This is a cleaned up version of the post I made a week or so back. Some might find it useful in dealing with overzealous Witnesses determined to show you the error of your ways.
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The 6 Qualities That "Prove" The WT Is The True Religion
I have actually found 6 "proofs" I felt were worth mentioning. Five were contained within a single book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach?" under the heading "How To Identify The True Religion." These are used to prove that the Society is the True Religion. Here they are, with a brief evaluation of each. Had a little trouble getting it posted and formatted, but it should have fewer errors and such.
1. God's servants base their teachings on the Bible.
This merely limits the playing field to Christianity. There's more than 1500 denominations in the U.S. alone as I understand it. There is no reliable, objective way to know which of them teaches the most accurate theology.
2. Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name known.
Jehovah is a transliteration of Yahweh, but the WT calls God by the name Jehovah. This would actually seem to disqualify the Society from consideration. (Hey, they're the ones who brought the list to our attention!) But the Society reasons that "Jehovah" is better due to consistency with common usage. I have to disagree. It doesn't say that "The true religion will spread the name of God...or whatever name they prefer is also fine, too." That undermines the whole point. But if consistency is what they want, Jesus used "father" and "God" far more than he used "Yahweh" in the Bible. What better example of consistency can there be than Jesus' own? And when he taught his disciples how to pray, Jesus used "father," not "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." As far as spreading his knowledge through the door-to-door ministry, several denominations engage in this as well, and the Catholics alone have converted millions with their early missionary works throughout history, either directly or indirectly. Not to mention other Protestant missionary efforts. Christianity is the largest religion in the world today thanks to denominations that precede the WT by centuries. When seen this way, the Catholic Church has surely converted far more people than the Society has.
3. God's people show genuine, unselfish love for one another.
The article focuses on refusal to serve in the military as their greatest example. There are other religions that do this. But this is not the only measure of genuine, unselfish love that most Christians consider to be worthy. The Society eschews many of these good works, such as charities, sheltering the homeless, and helping the young get an education. Meanshile, Witnesses actively denounce all others religions and are encouraged to avoid any member who is spiritually weak. The Society even disfellowships (shuns and excommunicates) any member that disagrees with its policies or teachings, or who simply want to leave its control to take responsibility for making their own decisions. Even if a member becomes inactive, there is simply no way for them to leave the organization with honor. Families are broken over such issues. Witnesses are also discouraged from associating with anyone who is a non-Witness and sees them as being under Satanic control. These, and other issues, would actually seem to go against this principle.
4. True Christians accept Jesus Christ as God's means of salvation.
Don't all Christians claim to do this?
5. True worshipers are no part of the world.
The Society is hardly the only one that can claim this. In fact, the Anabaptist faiths like Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites do it better. The Church of God and Christadelphians go about it in a similar fashion to the Society. All 5 refuse to serve in the world's armies, and they avoid political entanglements. Note that their are other denominations the claim to fulfill this requirement in one sense or another. How exactly should one go about being "no part of the world" when this is the only planet on which we can live?
6. If a person is loved by God, he will be hated by the world.
The Mormons, Waldensians, and the Anabaptist faiths (Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites) have suffered as badly as the Witnesses. The latter two were persecuted and executed for centuries by the Catholic Church and the governments of their day. In fact, most small, "cult-like" sects have suffered some forms of hatred, are no part of the world, and avoid military service.
In the end, the list is too vague to be truly useful. None of them point to the Society alone and a couple even cast doubt on their claims. The Society's "proofs" are nothing of the kind.
IsaacJ
