will be saved. May I here suggest that none of us are righteous? "If we say, 'We have no sin,' we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth has no place in us (1 Jn 1:8)." It is by God's grace alone that we are saved. How can anyone claim a reward from Him who has given us all that we have. As C. S. Lewis puts it, we are like children who ask their father for ten dollars in order to buy him a present. Only a fool would suggest that the father is ten dollars richer. Nonetheless he is still pleased with the gift he receives. Do his children deserve a reward? This by no means invalidates the value of good works, for we are told that faith without works is dead (Jas 2).

The Watchtower's main tactic for converting people is to predict that the end is near. We must study the signs of the times, they claim. For this reason, the Watchtower uses statistics to prove that the present era is coming to an end. (If you have studied advanced statistics, you know that the outcome can usually be manipulated to prove any point unless the strictest guidelines are followed.) They say that earthquakes are increasing, as are wars, famine, lawlessness, etc. For biblical proof they point to the apocalypse in Matthew 24, failing however to mention verse 44 of that chapter. In that passage, Jesus promises that He will return at a time least expected. Therefore, all their calculations and statistics are pointless. To prove my point, all we need to do is refer to previous attempts by the Watchtower to predict the second coming. The years 1874, 1910, 1914, 1918, 1925, and 1975 have all been referred to for the ushering in of the new era where Christ will return and assume His kingly throne. Every time these predictions have failed, the Watchtower has moved the date forward, not by a large amount, just far enough that they can continue to instill fear. Do they not realize that Christ has always been Immanuel, God-with-us. Whenever we gather together to hear His word or pray together, He is with us (cf. Mt 18:20). For true believers, the date of His reign, the day of judgement, does not matter, since He has promised us salvation if we only believe in Him. We shouldn't only follow Him at times when we think the end is near, but at all times. The JWs will deny that they do this, but you just need to go back to 1974 in order to prove my point. They were expecting the end of the world to come the following year. Many quit their jobs, sold their houses, and began witnessing full time (standing on street corners, knocking on doors, etc.). Since the time was so near, they would not need material possessions any longer. After all, they were making an investment in their future. Surely Jehovah God would reward their good works. Their motto became "stay alive 'til 75." When 1975 came and went without any great calamity, many became disillusioned and left the Watchtower organization.

The Watchtower cautions that we are experiencing so much anguish, suffering, and despair, the end must be near. But I challenge you to consider whether this has not always been the case. Since the time of Christ there have been vast empires based on repression and genocide. Pagan Rome, the Mongolians, the Turks, the French under Napoleon, and, very recently, the Nazis have all bought victory at the price of innocent blood. And what of the great plague? Surely if anyone was to predict a time of great suffering it would have been during this horrific stage in world history. So what has changed that makes our time so special? Nothing! Man still oppresses others for the sake of his own greed, there are still wars, famine, and disease. Since the time of Adam these conditions have existed, and will continue to exist as long as man inhabits the earth. What the Watchtower fails to convey is the amount of love, charity, self-sacrifice, and peace that exists in the world today. These are precious gifts from God who is working through us and for us, God-with-us, for all time.

"If you love life and want to live forever on the earth...then you must hurry to take accurate knowledge of God..." declares the Watchtower. How can JWs ever hope to obtain accurate knowledge when they are forbidden to read almost anything that is not published by the Watchtower. The publishers of their literature are obviously free to read and quote from any source they choose (frequently they quote the New York Times and the Catholic Encyclopedia), selectively extract whatever statements suit their purpose, and then demand that their followers accept their version at face value.

The Watchtower claims that the world is governed by Satan, basing their whole argument on two verses in the Bible. "Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. And he said to him, 'I will give you all these if you fall at my feet and do me homage'" (Mt 4:8,9). "How else could he have offered them to Jesus," claims the Watchtower, unless they belonged to Satan. Did they ever think that Satan was lying, that he was trying to deceive Jesus? He promised Eve that if she ate from the forbidden fruit she would not die, but rather would become like a god (Gen 3:3-5). Elsewhere, we are told that he is a liar and the father of all lies (Jn 8:44). The Watchtower even contradicts themselves in their discussion of this matter when they refer to Satan as "a hateful liar" who "would like to mislead us." Now, all of a sudden, because it suits their purpose, they claim that Satan is telling the truth. So what about the kingdoms which Satan claimed to offer Jesus? Is he the "unseen ruler of all the nations of the world" as the Watchtower claims?

Beginning with Old Testament wisdom, God tells us, "By me monarchs rule and princes decree what is right; by me rulers govern, so do nobles, the lawful authorities" (Pr 8:15,16). Saint Paul adds, "Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God and so whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God" (Rm 13:1). Saint Peter agrees when he requests "For the sake of the Lord" that the Christians of Asia Minor "accept authority of every human institution: the emperor as the supreme authority, and the governors as commissioned by him to punish criminals and praise those who do good" (1Pet 2:13, 14). Even our Lord, when placed before Pilate tells Pilate that he has no power over Jesus except as given to him from above. Rather it was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, that "has the greater guilt" (Jn 19:11).

So what does God mean when he refers to Satan as the prince of this world? Since the fall of man, we all have borne the sign of original sin. Ever since our first parents decided to believe Satan's promise that they would be like gods, mankind has sought after this illusion. Every sin committed is a reflection of this desire. Modern psychology refers to it as Ego. So when Satan is called the prince of this world, we can be assured that he is appealing to our ego. Idolatry, whether it is a golden calf or money, places our love in the work of our own hands. It lifts us up and makes us feel as though we are the creator, thereby neglecting to offer credit where credit is due.

The Watchtower refers Ephesians 6:12 in its discussion of this matter, and so will I. They interpret that verse as saying that "we have to fight to keep from being influenced by [Satan]." On this point I would agree, but it also says that "it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle." To illustrate, put yourself before Pilate. All that is required for you to achieve your freedom is to deny that Jesus is God. For an ordinary Christian, the enemy would not be Pilate or any other oppressor, but rather his own ego. It is that ego which fails to surrender and trust in God. It is that ego which makes us deny Him and betray Him for gold and silver. And it is that ego that prevents me from saying a dinner blessing at a restaurant, when I never neglect to do so at home. Is it that we are embarrassed about our faith in a world which tends to reject God? Do we hold our own esteem in the eyes of others higher than our commitment to truth and love? How then could we hope to stay faithful when placed before someone such as Pilate who holds the balance of life and death in his hands? When we surrender ourselves completely to God, no enemy on earth can harm us. The real enemy, the prince of this world, is working within us, building up our egos.

In the Watchtower's discussion of Ephesians 6:12, they ignore the portion of the verse which I discussed above. Instead, they refer only to "principalities and ruling forces who are masters of darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens." The principalities and ruling forces are suggested as representing current governments and institutions (ie. religions other than Jehovah's Witnesses, universities, international relief agencies, etc.). But according to Saint Paul, these forces cannot represent "human enemies," and, therefore, cannot represent human governments and institutions. Read in context, that portion of Paul's letter is very allegorical. He speaks of the belt of truth, the breastplate of uprightness, the shield of faith, the burning arrows of the Evil One, and the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:14-17). And all the while that his words conjure up images of a holy war, he speaks of spreading the gospel of peace. When the Ephesians are asked to put on "the full armour of God" (Eph 6:11), Paul is not speaking of a hundred pounds of cast iron vestments. As such, it is highly misleading to take half a verse out of this context and interpret it literally.

The battle that Paul is describing rages within us each moment of each day. It is a war against the human ego in its attempt to separate us from God. Paul makes this very clear when he notes that "although we are human, it is not by human methods that we do battle" (2Cor 10:3). And "let anyone who wants to boast, boast of the Lord. For it is not through self commendation that recognition is won, but through commendation" (2 Cor 10:17,18). When the Watchtower externalizes Paul's message by focusing on governments and institutions, they throw away the belt of truth and open the door to the ego's burning arrows. Think of the message they proclaim. They have the truth, they are pure, and only those who follow them will survive the wrath of God against this wicked world. How much of Paul's message of hope, faith, and charity is contained in such absolutes. "If you pass judgement you have no excuse," he says. "It is yourself that you condemn when you judge others since you behave in the same way as those you are condemning" (Rm 2:1). After all, "there is no favouritism with God" (Rm 2:11). When you think of what a large institution the Watchtower has itself become, we must hope that Paul's warning does not fall on deaf ears.

Later in their discussion of Satan, the Watchtower speaks of Satan being present when the earth was created. "He knew that after a while the whole earth would be filled with righteous people worshipping God. That was God's purpose, "proclaims the Watchtower. What these statements seem to suggest is that Satan is, at times, more powerful than God. First, consider what we discussed in chapter one. Their idea that God did not know that man was going to sin is plainly unscriptural, and insults God. Now they further insult God by suggesting that Satan did know the future of the world, that he knew God's intentions, and that he succeed in defeating God's purpose, at least for a time. If their argument is valid, it would mean that God could not have seen into the hearts of mankind, whom He created, nor into Satan, whom He also created. Yet, if Satan could see a future hidden to the eyes of God, and succeed in thwarting God's plan, would this not place Satan higher than God?

