On Jehovah’s Witnesses

Who are those nice folks coming to your door witnessing for Jehovah? Well, I could go into a long story about their origin, peculiar practices, problematic “prophecies,” and methods of psychological coercion, but that would just make for a long post. Instead, I’ll cut to the chase. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, better known as the “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” is actually a very old religion, given a 19th-century, American, modern twist. It’s Arianism.

What is Arianism? Well, I wrote about it extensively here. Arianism was condemned by Christianity in the early 4th century as a heretical religion that was no longer Christian in nature. It’s named after a rogue, 4th-century priest name Arius, who taught that Jesus Christ is not divine, and that there is no Trinity. Arius taught that God the Father, alone, is God, and that Jesus Christ was a demigod, a separate divine-like figure who was not fully God at all. Likewise, Jehovah’s Witnesses teach a belief system that is almost identical. They teach that there is no Trinity, and that God the Father (alone) is God, and that Jesus Christ is a demigod-like creature, known in heaven as the Archangel Michael. The one major difference between classical Arianism and modern Jehovah’s Witnesses is this. Classical Arians taught that it was okay to worship Jesus Christ, just like Christianity teaches, but modern Jehovah’s Witnesses do not. Instead, Jehovah’s Witnesses (modern-day Arians) insist that only God the Father (whom they call “Jehovah”) is to be worshiped (hence the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses”), and that worship of Jesus Christ is misplaced and idolatrous. At this point, I recommend reading my essay on Arianism if you already haven’t. Arianism and Jehovah’s Witnesses are almost identical, with the exception of the worship of Jesus. Arians said it was okay. Jehovah’s Witnesses say it’s not.

The identity of a religion is defined by it’s definition of deity. In other words, how a religion defines God (or gods) determines that religion’s identity. For example; Hindus worship many gods, in a complex pantheon, which is based on their regional and ethnic experience. Thus Hinduism is polytheist (worship of many gods) and is a distinctively different religion — entirely — from monotheist religions. Likewise, Islam and Judaism are two completely different religions, even though they both claim the existence and exclusive worship of only one God. Judaism considers the identity of God to be exclusively revealed in their Law (Torah) and Prophets, a revelation that ended (in their view) more than 2,000 years ago. This God of the Jews (Yahweh or יהוה) has very specific characteristics and demands, which are very different from the God of Islam (Allah) who has very different characteristics and demands, and is based on the revelations of their own prophet who lived just 1,388 years ago. While both religions are absolutely monotheist (worship of one God), nobody in their right mind would say that Judaism and Islam are the same religion. Everybody knows the two separate religions have two very different understandings of God.

So likewise, when it comes to Christianity, that religion also has a very distinct understanding of God that is not shared by any other religion in the world. Christianity is a Trinitarian religion. The Christian understanding of God is Trinity (Tri-Unity), which means simply this…

• There is only ONE God (Yahweh or יהוה).
• This ONE God is eternally existing in three divine Persons who all share the same divine substance (Yahweh or יהוה).
• The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is a Person and he too is God. Yet there is only ONE God (Yahweh or יהוה).

All three major branches of Christianity accept this teaching about God (Yahweh or יהוה). These include…

1. Catholic
2. Orthodox
3. Protestant (which includes Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Evangelical, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Nondenominational, etc.)

Basically, every “normal” Christian church, denomination, affiliation or sect teaches the Trinitarian understanding of God. Here’s a good rule of thumb. If it’s not Trinitarian, then it’s not really “Christian,” even if it says it is. This is a very ancient precedent set in Christianity, as I outlined in my essay on Arianism.

