A Critical Analysis of the Jehovah's Witness "Knowledge" Studies 1-5

by Dave Anderson

Introduction

Upon being visited by Jehovah's Witnesses, receptive persons will be offered a "home Bible study course." Material for study may come from a book called Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the official name of the Jehovah's Witness organization). Jehovah's Witnesses will likely give a copy of this compact book to the individual, who we will call the "student." Satisfactory completion of all the studies in Knowledge... typically results in an individual's baptism into the Jehovah's Witness organization.

Post Script: Apparently, since the Watchtower's 2005 publication of a book called What Does the Bible Really Teach? Jehovah's Witnesses have used Knowledge... as the second study book for converts. Analysis of What Does the Bible Really Teach? is available here.

Although the Watchtower Society claims that these studies give people "accurate knowledge" that leads to "everlasting life," this critical analysis and counter study guide will show that the Bible "knowledge" imparted by the Watchtower study series is far from accurate. What's more, the study series makes use of several manipulative techniques summarized at the end of the analysis. Note that if someone needs to manipulate us in order for us to agree to "the truth," perhaps the truth is not being taught at all.

About the Sincerity of Jehovah's Witnesses

By writing this article, I am not suggesting at all that the individual Jehovah's Witnesses who teach these studies are knowingly trying to teach falsehood or to manipulate people. On the contrary, most Jehovah's Witnesses I've met seem sincere; you would likely have the same experience.

However, falsehood is systematically taught by the Watchtower Society (about the Bible, about the organization's teachings and external support for those teachings, and about its own history). This is done through books, materials, and Jehovah's Witness meetings which ingrain the latest "knowledge" from the Watchtower. Individual Jehovah's Witnesses are made willing mouthpieces for the organization, and by teaching these studies in the sequence and manner prescribed, they may be sincerely trying to please God while in effect manipulating people to become converts of the organization.

Using this Guide

There are several possible uses for this guide. It can be used as a self-study guide for people who have left the Jehovah's Witness organization, or are considering leaving, and wish to reverse the indoctrination of the group (in this case it will be helpful for people to compare their own copy of Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life). This guide can be used by professionals in guided exit counseling of Jehovah's Witnesses. It can be used by the general public to get an understanding of how the Jehovah's Witnesses organization makes its converts. And finally, it can be used by brave souls who feel a genuine mission for showing active Jehovah's Witnesses problems with Watchtower teachings to make these Witnesses free to leave the organization if they so choose, and to help them to better understand mainstream Christian teachings as an alternative. (This analysis was written following such an attempt, over many meetings and several months, after two Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door in New York City).

A word of warning: those who choose to debate Jehovah's Witnesses in an actual study are advised to be well prepared and well studied about both the Bible in general and Watchtower teachings in particular. Anyone who attempts this should also control their own expectations: rarely will Witnesses admit that their teaching is wrong on the spot; they are well trained to spin clever counter-arguments or change the subject entirely. It is likely the Witnesses will call off the study series when they realize you are not a likely convert.

For each of the studies/chapters, paragraph numbers are provided for your reference, since each of the paragraphs and corresponding study questions are numbered in the book Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life. All scripture quotes in this analysis, which are shown in bold, are from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Quotes from Watchtower Society sources Knowledge..., Reasoning from the Scriptures and the Watchtower's New World Translation (NWT) are shown in italics for comparison.

Here we have provided analysis of only the first five studies, which are adequate to establish the themes of "inaccurate knowledge" and manipulation in the study series.

A Note About the Trinity

The Trinity is the Jehovah's Witness organization's biggest point of differentiation from "Christendom" (note that it uses "Christendom" as a derogatory term). As such, the Watchtower's anti-trinitarian teachings will be a focus of much of this analysis.

Note that endless debate is possible on the issue of the Trinity. Many other Pro-Trinitarian publications contain overwhelming evidence, and it is recommended you prepare by studying the issue thoroughly if you plan to pursue it with Jehovah's Witnesses. It will difficult-to-impossible to persuade a Jehovah's Witness to admit there is a Trinity: a Witness can't support the Trinity and remain a member in good standing.

Personally, I did not realize I was a strong Trinitarian until I studied with Jehovah's Witnesses. Ironically, the more the Witnesses tried to discredit Trinitarian ideas, the more the clarity of these ideas for understanding God's nature in the Bible became apparent. It was as if someone was trying to persuade me that liquid water, ice and steam (water in its three different forms) were not each water.

Chapter 1: "You Can Have a Happy Future"

The key point of this study is that knowledge of God (above all else) is the key to happiness. The study promises students, "you are embarking on the most important and rewarding endeavor of your life."

The Heart of the Matter

The study starts to outline the Jehovah's Witness idiosyncratic view of paradise. The Watchtower Society tries to present this in the most appealing possible way in these studies: it is well aware that the rewards of "paradise" fall short of the mainstream Christian beliefs that all believers have an inheritance in heaven, not just on earth. The end of this study cleverly tries to cement its teaching about paradise by presumptuously asking, "What will life be like in the coming earthly Paradise?" Yet the study has not proven the Watchtower idea of a coming earthly Paradise at all.

This study emphasizes knowledge at the expense of wisdom. Although the study cites Proverbs 2 about knowledge, it is interesting that Proverbs 1 & 2 use the word "knowledge" (7 times) but also use the word "wisdom" (6 times). Evidently, it is important for us to have both knowledge and wisdom, working together.

There may be a simple reason for the focus on knowledge over wisdom: Jehovah's Witnesses must focus only on absorbing the knowledge that the Watchtower Society gives them, in its sovereign wisdom (i.e. apparently the Watchtower is assumed to have wisdom but rank-and-file Witnesses can aspire mainly to "knowledge.")

