A Jehovah’s Witness thinks of himself as the teacher in any Bible discussion. He is unlikely to ever allow you to be his teacher. Likewise, Christians should not take the position of student in a dialogue with a non-Christian.

However, we can employ well-thought out questions that allow the Jehovah’s Witness to think more deeply than he is accustomed. Thinking critically, examining something he believes is correct with new information, is like planting a seed in a crack in the concrete. As it grows it will split the concrete apart. Questions can start a Witness on the path of re-examining his faith.

When asking a questions do not ask in a challenging manner. The question must be offered in a “help me understand” fashion so the Witness is not put on the defensive. This is not a contest, it is an opportunity to recognize truth.

Concern yourself only with communicating a question in such a way that the Witness gives it respect and thought. Don’t be concerned about their answer. Some responses could be bizarre or shallow. It’s good if you can think of a follow-up question, but it isn’t necessary, simply say that the answer seems insufficient. Let the Witness deal with any doubts about his answer in his own conscience.

One former Jehovah’s Witness elder when asked to critique the questions posed here said, “If I faced that kind of questioning as I went from door to door I would not go door to door again.”

The Watchtower Society has represented itself as encouraging Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the public, to honestly face questions about the Bible. Their words are,

“Every man should be persuaded in his own mind and no man should permit himself to be deterred from examining a question based upon the Bible because a clergyman or anyone else makes the unsupported assertion that it is dangerous or unworthy of consideration. Error always seeks the dark, while truth is always enhanced by the light. Error never desires to be investigated. Light always courts a thorough and complete investigation” (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 13, by Judge Rutherford, second President of the Watchtower).

What do you think? Are the questions suggested hereafter “dangerous and unworthy of consideration?”

Concerning the Soul, Death, and Hell

1) If death is annihilation (non-existence) as the Watchtower teaches then how can there be degrees of punishment as Matthew 10:14, 15, and 11:20-24, clearly show?

“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

2) It will be “more tolerable” for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for those who saw the mighty works of Jesus. Are there degrees of non-existence? Mustn’t a man be conscious if there are degrees of punishment?

3) According to the Watchtower all non-Jehovah’s Witnesses receive the exact same punishment, non-existence, regardless of how they lived their life. So, if death is annihilation is it (in the thinking of Jehovah’s Witnesses) “just” for someone who is an honorable and just man, but is not a Jehovah’s Witness, to receive exactly the same punishment as Adolph Hitler, Judas, or some other great criminal (Bible Truth or Pagan Scare? P.5)

4) If in the Old Testament the Jews believed that the dead ceased to exist consciously then why did God find it necessary to forbid them to practice necromancy, seeking after the dead through spirit mediums (Deuteronomy 18:11)? Why would anyone try to make contact with the dead if they believed the dead had no conscious existence?

5) The Sadducees, like the Witnesses, believed in the annihilation of the soul at death. Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses should answer the same question Jesus asked the Sadducees, namely, “…have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31,32). Jesus is here quoting Exodus 3:6 which was spoken several hundred years after the death of these men. But, according to Jesus they are still living.

6) If the Watchtower is correct that death is non-existence then how is Judas’ condition worse now than if he had never been born (Mark 14:21)?

“The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never been born.”

If we gave a mathematical value to non-existence it would have to be zero. So how is Judas’ non-existence (equaling zero) worse, or less, than before he was ever born (also equaling zero)?

7) The Watchtower Society teaches that when we die we cease to exist. There is no soul or spirit that survives. Then the body decays back to dust. So, if death is a cessation of existence then when Jesus died He ceased to exist. If He didn’t exist then He, the person who died for our sins, could not have risen from the dead. The Watchtower teaches that the “resurrected” Jesus was re-created from Jehovah’s memory. Wouldn’t the “Jesus” who appeared afterward be a facsimile, a clone, a perfect copy, but not the original?

Concerning Jesus, the Son of God, Mediator

The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus is a creature. They do not believe He is eternal, almighty, or worthy of worship.

8) Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jehovah directly created ONLY ONE THING, Michael the Archangel (aka Jesus), and that Michael then created all OTHER things (United in Worship, page 29)?

– Does this not conflict with Daniel 10:13 where Michael is called “one of” the chief princes?

