This is the second in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus. Previously, we looked at how the New World Translation – the Bible Jehovah’s Witnesses use – offers a clear example of what happens when you start with doctrine instead of Scripture. Rather than align its teachings with Scripture, the Watch Tower generated an entirely new translation of the Bible, one that attempts to strip the deity of Christ from its pages. Here are a few … [Read more...]
When doctrine trumps Scripture
This is the first in a series of columns addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses and their understanding of Jesus. Jehovah’s Witnesses have high regard for Scripture. They believe the Bible is the Word of God. They base their beliefs and practices on it. And they prove themselves adept at using select Bible passages to weave convincing arguments for their unique doctrines – particularly doctrines that place the Watch Tower outside the margins of historic Christianity. These include a denial of the … [Read more...]
The personhood of the Holy Spirit
One way the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation (NWT) seeks to undermine the Trinity is by consistently rendering the name “Holy Spirit” as the inanimate “holy spirit.” The unnamed translators of the NWT often omit the article “the,” which results in stilted verses such as: “That one [Jesus] will baptize you with holy spirit …” (Matt. 3:11). John the Baptist “will be filled with holy spirit even from before birth” (Luke 1:15). Mary, the mother of Jesus, “was found to be pregnant … [Read more...]
The gates of Hades; transfiguration
After Simon Peter makes his famous declaration that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus tells the apostle, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:16, 18 NIV). Jesus’ reference to “this rock” has been the subject of much debate. The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, “The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and … [Read more...]
Why you can’t say ‘Mormon’ anymore
Last month, Russell Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced that God had impressed upon him the urgency of casting off the nickname “Mormon.” Non-Latter-day Saints in the 19th century used the “Mormon” moniker disparagingly to identify members of the organization founded by Joseph Smith, whose followers came to embrace the name as a badge of honor. Even so, Nelson argued that “Mormon” does not do justice to the name that God, in 1838, gave Smith for … [Read more...]
What do you know about the Incarnation?
This is the last in a series of articles on the Incarnation. Over the last six columns, we have examined the doctrine of the Incarnation. As we complete our study, let’s test what we’ve learned about the person and work of Jesus. Answer the following questions (feel free to refer to previous columns). The correct responses are listed at the end of each question. 1. What is the Incarnation? (a) The state of living in a country that’s crazy about automobiles (b) The eternal Son of God … [Read more...]
Pterodactyl bones’ origin: Noah’s flood or desert?
PROVO, Utah (BP) – A rare pterodactyl fossil discovered in Utah has been claimed by evolutionists as evidence that flying vertebrates lived in the desert 200 million years ago. But two scientists who are biblical creationists say the creature lived about 4,500 years ago, not in a desert and was found in a fossil layer created by the worldwide flood described in Genesis 6-9. One of the creationists also says the intricate design of the pterosaur -- the scientific name of the flying … [Read more...]
Incarnational heresies
This is the sixth in a series of articles on the Incarnation. As we complete our examination of the Incarnation – the eternal Son of God taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth – it’s important to identify a number of heretical views that have plagued the church throughout its history. Some of these heresies effectively have been countered, while others continue to rear their ugly heads and cause people who sincerely seek the truth to embrace “another Jesus” (2 Cor. … [Read more...]
Darwinian justification for human speech challenged
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) – The gift of speech, one of the capabilities that defines humans, appears to defy evolutionary explanations. Even now, a century and a half since Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species," scientists seem to be no closer to discovering how human language developed. For the past 20 years, science textbooks have taught students that two small genetic mutations, unique to humans, are responsible for human language. Time magazine reported in 2006 that these … [Read more...]
Subordination and Scripture
This is the fifth in a series of articles on the Incarnation. In the previous column, we examined six key passages of Scripture that help us understand the Incarnation – the eternal Son of God taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible is clear that Jesus is one person with two distinct, but undivided, natures: human and divine. This means, at least in part, that by adding sinless humanity to His deity, Jesus did not become less than co-equal with the other … [Read more...]
‘Mormon’ name too common to go away, many say
SALT LAKE CITY (BP) – Mormon and LDS will likely remain widespread monikers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, theologians and marketing insiders say, despite the church leader's directive for change. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. is among those to predict that the common names of the church will remain in popular use, days after church president Russell M. Nelson issued a public statement asking that everyone discontinue the … [Read more...]
Six key passages about the Incarnation
This is the fourth in a series of articles on the Incarnation. By the term “Incarnation,” we mean the eternal Son of God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. As such, Jesus is one person in two distinct but undivided natures: human and divine. In previous articles, we explored how these two natures work together as the eternal Son of God adds sinless humanity to His deity via the miracle of the virgin birth. And we summarized 10 essential truths about the … [Read more...]
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