What they "Know" but Aren't Telling You

• Most of today's living Christians, in the official Watchtower view, do not go to heaven but can hope only for an earthly Paradise (typically this Watchtower teaching is withheld until later).

• Although this study promises happiness, true happiness is only thought to be possible as a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, "Jehovah's visible organization." It is believed that no amount of knowledge can save a person outside the organization.

• When the study quotes John 17:3, it does not mention that the Watchtower Society considers this verse to be evidence that Jesus is not God (It is mainstream Christian doctrine that Jesus is one with God).

Areas to Challenge

• The study (in Paragraph 2) says that "knowledge" is the key to a happy future (knowledge of God). However, any number of scriptures can be used to indicate that knowledge should be tied to wisdom and discernment (II Chronicles 1:7-12, Psalm 119:66, Proverbs 1:4, Proverbs 8:12, Daniel 2:21, Romans 11:33).You could ask, since knowledge and wisdom work together, isn't it correct that we should strive for both?

• The study (in Paragraph 6) quotes John 17:3 from the Watchtower Society's New World Translation, "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ." Yet the original Greek implies that everlasting life comes not just from knowing things about God and Jesus, but personally knowing them. For example, the NIV translation of this verse reads "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God..." You might ask whether God and Jesus want us to merely know things about them, or to have a direct relationship with them.

• The study (Question 7 in footers) asks, "What evidence is there that God did not intend for us to die"? You could reply that this study gives no evidence of this at all. Instead it gives us rhetorical questions like, "Do you think the Creator wants us to die and lose all of this? [our five senses, our unused brain capacity]" and, "Would it not be more reasonable to conclude that he [God] wants us to live happily and to enjoy life forever?" Questions that try to guess at God's intentions are not "evidence," just speculation.

• The study (in Paragraph 9) says, "[Adam and Eve] and their offspring were to extend the borders of Paradise until our entire planet became a place of beauty and delight. - Genesis 1:28" This does not necessarily follow from the Genesis 1:28, "fill the earth and subdue it." (Is the study suggesting that Adam and Eve were supposed to extend the borders of the Garden of Eden?)

• The study (in Paragraph 10) makes an unsubstantiated claim about Jesus: "He knew that our entirely earthly home would become a paradise." Jesus never mentioned this idea of an earthly paradise in the New Testament, so it is presumptuous to say he "knew" this! In fact, the only time the New Testament shows Jesus using the word "paradise" at all (Greek paradeisos) is in Luke 23:43, where Jesus tells the repentant thief on the cross, "...'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'" Of course, this refutes the Jehovah's Witness idea of an earthly and future paradise. Accordingly, the New World Translation (NWT) places the comma differently, "...'Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.'" (Not only does this disagree with mainstream Bible translations, it is inconsistent with the NWT's comma placement in similar passages). This study does give a partial citation of Luke 23:43 (earlier in Pargraph 8) that leaves out the word "today" entirely -- perhaps not wanting to call attention to translation differences so early in the studies.

• The study (in Paragraph 16) says "Everlasting life on a paradise earth will be delightful," citing Psalm 37:29 as evidence that paradise will take place on earth. The New World Translation of this verse reads: "The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it." Three points about this translation:
  • The Watchtower Society doesn't mention that the Hebrew word in this verse translated "forever" often denotes the unforseeable future, rather than literal eternity.
  • The Hebrew word translated "earth" often carries the meaning of land -- in this context, the land of Judea. Note the different wording of Psalm 37:29 in the NIV, "The righteous will inherit the land, and dwell in it forever."
  • The Watchtower's New World Translation has apparently added the word "themselves" ("The righteous themselves will possess the earth") for good measure to reinfoce its interpretation of the passage; mainstream translations do not include this word. Upon close examination, then, Psalm 37:29 does not support the conclusion that there will be "everlasting life on a paradise earth."

• You can ask why, if our destiny is a "paradise earth," does the Bible say that all believers have an inheritance in heaven (choose and read a few scriptures from the following: II Corinthians 5:1-5, Philippians 3:20-21, I Peter 1:1-4, Hebrews 11:1-16). You will likely find that the Jehovah's Witnesses have no quick answer for why these scriptural promises made to First Century Christians shouldn't apply to us today. The Watchtower Society rules out the promise of heaven for most Christians not because of any clear indication of scripture, but because it conflicts with its own idiosyncratic ideas about "two flocks" of believers, "paradise earth," and "spirit creatures." It would seem more appropriate to reconsider these man-made teachings, rather than to throw out the Bible's literal promises about heaven.

Points to Make During the Study

• Since knowledge and wisdom work together, we must have both.

• God wants us to think.

• God wants us to have a direct relationship with him and a direct relationship with Jesus (it is important to state this, because cults tend to filter ones relationship with God through an organization.)

Chapter 2- "The Book that Reveals the Knowledge of God"

This study focuses on the authority of the Bible and its inerrancy.

The Heart of the Matter

While the idea of the Bible's infallibility is agreeable to many Christians, in the context of the Knowledge studies, it paves the way for extensive Jehovah's Witness prooftexting (using isolated Bible passages to support specific beliefs and practices through improper interpretation).

You should know that the Watchtower Society itself claims to have standards of proper Bible interpretation -- in fact, you should hold the Jehovah's Witnesses to these standards as much as you are able:

Two things can help us to understand the Bible correctly. First, consider the context (surrounding verses) of any statement. Next, compare texts with other statements in the Bible that deal with the same subject.

Source: Reasoning from the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1989, pp. 65-66.

Of course, scholarly Bible interpretation requires additional hermeneutic principles beyond the two above, but the idea that Scripture helps to interpret Scripture is a good start.