Now, I understand that there are a few groups out there that like to call themselves “Christian” even though they aren’t technically. This would include the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons for example. (Another group would be Christian Science, which is neither Christian nor scientific, but that’s another story.) We could say these groups have some Christian-like characteristics, but that doesn’t mean they are part of Christianity. Muslims, for example, believe in Jesus Christ, but they don’t call themselves “Christian.” Practitioners of Bahá’í Faith also believe in Jesus Christ, but they don’t call themselves “Christian.” In this respect, both Islam and Bahá’í have accepted their unique religion status. I think it would be in the best interest of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtowerism) to do the same. It eliminates confusion, and gets rid of that nasty “cult” epithet frequently used against them. I personally think the word “cult” is a little extreme, but I have to admit that Jehovah’s Witnesses really bring it upon themselves by trying to pawn off their organization as “Christian” when Christianity-at-large rejected their entire theology as heretical some one-thousand-six-hundred-and-ninety-five (1,695) years ago! I mean, Christians have been reciting the Nicene Creed every Sunday for equally as long, in direct repudiation of Arianism, which the Jehovah’s Witnesses now preach as their own creed. Come on! It’s a totally different religion! Even a history novice can see that! In truth, theologically speaking, Jehovah’s Witness (The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) is closer to Islam than it is to Christianity…

Christianity	Jehovah’s Witness	Islam
God is Trinity   Jesus is God Jesus is Worshiped Jesus was God the Son (Eternal) before birth The Holy Spirit is a Person and he is God The Holy Spirit is worshiped	God is One: No Trinity   Jesus is not God Jesus is not Worshiped Jesus was the Archangel Michael before birth The Holy Spirit is not a Person but a Force of God The Holy Spirit is not worshiped	God is One: No Trinity   Jesus is not God Jesus is not Worshiped Jesus was just a man and a prophet: no pre-existence The Holy Spirit is an Angel and not part of God The Holy Spirit is not worshiped

When you line up the theological tenets of these religions, side-by-side, you can clearly see which has more in common. Jehovah’s Witnesses are more closely aligned to Islam than to Christianity. In fact, of the six theological tenets above, Jehovah’s Witnesses agree with Islam on four, and Christianity on zero. The two tenets Jehovah’s Witnesses and Islam disagree on are highlighted in italics. So for Jehovah’s Witnesses and Islam, the agreement ratio is 4:6. Whereas, with Jehovah’s Witnesses to Christianity the agreement ratio is 0:6. Which has more in common? My only question is why do Jehovah’s Witnesses even want to call themselves Christians? They agree with Christianity on virtually nothing, but with Islam on so much more.

Now don’t misunderstand. I’m not calling Jehovah’s Witnesses “Muslims,” nor am I suggesting they have any religious or cultural connection to Islam. They don’t. Rather, they are their own unique American religion, created here in America, by an American (Charles Taze Russell, 1852-1916), who put his own American spin on a very ancient religion (Arianism). It is, in every sense, an “All American Religion” based on American thought and culture, but it is not Christianity.

In order to accept the tenets and claims of Jehovah’s Witnesses, one must simultaneously reject the tenets and claims of Christianity, particularly the Trinity and Incarnation of Jesus Christ, as well as the divinity of the Holy Spirit. That’s a pretty big chunk of Christianity right there, but one will quickly discover that the Jehovah’s Witnesses also require their adherents to dump a lot of other Christian beliefs and practices as well, including but not limited to: The Cross, Holy Communion, Religious Pictures & Statues, Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s Day, St. Valentine’s Day, All Hallows Eve, etc.

The point here is I believe people should know what they’re getting into. One reason why I started this blog is to help people understand Catholic Christianity as it really is. I believe in cutting to the chase and getting right down to the heart of the matter. People deserve to know the truth, before they dive into things. Anybody reading through this blog will know what Catholicism really is (and what it isn’t) rather quickly. I think that should be true for all religions — even the Jehovah’s Witnesses. So if you’re thinking about joining the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or you’re just confused about what it is they stand for, you’ve now been educated. It’s Arianism, specifically a modern-American version of Arianism. I think you should know that. Now you do.

Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church through Anglicanism. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com