10 questions Jehovah's Witnesses can't answer
1. If the Governing Body is uninspired by God, why should they be trusted?
The Watchtower has admitted that “The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction” (Watchtower, February 2017, pg. 26, par. 12). If this is true, when can a person know if the Governing Body is teaching truth? How would anyone ever know if the “New Light” being given is truth or more darkness? How many strikes do they get? And like the Watchtower, there are many other religions that teach their own members to “just believe” in their leaders no matter how many mistakes they make. Why should any of these leaders be trusted?
2. If you’re always getting new light, doesn’t this mean you’re in the darkness today?
The Watchtower is constantly changing their beliefs and say this is because of new light. Whenever the Governing Body claims to receive new light, it means that what is true today was never true to begin with – it means they were in the darkness. This also means that what is “true” today may not be true tomorrow. Your beliefs about the 144,000, soul-sleep, disfellowshipping, and every other doctrine could be considered heresy one day. And what happens to the Witnesses that died and believed in heresy? In short, the Bible never changes, but the Governing Body is always getting New Light. Doesn’t this bother you?
3. Who is your mediator?
The Watchtower teaches that Jesus is not the mediator for the great crowd. They claim he is the mediator for only the 144,000:
“So in this strict Biblical sense, Jesus is the ‘mediator’ only for anointed Christians.” – WT 1979, April 1, p. 31
“Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah God and all mankind. He is the Mediator between his heavenly Father, Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to only 144,000 members.” – Worldwide Security Under the “Prince of Peace” (1986) pp. 10-11
If Jesus is only the mediator for the 144,000, who is the mediator for the great crowd?
4. If the father cannot be seen, who did people see in the OT?
In the Old Testament, God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 6:2-3), Moses saw God’s backside (Exodus 33: 20-23) and Isaiah saw God sitting upon his throne surrounded by angelic worshipers (Isaiah 6:1-4). It is critical to understand that the Bible teaches the father has not been seen (John 6:46) and cannot be seen (1 Timothy 6:16). It seems, therefore, that someone else was seen on these occasions since God was seen, but it was not the father. (Answer: They saw the pre-incarnate Christ - Christ before he became a man).
5. If Charles Taze Russell restored the church, why are his teachings considered to be heresy?
Witnesses claim that God used Charles Taze Russell to restore the church, but his teachings are now considered to be false. His teachings included:
“Don’t quibble about the date; join in with the world and celebrate Christmas” – WT 12/1/1904, p. 3468
“no command in the Scriptures against military service” – WT 8/1/1898, p. 2345
“1914 is not the date for the beginning, but the end!” – WT 7/15/1894, p. 1677
“Pastor Russell held closely to the Scriptures. He believed that Christ had been present since 1874. He also admitted in private to being that ‘Faithful and Wise Servant.’” – WT 12/1/1916, p. 5998
“the white race exhibits some qualities of superiority over any other” – WT 7/15/1902, p. 3043
“to worship Christ in any form cannot be wrong” – WT 3/1880, p. 83
“Pleiades may represent the residence of Jehovah, the place from which he governs the universe” – WT 6/15/1915, p. 5710
If Russell was God’s mouthpiece and got all these revelations from God, why were so many of them wrong? Or is today’s leadership wrong? How would we know?
6. If Jesus died on a stake, why do scholars keep missing this?
There are so many critics of the Bible that will go out of their way to disprove it. The media loves to promote evolution, contradictions in the Bible, evidence that Jesus never existed and any other story they can come up with. There are also scholars that have dedicated their lives to disprove the Bible by trying to point out contradictions, errors in the original languages, and problems with the four gospels. With all that being said, if Jesus really did die on a stake, how are all these people missing this false teaching? The Watchtower’s view implies that every scholar that has dedicated their life to disprove the Bible haven’t figured this out yet. If Jesus died on a stake, scholars would be bringing this up and the media would be making fun of Christians every Easter Sunday. It's just too hard to believe that every scholar who tries to disprove Christianity have all missed such a big mistake.
7. If Jesus is a god, doesn't this mean you believe in two true gods?
Witnesses claim the father is the only God, but also believe Jesus is a true god as well. This would mean that you believe in two true Gods. But the Bible teaches "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me" (Isaiah 43:10). How, then, could there be two true gods? Some JW’s try to respond by claiming Satan is a god, but he is a false god. Jesus is a true god rather than a false god like Satan. Others will say they only worship the father, but this doesn’t matter. If a husband has two wives and he loves one more than the other, he is still a polygamist. By the same token, if you as a JW believe in two gods but only worship one, you are still a polytheist.[1]
8. Why did the thief on the cross make it to paradise?
While Jesus was being crucified, the thief on the cross said to him, "'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise'" (Luke 23:42-43). We also learn that paradise is in the presence of God (Revelation 2:7). If it is true that we need to do good works in order to be saved, how did the thief who had no time to do good works make it to paradise?
9. If the scriptures alone taught Timothy the way of salvation, why do we need an organization to be saved?
It is taught that the scriptures alone were enough to lead Timothy to salvation: “and that from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through the faith in connection with Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15 NWT; emphasis added). If the scriptures alone were enough to lead people to salvation 2000 years ago, why would it be any different today?
10. If God keeps a record of sins, who stands a chance?
Sadly, the Watchtower teaches that good works must be performed to stand a chance for everlasting life. Contrary to this, it is taught that "one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28), and "the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans 4:5). As a witness, do you really believe you’ve done enough? King David even asked, “If you, Oh Lord, keep a record of sins, who could stand a chance?” (Psalm 130:4).
[1] One of my professors from Biola, Clay Jones, shared this question during one of our classes.