This study in its written form does not discuss translations of the Bible. You should know that the official Watchtower translation, the New World Translation, is a highly controversial translation that makes many unfounded translation choices in order to support Watchtower theology.

The study spends considerable time establishing that Bible prophecies have been made and fulfilled. This is apparently done not just to create confidence in the Bible, but also to pave the way for the Jehovah's Witnesses to suggest how other prophecies will be fulfilled in current times.

What they "Know" but Aren't Telling You

• While they believe the Bible is inspired, Jehovah's Witnesses have been taught that the Bible can't be understood properly without the interpretive guidance of the Jehovah's Witness organization, God's "faithful and discrete slave."

• While this study teaches the Bible is "dependable," the Watchtower Society must not think that the preservation of original New Testament Greek is very dependable. The New World Translation committee decided unjustifiably to put the name Jehovah in the New Testament where it did not appear in existing Greek manuscripts (this point will become clear later).

• Although the Bible has many prophecies which appear to have come true, the Watchtower Society has made predictions about the future which clearly have not come true. Acknowledging this would undermine Jehovah's Witnesses' credibility to interpret Bible prophecies about the future.

Points You Can Make

You do not need to challenge the primary teachings of this study (that Scripture is the foundation of all truth) in order to make several crucial points to Jehovah's Witnesses. In fact, you may be most effective working within the Jehovah's Witnesses frame of reference -- that the Bible has authority -- and then using the Bible to show problems with the Watchtower view of the reality. You can agree with this study's points, while also undermining its purpose (apparently its purpose is to prepare you to unquestioningly accept the Watchtower Society's dubious interpretation of the Bible).

• The study (in Paragraph 3) makes an analogy of the Bible with a legal document and says, "If you found certain parts of the document hard to understand, likely you would get the help of someone experienced in such matters." You could remark that, fortunately, the Bible is not a legal document. In fact, the Pharisees are portrayed in the New Testament as mistaking the Old Testament for a legal document; Jesus calls them "blind guides" because of it. You may want to point out that guidance is valuable, but we must avoid blind guides like the Pharisees.

• The study (in Paragraph 4) says that the Bible is the Word of God. You can ask the Jehovah's Witnesses studying with you if they think that your Bible (i.e. your translation) is the Word of God. If they say that your Bible doesn't contain the consistent Word of God, you can ask why not. (You could then point out that it is misleading from them to say the Bible is God's Word if they really mean that only their translation is). If they do respond that your Bible is God's Word, they should accept the authority of your translation later on in the studies.

• The study (in Paragraph 12) says "Jesus provided instruction on how to pray." You might ask them to show you Jesus' example of how to pray in the Bible. We can assume they will guide you to Matthew 6:9-13. After reading the passage, you can make the point -- isn't it great that Jesus says we can address God as our Father (Jehovah's Witnesses address God primarily as Jehovah)? You might also ask them why they have not prayed with you during the studies, if this is the case.

• The study (in Paragraph 12) says Jesus' Sermon on the Mount tells us "how to detect religious frauds." You can ask, where else does the Bible tell us how we can detect religious frauds? Suggest that you read together Deuteronomy 18:21-22. This passage says that when a prophet predicts something which does not come true, the prediction did not come from God. Making this point is significant because the Watchtower Society has made predictions that did not come true.

• The study (in Paragraph 14) cites Isaiah 40:22's reference to the earth as a "circle," as evidence that the Bible is "scientifically accurate." Note that in the latter part of this same verse (Isaiah 40:22) the text says the heavens are stretched out like a "canopy" or "curtain" (depending on the translation). Canopies or curtains when stretched out are flat -- but certainly this doesn't mean that the universe (or heaven) must be flat. Perhaps the writer is using poetic language throughout this passage to describe the actions of God. Without challenging the accuracy of the Bible, you could challenge the idea that the Bible always tries to be scientifically accurate.

• The study (in Paragraph 20) says "Should this not build your trust in what the Bible promises, such as its prophecies regarding a coming earthly paradise?" The question blatantly assumes that the coming earthly paradise is a Bible promise. You may want to point out that the "coming earthly paradise" as promised by the Watchtower Society is not a specific Bible prophecy, it is an interpretation of Bible prophecy.

• The study (in Paragraph 21) says "As you study the Bible, you are likely to learn thing that differ from what you have been taught in the past. You may even find that some of your cherished religious customs do not please God... Be open to the possibility that the Bible's counsel may call for an adjustment in your thinking and actions." Ask if this if this advice applies to the Jehovah's Witnesses studying with you, as well as to you. Ask if they learn something while studying with you that requires an adjustment in their thinking and actions, are they willing to make such an adjustment? If not, you could even choose not to study further with them, saying something like, "it is not fair to go through this process if you are unwilling to re-examine your views."

• The study (in Paragraph 22) warns the student, "Some may fear that you will become involved with a cult or will turn into a fanatic." Note that the text assumes there is such a thing as a cult. You could ask what they think a cult is. If they don't offer a definition, or one that fits your view of what a cult is, suggest this definition of a cult:
  • Authoritarian in power structure -- pyramid-shaped structure with all authority at the top
  • Totalitarian in control of members' behavior
  • Has a double set of ethics (one set of ethics for members and another for non-members; also one set for group leaders and another for rank-and-file members)
  • Has self-appointed leaders, claiming to have a special mission in life
  • Promotes physical and/or psychological isolation from society
  • Uses deception in recruitment and/or fundraising
  • Uses thought reform or mind control techniques (according to one model, Steve Hassan's BITE model)
    • Behavior Control
    • Information Control
    • Thought Control
    • Emotional Control

• You could ask if it's fair to say that an organization that meets the seven conditions (above) is a cult. Even if the conversation does not get into how the Jehovah's Witness organization could be considered a cult, it is still worth establishing a definition for Witnesses to think about.