"The lie the Devil told Eve," they say, " worked just as he planned." How unfortunate for God that His plan to fill the earth with righteous people was destroyed by Satan's more powerful influence. I hope I am not being too sarcastic, but this whole notion seems so ludicrous that I cannot help myself. Continuing, the Watchtower decrees that "God allowed time for Satan to try and prove his claims." Again, they seem to suggest that Satan's will is more powerful than God's, and that God has given in to Satan by allowing him time to prove himself.

The result was that "governments of men,...the scriptures show, have been controlled from behind the scenes by the Devil." What I have shown earlier in this chapter is that scripture, in fact, shows that all authority is given by God and that governments rule by Him. So what is the Watchtower saying? Are they saying that Satan is a god? Ask this question to any Jehovah's Witness, and the answer will be an unequivocal "yes." Are they saying that Satan is the God? If not, they seem to make him equal to, if not higher than, God.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God will triumph over Satan in the battle described in Revelation 12. The version they present, however, is somewhat different than the one found in the Holy Scriptures. This tactic is often used by the Watchtower when quoting sources which tend to disagree with their doctrine, including the Bible. Other examples of this will be shown throughout this book. "Read carefully the following Bible account," they ask. Well, lets do just that. "War broke out in heaven: Michael [who is the resurrected Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon." Where in Revelation 12:7, or anywhere in the Bible for that matter, does it say that Jesus is Michael the archangel? Later in this book I will discuss the true nature of Jesus, but for my present purpose, let's see what scripture says about notions that Jesus is an angel. This belief seems to have been a problem for early Jewish converts to Christianity, since Paul devotes the entire first chapter of his letter to the Hebrews to refuting such heresy. How much clearer can he be when he writes, "To which of the angels has God ever said: Take your seat at my right hand till I have make your enemies your footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Heb 1:13,14), and "It was not under angels that he put the world to come, about which we are speaking" (Heb 2:5). Yet, if Jesus is to be King over the new paradise on earth, as the Watchtower claims, how could he be an angel? They will reply that Jesus is not an ordinary angel, he is an archangel. Therefore, according to the Watchtower, Paul is referring only to ordinary angels, not archangels. If this were so, why wasn't Paul more clear? Why did he not say 'it was under an archangel that he put the world to come?' The reason is simple. There is no distinction between angels and archangels except rank. Just as there is no distinction between bishops and archbishops except rank. When someone makes a general statement about bishops, archbishops are included in such statements unless the author specifies clearly that they are not. And so it is with Paul; when he speaks of angels, archangels are clearly included in his statements.

When confronted on this, your Jehovah's Witness friend may refer to other verses which purport to prove that Jesus is Michael the archangel. First they will say that "at 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the command of Jesus Christ for the resurrection to begin is described as 'the archangels call'." Let's look at what that verse really says. "At the signal given by the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, the Lord himself will come down from heaven." Notice that they do not refer to the command of Jesus as "the trumpet of God," but through selective quotation misread the whole verse. One could as easily misinterpret it and say that since the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God are used together, that God is an archangel. In fact, that verse says neither.

The Watchtower obviously accepts, as it refers to the previous paragraph, that the Lord is Jesus Christ. With that in mind, let's go to the ninth verse of Jude's letter. There we are told that "not even the archangel Michael, when he was engaged in argument with the devil about the corpse of Moses, dared to denounce him in the language of abuse; all he said was, 'May the Lord rebuke you.'" Clearly Michael is not the Lord referred to in this passage.

Next they will refer to Revelation 19 which says that Christ will lead the armies of heaven in battle against Satan. Since Revelation 12 says that Michael and his angels will make war against the dragon, Christ and Michael must be one and the same. To equate the two would be like saying that since Churchill led the armies of England in battle against Hitler, and Montgomery made war against the Nazis, Churchill and Montgomery must be one and the same.

Further to this, they say that "the expression 'archangel' is never found in the plural in the scriptures, thus implying that there is only one." I beg to differ. Note that Daniel 10:13 refers to Michael as one of the chief princes. It does not say that he is the chief prince, nor does it refer to him as Lord or King. Also, does this verse not imply that there are more than one? In fact, we are told that there are "seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord" (To. 12:15).

"The evidence shows," the Watchtower claims, that the war in heaven described in Revelation 12 "happened around the time of World War I." What evidence? They point to increasing lawlessness, food shortages, etc., as proof that Satan has been "hurled down to earth," but as I explained in chapter one, such conditions are not unique to this time. In fact, the conditions they describe are only regional in their impact. One of the examples they use is an increasing amount of disease. Surely they are not suggesting that disease has a greater impact today than during the Black Plague which killed off most of Europe and Asia, or during the Small Pox epidemics that wiped out nearly 90 percent of the aboriginal populations of North America and the South Pacific. As I write this, nearly all deadly diseases can be prevented or cured.

The purpose of this negative view of the world seems to be rooted in an attempt by the Watchtower to isolate their followers. The result is their members complete reliance on the Watchtower and their publishing empire. Even "Christendom" is considered part of "Satan's visible organization." 'Satan is everywhere and in everything except the Watchtower hierarchy' seems to be what they are saying. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Billy Graham, and Pope John Paul II are all members of "Satan's visible organization." That is why a faithful Jehovah's Witness can never be allowed to read anything not written by the Watchtower. God forbid that their publishing empire would have any competition! Their paranoia is so prevalent, that you cannot even ask a Jehovah's Witness to pray with you without sparking a negative reaction. This all goes back to giving Satan power over everything. As I have pointed out, they believe that Satan is even more powerful than God is some respects.

How can a Jehovah's Witness be saved from this wickedness which is all pervasive. "If we are to receive everlasting life," they are told, "we need accurate knowledge about God." So far, I think it is clear that accurate knowledge about God is not what they are receiving. In the sentence which I quoted, the Watchtower uses a cross reference to John 17:3. This verse does not exhort one to examine the Scriptures, as they suggest. At the time it was written, there was no printing press, there was not even a Bible. Many of the books of the Bible would not even be composed until many years later, and would not be compiled until some three hundred years after that. Jesus was certainly not speaking of Watchtower publications. So what was Jesus referring to? "And eternal life is this," He says, "to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3). He wants us to open our hearts so that the Holy Spirit which proceeds from the Father and the Son may dwell within us (cf Jn 17:26). He is also praying for the apostles who would endure many hardships for the sake of His glory and His purpose.

All the Watchtower's theology on the subject of Satan, let us remember, is based on one verse in the Bible which quotes the father of all lies, Satan himself. On this they base their condemnation of all world religions from Catholicism to Buddhism, and all institutions from the Red Cross to the United Nations. It is important to be aware of this xenophobia when speaking with a Jehovah's Witness. You will not be trusted regardless of who you are since they believe that you are controlled by Satan. Even Christmas Carols are Satanic. No matter how convincing your argument, it will take time to undo the "mind regulating" (also known as brain washing) which they undergo. You may think to yourself, "they seem harmless enough," but how harmless is a religion that hates anything different than itself, that quotes Satan as a source of truth, and that believes that Satan can be more powerful than God.

"Because they fail to worship God in the right way, most persons are on the road to destruction," proclaims the Watchtower. "Only a few are on the road leading to life." Let me guess which few they are referring to. As proof that today's religions are false, the Watchtower likes to use war as an example that "Satan...controls the religions practiced by the people of the world." They quote Catholic leaders on both sides during World War II as glorifying war and demanding that they kill each other. However, they leave no way for an inquisitive reader to verify their sources. "And Protestants did the same," they say. What they fail to point out is that the Catholic Church is credited with saving 800,000 Jews during the war, and that many<A HREF = "http://www.ici.net/cust_pages/ffi/whostmax.html"> Catholic priests died</A> in Nazi concentration camps. The Catholic Church and most Protestant churches have never glorified war, as they say, but acknowledge that one must protect freedom and liberty even at the cost of war if all other means have failed. If it were up to the Watchtower,<A HREF="nazi.html"> they would have allowed the Nazis to have continued unhindered</A> until all the world was under the heal of <A HREF = "http://www.nano.no/~telemark/Hitler/HitlerEng.html">Adolf Hitler</A>. They degrade the memory of those who gave up their lives so that we may be free from fascist oppression.

The Watchtower is very proud that, "Jehovah's Witnesses stand outside the establishment and accept no responsibility to bless whatever the secular government decides to do." This is also the basis for their doctrine that Jehovah's Witnesses must never serve in or act in a supportive role to any military service. However, scripture does not condemn military service even in countries which oppose God and religion. For example, when a centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus replies that He has not found faith as great as this anywhere in Israel, and implies that the centurion will have a seat reserved for him in heaven. Never does Jesus tell him to desert his regiment nor does He tell him to never fight another battle (Mt 8:5-13). Saint Paul writes to the Romans that they must submit to civil authority. He does not exclude military service from this demand. He even goes so far to say that the sword is the symbol of authority and is used to bring retribution (Rm 13: 1- 7).

