THE CULT CHRONICLES: HOW TO STUMP A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS

That's right...if you ever come across Jehovah's Witnesses, there are certain questions you can give them that they will ABSOLUTELY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER.

BUT--please keep in mind that the purpose behind these questions is not to "stump them" for the sake of winning an argument. The purpose of these questions is to get Jehovah's Witnesses to question their own beliefs, to doubt the validity, veracity, and credibility of their own organization and its claims, and--more importantly--to open up a door for the Gospel to be proclaimed to them. Jehovah's Witnesses know nothing about the grace and mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the people your are speaking to have an iota of honesty, they will admit that they don't have an answer to the following arguments and will tell you that they will research the matter (ask their JW elders and/or consult Watchtower publications on the topic) and get back with you (they likely will not come back). When asked these questions they may also try to quickly change the subject, and even present ad hominem attacks against you and your "religion"--but stick to your guns and demand and answer from them. Don't allow for sneakiness, it's one of their prime tactics.


1) LYING AND AVOIDING INDEPENDENT THINKING

I have recently written a short tract exposing the fact that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society encourages their members to lie to those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses, especially those who oppose them. They call it "Theocratic War Strategy". Of course, they don't call it "lying", they simply refer to it as "withholding truth" from those who are not "entitled" to know it. Worse, the Watchtower uses the Bible to try to justify deceit. They give examples like Abraham, Rahab, and even Jesus, in support of this perversion.

My tract doesn't get into the topic at great depth, but it does cite clear, shocking quotes from Watchtower literature on the subject. (Fore more info on the topic google "Theocratic War Strategy" and many pages will come up exposing this false teaching). The tract also gives Watchtower quotes in which they admonish their members not to think independently, and warn them not to read the Bible by itself, without the assistance and aid of their literature.
 
CLICK HERE to read the tract in English.
CLICK HERE to read the tract in Spanish.

While conversing with Jehovah's Witnesses, you can read verbatim those quotes from their own literature, and ask them to explain them to you. If they try to justify lying with Scripture, show them the verses (found in the tract) that show that the apostle Paul clearly did not endorse lying, not even "hiding the truth". You can then tell them that no liar will inherit God's kingdom, and from there go directly to their conscience, asking them if they've commited any other specific sins ("good person test")...and then explain the Cross and the way of salvation. 

The same thing can be done with the quotes about not thinking independently and not reading the Bible by itself. Ask them if their organization recommends that one think independently and read the Bible. Their claim is usually that they want you to think for yourself and study the Bible (by this they mean the Bible plus their literature)...so when you read those WT quotes to them and they see an obvious contradiction between their own words and the words of the WT organization, their mouths will be stopped. Once again, just compare those quotes with what the Scripture says, then go for their conscience, and finally, present the Gospel.

The same pattern is also to be followed with the below arguments--get them to see that the teachings they've learned are contrary to the Bible, and therefore their organization cannot be trusted, and then present the Law and the Gospel to them.


2) IS JESUS THE CREATOR OR JEHOVAH?

You can show them verses like John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16-17, which clearly state that Jesus Christ is the creator of everything. They will agree with you; the Watchtower teaches that Jesus was the first created being of Jehovah, and Jehovah used him to create everything else. Then take them to Isaiah 44:24, which says:

"Thus says the LORD [Jehovah], your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself..."

And Isaiah 45:11-12:

"Thus says the LORD [Jehovah], the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: 'Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.'"

In the JW [per]version of the Bible, the New World Translation, these pasages are not very different. Clearly, Jehovah is said to have created the universe by Himself, with His own hands. Ask the JW how Jehovah can say He created everything all by Himself--without any help--if, according to JW doctrine, God  first created Jesus, and then used Jesus to create the everything else. If Jesus is not Jehovah, then there is a glaring contradiction in Scripture. To this day I have not received an adequate response from any Jehovah's Witness for this argument.


3) IS JESUS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL?

The Watchtower teaches that before coming to earth, Jesus existed as Michael the Archangel in heaven. Ask them to show you where this is found in Scripture. They will likely point you to 1 Thes. 4:16, which says that Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with "the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God." This prooftext doesn't really help make their case. Ask them to show you where it clearly says that Jesus is Michael the Archangel. They will not be able to, because there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that says so. Show them how Michael, when disputing with the devil, "did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' (Jude 9). He did not dare to condemn the devil directly. And yet we see that Jesus did directly reubke Satan (Mat. 4:10; 16:23).


4) ONLY GOD IS GOOD

One of the Bible passages that Jehovah's Witnesses use to show that Jesus is not God is Mark 10:17-22, the account of the rich young ruler who runs up to Jesus and asks Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds by saying, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." The Jehovah's Witness commentary to this passage is something to the effect of, "See, Jesus himself claimed to NOT be God! He didn't even claim personal goodness, he said that only GOD is good." My response to such an answer is, "Was Jesus good? He undoubtedly had to be good to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. And yet Jesus Himself said that only God is good...so if Jesus was good, then He's God." The very passage they try to use against the deity of Christ works against them. This is a good stumper to use on them, since it's not likely that they ever logically thought this through. The reality is that in the passage Jesus was not discouraging the rich young ruler from calling Him "good"--He didn't say, "Don't call me good! Only God is good!" He simply asked him a question, "Why do you call me good?"  He asked this in the same manner that God asked Adam in the Garden, "Where are you?" and Saul of Tarsus, "Why are you persecuting Me?" Obviously, He already knew the answer to these questions; the purpose behind them was to get those He was questioning to realize something important. And Jesus in the passage wanted the young man to realize that he did not at all understand what "good" meant. He wanted him to realize the implications of what he was saying--namely, that this "good teacher" was God, standing right in front of him. Far from being a denial of His deity, Jesus' statement in this passage was in reality an affirmation of it.


5) WHO HAS GREATER LOVE--JESUS OR JEHOVAH?

Take them to John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Clearly, the greatest act of love a person can perform is to sacrifice his life for his friends. So, then, this begs the question-- If Jehovah never gave His life for us but Jesus did, does that mean that Jesus' love for us is greater than Jehovah's? Ask them if the god of the Jehovah's Witnesses has performed the greatest act of love. The obvious reality is that he hasn't; rather than sacrifice himself, he sent someone else to die in our place (not very loving, if you ask me...). In the light of this verse of Scripture, the Watchtower seems to be teaching that Jehovah didn't love us as much as one of his creatures. Ask them how it's possible that the love of a created being can be greater than God's love. This will probably leave them baffled and hard-pressed for an answer. Explain to them that if Jesus is God, this verse makes perfect sense. God the Son came to earth, took on a human nature, and laid down His life for us, thus performing the greatest act of love on our behalf.


There are other good arguments you could use; Lord willing I will post them at a later time. But for now, using one, some, or all five of these can really help you the next time you encounter a Watchtowerite.  It's good to also keep in mind that while the above are excellent objections to give them, ultimately the power and ability to convince and save rests on the Holy Spirit. May you trust in the Lord alone, and may He give you grace, patience and humility in dealing with these poor, blinded souls.