Chapter 3: "Who is the True God?"

This study claims that Jehovah -- separate from and not including Jesus -- is the True God.

The Heart of the Matter

This study tries to establish the importance of the name "Jehovah." This name for God is used to some degree outside the Jehovah's Witnesses, but Jehovah's Witnesses use the name idiosyncratically and exclusively. (They use the term to demonstrate that other groups do not really know God.) This study argues that we must use the name Jehovah, even though the English pronunciation "Jehovah" was devised over a thousand years after the Bible had been written.

God is referred to in the Bible by many titles (as this study acknowledges), and no one knows the correct pronunciation of the divine name represented by the Hebrew Tetragrammaton in the Old Testament. It is puzzling, then, that the Jehovah's Witness organization promotes one name/pronunciation, "Jehovah," and makes it mandatory for members (especially considering that Jesus instructed his disciples to address God as "Father").

It seems that by defining God = Jehovah, Jehovah's Witnesses attempt to shift the paradigm of the student. Most students coming into the study already have an idea of who God the Father is, and whether they want to worship Him. But after presenting the Watchtower’s concept of the "True God," this study will ask recruits “What is God's name?” Having successfully changed the student's mind about God's name, the studies will go further by trying to persuade the student to adopt the Watchtower's anti-Trinitarian view of God.

So, it seems that the real reason for the idiosyncratic emphasis on the name Jehovah is to differentiate the Watchtower organization, and its concept of God, from all others.

What they "Know" but Aren't Telling You

• The Watchtower Society has taught that people who do not use God's name "Jehovah" do not know the "true God."

• Jehovah's Witness are taught to believe that the Trinity (triune God composed of Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is a pagan or even Satanic idea

Areas to Challenge

• The study (in Paragraph 4) says that God is referred to with different "expressions" or titles. You might ask what the differences is between a name and a title, and then ask whether Jesus addressed God using a name or a title. The answer is that in every example we have of Jesus addressing God in prayer, he uses the title "Father" (Matthew 11:25-26, 26:39, 26:42; Mark 14:32-39; Luke 22:41-44, 23:34; John 11:42, 12:27-28, 17:1-26). What's more, he instructs us to do the same (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4).

• The study (in Paragraph 5) says that the "English pronunciation 'Jehovah' has been in use for centuries." Ask if the year 1270 sounds about right (it is). Ask if Jehovah is a name made by men, or a name made by God? (It is men, not directly God, who combined consonants from the Hebrew Tetragrammaton -- translated YHWH -- with vowels to produce the pronunciation "JeHoVaH").

• The study (in Paragraph 6) says "God's unique name, Jehovah, serves to differentiate him from all other gods." Ask if all other gods are true gods, or false gods. (It will help you to establish this before the following study about Jesus, since the Watchtower teaches that Jesus in John 1:1 is just "a God.")

• The study (in Paragraph 8) says "The Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each 'called upon the name of Jehovah,'" yet this English pronunciation would not exist for thousands of years. You can try to get agreement from the Jehovah's Witnesses that the name the patriarchs spoke likely had a different pronunciation.

• Key Challenge: Paragraph 13 says, "The Bible Promises: 'Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved' (Romans 10:13)." Ask to look at this passage in context, reading Romans 10:4-13 (remember, we agreed that surrounding verses were the first thing to look at when interpreting the Bible). A string of crucial points can be made from this passage:
  • Point out that the Greek word kyrios used in Romans 10:9 is translated "Lord" in the New World Translation (NWT) and in your own. Make sure this is clear: your translation will likely agree with the NWT for this verse.
  • Point out that the Greek word kyrios occurs a second time in verse 9, again translated "Lord." Again, your translation will likely agree with the NWT.
  • Then note that Romans 10:13 has the same Greek word kyrios, but that this time the New World Translation renders it "Jehovah.": "Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved," instead of "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
  • Ask, since Jesus is Lord (kyrios, v. 9), and if we are to call upon the name of the Lord (kyrios, v. 13), then why would the New World Translation assume that verse 13 is talking about someone other than Jesus? Why would the Watchtower now translate the same Greek word used earlier in the same passage, differently?
    • The Jehovah's Witnesses may point out that Romans 10:13 is a quotation of Joel 2:32 from the Old Testament, "Everyone who calls on the name of [YHWH] will be saved." (As an aside, if the New World Translation committe was so sure Paul was quoting Joel 2:32 in Romans 10:13, one wonders why they worded Joel 2:32 differently: "...everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe.") New World translators have assumed that the Greek kyrios = the Hebrew [YHWH] = the English Jehovah, and have dropped "Jehovah" into verse 13. But considering the context, how could the Watchtower's translations be so sure that Romans 10:13 couldn't be referring to Jesus? In fact, Romans 10:13 in context does appear to point to Jesus. You can illustrate this further by studying Acts 2:21-38...
    • Read together Acts 2:21-38 which contains a similar possible quotation of Joel 2:32. Note that verse Acts 2:21 is worded the same as Romans 10:13, "...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [ kyrios] will be saved." But the speaker, Peter, then goes on to explain the significance of Jesus of Nazareth, culminating in the statement, "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord [kyrios again] and Christ." Peter then told his hearers, "...Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ..." So according to this parallel quotation of Joel, isn't Jesus the name that should be called upon for salvation? (You can reinforce this point strongly weth Acts 4:10-12.)
  • Since these verses in the original Greek make parallel calling on the name of [YHWH] (Joel 2:32) with calling on the name of the Lord (Jesus), the verses appear to support the doctrine that Jesus is God.
  • This is the very first time that Knowledge cites any New Testament passage containing the name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation -- yet it is a mistranslation! Not only does the original Greek not contain the name "Jehovah" -- the Watchtower Society improperly inserts the name "Jehovah" where context indicates the verse is about Jesus. This demonstrates that the New World Translation's practice of forcing the name Jehovah into the New Testament is a theologically misguided violation of the original Greek.