Also consider the holy wars discussed throughout the old testament. The Watchtower will claim that these soldiers were serving under a theocratic government and, as such, were justified, but service under a civil government is condemned by God. However, we need only look as far as the example of King David to know that the Watchtower's notion is wrong. We all know that David was a humble servant of God, especially prior to his coronation. Samuel had ordained him as King to replace Saul who had fallen out of favour with God. Consequently, Saul made war against the surrounding pagan nations as well as David and his followers. When David was exiled into the Philistine kingdom of Gath, he and his followers offered allegiance to the Philistine king and offered to go to war for him against God's own chosen people. Nowhere does God condemn David for such actions (1 Sam 27-29).

In order to justify their failure to submit to civil authority, the Watchtower quotes John 17:16, which reads, "they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world." This is a clear example of selective quotation, for the verse just before it reads, "I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One." Later verses have a similar message. Jesus sees the importance of his disciples remaining free from temptation and distractions to God. He is here speaking of freeing them from the constraints of worldly possessions that compete with God, and only satisfy the ego (as discussed in chapter two). Note that this whole chapter from Saint John's gospel is a prayer for the twelve apostles. In their role as leaders of the Church, they would need to devote themselves completely to preaching the gospel to a world which has never heard of Jesus Christ. This tradition of separating themselves from the world is continued today in the Catholic Church by orders such as the Franciscans, who are forbidden to own material goods.

Next, the Watchtower refers to Acts 5:29 to support their notion that early Christians "obeyed God as ruler rather than men!" That verse actually reads, "obedience to God comes before obedience to men." Two messages can be taken from this verse. First, remember that Peter was speaking before the Sanhedrin. They did not like any suggestion that they had taken part in the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter could have said that he never meant to make them feel guilty, but that it had all been a big misunderstanding. If he had done so, he would have only been protecting himself and looking for praise from his accusers. Instead, he professes our Lord as Saviour. In so doing, he demonstrates his devotion to God above seeking praise from men. Second, we must consider times when we are asked to perform individual actions which are clearly offensive to God, such as procuring an abortion. In such cases, the law of God supersedes the law of man. Peter never said obey God instead of men, as the Watchtower suggests, but obey God above men.

Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans demands that early Christians submit to civil authority. "Anyone who disobeys an authority is rebelling against God's ordinance; and rebels must expect to receive the condemnation they deserve" (Rm 13:2). Can scripture be made any more plain than this. Paul adds, "Pay...respect where respect is due; honour where honour is due" (Rm 13:7).

The Watchtower quotes Paul's second letter to the Corinthians as proof that Satan is the leader of all other world religions. He writes, "the unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world, so that they cannot see the shining light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Cor 4:4). Saint Paul is not referring to world religions, but unbelievers who are challenging the Corinthians with matters which seem to focus on worldly gain rather than the glorification of God. In the second verse of this chapter, Paul tells the Corinthians that he has no wish to deceive them or to falsify the word of God. This is good advice for the Watchtower when they quote scripture out of context even to the point of quoting Satan (Mt 4:8,9) or Elihu's "ignorant words" (Job 38:2).

The Watchtower is so hateful of other religions, they tell their follows that "[God] destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Soon he will do the same to all modern-day false religion." In this I must repeat Jesus' warning that "the judgements you give are the judgements you will get" (Mt 7:2). They go on to say that such religion is the prostitute spoken of in Revelation 17. Worldwide Bible scholarship is fairly consistent in their interpretation that the prostitute represents pagan Rome not modern day religion. In verse 16 where John speaks of them eating her flesh and burning the remains with fire, he is likely referring to Emperor Nero who sacked Rome upon his return. Even if this passage could refer to modern day religion, which it cannot, what makes them so sure that they are not included among these. After all, the Watchtower is but one hundred years old. As such, they should consider themselves more of a modern day religion than those which go back many hundreds or thousands of years. Regardless of one's interpretation, John's apocalyptic vision was certainly referring to events happening during his lifetime. I could elaborate further on Revelation, but I feel that it is sufficiently dealt with elsewhere. Pick up almost any study Bible or commentary and you will find many more plausible interpretations of this book.

The Watchtower goes on to say that "the crimes committed by members of different religions" have caused millions of people to turn away from God. Are Jehovah's Witnesses excluded from this statement? So it seems. I admit (even announce) that Christians commit crimes against goodwill and conscience. Every Christian, every day, is responsible for such sins. In a sense, we are all murderers, prostitutes, and thieves in varying degrees (cf. Rm 3:9,10 Eccl 7:20). It is to free us from this sin that Christ died for us (cf 1 Cor 15:3). If we were perfect, we would have no need for a Saviour. Even Job, who was a highly favoured servant of God, recognized this (Job 9:20, 21). Can anyone, including the Watchtower, claim to be free from the spiritual crimes which result from original sin? Anyone who does is a liar (1 Jn 1:10). Yet, if the Watchtower admits that they are not free from sin, that their followers are not free from sin, that all suffer from the human condition, then how can they condemn other religions for sins committed by their proponents. Saint James is very clear on this matter. He writes, "there is only one lawgiver and he is the only judge and has the power to save or destroy. Who are you to give a verdict on a neighbour?" (Jas 4:12).

Even though "the Church of the living God [is the] pillar and support of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15) She is made up of both the righteous and the unrighteous. This Church was given the power to exercise judgement on its members (Mt. 16:19) while those outside the Church, only God will judge (1 Cor. 5:12-13). If all the members of the Church were righteous, what need would there be "to judge those who are inside" the Church. Jesus instructs the Church to correct their brothers and if they do not listen, report them to the Church, since She has the authority to bind and loose (Mt. 18:15-18). What value would there be in saying this unless brothers would need correction. Indeed, only some among the house of the Lord are "fit for the Master" (2 Tim. 2:20,21). "Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them" (Acts 20:30) despite our Lord's promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Holy Church (Mt. 16:18). Elsewhere He speaks of the chaff (heretics) in His barn (the Church) which He will burn with fire (Mt. 3:12). That members of the members of "the Church of the living God" have committed atrocities and espoused heresy does not prove that she is an apostate church, but just the opposite, that She is the True Church. She is the pillar of truth, Her doctrines are infallible, and within Her fold are both wheat and chaff, sheep and goat, saint and heretic.

"How can we know if we are...worshipping God in a way that he approves," asks the Watchtower. First, they say, "it is not any man, but God, who is the judge of what is true worship." Then they immediately contradict themselves by giving instruction on how to worship God, their instruction being based on the opinion of the author who is himself a man. Is he "not any man?" His instruction is as follows; "if our worship is to be acceptable to God, it should be firmly rooted in God's Word of truth, the Bible." I would agree that our worship should be rooted in the Bible, but the Bible does not say this anywhere. How could it, since it did not exist when the authors of the Bible were writing their respective books. We know that worship should be Biblical because various councils of Catholic bishops in the third and fourth centuries decided that it should be. The Catholic Church believes that these councils were guided by God's Holy Spirit when they put together the Bible. From there, they incorporated and followed scripture when developing the liturgy of the Mass. In the early church, there were in excess of fifty gospels in circulation, yet only four are contained in our present day Bible. Someone (or some few) had to decide not to include the larger portion of scripture as uninspired. How do we know that they made a correct decision? And if we cannot know so much as this, how can we base our worship on a Bible which may contain inaccuracies? By asking us to root our worship in the Bible, the Watchtower must concede that God worked through the Catholic bishops who put together the Bible. Why can they not concede that these same men were guided by God when they developed the various forms of worship used by the Christian Church?

To back up their argument, the Watchtower quotes Romans 3:4, "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." They feel that Paul is telling us that we must not rely on men to guide us in our worship of God. However, this is not the message that Paul is conveying. I prefer the New Jerusalem Bible (NJ) rendering of the passage which reads, "God will always be true even if no human can be relied on." Paul wants to ease concerns that God will break his covenant due to the unfaithfulness of men. This is out of the question since God will remain true to His promises regardless of the actions of any man. Even if no one on earth can be relied on to remain faithful to God, He will never break His covenant. Even as much as it is impossible for man to be without sin, it is impossible for God to break a promise. Paul's message actually supports the Catholic position that God works through the Church even when members of the Church are not faithful to Him. For this reason, the Mass is still valid even when the priest is in mortal sin. It is not the priest who makes himself present to the congregation, but God. He uses fallible human beings to work his perfect mysteries. How else could fallible, sinful men write sacred scripture except by the marvellous grace of God. The Watchtower may think it impossible for God to work through a church of sinners, but our Lord says, "by human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible" (Mk 10:27). Here He is speaking of salvation, but what is the Church if not God's instrument of salvation.

As further "evidence," they point to Matthew 15: 1-9. Their worship is in vain, we are told, "because they teach the commands of men as doctrines." This is not evidence at all, but another example of quoting scripture out of context. Here Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, not because they are men, but because they seek their own glorification above that of God. As an example He refers to their violation of the commandment to honour one's parents. By giving all their earnings to the temple, the Pharisees could avoid sharing their wealth with their parents. In fact, they never gave to the temple, but placed their earnings in trust, much like a bank, under the pretence that they were making a donation. This "tradition" was in direct violation of one of the ten commandments. They paid lip service by pretending to serve God (ie. donating to the temple) while in reality serving their own selfish interests. What the Watchtower fails to point out is that Jesus never criticizes sincere devotion to Semitic tradition. Even Moses, who handed down the most important Jewish laws and customs, was a fallible sinner. He was severely chastised for his lack of faith and trust in God (Num 20: 11,12). Is the Watchtower suggesting that Israel should not have followed Moses because of his imperfections? In fact, Israel did not, and severe retribution fell upon them. So what is the Watchtower really saying? On the one hand, they say 'do not follow men,' but on the other hand, they do not hesitate to condemn anyone who fails complete submission to their organization. What is this if not hypocrisy? Is it not hypocrisy that Jesus condemns in the very verses they quote?

