Jason Evert - Answering Jehovahs Witnesses

Answering Jehovahs Witnesses

JASON EVERT

C ATHOLIC

A NSWERS

PRESS

San Diego

2001

2001 Jason Evert. All rights reserved. Except for quotations, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, uploading to the Internet, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Catholic Answers, Inc.

Unless otherwise noted, Scipture quotations are taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) 1961, 1981, 1984, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and International Bible Students Association.

Published by Catholic Answers, Inc.

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For Mary

Contents

Part One: Inside the Watchtower

Part Two: Answering the Watchtower

Acknowledgments

My favorite priest used to recommend that no one pray for patience. He said that the Lord would not give us patience, just opportunities to practice it.

If that is indeed how God works, then James Akin, Trask Tapperson, and Joel Peters must have finished a novena for patience just before I brought them this manuscript. I owe them, especially James, a great debt of thanks for their patient perseverance in bringing this book to completion. As a gift to them, I ask all who read this book to pause and offer a prayer for James, Trask, and Joel.

Foreword

Its Saturday afternoon, and youre at home spending time getting caught up on some of your chores when the doorbell rings. You open the front door and see two neatly-dressed people standing on your doorstep, their briefcases brimming with the latest issues of The Watchtower and Awake! They tell you that they are in the neighborhood, talking with people who are concerned about what is happening in the world todaycrime, drugs, immorality, violenceand they want a few minutes of your time to share a message with you.

After getting you to agree that humanity is not exactly a paradigm of virtue these days, they appeal to your desire for a better world by describing an earth without war, without sickness, without hatred, and without want or need. Then they pique your curiosity by asking you if you would like to know more about such an existence, adding that Gods plan for humanity is precisely such a paradise. Since their message in some way seems relevant and since through common courtesy you give them the benefit of the doubt, you agree to listen to what they have to say.

This situation has been played out countless times across most neighborhoods, and it is the proverbial foot-in-the-door approach that can result in unsuspecting Catholics abandoning their religious upbringing to become Jehovahs Witnesses, members of the Watchtower organization. When such a change happens, very often family members and loved ones are left reelingat a loss to know how to counter the Watchtowers beliefs or how to rescue their loved ones from the spiritual blindness that has enveloped them.

This type of occurrence is real, and its relevance hits home for many Catholics who have brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents, spouses, or friends serving Jehovah God. They distribute the Watchtowers publications and warn people of the imminence of Armageddonthe final conflict between God and Satanthe Watchtowers central theme. In fact, a significant percentage of Jehovahs Witnesses are former Catholics, so this issue cannot be lightly brushed aside by those who profess the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith. The salvation of souls is at stake, and we must do what we can to help those who have been ensnared by the Watchtower.

The reasons people become involved in groups like the Jehovahs Witnesses vary, but they often boil down to three:

• People have been poorly taught the Catholic faith and therefore cannot adequately respond to the Watchtowers theological assault on it. Since the Witnesses are well trained in presenting their beliefs and proving them with well-worn Bible verses (which, by the way, are taken out of context), they provide what may at first appear to be compelling reasons to join them. People who are unfamiliar with these doctrinal issues are often easily swayed.
• People experience a void in their lives, such as a desire for love and attention or a quest for purpose and meaning, and they are looking for something to fill that void. Consequently, they turn to groups that offer both companionship and ready-made answers to all of lifes most difficult questions.
• People are at transitional periods in their lives (starting college, beginning a new job, undergoing a relocation), and the accompanying disorientation leaves them more susceptible to the influence of groups such as the Witnesses. Once individuals become Jehovahs Witnesses, they are taught to view the Catholic faith as a satanic corruption of the true faith from which they should remove themselves as far as possible.

What, then, is a Catholic to do about a family member or friend who has become a Witness?

Fortunately, there is hope. There are ways to deal with this type of situation, and there are responses to the belief system of the Watchtower organization. We need not plead ignorance or incompetence regarding the subject matter, for with a little education and lots of prayer we can become the very instruments by which the Holy Spirit will lead a person out of the Watchtowers darkness.

One of the best approaches is to know the competition, and in this regard Jason Everts book will prove to be a useful tool in combating the Jehovahs Witnesses mind-set and doctrines. Since this work is intended for the average Catholic, who has no formal training in theology, it is designed to be easily understood and practical.

Beginning with the foundations of the Watchtower organization, the author deals with its presidents and history, moves next through the basic structure and content of the Jehovahs Witnesses world, and then discusses the various doctrines of the Watchtower and how to refute them. Particular attention is given to some of the favorite verses and standard topics that a Witness will typically use in rejecting the Catholic faith. Finally, some extremely helpful and practical suggestions are offered for how to interact with someone who has become a Jehovahs Witness.

There are some good resources generally available for use in refuting the Watchtowers theology. But very few of them proceed from a specifically Catholic perspective, so invariably such resources are helpful only to a point. Catholics need not be at a disadvantage, however. Since this book is written by a staff apologist at Catholic Answers, the reader can rest assured that its contents are faithful to the Churchs teachings.

It is time that Catholics begin to reclaim the spiritual ground lost to the Watchtower organization, and with the help of this book, I am confident that this goal is well within our reach.

Joel S. Peters
Author, teacher,
and authority on
Jehovahs Witnesses
Mahwah, New Jersey

Reference Information

1) All Bible quotations are taken from the Jehovahs Witnesses New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT), unless otherwise noted. Other translations used in this work include the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (KIT [Brooklyn: The New World Translation Committee, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., 1985]), the New American Bible (NAB) and the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition (RSV:CE).

2) The Watchtower (without italics) refers to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., the parent organization of the Jehovahs Witnesses, while The Watchtower (in italics) refers to the principal periodical of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.