• Key Challenge: This study (in Paragraph 22) makes an enormous leap of logic, saying "Therefore, those who accept the Bible as God's Word do not worship a Trinity consisting of three persons or gods in one." While it is true that the word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, the following points deserve to be challenged:
  • Paragraph 22 cites John 14:28 as evidence that "The true God is one Person, separate from Jesus Christ." True, in John 14:28 Jesus says, "...the Father is greater than I." But the fact that the Father is greater than Jesus does not mean that Jesus is separate from God. Read together John 10:29-33, and point out that in this passage Jesus says his Father is "greater than all" (incidentally, using the same Greek word meizon from John 14:28). But this time Jesus goes on to say, "I and the Father are one." So Jesus here does not say he is separate from God, but that is actually one with the Father! Since the Jehovah's Witnesses might try to counter-argue that Jesus merely meant he was one in purpose with the Father, point out that, as the story continues in John 10, verse 31 says Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus. These Jews (verse 33) said they were stoning Jesus for blasphemy, because Jesus claimed to be God -- not because he claimed to merely be "one in purpose" with God.
  • Paragraph 22 says "God's holy spirit is not a person." (The Watchtower Society typically does not capitalize "Holy Spirit.") Ask, if the Holy Spirit is not a person, then why in Matthew 28:19 is the Holy Spirit said to have a name..."baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"? (Incidentally, "name" in the Greek here is singular, which supports the idea that three persons reside in one Godhead.) Among many other arguments for the personality of the Holy Spirit, you could ask, if the Holy Spirit is not a person, then why does it refer to itself in the first person in Acts 13:2, "...the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'"?

• The study (also in Question 22) asks, "Why do those who accept the Bible not worship a Trinity?" This is a closed-ended question designed to draw only an Anti-Trinitarian answer. Considering the richness and depth of scriptural evidence that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are part of one Godhead with the Father, we could ask, "How can one who accepts the Bible forbid the observance of a Trinity?"

Points to Make During the Study

• Ask if the name we use to refer to God is a salvation issue: can someone use another name than Jehovah and still be considered right with God? If not, why not?

• Ask, since we have such a personal relationship with God that we can consider ourselves sons and daughters and address him as Father, "what's in a name?"

• You could ask, according to the New Testament whose "witnesses" were the Apostles supposed to be (Acts 1:1-8)? The answer is witnesses of Jesus (v. 8), not Jehovah.

Chapter 4: "Jesus Christ: The Key to the Knowledge of God"

This study calls Jesus "the very key to the knowledge of God," and tries to forge common ground with Christians on the matter of Jesus Christ. Yet the Watchtower Society teaches things about Jesus that many Christians would find objectionable.

The Heart of the Matter

Never has the saying been more true that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." More than 80% of the material presented in this study would acceptable to mainstream Christian theologians. Yet while the material may appear innocuous, much of it is a foundation for skewed Watchtower views.

What They "Know" but Aren't Telling You

The study in its written form does not contain the Watchtower's most idiosyncratic teachings about Jesus:

• The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus today is the archangel Michael, as he also was before he came to earth to serve in his earthly ministry. Jesus/Michael was a created angel of God, who for a time became man (Jesus), and then became an angel again after his resurrection.

• The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus was not raised physically from the dead, but that God disposed of Jesus' physical body at the time of his resurrection. (On the occasions when the resurrected Jesus appeared in the Bible, the Watchtower says he was not in his own body but had materialized bodies that were not his.)

• The Watchtower Society has declared that, in the year 1914, the invisible Jesus began the prophesied rule of his kingdom by leading his visible organization, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, or Jehovah's Witnesses.