The hypocrisy of the Watchtower is exemplified in the following statement: "The religion that is approved by God must agree in every way with the Bible; it will not accept certain parts of the Bible and reject others." What I have shown, and will continue to show throughout this book, is that the Watchtower breaks this rule in a very big way. Misquotations, quotations out of context, and outright deception are the tools that the Watchtower uses to reject the truth of the Bible. Even in a literal way they have rejected parts of the Bible, by changing many important passages in their New World Translation (NWT). The following passage is a blatant example:

—And YOU, fathers, do not be irritating YOUR children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah. (Eph 6:4 NWT)

Compare this with the New Jerusalem Bible.

—And parents, never drive your children to resentment but bring them up with correction and advice inspired by the Lord. (Eph 6:4 NJ)

May I venture to say that "mental-regulating" refers to "brain-washing."

Further, I must reiterate the dilemma faced by the Watchtower when they declare that "the religion that is approved by God must agree in every way with the Bible." As proof, the Watchtower refers to Saint Paul's second letter to Timothy. There he writes, "All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding peoples lives and teaching them to be upright" (2 Tim 3:16). Which scripture? Is Paul referring to The Assumption of Moses, The Gospel of Thomas, or The Prayer of Manasseh? These books are, or have been, considered scriptural by various Jewish and Christian sects. Yet these are only a few of hundreds of books purporting to be scripture that are not contained in Catholic, Protestant, or Watchtower Bibles. Why are they not included if ALL scripture is useful? Because in the fourth century, the Catholic Church determined that these books were not scripture. Since the Watchtower asserts that the Church had fallen into apostasy well before the fourth century, how can they be sure that the religion approved by God must agree with the Bible? Without conceding the authority of the Catholic Church in this matter, they may as well follow that Koran or the Gnostic Bible.

The absurdity is carried further when you note the use of the singular in their quotation "the religion...approved by God." Yes, they are referring to all religions when they speak of false religion being destroyed by God. 'Unless you conform to the "mental-regulating" of the religion (headed by the Watchtower of course), damnation awaits you,' is the message which underlies Watchtower doctrine. If the Watchtower heads the one and only true religion upon which salvation is based, how do they explain the doctrinal inconsistencies and contradictions which seem to inhabit every corner of the Watchtower? Jehovah's Witnesses will claim that the light is getting brighter as they come closer and closer to the truth. It is a sign of the true religion that they are willing to change their doctrine as they discover more and more. They criticize the Catholic Church for never changing its doctrine. What they fail to realize is that Jesus Christ promised complete truth to His apostolic church and this truth has been handed down through apostolic succession to the present day.

God's truth is the same today as it was two thousand years ago. It was not discovered through studying the Bible, but given as a gift through God's Holy Spirit. In the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles, "when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth" (Jn 16:13). He is not promising them partial truth, nor is he promising complete truth to some organization which will not exist for another 1,900 years. What he is promising the apostles is complete truth, nothing less. Saint Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Corinthians. "Such is the confidence we have through Christ in facing God; it is not that we are so competent that we can claim any credit for ourselves; all our competence comes from God. He has given us the competence to be ministers of a new covenant, a covenant which is not of written letters, but of the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:4-6). Paul was not one of the twelve to whom Jesus spoke of the "Spirit of truth." Therefore, Paul must have received this gift through apostolic succession. And Christ was not referring to everyone, otherwise there would not be more than 20,000 Christian denominations. "At the same time, we must recognize that the interpretation of scriptural prophesy is never a matter for the individual" (2 Pet 1:20). Therefore when the Watchtower claims that they are acquiring truth as they go along, and that truth is gained by individual study of the Bible, they actually contradict the Bible.

Yet, apostolic succession is nothing more than a myth according to the Watchtower. As apostolic succession is the basis for Catholic authority in matters of faith and morals, we should examine their position in some detail. When Peter declared that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus replied, "Simon, son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my community" (Mt 16:17,18). The Watchtower declares that since "[Peter] would later deny Christ three times," "Jesus himself would be that solid rock foundation of the church, not Peter." However, Jesus clearly referred to Peter as blessed. Significantly, Jesus began his reply by calling Peter by his former name, Simon. This name referred to a small stone or pebble. Jesus had earlier on given Simon his new name, Peter or Cephas, which itself means Rock (cf. Mk 3:16). If modern day English had been the language in use, Jesus may have referred to him as "Rocky." Reading on into the next verse, the Watchtower's argument that Jesus is referring to himself is discredited. "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven," Jesus says, "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:19). Jesus didn't say he was giving himself the keys, but says you, referring to Peter. It is by this authority that sins may be absolved and indulgences may be granted.

That Peter could not be the rock because he denied that he knew Jesus on the night of the Passion is contrary to logic. Any human organization, regardless of its moral basis, is subject to human sin and error. Peter is an example of this, as was Moses, and every other human being that ever lived, save Jesus and Mary. The Watchtower likes to refer to the sale of indulgences in the middle ages as evidence of the apostasy of the Catholic Church. ("An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven"—The Catechism of the Catholic Church). Yet, all they prove is that clergy are human and sinners. There were abuses in the middle ages, and there have been abuses before and after, even to the present day. However, such abuses are explicitly condemned by the Church. In 1551, the Council of Trent strongly condemned any exchange of favours, including money, for sacraments such as indulgences. A cartoon published by the Watchtower which depicts "the pope's sale of indulgences" is an outrageous falsification of history.

Getting back to Peter, the Watchtower claims that "there is no evidence in Scripture or history that Peter was regarded as having primacy over his peers." Besides the reference to Peter as the Rock, there are, in fact, many examples of his primary role among the apostles. In Matthew, as well as the other gospels, whenever dialogue occurs between Jesus and His apostles, Peter is more often than not the spokesman. He is referred to by name far more often than any other apostle throughout the New Testament. Continuing, the Watchtower notes, "He makes no mention of [his primacy] in his own letters." Was that the purpose of his letters? Popes throughout the ages have written apostolic letters on various matters, they do not need to explain the basis of their authority in each letter. Peter does, nonetheless, declare his role publicly. "Peter stood up and said to [the apostles and the elders], 'My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers'" (Acts 15:7 NRSV). Yet the Watchtower continues, "There is not even any absolute proof that Peter was ever in Rome." First, the issue is rather irrelevant since the papal office has been exercised in various locations in Egypt, Italy, and France over the past two thousand years. Second, Peter's first letter to the Roman provinces is addressed from Babylon (1 Pet 5:13) which is the term used at the time in reference to Rome (cf. Rev 17:5,18). Finally, the Watchtower reveals, "He was not a 'pope,' nor was he known as such." Of course he wasn't known as such since the title only developed some centuries later as an affectionate nickname for the Bishop of Rome and means Papa!

Clearly the Watchtower has a foundation of quicksand for their attack on the papacy. When all their false rhetoric is about complete, they still must resort to questioning the dialogue in which Peter is called the rock of the Church. "The other three Gospels," they note, "do not even mention Jesus statement to Peter." What is the point they are trying to make here? Are they suggesting that Matthew is a fraud, a forgery, or a fantasy? Does the message need to be repeated over and over again for it to be valid? It seems to me that they are backtracking on their assertion that the true religion must agree with the Bible in every way. In fact what they are saying is that it must agree with their interpretation of the Bible even to the point of questioning the validity of various passages. This is the same error that Martin Luther made when he questioned whether certain books that disagreed with his doctrine should have been included in the Bible. If part of the Bible is false, then it casts into doubt the whole Bible, and every religion based on it.

The Watchtower continues its attack on the Catholic Church in particular by claiming that doctrines of the immortal soul and terms such as heaven, hellfire, purgatory, paradise, and Limbo were invented "for a priestly class to keep their flocks submissive and in fear of the Hereafter and to extract gifts and donations from them." This led to a life of luxury for those "who have ruled in the sumptuous setting of the Vatican." This argument is the most ludicrous so far. First, a doctrine of the immortal soul certainly incorporates a much smaller element of fear than the Watchtower's doctrine that those who are not baptized and practicing Jehovah's Witnesses will be utterly annihilated. For some reason, even hell extracts less fear for the average person than being removed from existence altogether. With the exception of Limbo, all the afterlife destinations referred to by the Watchtower are solid doctrines based on scripture. They are all clearly explained in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Limbo is a theory developed to explain what happens to infants, the unborn, and others who were never given the choice to know God when they died. Yet it is only a theory and espoused by the Church as such.) Contrast this with Watchtower doctrine that "when a person is dead he is completely out of existence", that only 144,000 will reach heaven, and that "millions now living will never die" but will reside forever in an earthly paradise reserved for faithful Jehovah's Witnesses. Which of the two doctrines are more likely to "keep flocks submissive and in fear of the Hereafter?" As far as the life of luxury is concerned, it takes a stretch of the imagination to envision the Vatican City's celibate priests living the good life. Contrast your own image of life at the Vatican with your image of a beachfront San Diego mansion. The Watchtower purchased such a mansion for the resurrection of the prophets in 1925. It just so happened that their president, Joseph Rutherford, who normally resided in Brooklyn, spent his winters at the San Diego mansion. After all, until the prophets came, there was no sense letting it go to waste.

