How does one recognize the true religion? Fifth Column has listed some interesting claims, but I suspect he cut and pasted them. He’s also entitled to his opinions, but what are they based on?
- base their teachings on the Bible
Most Christian sects would likely agree with this point, but the fact is, the First Century church did not have an established canon of scripture. Some books that weren’t included in the 66 books of the Bible were held to be scriptural by the early Christians and others that were included were held to be unscriptural, such as the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and the book of Revelation. It’s also evident that many of the early apostles read and were influenced by books such as the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Apocalypse of Enoch. The notion of a “canon” wasn’t really accepted until much later.
- worship only Jehovah and make his name known
I don’t know where this point came from, but the early church did not go around using the Hebrew vocalization of God’s holy name in a society where it was taboo. There is absolutely no evidence that the early church used any form of the holy name in casual references. And though the Jews used the tetragrammaton in their writings, they had no formal name for God. In fact, it wasn’t until the 13th Century A.D. that any vocalization was agreed upon. To advocate the position that the First Century Christians were walking around using any formal name of God is fiction. Conversely, many sects today worship only God and make His name known. The early Christians, as their name implies, were very Christ-centric. It also was fairly well known that Jesus was Jehovah, not the Father. When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, a mediator was needed to be an Advocate between man and the Father. That mediator was known as Jehovah in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New. When He redeems and glorifies the Earth at the end of the Millennium, He will present it back to the Father.
- show genuine love for one another
This is a legitimate part of Christ’s church. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have told me that love in that sect is strictly conditional. One faction of my family became JWs, and they cut off all communication with the rest of the family and refused to return our calls and e-mails. In the “true” faith, love for one’s family is not restricted as it is in some religions.
- accept Jesus as God’s means of salvation
Yep.
Nope. The Lord said we should be in the world, but not of the world. The FLDS cult in southern Utah lives in an enclosed community and e-mails, newspapers, magazines and other venues are strictly forbidden. They cannot read any opposition opinions and they take their instructions from only one person…their “prophet.”
- preach God’s Kingdom as man’s only hope
Agreed. But God’s Kingdom cannot be manmade. Daniel said that the Kingdom would be as a stone made without hands. This means it will not be a manmade Kingdom, but one made without human hands. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not meet that criterion.
There are other points that Fifth Column misses. The only true faith will be one that is authorized by God. Its ministers will have divine authority and will be duly called and ordained by those in authority. Jesus told his apostles: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:16)
Some sects say they glean their authority from the scriptures, but where do the JWs gain their authority? Jehovah, we are told, will come to judge the nations and mankind. But John tells us, “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” (John 5:22) Thus, since Jehovah is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End; He is the Judge of mankind, we know that He and Jesus are the same. Jehovah is the great Mediator between the Father and mankind, our great Advocate and Judge.
As subjective beings, we tend to have expectations based on our own views. If you ask a Baptist or a Seventh Day Adventist or a Mormon what they believe the true church should be like, they can each give you a subjective view. A Seventh Day Adventist will say that one point is that the true church will worship on the Seventh Day of the week. A Catholic will say that the church will have an uninterrupted line of authority that goes back to the First Century and a Mormon will say that a belief in the Book of Mormon is a key to the true church.
So throwing up a list of JW talking points isn’t going to mean much.