Areas to Challenge

• The study (in Paragraph 2) makes a passing point that should be challenged, saying "[Other religions] have distorted Jesus' role, worshipping him as Almighty God." The supposed "distortion" can be split into two main issues:
  • Is it a distortion of Jesus' role to worship him?
    • Key to the issue of worship is the Greek word proskyneo. This word can be legitimately translated "worship" or "kneel before" / "give obeisance to" depending on the context. But not surprisingly, every time Christ is the object of proskyneo in the Bible, the New World Translation renders the word "obeisance" to support Watchtower theology that he is not to be worshipped.
    • As background, you can read together Matthew 4:8-10. Here the devil tempted Jesus by offering him all the world if Jesus would bow down and worship [proskyneo] the devil (v. 9). Jesus ordered him away, saying "...it is written: 'Worship [proskyneo] the Lord your God, and serve him only." (v. 10) Point out that the New World Translation translates proskyneo to mean "worship" in these two cases.
    • Continue by pointing out from the Bible that when proskyneo is given to angels (Revelation 22:8-9) or apostles (Acts 10:25-26), the "worshippers" are corrected and asked to stop.
    • However, point out that when Jesus is made the object of proskyneo by others, he gives no correction and does not ask them to stop (strong examples of this include Matthew 14:25-33 and 28:8-10). In fact Hebrews 1:6 says that all of God's angels proskyneo God's son. (Hebrews 1 also strongly contrasts the Son with angels and says the Son is superior to them; this undermines the Watchtower doctrine that Jesus is the archangel Michael.)
    • Jehovah's Witnesses cannot prove that it is a distortion of Jesus' role to worship (proskyneo) him -- to the contrary, it appears he was worshipped.
  • Key Challenge: (second main issue from Paragraph 2) Is Jesus God?
    • John 1:1 is an excellent place for you to start, since it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jehovah's Witnesses are familiar with this verse, and do not dispute that the Word in this context means Jesus. Most translations of this passage, therefore, indicate that Jesus was God. However, the New World Translation translates the end of this verse: "the Word was a god." Jehovah's Witnesses will explain the (mis)translation of John 1:1 by saying that "the Word was with God [Greek, theos]" has a definite article and "the Word was God [theos]" does not have a definite article. But the Watchtower approach to definite articles is inconsistent in the New World Translation:
      • Right in the first chapter of John (verses 6, 10, 13 & 18) are four more cases where God [theos] appears without a definite article -- yet the New World Translation translates them "God" and not "a god."
      • Philippians 2:13 is another instance where God [theos] appears without a definite article, yet the New World Translation translates [theos] as "God," not "a god" as it did at the end of John 1:1.
      • Finally, another effective argument is that "the Word was a God" seems to contradict Jehovah's Witness monotheism (that there is only one God). If all gods other than Jehovah are false gods, and Jesus was "a god," does this mean they believe he was a false God?
    • Although the Watchtower Society has misquoted some Christian scholars as supporting its translation of John 1:1, scholars almost invariably oppose it -- as they also oppose the idea that Jesus was a god.
    • Since indications of Christ's deity are found throughout the Bible, there are alternate approaches to show that Jesus, biblically, is God.

• Key Challenge: The study (in Paragraph 13) attempts to establish two things that weren't necessarily intended by Bible authors: that Jesus was created by God, or that Jesus had a secondary role in the creation.
  • "Jesus was called God's 'only-begotten Son' because Jehovah created him directly. (John 3:16)." (from Paragraph 13)
    • Regarding John 3:16, note that the Greek word monogenes, translated "only-begotten" in many Bibles, does not mean "only-created." How do we know this? For one thing, if monogenes ("only-begotten") meant "only-created," then the same word would not be used in Hebrews 11:17 in reference to Abraham's son Isaac (Abraham did not create Isaac, but Hebrews 11:17 calls Isaac his monogenes -- "only-begotten" -- son).
    • The Greek monogenes ("only-begotten") apparently meant that a son was unique or special -- e.g., Isaac was Abraham the patriarch's "only-begotten" son, even though many others can also be called "sons of Abraham" (incidentally, Abraham also had another son Ishmael). Similarly, Jesus is the pre-eminent ("only-begotten") Son of God (John 3:16), even though all believers can be called sons/daughters of God.
    • So, Jehovah's Witnesses cannot prove from John 3:16 that God "created" Jesus.
  • "As the 'first-born of all creation,' Jesus was then used by God to create all other things. (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14)" (from Paragraph 13)
    • Note that the Watchtower is saying that Jesus was created, then Jesus was "used by" God, his creator, to create other things. This minimizes Jesus by making him a "created thing."
    • First, you can point out that "first-born" in the Bible does not always mean "born first." In Jeremiah 31:9 Ephraim is called a "firstborn son," even though Genesis 48:10-20 explains that Manasseh was born before him. Colossians 1:18 says that Jesus is the "firstborn from among the dead." Yet Jesus is not the first person to come back from the dead, as he himself raised Lazaraus from the dead (John 11:1-46) before his own death and resurrection. Therefore, Jesus is pre-eminent among all who will rise from the dead even though he was not the first.
    • Perhaps Colossians says Jesus is "first-born of all creation" because he is pre-eminent over creation, not because he was created first or created at all.
    • To support its conclusion that Jesus is a created thing, the New World Translation indefensibly adds the word "other" to Colossians 1:16 & 17 even though the word other is not supported by the original Greek: "...by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist." This has the depersonalizing effect of making Jesus sound like another created "thing."
    • If you leave out the extraneous word "other" from Colossians 1:16 & 17, Jesus appears to have had a primary role in creation -- he was not like some mere sculptor's assistant who happens to be present for the act of creation, he is portrayed by Paul as the sculptor himself! Again, this is easy to conceive within a Trinitarian view of God, where Jesus and the Father are one, even at the beginning of creation.
  • "...Jehovah brought him into existence..." (from Paragraph 13)
    • This phrase in the study does list a scripture citation -- because there is no scripture that literally says God brought Jesus into existence. Rather, other scriptures seem to refute the Watchtower Society view of God, Jesus and creation:
      • In Isaiah 43:10-11 God says "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." This conflicts with the Watchtower view that Jesus was "a god" created by the eternal God. Similarly, Isaiah 45:5 says "I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."
      • Isaiah 44:24 says "I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself." How would the Watchtower Society harmonize this verse (which says that God created the heavens "alone" and the earth "by myself") with its view that Jesus was created by God and both were involved in creation? (Note that the Trinitarian can easily harmonize this verse by assuming that Jesus is one with God.)
    • In summary, the Bible says that Jesus existed before creation (John 1:1), that he is ruler of God's creation, he is pre-eminent over creation, and pre-eminent among all who will rise from the dead. But the Bible never says that Jesus was created.

• The study (in Paragraph 14) says that "Through untold years of close association, the obedient Son came to be just like his Father, Jehovah." This minimizes the Lordship of Jesus, his omnipotence and omniscience spoken of elsewhere in scripture -- and his immutable or unchanging nature. Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever," implying that his nature does not change in the past, present or future. This conflicts with the Watchtower idea that Jesus was the archangel Michael who was transformed into the man Jesus and then back into the archangel Michael. The Watchtower Society would tell us that Jesus changes his nature -- even his name -- all to fit its own warped theology.

