Response Letter to a Jehovah's Witness (Part 2)

“Loretta” replied to my response to her first letter (the reason I put her name in quotes is because I don’t believe it is her real name, since some of my friends have received similar letters from the same P.O. Box address under a different female name. But even if it is, her identity is clearly protected). As discussed in the first entry concerning this, I received a letter from a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) in the mail and a tract from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS), which is the organization of the JW’s. Please look at the first article concerning this conversation, because it is important to know what I replied, and how she responded (below). Notice that none of my questions to her were acceptably answered.

Before we get to the letter, it should be noted that I have included the grammatical errors (in this hand-written letter) because I think that it gives strength to the statistics revealing the education levels of JW’s. They are told to not attend higher education and to only study what the WBTS provides or approves. In the graph below, from pewresearch.org, one can see that JW’s are the highest of all in the list who do not graduate high school. This is all about controlling the intellect of people from the WBTS. The idea is that if a person or organization can control behavior, how time is spent, and people’s emotions, then they have the control of the whole person.[1] This is a recipe for a cult.

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/FT_16.10.06_educationReligiousGroups.png?w=640

See the contents of her letter below, still coming from the same P.O. Box address without a surname:

Hello Nace;

Thank you so much for writting me back, so wonderful to find someone who is really interested in the Bible and want questions answered.

Many translators of the Bible have a deep respect for the Divine name (Jehovah) and have a healthy fear of removing or adding anything that appeared in the original text. In the Hebrew scriptures the divine name nearly 7,000 times, we know he has many titles and descriptive Terms such as, Lord, Almighty, most High, Jehovah God himself directed Bible writers to use his name, Joel the prophet said in Joel 2:32, “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” And one Psalmist wrote in Psalms 83:18 “May people know that you, who’s name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Jesus plainly stated “I have come in the name of my father”, he also stressed that his works were done in his fathers name. If you look at acts 2:34, in a book entitled “the Emphatic Diaglott,” by Benjamin Wilson (1864) Gods name appears; also Lord; clear distiction of God (Jehovah & Lord his son) you are right on the alpha & Omega (the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet) they are used together three times in Revelation as a title for God. which means “the beginning and the end.” Rev 1:8, 21:6 also 22:13 he always existed and will never end.

Thank you for your time, hope this helped.

Loretta

No, Loretta, it didn’t help. Notice that she underlined the word “name” just about every time she wrote it. Her emphasis on this word is esoteric in nature. This is part of the allure of JW’s. They believe that they are privileged with information that is private and secretive. What she is saying here is that there are only a select few who know the true name of God; namely, Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The name “Jehovah” comes from an unpronounceable word in the Old Testament called the Tetragrammaton. This word in Greek, means “the four letters.” The Tetragrammaton comes from the Old Testament where the Hebrew letters equivalent to YHWH (or JHVH) in English are translated as JEHOVAH. The reason this word does not include vowels is because the scribes who copied the Old Testament did not want the name of God to be pronounceable, in order to avoid the sin of the Third Commandment, which is that “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”[2] In other words, you shall not use the name of God like something that is common. So the scribes who copied the books of the Old Testament omitted the vowel points on purpose in order to make the name of God so sacred by basically making it forgotten.

JEHOVAH came to exist by adding the vowel points found in the Hebrew word “Adonai” which means “Lord.” Most scholars agree that the more likely translation of the Tetragrammaton is Yahweh (even many JW’s believe this, in my experiences). This is how JW’s believe that they are privileged, to know the name of Jehovah. Her answer to my question of why the Jehovah’s Witness translation of the New Testament uses the Tetragrammaton, which is odd because the Tetragrammaton is not found in the Greek New Testament, is an appeal to a single reference, over a century old, of a Bible translator who used the name Jehovah in the New Testament. This still does not make the Greek New Testament include the Tetragrammaton, which leaves me with my question ultimately unanswered.

