Let’s start off by listing some key arguments that Jehovah’s Witnesses use to ‘prove’ the validity of their claim as the only true religion. We will then discuss each one systematically.

1. God’s servants base their teachings on the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
2. Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name known (Matthew 4:10, John 17:6)
3. God’s people show genuine, unselfish love for one another (John 13:35)
4. True Christians accept Jesus Christ as God’s means of salvation (Acts 4:12)
5. True worshipers are no part of the world (John 18:36)
6. Jesus’ true followers preach that God’s Kingdom is mankind’s only hope (Matthew 24:14)

Jehovah’s Witnesses are not the only religion to claim to base their beliefs on the bible. It goes without saying that there are hundreds of Christian religions and denominations world-wide who profess a strict adherence to the bible. It would stand to reason that there must be some religions or indeed perhaps one religion who stands out from the pack, who has an undeniable and accurate grasp and adherence to the scriptures with reference to their beliefs and practices. But how is this to be so? The bible is so subjective to a multitude of interpretations, not to mention the number of linguistic translations it has endured throughout history. Perhaps then we should turn to a religion who’s belief system has remained consistent over the course of its history, without changing doctrine. There again if we look to Jehovah’s Witnesses we can see that throughout the last century teachings and doctrine have been changed over and over again, with the newest “understandings” or interpretations being communicated to its followers within even the last few years. Does this add credence to the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim of being the one true religion? Alternatively it seems to detract from such a claim when doctrine is consistently changed to suit modern times.

It seems that this is a no-brainer for JWs, after all they call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses though as many know the name of God spoken of in the Bible is not Jehovah, it is YHWH an ancient Greek tetragrammaton. It is not known how this name was actually pronounced, though Hebrew scholars suggest it may have been Yaywah or Yahweh. Even more interesting is the fact that it was not until the 1930’s that the now Jehovah’s Witnesses actually adopted that particular name. It was reported by members at JW Headquarters that they wanted something unique, that would stand out. The Watchtower Organization chose that pronunciation because this form was the most common vocalization being used at the time. To this day the Organization does not claim that this is in fact the most accurate way to pronounce the name of God. In fact it most certainly could not have been since the J and V sounds are completely foreign to the Hebrew language. Further, some modern scholars insist that “Jehovah” was a term invented, or at least first used, by a Spanish monk in 1270 A.D. (the name was used in his book Pugeo Fidei). Regardless there are other Christian religions who worship YHWH (inconvenient for them that they did not make the PR move to include God’s name in the title of their religion).

Truer still, there are many other religions who engage in preaching work and worldwide ministry. Again, the JWs seem to fail to narrow down their claims to point exclusively to their own religion. I recently came across this interesting video on YouTube where a member actually does the math on the statistics released by the Watchtower Society for the 2007 service year. It is interesting to see how the JWs boast on account of their ’success’ but when the numbers are crunched a very differerent portrait is painted. See video here

There are many ways that genuine and unselfish love can be shown and again it is not exclusive to the Society of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a former memeber I can say with certainty that there is an incredible amount of in-fighting and petty cruelty that goes on between members and familys in the organization. But one of the Watchtower’s favorite examples of this “geniune, unselfish love” is their refusal to engage in the military. Yet JW’s are not the only Christians who refust to fight in wars.

Many (including myself) would also argue that the practice of disfellowshipping members is cruel and harsh. The shunning that is synonymous with disfellowshipping breaks up families and can be medically devistating to witnesses who suffer from things like clinical depression. I could go on into a long rant about my experiences from being disfellowshipped, but I’ll leave that for another day and will instead post this video of another ex-JW who articulates the experience so very well.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_B4PfDwp5I&border=1&hl=en]

There are many good things about the love and unity of the witnesses, but they are certainly not at the top of the list by any means.

This is a particularly vague argument unable to clearly identify Jehovah’s Witnesses as the sole true religion on its basis. Most Christian religions set Christ as the cornerstone of their beliefs however their interpretations may vary (see discussion topic #1).

What does this biblical proof entail? Here I will quote some of the JW’s scriptural sources:

New World Translation (JW version)

John 18:36
“Jesus answered: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is my kingdom is not from this source.”

John 17:13,14
“But now I am coming to you, and I am speaking these things in the world in order that they may have my joy in themselves to the full. I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that being no part of the world means that they avoid seeking “worldly” pleasures, associations, political opinions or involvement. But this is again their interpretation. Within the organization some feel that putting Bible principles above “worldly” ones is enough, it is often a matter of degrees of involvement left to the individuals conscience. However in the case of most Christian denominations this teaching could more or less be an indicator or qualifier. Other faiths go beyond the interpretation of the Society by taking more extreme measures to remove themselves from the influence of the world outside of their religion.

No matter how this is interpreted it cannot clearly single out JWs above all other groups.

The Watchtower Society adamantly claims that their routine of door-to-door field service or ministry is the fulfillment of this requirement for true religion. But it is clear that they are not the only ones who participate in preaching the message of God. Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons are also among those who engage in similar efforts. Don’t forget too that the Catholic Church and several Protestant denominations were converting people around the world centuries before Jehovah’s Witnesses ever even came into existence. Truly the efforts of the JWs pale in comparison to those of their predecessors.

In conclusion none of these so called “proofs” actually single out the Jehovah’s Witnesses and prove that they are the only true religion. These reasonings are subject to wide interpretation and are genuinely shared with many other religions. Even going so far as to say that JWs are persecuted for their beliefs cannot help because many other religions have suffered the same if not worse than the Witnesses.

In a following post I will go into more depth on one of the absolute foundations of Jehovah’s Witness’ claim to be the one true religion. It is this claim that the Watchtower Organization is the only means for learning God’s true word. Would readers be surprised to know that the basis for the Society’s authority is laughably unfounded?