Points to Make During the Study

• If "Our knowledge of Jesus must be free of any distortions as to his nature and as to his role in God's arrangement" (paragraph 3 of this study), then the Watchtower Society fails to have "accurate knowledge of Jesus" according to what we have seen in this study. Neither the organization's New World Translation, nor the book Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life give us an accurate view of Jesus.

• If Jesus is the "living key to the knowledge of God" (end of chapter questions), one could say that the Watchtower Society either doesn't have this "key," or doesn't understand how to use it properly.

Chapter 5: "Whose Worship Does God Accept?"

The title of this study asks the rhetorical question, "Whose Worship Does God Accept"? Unsurprisingly, the Watchtower answer seems to be that God only accepts worship from people in the Jehovah's Witness organization.

The Heart of the Matter

This study marks a transition of sorts within the Knowledge studies. The earlier studies have established foundational and often non-controversial Jehovah's Witness beliefs about God and the Bible. Chapter 5 goes a step further and beings to establish codes of behavior approved and forbidden by the Watchtower Society. The study does this through frequently blatant manipulation of scripture, citing bible verses slightly or not at all related to the point the study is trying to make. Readers of this chapter in the Knowledge book may want to look up every scripture citation and ask whether the verse really makes the point that the study claims. In many cases, it doesn't.

Many of the points of this study point to the Jehovah's Witness organization as the only holders of "truth."

Areas to Challenge

• This study (in Paragraphs 1-4) cites the story of Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman about eternal life (John 4: 4-42). In this passage Jesus said God was looking for people to worship him in spirit and truth (vs. 23-24). The Watchtower Society views this as an exclusive statement (excluding many people as false worshippers). However, it is important to note that Jesus makes several inclusive gestures in this passage. It seems the Watchtower Society has missed the very inclusiveness of Jesus and his message:
  • Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman even though Jews did not customarily associate with Samaritans (v. 9).
  • Jesus own disciples had inherited these same customs, and wondered why Jesus was even speaking to the woman. Perhaps they wondered why he was speaking to a woman, period (v. 27).
  • Jesus chose to give his message to a woman of an "inferior" social group (Samaritan), who was herself in an improper relationship (living with a man not her husband), rather than to an externally "righteous" person (vs. 17-18).
  • The story ends with the Samaritan woman telling others about her positive experience, resulting in many Samaritans becoming followers of Jesus. Jesus, a Jew, then stayed with the Samaritans for two days (v. 40), defying social conventions of his day.
  • Regarding the central question of this chapter, "Whose Worship Does God Accept," it is apparent from John 4 that He will accept anyone's worship He wants to accept! It seems silly for people to claim they know whose worship is acceptable to God.

• This study (in Paragraph 8) misinterprets the Bible to support the skewed Watchtower view that "knowledge" has supremacy over all else:
  • The study says that "Doing God's will requires an accurate knowledge of both Jehovah God and Jesus Christ." Yet it cites no scripture to support this statement.
  • Paragraph 8 also says "the Bible encourages us to increase in the knowledge of God and his purposes. -- Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 1:9; Colossians 1:9." Note that all three of the verses cited here (Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 1:9, Colossians 1:9) make knowledge secondary to other things. In Ephesians 4:13, knowledge seems secondary to unity. In Philippians 1:9, knowledge is secondary to love. In Colossians 1:9, knowledge is secondary to doing God's will. Knowledge may be important, but it's not the only important thing.

• This study (in Paragraph 15) shows a total misunderstanding of the apostle Paul's concerns about the religious customs of the Galatians:
  • The study cites Paul in Galatians 4:8-11 and says that the Galatians "did not please God" by "observing religious customs and holy days that were unacceptable to Jehovah." This entirely misses the point we see from the whole context of Galatians: the Galatian Christians were apparently still practicing Jewish customs like circumcision (Gal 5:2-6) and special days (Galatians 4:10 -- similar to Numbers 10:10, Psalm 81:3 and II Chronicles 8:13). The Bible never says these customs displeased God -- on the contrary, God had encouraged these customs throughout the Old Testament and Old Covenant!
  • Actually, Paul realized that under the New Covenant these customs had no effect (Colossians 2:16-17). Paul wanted to free people from slavery to Mosaic law -- Paul did not seek to add new requirements about customs and observance of days, even to forbid them. That is why Paul writes, "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." (Galatians 4:7) and "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves by burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)
  • The Watchtower Society would expand this interpretation to forbid participating in Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas -- when the Bible says nothing of the sort. And while Jehovah's Witnesses may make additional historical arguments on the "pagan" origins of Easter & Christmas, they have no Biblical evidence that these holidays are displeasing to God.

• There are two approaches to interpreting scripture: exegesis (discerning the probable meaning from a passage in its context) and eisegesis (reading a meaning into the passage that may not be there). In one example of blatant eisegesis this study (in Paragraph 16) cites Thessalonians 5:21 to support the following statement: "We must make sure that we avoid religious holidays and other customs that violate God's principles" -- yet I Thes 5:21 says nothing of the sort, it just says "Test everything. Hold on to the good." It seems that the Watchtower Society inundates Jehovah's Witnesses with so much written material that there is little time to check the claims and references of the Society. Doing this kind of checking will show many of the claims of the Watchtower to be baseless.

Points to Make During the Study

• We can have little confidence in the Jehovah's Witness organization to guide worshippers in "spirit and truth," since the first five studies of the Knowledge series all give indications that the Watchtower Society does not have "accurate knowledge"of God or Jesus. The organization fails its own test for "acceptable" worship.