– Does it not conflict with John 1:3 where it says “…without him (Jesus) was not ANYTHING made that was made?” Jehovah’s Witnesses do teach that Jesus (Michael) was “made.”

– Does it not also conflict with Isaiah 44:24 where Jehovah said,

“I am the LORD that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself?”

– Has not this teaching caused the Watchtower to tamper with God’s Word at Colossians 1:16,17 by adding the word “other” four times to their New World Translation so that it says “…by means of him (Jesus) all [other] things were created…?”

– Does John 20:28 say in any Greek/English Interlinear that Jesus is “the God” of Thomas?

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, ‘My Lord and my God.”

In the Greek Thomas says, “Ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou.” “The lord of me and the God of me.”

10) Is it true worship that is being rendered to Jehovah in Revelation 4:9-11? Isn’t it the same kind of worship that is being rendered to Jehovah AND Jesus in Revelation 5:11-14? Note the words repeated in both passages.

Revelation 4:9-11 – “And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Revelation 5:12,13 – “… Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

(Note: The Watchtower teaches that Jesus, who they say is one and same with Michael the Archangel, is a creature and this verse says every creature, therefore Jesus cannot be a creature or he would be worshipping himself.)

11) Is creation of the Universe out of nothing an example of God’s Almighty power in action? Doesn’t John 1:3 say Jesus did this?

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

– Isn’t someone who exercises almighty power Almighty?

– If the Father delegated such power to another wouldn’t there be two Almighty’s?

– Is God’s almighty power part of His glory? Will God share His glory with another according to Isaiah 42:8?

“I am the LORD: that is my name:and my glory will I not give to another,neither my praise to graven images.”

Concerning the Resurrection

The Watchtower teaches that Jesus did not rise physically from the tomb. In the Watchtower’s teaching there are two classes of believers, the heavenly class and the earthly class.           Believers who are destined to go to heaven (the Anointed or 144,000) do not have a physical body. Only those believers (the Other Sheep) who are destined to live on a paradise earth will have a physical body. Given their interpretation…

12) What does John 2:19-21 teach?

“Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’. Then said the Jews, ‘Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?’ But he spake of the temple of his body.”

13) According to Acts 2:24-28 what is it for which Christ’s body is resting in hope?

“Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope; Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

14) The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus’ body was dissolved into gases and did not come out of the tomb. So, isn’t being dissolved into gases just an instant form of corruption?

15) The Watchtower Society teaches that Spirit-begotten believers (the 144,000) go to heaven. They will not have physical bodies in heaven. Only the “Other Sheep” (99.9% of all Jehovah’s Witnesses are in this classification) will have physical bodies because they will reside on earth. So, is Paul speaking to Spirit-begotten believers in Romans 8? If so, then why does verse 11 say,

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

16) If Jesus did not rise from the grave in the body that was placed in the tomb what is the significance of an empty tomb?

17) If the disciples did not believe in the resurrection of the body why would they run to the tomb to investigate the reports of Jesus’ resurrection?

Concerning the Holy Spirit

The Watchtower Society teaches that the Holy Spirit is a force, not having the attributes of personality such as intellect, emotion, and will. Nor is the Spirit deity.

18) Is Jehovah a spirit? Is He a “personal” being having the attributes of intellect, emotion, and will?

– Is Jesus a spirit today in heaven? Is He a being with the attributes personality?

– Is Satan a spirit? Is he a being with the attributes of personality?

– Are angels spirits? Do they have the attributes of personality?

– Are demons spirits? Do they have the attributes of personality?

– Is the Holy Spirit a spirit? Does He have the attributes of personality? Why not? Why are all [other] spirits personal beings but not the Holy Spirit?

19) If the Holy Spirit is not a personal being how can an “it” carry on a personal conversation as in Acts 8:29; 10:19; 13:2; 21:11; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 19; and 3:6, 13, 22.

Conclusion

Jehovah’s Witnesses come to your door with the purpose of teaching you their idea about the truth. They also want to answer your questions about the Bible and their beliefs. So give them the opportunity by using these questions. If the questions seem too tough for them remind them of what the Watchtower claims…

“We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with God’s Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. It should be the sincere desire of every one of us to learn what God’s will is for us and then do it” (The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, page 13).

By David Henke