Tag Archive: Cults


Final Thoughts on Jehovah’s Witnesses as a Cult

The past entries have looked at several things about the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  This is just a final look at why the JW’s are considered a cult and not a denomination.

First, Christianity says that Jesus is God.  He came to save us from our sins by dying on a cross, and then resurrection three days later.  The JW’s do not believe Jesus is God, but rather the archangel Michael.  Nor do they believe he resurrected, but rather went back to Heaven to be an angel.

JW’s only use the New World Translation, which is  a bad translation from the Greek.  You do not see any Greek scholars in the JW’s because they would realize how bad of a translation this truly is.

JW’s also do not believe in Hell.  They believe that we all get to go to Heaven, and those who do not get to go on the first time get a second chance.

What about their claiming 144,000 people going to heaven (Revelation 7:4)?  Isn’t there more?  They have answered this question by saying that the first 144,000 get to go to Heaven, and everyone else (the second flock) gets a paradise on Earth.  Oddly enough, the Mormons use this same verse (John 10:16) when referring to Jesus come to the Americas.

Bottom line as to why the JW’s are a cult; they do not believe Jesus is God yet claim to be Christian.

New World Translation

The Jehovah’s Witnesses use their own translation of the Bible.  Unfortunately they wrongly changed many things to make it fit their theology.  Not only have they made a bad translation, they deny any other translation as valid or inspired.  Even more unfortunate is that they do not have Greek scholars, if they did they would find many errors in the New World Translation.

This would be like me taking a comic book and using it as my Bible.  Then, denying that anything else is correct to any degree.  It is quite ignorant and can be frustrating when talking to a JW.

I would like to point you to an article from Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.  I hope you can find some good information.

 http://www.carm.org/jw/nwt.htm

Jehovah’s Witness’ Jesus

Who do the JW’s say Jesus is?

For one, they do not believe in the trinity.  They say that Jesus is not the main focus, but rather Jehovah.  The Holy Spirit is not believed to be a divine member of the trinity either.  Rather, the holy spirit (notice the lower case letters) is another name for Jehovah at work.

The kicker is that they do not believe Jesus is God, but rather a created being.    He is the human incarnation of Michael the Archangel.  They claim that there was no bodily resurrection, but rather go back to being Michael.

They also do not believe Jesus died on the cross.  They think the original word translates into ’steak.’  The word (stauros) is found in John 19:17 and following.   It’s a bad translation of the word.  Looking into the two thousand years people have been reading Greek scriptures, it is funny to think that the JW’s are the only ones who think this translation.

Some other issues with the torture stake.  John 20:25 speaks of multiple nails.  Matthew 27:37 says the sign is above Jesus’ head, not above his hands.  John 21:18-19 Jesus talks about stretching out hands on the cross, which cannot be done with the stake.

How are they able to come up these beliefs?

They use one translation of the Bible, their translation.  The New World Translation was made in 1955, and that is the one source they use.  They claim this is the only reliable interpretation of the Bible.  Obviously they have followed suit of Charles Taze Russell in not knowing how to translate Greek.

Jehovah’s Witness: False Religion

-Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916)

He is really the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, though because of his questionable character, is no longer looked as the founder by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  When looking towards most cults, often times the leader is not all together a great person (Joseph Smith from the Mormons).  Charles Taze Russell (CTR) is of no greater stature.

He actually predicted the second coming of Jesus on two occasions.  His first prediction was for 1874, and when that did not happen it was predicted for 1914… and didn’t happen.  In 1881 he co-founded Zion Watch Tower and Tract Society with William Henry Conley.

Russell also lied under oath about being able to read Greek.  When asked to identify the alphabet, he could not make out any letters.  He never went on to advance his education and never learned a language like Greek or Hebrew.

-Joseph Rutherford (1869-1942)

Rutherford took over this religious group when Russell died.  He tried to cover up Russell’s failed prediction of Jesus’ second coming by claiming that’s when he was crowned as “Lord of Creation.”  Rutherford claims that this made Satan mad, and was at this time (1914AD) cast out of heaven.  He caused World War I after this event.

The group officially became known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses while Rutherford was in charge.

To separate from these two men, the JW’s have set a couple policies in place.  First, only writings published after 1942 would be considered authoritative (that’s when Rutherford died).  And second, no authors are identified on the writings as to prevent being  wrong in court.

Why would the JW’s try to separate from their founding fathers unless they were not good men?  Obviously they are trying to hide something from their members and public; something that would add to their falsity as a religion.

Final Thoughts on Mormonism as a Cult

We’ve reviewed several things over the past several posts. With everything, I never set out to totally disprove Mormonism. That would take much more time, and an extensive amount of research. I do not have time or will to devote my studies to this topic. This is a post with some closing thoughts about the Latter Day Saints.

Christianity is monotheistic.  This means that there is a belief that only one god has ever existed.  Christianity also believes that God has no beginning and created all things.  Mormonism, on the other hand, is polytheistic (sources).  They believe that God was not always God (great article concerning this matter), and that God was not created any differently than any of us (Doctrines and Covenants 93:29).

Mormons also consider the Book of Mormon to be just as authoritative (if not more) than the Bible.

Mormons believe we can become gods.  Here is a great article concerning that: As God Is, Man May Become?

For these reasons, the Mormons are a cult.  Thank you for the time you have spent in discussing this issue with me.