I had two main questions that stood out in my letter to her: The first one is, “Did Jehovah God die?” It was explained how I came to this question, but she clearly dodged it. All she really discussed was the “name” of God. The second question is in regard to John 1:3, “If ‘all things came into existence through him’ wouldn’t that mean that he is also uncreated? Wouldn’t the Word (who seems to be Jesus according to JW.org, and verse 14 in the same chapter), be the one to create ‘all’ things?” To which there is not a single reference to in her letter. I even added at the bottom of the letter, “As you can see, the most important of my questions comes from John 1:3.”

It still seems to me that this question is unanswerable to Jehovah’s Witnesses. So much so that they avoid it like the plague. I will reply to her this time emphasizing the fact that my questions were not answered. Perhaps she will respond with more than a single page dodging the questions altogether. But prayerfully, my hope is that she really wrestles with these questions posed to her. Again this is material that a Christian (myself) is producing, which is not from the WBTS, so she might not even read it. With prayer, we can always hope.

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

[1] See Steven Hassan’s B.I.T.E. model.

[2] See the Third Commandment in Exodus chapter twenty.

Comments

The Evidence and Power of Testimony: The Apostolic Witness

What to say to People who Demand more Evidence for God. Why is there something rather than nothing? Glacier National Park. © Nace Howell, 2018. The question is, how much evidence do you require? Would Jesus have to come back and slap you in the face with evidence that He is God? It seems to me that there is a line we must draw. We do this in all other areas of our lives, so why would we treat theism any different? When a court convicts, they do so “beyond a reasonable doubt.” I would like to take a few moments to explore this a bit. But before we get to that, I want to pose a question, which is… why are you the standard? What makes you think He has to prove His existence to everyone individually? He already created the universe from nothing. In the beginning, there was a big bang. Seriously… do you believe your mom when she tells you a story about her day? Did you believe the reports of 9/11 when they were happening? Do you accept the testimony of anything you hear on social ...

Baptism is Not Necessary for Salvation According to the Early Church

Let’s dive right in. The Bible says in Acts 2:37-41, Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. The phrase in Acts 2:38 that reads, “for the forgiveness of your sins” modifies the word repentance, not the word baptism. See more about this Here . What is interesting is that those who translate the above verse as meaning that baptism is a requ...

Using Guilt to Guide to the Truth

While taking a cultural apologetics class in my doctorate, I rambled along in a 30-page paper and in it, I wrote that, “I define religion as an anthropological system consisting of worship which is often filled with specific sacred rituals that seeks to appease or eradicate guilt.” My professor red-penned this and said that I am not yet in an authoritative position to make such definitions. But I was never asked how I came up with such a definition. The thing is, working on my second post-graduate degree in apologetics, studying many other religions on a deeper level was inevitable, and by this, I noticed a pattern in all of them which was the fact that they all seek to appease or eradicate guilt, including Buddhism , even though many adherents of Buddhism claim that it is not a religion . The point is that all religions seek to eradicate guilt on some level, because guilt crosses all cultures and times, to all people . Guilt transcends all people. The ...

Self-tests of Some of the World's Religions

It is fairly common for a religion of the world to give itself a sort of test for truth, since this is one question that is asked of any religion: “Why should I believe what you are telling me is true?” After all, the answer to such a question will ultimately result in followers of specific beliefs and doctrines, let alone religions, or will result in a lack of followers. If a religion can answer this question posed by seekers and thinkers, and therefore train its adherents to be able to answer why a religion is true, this will inevitably help people believe in such, even if the claims are false. If there is no answer, this is where a religion will perhaps find more trouble for itself. Many religions make an appeal to a higher authority, namely, God , for the veracity of their existence and as a result, no one can question the truth from such an authority. This is correct in a sense, that if in fact God is making such a claim, then what is said or stated is true ...