Popes and Saints through the ages have given themselves to sacrifice and poverty, not the type of luxury enjoyed by leaders of the Watchtower. Pope Saint Gregory the Great was the son of a Roman senator and donated all his properties and estate to the use of the Church's religious communities and charities. Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Thomas Moore are a few of the more famous saints who gave up wealth and glory for the sake of service to God.

Yet, as I pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, Catholicism is only one of many world religions they feel are doomed to destruction at Armageddon. In the Watchtower publication, Mankind's Search for God all the world's religions are examined and condemned. Granted, there is an inordinate focus on the Catholic Church. As well, the Watchtower presents heretics such as the Albigenses in a heroic light because of their rejection of "the Virgin Birth, hellfire, and purgatory." Suggesting that "they actively put in doubt the teachings of Rome." But the Watchtower's criticism does not end there. They go on to condemn the Protestant reformers and everyone else along the route that preceded their own religion. They claim that they root themselves in the same faith held by early Christians before apostasy spoiled God's plan in the second century. In fact, they are a bizarre offshoot of 19th century Adventists. Their examination of the world's religions ends with an exhortation to "avoid the broad road to destruction" which is "staring world religions in the face." "Practicing the truth, doing God's will, is what counts," claims the Watchtower. However, if everything we have, including out own existence, is due to God, how can we ever hope to repay him by good works. Nothing a person can do can ever come close to meriting salvation (Rm 3:20, 4:16).

If you are sufficiently successful to get this far in your discussion with the Jehovah's Witnesses, you will have planted many questions, if not doubts, in their minds. Here it may be appropriate to ask them to take some of the Watchtower's advice that "if you learn from an examination of your Bible that you are traveling a wrong religious road, be willing to change."

"God—Who is he," asks the Watchtower. "Can we be sure he exists?" Having considered the discussion to this point, you should not be surprised that the Watchtower conception of God is very simplistic. It leaves no room for forms of existence beyond human comprehension. "Since God is a person with a spiritual body, he must have a place to live." They go on to say "that the heavens are God's 'established place of dwelling,' citing 1 Kings 8:43. However, Solomon's prayer to God in heaven in no way implies that God is limited by physical space. As with their argument about God not knowing the future (see chapter one) they feel obliged to explain everything according to humanity's three dimensional conception of space. Their current doctrine is toned down from declarations made when the Watchtower Society was just starting. Not only did they believe that God resided in the constellation Pleiades, but the "Almighty [governed] his universe" from the star "Alcyone." No matter how much they argue the point, the Watchtower will never convince me that God is an astronaut. This was only one of many weird doctrines espoused by the founder of the Watchtower, Charles Taze Russell. Another was determining the end of the world (chronology) by calculating the angles and arcs of the great pyramids of Egypt. In fact, these two doctrines seem to have been borrowed from ancient Aztecs who calculated their century as the period of time required for the constellation Pleiades to line up with Aztec pyramids. When this occurred, a war party would be sent out to neighbouring tribes. Prisoners would be sacrificed to the sun god. Again the Watchtower demonstrates their hypocrisy when they criticize Babylonian astrologers because "they viewed the stars as the heavenly abodes of the gods."

Further to the Watchtower's argument that God has an "established place of dwelling," they note that Christ appeared "before the person of God for us" (Heb 9:24 NWT). The New Jerusalem rendering of that passage reads, "he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf." From their translation they infer that since God is a person, he must inhabit a particular physical space. The New World Translation also helps to support their position that Christ is separate from God and, therefore, cannot be God. This position is not supported in other renderings of the verse. Regardless of whether or not the word "person" is used to describe God, one cannot make a logical conclusion that God's being is confined to a relative space on this passage alone. The definition of person is simply an "individual divine being"—Webster's Dictionary. There is never an automatic supposition that such a being is confined within three dimensional space. As mentioned in chapter two, the Watchtower likes to limit their concept of God (in a sense placing him in a box), thereby limiting his power such that even Satan appears to be more powerful than God at times.

Based on this false supposition, the Watchtower asks, "If God is a real person who lives at a certain place in heaven, how can he see everything that happens everywhere?" Here they delve into the realm of Science Fiction, with "his invisible active force" guiding the universe much like the Force from the Star Wars Trilogy. Because He can send out "his active force," he can "do whatever he wants even though he is far away." What a cold perception of God. He has never told us that "he is far away," but that he is Immanuel—God with us (Mt 1:23). As Saint Paul puts it, "From one single principle, he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed the times and limits of their habitation. And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us" (Acts 17:26,27). When Paul says that God is not far from any of us, he is in direct opposition to Watchtower doctrine. Contrast such a theology with the Watchtower's declaration that "the religion that is approved by God must agree in every way with the Bible." After all, God's declares in Jeremiah, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" (Jr 23:24). This too is said of Christ, "for the one who went down is none other than the one who went up above all the heavens to fill all things" (Ep 4:10). Clearly the One who went down is the One who descended to Hades for three days, was resurrected, and ascended into Heaven. Yet if Christ were a mere creature, an archangel as the Watchtower claims, how could He "fill all things."

"[He] also shows what kind of God he is...He does not show favoritism to certain races of people," notes the Watchtower. However, they did not always feel this way about God. In 1902, the Watchtower believed in a different "kind of God." At that time, the Watchtower announced "that the white race exhibits some qualities of superiority over any other."

So then, "who is this wonderful God," they ask. "Did Jesus ever say that he was God? No he never did." Such heresy is not new as the Watchtower would have you believe. In fact, it is almost as old as Christianity itself. Arius proposed the exact same position which became known as the Arian heresy. The Watchtower raises many questions with their position, so let us examine them one by one beginning with the assertion that Jesus never said that He was God.

Let's begin by examining Jesus' discussion with the Pharisees in Chapter 8 of John's gospel. In verse 56, Jesus explains that Abraham rejoiced because he saw His day. When the Pharisees challenged Him saying that He is not old enough to know Abraham, Jesus replies, "before Abraham ever was, I am" (Jn 8: 58). Here Jesus clearly asserts His divinity, for "I am" is the name by which God reveals Himself. When God disclosed Himself to Moses, Moses asked Him by what name should He be revealed to the Israelites. In reply, God said, "'I am he who is.' and he said, 'This is what you are to say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you...the God of Abraham...has sent me to you." This is my name for all time" (Ex 3:13-15). Jesus says "I am the light of the world," and "I am he" (Jn 8: 12,24). In fact, chapter eight of John's gospel contains no less than eleven references to Jesus as "I am." To the Pharisees, the Arians, the Watchtower, and all those who deny that "I am he," Jesus replies, "Why do you not understand what I say? Because you cannot bear to listen to my words. You are from your father, the devil, and you prefer to do what your father wants...because he is a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:43,44). As further evidence to the purpose of Christ's statement to the Pharisees, the Pharisees "picked up stones to throw at him" (Jn 8:59). Clearly Jesus' use of the divine name evoked a strong reaction in the Pharisees.

The Jews also sought to kill Jesus after He healed a man on the Sabbath day, not so much for violating the law, but because "he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself equal to God" (Jn 5:18). The revelation that Jesus is equal to God is not isolated to this verse. Note what Saint Paul writes to the Church in Phillipi; "Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped" (Ph 2:6). If Jesus is equal to God, and this concept is something which cannot "be grasped," would it not then be a mystery? Yet the Watchtower contends that God would not allow mysteries beyond the comprehension of human beings, "because divine revelation itself does not allow for such a view of God." To support their position, they quote Paul's first letter to the Corinthians which reads, "God is not a God of confusion" (1 Cor 14:33). Taken in context, Paul advised the Church to use the gifts of the Spirit with prudence. He exhorted them to prophesy one at a time, since prophesying or speaking in tongues all at the same time would only lead to confusion. This context is a far cry from condemning belief in the Trinity, which Paul recognized as something which could not be grasped. He clearly recognized the "mystery" of faith in his letter to Timothy. He writes, "without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed: He was made visible in the flesh" (1 Tim 3:16). According to Webster's dictionary mystery is defined: of hidden meaning, especially in a religious sense. As such, the Watchtower contradicts itself on the very fundament of Christian belief. They say, "God's interests are not served by making him confusing and mysterious...it is [Satan the Devil] who promotes such false doctrines." Are they saying that Paul was "Satan the Devil" for promoting "the mystery of our religion?" Interestingly, the Watchtower's translation uses the term "sacred secret" instead of "mystery." Their purpose in doing so is clear, as any admission to the existence of mysteries undermines their entire theology. Perhaps you may wish to ask your JW friend what exactly a "sacred secret" is. I think you'll find their definition much the same as that for "mystery."