• The Watchtower Society seems to have some of the same problems as the Pharisees: coaxing people to follow the teachings of men (themselves) rather than God, and counting on their own deeds to make them righteous.

• The Bible simply does not support many Jehovah's Witness exclusionary beliefs. It is not the Watchtower Society who decides "whose worship God accepts," but God himself.

Summary: Themes in the Studies

Several manipulative themes can be seen throughout the first five Knowledge studies.

Pacing and Leading

Like the process of Ericksonian hypnosis (a process of increasing the suggestibility of the subject without using formal trance induction), the Knowledge studies set up an environment of pacing and leading. Initial studies try to establish common ground with the student on agreeable issues like the importance of the Bible and Jesus -- setting the stage for leading the student to new understandings.

Typically, two Jehovah's Witnesses will lead a study with one student, which increases the dynamic of the visitors leading, and the student following. The Jehovah's Witness study leaders direct the course of study, asking the student to answer each study question in the footers of a page. "Correct" responses are rewarded by moving to the next paragraph (or next study). Incorrect responses are generally confronted with additional study at the direction of the Jehovah's Witnesses until the desired answer is reached.

Gospel/Doctrine Imbalance

By making it mandatory to agree to the entire package of Jehovah's Witness doctrines in order to become a member, the organization fails to distinguish between issues of the gospel (crucial elements of the faith that save us) and doctrine. Ideally, gospel should be viewed as a subset of doctrine: the gospel tenets are doctrines, but the majority of doctrines are incidental to the gospel.

In a healthy Christian group, you will find disagreement on doctrines but general agreement on the gospel. By proclaiming the importance of "accurate knowledge" to please God, the Watchtower Society in effect makes all of its doctrines "gospel," an unhealthy dynamic to be sure. Packaging all doctrines as gospel creates the expectation that Jehovah's Witnesses must agree to the entire package to have any hope of pleasing God.

Scripture Twisting and "Bible Tennis"

The study series is not really a "home Bible study course" as it is falsely advertised to be. More accurately it is a study of the Watchtower book, Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life. The Knowlege studies make frequent use of scripture twisting: manipulating Bible passages to support Watchtower interpretations/beliefs. What's more, the Watchtower Society had published its own non-scholarly Bible translation to support its interpretations: this achieves scripture twisiting in the Bible translation as well as during the actual studies.

If the student challenges assumptions or conclusions of the Jehovah's Witnesses, they will encounter a form of scripture twising we could all "Bible Tennis" -- with the Jehovah's Witnesses constantly throwing different Scriptures, jumping between different books of the Bible and often jumping between Old and New Testaments, often ignorning context in an attempt to prove the doctrines of the Watchtower Society. These virtuosic displays of scripture twisting are less impressive when one considers that many Jehovah's Witness meetings and materials include role-playing dialogues to practice persuading others to Watchtower points of view.

Manipulation by Repetition

Some points in the studies seem to be driven home not by clever argument, but through brute rhetorical force. Unproven or logically weak points are repeated until accepted. For example, the phrase "accurate knowledge" is repeated again and again almost as a mantra, reinforcing a false impression that God is most concerned about the accuracy of our knowledge, and that "Christendom" falls short of the Jehovah's Witness organization in its understanding of truth.

In a fundamental sense, the Watchtower Society promotes a circular argument "we're right because we're right." In actual practice however, the arguments of Jehovah's Witnesses may seem more subtle and persuasive.

Incremental Disclosure

The studies show a deceptive dynamic of incremental disclosure: the authors and the leaders of the studies decide what the student "needs" to know, and when. For example, examination of Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life shows that the name "God" is used in the initial studies instead of "Jehovah." It isn't until the third study that the text explains the importance of God's name "Jehovah" and begins using it in place of "God."

Other examples of gradual disclosure are everywhere, as we've seen in the "What They 'Know' but Aren't Telling You" summaries: even while the study series is pacing and leading the student to change crucial beliefs and attitudes, it leaves out many of the organization's most tough-to-swallow doctrines for later digestion.

As I've written in a similar analysis of the International Churches of Christ Bible studies, the truth is the truth, no matter what order we tell it in. If the sequence someone discloses information has a dramatic effect on the acceptance of the information, perhaps one are not teaching "truth" at all, but falsehood.

Unfreezing, Changing, Refreezing

In initial studies, pre-existing beliefs of the student are unfrozen by study leaders calling them subtly into question (e.g. the argument is made that a doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitely stated in any particular Bible passage). Once unfrozen, these beliefs can be changed (e.g. a case is made that "The true God is one Person, separate from Jesus Christ.") Once changed, the beliefs are refrozen (e.g. "Why do those who accept the Bible not worship a Trinity?")

Manipulated Commitment

As I've found with the International Church of Christ First Principles series, the Knowledge series manipulates the commitment of individuals. Students agree to leading questions and twisted scriptural argments, unaware of later consequences of agreement. For example, the idea that "God did not intent for us to die" sounds appealing enough. But once agreed to, this idea sets the stage for the Watchtower doctrines that there are two classes of believers and a "paradise earth," and that today's believers are generally of the class that can't go to heaven as "spirit beings," but can aspire only to an eternity on earth. In other words, by agreeing to the Watchtower concept of "everlasting life," students forfeit hope of "heaven."

Resources:

Anderson, Dave: The ICC Bible Studies: A Critical Analysis (Revised Ed.), 2002.

Hassan, Steven: The BITE Model, 2002.

Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania: New World Translation of the Holy Scriptions, 1984.

Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania: Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, 1995, pp. 6-52.

Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania: Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1989.

Zondervan Publishing House: The Holy Bible: New International Version, 1989.