The God of the Killdozer Operator, Marvin Heemeyer

While working toward becoming an apologist and a pastor, I was a heavy equipment operator. I have over 15 years’ experience in the field, focusing on hydrological restorations (stream bank and river restoration and water dam removals) and site development for building pads (ranging from houses to one million + sq. ft. warehouses). I say this because I want to show where the heart for writing article this came about. Marvin Heemeyer purchased a bulldozer from an auction which was a Komatsu D355A with an operating weight of 97,907 lbs. (this does not include the weight of Heemeyer’s fabricated addition). In the picture above, I am operating a Komatsu D155AX which has an operating weight of 89,300 lbs. (If I remember correctly, we were developing the site for a 550,000 sq. ft. warehouse building pad). Heemeyer then went on a rampage in his armored bulldozer in Granby, CO. I don’t want to go into great details about what led up to Heemeyer doing what he did, nor do I want to go into great ...

Two Problems Jesus has with the Mormon Doctrine of Eternal Families

Mormonism teaches that those who are married in a temple can be married for eternity. In Doctrine and Covenants 132:15–20, we find the following: 15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word , and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead , and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. 16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. 17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God for...

An Overlooked Argument Against the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is written in a style of language that was not used by anyone at the time that it was written and published. This style of English is called Early Modern English . This fact is an anachronism that I find to be severely overlooked by those who seek the truth about the Book of Mormon. Many Mormons will instantly write this objection off concerning the veracity of the Book of Mormon, even to the point of saying that such an objection is lazy and pitiful, while not giving any rebuttals worth their weight. I recently insinuated the absurdity of the Book of Mormon by asking the question, “Why was the Book of Mormon translated into Early Modern English?” I’m saying that it is absurd that the BoM uses an out-of-date language. A Mormon replied to me that the Bible has equal absurdities. He said, “Why is [The BoM translation into Early Modern English] absurd? Is it absurd that God uses a donkey to speak to Balaam in Numbers 22?” First, this is a tu quo...

Defending Christianity against Jehovah’s Witnesses

Defending Christianity against Jehovah’s Witnesses Using much of their “bible” to refute them “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect ” (NIV 1 Peter 3:15). In other words, LOVE THEM . Jehovah’s Witnesses Biblical Truths Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity. J.Ws. believe that Jesus was a “little god” (lower case g). J.Ws. believe in a different “ Jesus ” because of the NWT accounts. J.Ws. call themselves “Christians.” J.Ws. believe Jesus is not to be worshiped. J.Ws. believe that Jesus was once, and is again, Michael the archangel. Genesis 1:26 says, “Let Us crea...

Who Made God? Identifying Categorical Errors

A category is simply a distinct class to which something belongs… A set of objects that can be treated as equal in some way. A Macintosh apple belongs to the category, apple, and not what we categorize as an orange. Similarly, colors are in a different category than taste. When we say, “apples and oranges” what we mean is that there has been a confusion of categories. Sure, they are both fruit, but when you examine both, there is an obvious difference. An apple is not an orange, and an orange is not an apple. Macintosh, Granny Smith, and red delicious are all apples. Navel, blood, and Valencia are all oranges. To mix the two, for instance, to call a navel orange an apple, would be a categorical error, sometimes referred to as a category mistake. How Identifying Categorical Errors can Help with Apologetics It seems that simply learning about or being reminded of categorical errors can help us be more aware of them. We have all heard or thought of ourselves, the...

How to Show a Mormon the Difference Between the Mormon Jesus and the Biblical Jesus

I find that Mormons frequently claim that they are Christians, and that they want to be referred to as Christians, and that they have even recently sought to distance themselves from the word “Mormon.” The problem is, they worship another Jesus, and here is how to show them the difference between the Mormon Jesus and the Biblical Jesus. Before we get to that, some clarifications are necessary. Specifically, that they cannot even distance themselves from being called "Mormons." The Mormon President Russell Nelson said, “What’s in a name or, in this case, a nickname? When it comes to nicknames of the Church, such as the “LDS Church,” the “Mormon Church,” or the “Church of the Latter-day Saints,” the most important thing in those names is the absence of the Savior’s name. To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan. When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement.” [1] ...

Apologetics and Evidence

Search This Blog