To counter the argument just presented, the Watchtower claims that it was "not Jesus" who claimed to be equal to God. Although that particular line does not appear as a direct quotation, it is neither attributed to the Jews. As such, the narrator, John the evangelist, has every authority, granted by God, to present this fact. But Jesus said that he could do nothing by himself, argues the Watchtower. "Can we imagine someone equal to Almighty God saying that he could do nothing by himself." Here they miss the whole point. Jesus is not "someone" claiming to be equal to Almighty God, He is Almighty God. If we grant that Jesus is the Word, which even the Watchtower will admit, then a word requires a speaker, just as the Word spoken by Almighty God. Without the speaker, there is no word. As long as the speaker is present, so is the word, whether spoken or in anticipation of being spoken. Part of the problem is that the Watchtower is stuck on the very ancient and pagan idea of gods confined by space and time but very powerful. We can imagine the clash of the titans very easily since they have their basis in human experience. As one god battles another, the more powerful is triumphant. Yet each is separate and different. This is how they view the Trinity as illustrated in their publications. As Jesus implored his disciples to be one, so this is how they view the Trinity: three separate beings united by some form of alliance or such. Yet, the true Church does not believe in three gods glued together by a unity of purpose, but in one God manifest in three persons.

Likewise, they answer the verse in Philippians 2:6 by suggesting that many different translations of the same verse oppose each other. Granted, this verse has been presented in many ways from "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God" (Douay-Rheims) to "He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to become equal to God" (TEV). However, Paul's intent here is clear. He writes, "and for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names; so that all beings in the heavens, on earth, and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord" (Ph 2:9-11). Compare this with Isaiah's prophesy in which God proclaims, "There is no other god except me, no saving God, no Saviour except me!...what comes from my mouth is saving justice, it is an irrevocable word: All shall bend the knee to me, by me every tongue shall swear, saying, 'In Yahweh alone are saving justice and strength'" (Is 45:21-24). What is this "irrevocable word" except the Word, Jesus Christ. Throughout the New Testament it is Christ who is called Saviour. The Watchtower says that "Paul, and first century believers used the Scriptures as the foundation for their teaching." Of course, the scriptures in use at the time were of the Jewish Canon or Old Testament. If Paul used such scripture for his teaching why would he contradict Isaiah by proclaiming Jesus as Saviour. God says there is "no Saviour except me." The answer is clear, He is the selfsame God speaking to Isaiah who became flesh and lived among us (Jn 1:14). Paul knew this. After all, what name is "above all other names" besides the name of God Himself!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1). To this the Watchtower claims that the reference to God in this passage is mistranslated from the original Greek. I am not familiar with ancient Greek and, therefore, refuse to argue the point. However, many Greek scholars have refuted the Watchtower's translation that "the word was a god." In their rendering they believe that this "word," who is Jesus, is a powerful being, the Archangel Michael. He, like Satan, is a god, but not Almighty God. In contrast, let us consider verses two and three; " He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him." Yet Moses tells us that "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). Then we are told that every time "God said...," something came into being. What is said is a Word, namely the Word of God. So John logically concludes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that "not one thing came into being except through [the Word]." When the sixth day came, "God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves" (Gen 1:26). Notice the use of the plural. Yet in the next verse he uses the singular; "in the image of God he created him" (Gen 1:27). This has never created "confusion," but emphasizes the wonderful mystery of the Trinity. Paul clarifies this further, "for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth; everything visible and everything invisible" (Col 1:16). To this the Watchtower claims that it was the Archangel Michael who was with God in the beginning. This claim has already been refuted in chapter two. However, let us consider one more point on this subject. If the Word was indeed Michael the Archangel, then he would be a creature. As a creature, Michael needed a creator. Yet Sacred Scripture tells us that "all things" were created by Jesus. Therefore as Michael, he would have had to create himself, which is impossible. To create "all things," one had to exist before "all things." As the only being without beginning or end, only God could be this creator. The Word is "the firstborn of all creation" (Col 1:15) because "God said..." First He speaks the Word and then His creation comes into being. Hence, the Word is the first born.

The first born of creation is also revealed in the Apocalypse of John. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God...Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and look—I am alive for ever and ever" (Rev 1:8,17-18). Later, the Alpha and Omega, First and Last are used together to describe the same person (Rev.22:12,13). To this the Watchtower argues that the translations of Alpha and Omega are "spurious" and do not necessarily refer to the same person. From this, one can rightly conclude that the Watchtower is grasping at straws. In fact, there is no adequate refutation to God's revelation that he "was dead." No JW will ever admit that Jehovah God "was dead." Clearly it is God in the person of Jesus Christ since "everyone will see him, even those who pierced him" (Rev 1:7).

The Watchtower is further confounded when Thomas exclaims "My Lord and my God," (Jn 20:28) upon seeing Jesus resurrected. Here they must admit that "there is no objection to referring to Jesus as 'God'." They try to explain that great men are often referred to as "gods" in the Old Testament. However, such an explanation is inadequate. In Psalm 82, which they quote, the delineation between "the gods" and "God" is clear. That Thomas is referring to the one and only "God" is also clear. One unprepared JW actually commented that Thomas was just using a figure of speech which emphasized his surprise. It's a good thing Thomas didn't say "Holy Cow!" Perhaps this can be suggested to the Watchtower as consideration for future revisions of their translation.

"At Hebrews 1:6, the angels are instructed to 'worship' Jesus," notes the Watchtower. They go on to explain, " This is the term used in Matthew 14:33 to express what the disciples did toward Jesus; at Hebrews 1:6 to indicate what the angels are to do toward Jesus; at Genesis 22:5 in the Greek Septuagint to describe what Abraham did toward Jehovah and at Genesis 23:7 to describe what Abraham, in harmony with the custom of the time, toward the people with whom he was doing business." Here the Watchtower refutes their own argument. In all the examples they give, it is in reference to "Jesus" or "Jehovah," with the exception of Abraham's business dealings. Yet, are we to consider that the angels "worship" Jesus because it is "in harmony with the custom?" What the custom of angels is, the Watchtower fails to declare. Yet we need only return to the book of Revelation to learn the inadequacy of the Watchtower's innuendo. John writes, "when I had heard and seen them all, I knelt at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me, to worship him; but he said, 'Do no such thing: I am your fellow servant and the fellow servant of your brothers the prophets and those who keep the message of this book. God alone you must worship'" (Rev 22:8,9). Evidently, the "custom" of angels is to worship "God alone."

In dealing with the matter of the Trinity, the Watchtower contends, "a person who is really seeking to know the truth about God is not going to search the Bible hoping to find at text that he can construe as fitting what he already believes. He wants to know what God's Word itself says. He may find some texts that he feels can be read in more than one way, but when these are compared with other Biblical statements on the same subject their meaning will become clear." In fact, I couldn't have said it better myself. When raising the arguments presented in this book, observe how your JW study partner frantically searches his literature for an argument to counter the Catholic position. Then, finding none, he will change the subject, or rationalize it away. The hypocrisy the Watchtower's statement becomes even more clear when one notes the number of times they use enclosed brackets, —italics added, or —italics ours, to insert their own words into quotations, even into Scripture. For example, consider the following quotation from the Watchtower publication Reasoning from the Scriptures: "was John saying that Jesus was God? Obviously not. Toward the end of his Gospel, John summarized matters, saying: 'These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, [not God, but] the Son of God.'—John 20:31 RS." The only way they can prove their point is to insert the words "not God" into Scripture where it never appeared in the original. This technique is repugnant.

The Watchtower would like you to believe that the Trinity was an invention of the Catholic Church in the fourth century. To substantiate this view, they misquote and mistranslate the early Church Fathers. As noted, the common practice of the Watchtower is to insert words and phrases that never existed in the original, the purpose of which is clearly deception. An example is a quotation of Hippolytus which reads, "But he was One, alone by himself; who willing it, called into being what had no being before, such as the created prehuman Jesus." Note that the italics portion is not part of the quotation, but is used in such a way as to deceive the reader into believing it is. The Watchtower further asserts that the doctrine of the Trinity began its development at "the Council of Nicaea in 325 C. E." (C. E. is used in place of A.D. in order to avoid any recognition of "the year of our Lord"). In fact, the early Church Fathers did recognize the divine nature of Christ. Irenaeus says, "in what manner, then, would the word of God—indeed the great God himself, since he is the Word—differ from the word of men?" Tertullian confirms that "the Father makes him equal to himself, and the Son." Even Hippolytus, contrary to what the Watchtower would have you believe, recognized that the "Word is from himself and is therefore also God, becoming the substance of God." And long before the Council of Nicaea, Dionysius, in the year 262 A.D., contends, "If the Son was made, there was a time when these were not, which would mean there was a time when God was without them, which is truly absurd." And how can a Jehovah's Witness question these words of Dionysius, since the Watchtower calls him "a professed Christian overseer." Other examples abound. Suffice it to say that the Watchtower has grossly misrepresented the Church Fathers in its publications, which any reading of the original will clearly reveal.

Yet, if the Bible teaches the Jesus is God, as do the Church Fathers, how can one explain Jesus' prayers to the Father. So the Watchtower asks, "if Jesus were the Almighty God, he would not have prayed to himself, would he?" Since they assert that God is "far from us," the purpose of prayer must obviously be to communicate one's desires and wishes, in a sense to make God aware. Yet is this the true reason for prayer? We have already determined that God is not "far from us" at all. In fact, He is always with us and knows intimately the hearts of everyone (1Sam 16, 7, Mt 1:23, Acts 1:24). And since it is the heart that prays, we do not need to communicate with God for Him to know us. He knows every thought that ever existed in our minds, even if we never say a single prayer. Nonetheless, since the faithful are instructed to pray constantly, prayer must serve an important function. The intentions of prayer are too numerous to include here. Entire volumes have been devoted to this subject. Clearly prayer allows one to become more attuned to the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate faith and love, to worship God, and to resist temptation. Christ, too, had many reasons to pray. He needed to teach His disciples how to pray (Lk 11:1). Since He had taken on human flesh, He also needed to humble His human nature (Rm 8:13, Gal 5:24). And He needed to fulfill His role as mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5). The Watchtower makes the error of assuming that God, according to the formula of the Trinity, must be either three gods, or one person. This is clear in their statement that "since Jesus prayed to God, asking that God's will, not his, be done, the two could not be the same person." In fact, He is one God in three Persons. The second Person, Jesus Christ manifested Himself in the flesh, and, therefore, had two natures, one human and one divine. Since this Word made flesh needed a Speaker, there must exist a relationship between the Speaker and the Spoken Word. So Justin in 155 A.D. maintained that These were "numerically distinct." As such, there is nothing in the Son's prayers to His Father which proves that he is not God. The Watchtower consequently reaches an impasse. This is the "mystery of our religion" (1 Tim 3:16).

Even as the Watchtower asserts that Jesus cannot be God since they are not "the same person," the author of this same document refers to the Holy Spirit as "the so-called third Person of the Trinity." What seems to be happening here is another intentional deception. The author clearly recognizes distinct Persons of the Trinity, but in attempting to advance his previous argument suggests to his readers that Christianity believes in one person. One may conclude that the author has distorted a truth, of which he is well aware, as an end to his goal. If this is so, one must also question the author's motives.

Yet, "at Matthew 4:1, Jesus is spoken of as being 'tempted by the Devil,' notes the Watchtower. "Satan was trying to cause Jesus to be disloyal to God. But what test of loyalty would that be if Jesus were God," they ask. "It is unimaginable that God could sin and be disloyal to himself...So if Jesus had been God, he could not have been tempted." In fact, Jesus was not "tempted," according to the proper context of the passage. Matthew 4:1 reads, "Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be put to the test by the devil." Here it is the devil who tests and in reply Jesus asserts His divinity as the Son of God for He replies, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Mt 4:7). This is the commandment given by God, and handed down to His people by Moses, for Moses declares, "Do not put Yahweh your God to the test as you tested him at Massah" (Dt 6:16). Clearly, God is tested by Satan and man. This fact, in no way, implies "that God could sin." On the contrary, Jesus commands Satan to depart and Satan is vanquished (Mt 4:10,11). After making this point clear to your JW friend, ask him where in scripture one finds that "Jesus could have been disloyal," as the Watchtower professes.

Further to this, the Watchtower notes that Jesus was a perfect human who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim 2:5,6). "If Jesus, however, were part of a Godhead, the ransom price would have been infinitely higher than what God's own Law required," they claim. "It was only a perfect human, Adam, who sinned in Eden, not God." However, the Holy Catholic Church teaches that God took on human flesh, manifest in two natures, fully God and fully man. God in His human nature died for our sins to ransom us from death. To this, "John has borne witness to the Word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:2,9). The Watchtower admits that Jesus is this Word. In Saint John's Apocalypse, He is revealed as these two, the One who is First, through whom all creation came into being, and the One who is Last, in whom God manifested Himself clothed in human weakness, to become the Saviour, the spotless Lamb of God, the perfect offering to redeem man from the captivity of sin. To support their idea that "the ransom price would have been infinitely higher than what God's own Law required," they quote Moses who says a "life for life, eye for eye," and so on (Ex 21:23,24; Lev. 24:19-21). After all, Paul notes, "Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life." Thus they argue that since one man caused death to come into the world, only one man was needed to redeem mankind. In contrast, Moses also says, "Parents may not be put to death for their children, nor children for their parents, but each must be put to death for his own crime" (Dt 24:16). Since God does not forgive Adam only, but rather forgives all our sins through "the blood of Jesus" (1 Jn 1:7), without His sacrifice we are all guilty before the Lord (1 Jn 1:8-10). It is through our first parents, Adam and Eve, that sin came into the world by way of a corruptible human nature that is passed on from generation to generation. If we trust what Moses is saying, Adam cannot be accountable for my sin or your sin, but each "for his own crime." Therefore, the sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, died for many billions, each one "for his own crime." Then, by the Watchtower's own measure of a life for a life, how well would Christ measure up to God's justice if he were but a mere man.

The Watchtower continues; "Thus when God sent Jesus to earth as the ransom, he made Jesus to be what would satisfy justice, not a god-man, but a perfect man, 'lower than the angels.' (Hebrews 2:9; compare Psalm 8:5, 6.) How could any part of the Godhead," they add, "even be lower than angels?" The answer to this has been laid out above. First, that Paul calls the incarnation "the mystery of our religion," and angels who worship "God alone" have been instructed to worship Jesus Christ (1 Tim 3:16; Heb 1:6; Rev. 22:8,9). This also refutes their argument that "countless other created spirit beings, angels, are also called 'sons of God'." In addition, as was pointed out in chapter two, Paul has devoted the entire first portion of his letter to the Hebrews to refuting any notion that Christ is an angel (Heb 1,2).

This leads into their next argument. "If Jesus had been God, how could Jesus have been exalted, that is, raised to a higher position than he previously enjoyed." Further to this, they add, "If, before his exaltation, Jesus had been equal to God, exalting him any further would have made him superior to God." In answer to this, Paul notes that Jesus was made lower than the angels for "a short time" (Heb 2:7), and was made like man in every way except sin (Heb 4:15). The purpose for this was to share in our suffering and weakness (Heb 5:2) and to offer himself as an eternal sacrifice to redeem mankind from sin (Heb 10:14,17-18). If He became fully man, as Paul says, He would need to be subject in every way, except sin, to this human nature. And if His human nature was somehow greater than all other human beings, he would not have been fully human, but another species more advanced than humans. Nevertheless, this "mystery of our religion" maintains that Jesus has always been and always will be fully God (1 Tim 3:16; Heb 13:8). Even while He was subject to His human nature, His divine nature was maintained. Many do not take the time to understand this and pray for guidance through the Holy Spirit, for Paul says, "Do not be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines: it is better to rely on grace for inner strength than food, which has done no good to those who concentrate on it" (Heb 13:9).

The mystery of His incarnation explains why Jesus would need to learn and advance in wisdom while subject to His human nature. Therefore, the Watchtower in confounded when they ask, "Can we imagine that God had to learn anything?" We do not imagine Jesus, on the day of His birth, immediately preaching on all the truths of the universe. Instead, we think of a newborn child not unlike any other newborn child. To be fully human He had to learn how to walk, how to speak, and, later, how to be a carpenter. The Watchtower maintains that this is proof that Jesus is not God, but then what do they believe He is, if not God. As we examined in chapter two, the Watchtower professes that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. They believe that he was the first creature created in the whole universe, and that he helped God create the universe. To do so, Michael would have had to have a knowledge of Astrophysics, Geology, Biochemistry, etc. Yet, when, as the Watchtower professes, Michael became Jesus Christ, he did not know any of these things. So lets turn their own argument on them and ask, "Can we imagine that" Michael who helped create the universe "had to learn anything?"

Given the matters as set out above, dealing with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit becomes rather academic. The arguments presented by the Watchtower to show that the Holy Spirit is not God, but His "active force," are much the same as those presented in their denial of Christ as Lord. "John had been baptizing with water. Hence in the same way that water is not a person," argues the Watchtower, "holy spirit is not a person." They go on to say, "what John foretold was fulfilled when, following the death and resurrection of Jesus, holy spirit was poured out on his followers gathered in Jerusalem...Were they filled with a person?" Yet Jesus tells us that He will send the Paraclete from the Father, "the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father" (Jn 15:26). If God fills the heavens and the earth, as noted previously, and Christ fills "all things," how could He issue the Spirit? This question necessarily implies a relationship between the One who issues and the Spirit that is issued. Notice that such reasoning is not unlike the discussion on the relationship between the Speaker (the Father) and the Spoken Word (Jesus Christ). According to the Gospel of John, not only is the Spirit issued "from the Father," but is also sent by the Son. As such, the Spirit is numerically distinct from both the Father and the Son. This is also evident as the Paraclete witnesses to Jesus (Jn 15:26). Scripture further tells us that the Spirit is One who leads, speaks, and reveals. He is also One who says "only what he has been told" (Jn 16:13). Now let's consider the Watchtower's argument. They contend that the "holy spirit is not a person" in the same way as water. From this one must conclude that water leads, speaks, and reveals, and water does "only what he has been told." If one makes such a conclusion, he must necessarily be a Pantheist, a charge the Watchtower would deny.

But, the Watchtower would contend, "at 1 John 5:6-8 (NE) not only the spirit but also 'the water, and the blood' are said to be 'witnesses.' But water and blood are obviously not persons, and neither is the holy spirit a person." Let's look further into what John is really saying when he speaks of water and blood as "witnesses." John writes, "He it is who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with water alone but with water and blood, and it is the Spirit that bears witness, for the Spirit is Truth. So there are three witnesses, the Spirit, water and blood; and the three of them coincide" (1 Jn 5:6-8). Notice how John makes very clear that "the three of them coincide." So it is that they coincide when Christ is pierced on the cross. "This is the evidence," we are told, "so that you may believe as well" (Jn 19:15). "Everyone will see him, even those who pierced him" (Rev. 1:7). So it is that these three coincide as testimony that Jesus is the Christ, but it is the Spirit who witnesses in all these.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church 694 clarifies this further: "The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism, since after the invocation of the Holy Spirit it becomes the efficacious sacramental sign of new birth: just as the gestation of our first birth took place in water, so the water of Baptism truly signifies that our birth into the divine life is given to us in the Holy Spirit. As 'by one Spirit we were all baptized,' so we are also 'made to drink of one Spirit.' (1 Cor. 12:13). Thus the Spirit is also the living water welling up from Christ crucified (Jn 19:34; 1 Jn 5:8) as its source and welling up in us to eternal life. (Cf. Jn 4:10-14;7:38;Ex 17:1-6;Isa 55:1;Zech 14:8;1 Cor 10:4;Rev 21:6;22:17)"

Through Baptism we are born again of the Spirit, into the new covenant of Jesus Christ, for "the real circumcision is in the heart, a thing not of the letter but of the spirit" (Rm 2:29). But just as circumcision did not remove one's responsibility to make a sin offering before the Lord (Ex 29:36), so is it that Christ did not come "with water alone," but by His own blood which He offered up as a sacrifice for all time (Heb 10:10). Because of this, "the Holy Spirit attests this to us...there can be no more sin offerings" (Heb 10:15,18). Insofar as the water and blood are witnesses, therefore, they are the means by which the Holy Spirit reveals salvation in the new covenant of Jesus Christ. "We are the true people of the circumcision since we worship by the Spirit of God and make Christ Jesus our only boast" (Ph 3:3). Without the Spirit of Truth, water and blood reveal nothing. Salvation does not come from the blood of goats, but the blood of God's only begotten Son (Jn 3:16, Heb 10:3).

Next consider that the Holy Spirit is true God. When God's Spirit is sent out, creation comes into being (Gen 1:2, Job 33:4, Ps. 104:30), but it is God who is Creator of all. In a sense, the Spirit represents the will of God, and His love for creation. Furthermore, we are told that we are God's temple wherein His Spirit resides (1Cor 3:16). Let us further consider Saint Paul's letter to the Romans. In the eighth chapter, the Romans are exhorted to put to death their "natural inclinations." It is "by the Spirit that you put to death the habits of the body" so as not to be ruled by our human nature (Rm 8:12,13). Since God already fills everything, we do not obtain something lacking when we are filled with the Spirit. Rather, as we put to death the natural inclinations of the flesh, our awareness grows of that wondrous Spirit within us, as if being full of the Spirit without any hindrance from "the habits of the body." If the Watchtower replies that God's Spirit is different from the "holy spirit," the following proof texts should suffice. In corresponding passages in Matthew and Mark, disciples are warned of the persecution they must suffer. In one Jesus says, "what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you" (Mt 10:20). In the other He makes the same point: "it is not you who will be speaking; it is the Holy Spirit" (Mk 13:11).

How does the Spirit of God speak through the disciples of the Lord? According to the Watchtower, "The action of the spirit in such instances is like that of radio waves transmitting messages from one person to another far away." This is in keeping with the Watchtower's contention that "[God] is far away." Imagine, if you will, the Watchtower's image of Almighty God ruling the universe from his home at the star "Alcyone" in the constellation Pleiades, sending out radio waves to his followers "far away" on planet earth. On the other hand, Paul asks, "Do you not realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." One cannot imagine a temple for radio waves or anything that "is like that of radio waves," for a temple is consecrated to God.

We have already seen that God fills "heaven and earth" (Jr. 23:24), and Christ fills "all things" (Ep. 4:10). So too "the spirit of the Lord fills the world" (Wis. 1:7). There is nowhere one can go where the Holy Spirit is not also (Ps. 139:7,8). Therefore, both Christ and Holy Spirit are God. Elsewhere we find that when a man lies to the Holy Spirit, he lies to God (Acts 5:3-4). Can a man lie to "radio waves?" In addition, "whoever keeps his commandments remains in God" (1 Jn. 3:24). Does the person who keeps His commandments send "radio signals" back?

The arguments used by the Watchtower to deny our Lord and God's Spirit of Truth are fallacious and repugnant, especially in areas where deception appears to be deliberate. As such, a warning from Saint Paul may be appropriately directed to the Watchtower. "Anyone who tramples on the Son of God, and who treats the blood of the covenant which sanctified him as if it were not holy, and who insults the Spirit of grace, will be condemned to a far severer punishment" (Heb 10:29).

The Watchtower contends that anyone who venerates an image of a saint, the mother of God, or even God Himself, is an idol worshipper. Such acts will condemn Roman Catholics and Protestants alike to eternal oblivion. The Watchtower notes that "they may say they do not worship the image, but that seeing and touching it helps them worship God. Yet does God want us to worship him with the aid of images?" They go on to answer their question declaring, "it is wrong to use images in worship." The Watchtower condemns Catholics for "Mary Worship" which "echoes much older worship of pagan goddesses." These are strong indictments that must not go unchallenged.

First let us examine the use of images for veneration and worship. The Watchtower presents the following argument: "Moses told the Israelites that God never appeared to them in any visible form. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19) In fact, one of the Ten Commandments says: 'You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything...you shall not bow down to them or serve them.'" I hope I have adequately demonstrated in the previous chapter that God did appear in visible form as Jesus Christ our Lord. The events of the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of this salvific mystery. And such foreshadowing will be instrumental in the refutation that follows.

Ask yourself, what was the purpose of the first commandment? During the lifetime of Moses, pagan worship flourished (as it does today). The Egyptians had their own gods which they worshipped and many in Israel also worshipped these, even after their departure from Egypt (Ex. 32:1; 34:16). Graven images were considered gods in themselves, not images intended to lead to the Almighty. This contrasts images fashioned after various subjects that, in themselves, were blessed by God and, in turn, lead to God. The Lord Himself required this, for he commanded Moses; "Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive. Moses then made a serpent out of bronze" (Num 21:8,9). "Whoever turned to it was saved, not by what he looked at, but by...the Saviour of all" (Wis. 16:7). Even the New Testament recognized this, for John writes, "as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up" (Jn. 3:14).

God created matter and saw that it "was good...indeed it was very good" (Gen 1:4, 31). For this reason it is also good to use matter as a means of coming closer to God and His Truth. This is evident in the bronze serpent made by Moses. Yet, these objects have no power to save or heal except by the power of God. God simply uses matter to offer His gifts to man. In fact, He loves matter so much that the Word took on material form Himself through the incarnation (Jn 3:16). In His human form, the Son of man also used matter to perform miracles, as He did with the man who was blind from birth. "He spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man," further telling him to go wash. Upon returning, the blind man was cured an could see (Jn 9:6, 7). Yet, it was not the mud that cured the blind man, but the power of God.

Solomon also used matter to construct images for the Great Temple. These were "two great winged creatures of wild olive wood" (1 Kgs 6:23) and a large basin, known as a sea, which was supported by twelve replicas of oxen (1 Kgs 7:23-25). Contrast these oxen with the golden calf constructed by Aaron. Although the images may have been similar, Solomon's oxen were not worshipped.

As with many heresies adopted by the Watchtower, this refusal to accept matter as an instrument of God's salvation, whether it be the incarnation, or the use of images, is merely a reflection of Gnosticism. The Gnostics hated matter so much that they abused their own bodies through grotesque excesses that included widespread fornication. This is also reflected in liberal Protestantism with their ordination of active homosexuals and acceptance of abortion. The diseases associated with homosexual behaviour and the willful destruction of life can only be attributed to a hatred of matter. The Watchtower will deny any association with such groups as they are on the other end of the behavioral spectrum. However, the Watchtower speaks highly of the Albigenses who were a Gnostic cult of the twelfth century. The Albigenses also hated matter and engaged in widespread fornication and other abuses contrary to natural law, not to mention God's law. They considered marriage evil and promoted euthanasia. Yet the Watchtower defends Albigensianism since "they rejected the doctrines of the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, hellfire, and purgatory. Thus they actively put in doubt the teachings of Rome...The root of the problem for the Catholic Church was evidently the existence of the Bible in the language of the people." Is the Watchtower suggesting that reading the Bible led to the development of Albigense doctrine? The appropriate use of the Bible will be examined in the next chapter. In the mean time, lets return to our examination of the use of images in worship.

The most important graven image of the Old Testament is the ark of the covenant, the construction of which is described in detail (Ex. 25). It was to b