A Scrutinous Faith

On a recent Wednesday morning my doorbell rang and interrupted what was set to be an otherwise productive morning. I answered the door expecting to be greeted by a solar panel salesman or perhaps a delivery of some kind. Instead, I was greeted by two very friendly Jehovah’s Witnesses who promptly handed me a tract inviting me to partake in a bible study with them. What ensued within me was a moment of panic as I politely reached for their tract and planned to do what I always do: tell them I am a Christian, promise to look through their pamphlet, come inside, thumb through their pamphlet, and then promptly throw it away.

In my experience the most impactful moments in life begin when our plans are interrupted and we decide to listen to the incredibly quiet voice inviting you into a different plan. I had my plans for the things I wanted to accomplish on that Wednesday morning. God, however, had different plans.

So, I politely and enthusiastically engaged with them and asked what it was they actually believed. Admittedly, I was not well-versed in the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses and so I truly was excited to learn about them. What unfolded was a confusing lesson in Greek grammar about definite and indefinite articles in the book of John that, when applied to the scriptures, mean Jesus was not God but that he was created by God. Much to my surprise, herein lies the major difference between Christianity and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Christians believe that Jesus is God and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not. In short, I found that I was also not as well-schooled in my own beliefs as I had previously thought.

At the conclusion of our conversation all three of us were fired up at the idea of finding other people who enjoyed geeking out on scripture, but since I was not prepared for a debate when I opened my door, we all agreed to continue the conversation via text. This blog post is my brief attempt to outline what became a very robust but circular discussion, which highlights why we must be very careful about the voices we allow to form our core beliefs. So, if you have ever wondered what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, why they believe it, and why Christians believe differently, read on.

The central pillar of their belief is the notion that the scriptures, including the Old Testament prophets and their Messianic prophecies, the four writers of the gospels, Paul, and even Jesus himself all attest that Jesus is not God. They believe that Jesus was a created being of God and is therefore “a god” but not the God. They can readily point to numerous scriptures that support their claim and are able to recite their interpretation of them. Their primary evidence, however, is the difference between the typical translation of John 1:1 and their own:

ESV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ("The word" being Jesus)

NWT (their translation): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

The “a” in their translation is that pesky, aforementioned indefinite article.

Hearing this presented me with some challenges because I am not a theologian, nor am I a biblical scholar or have any measurable expertise in Greek grammar, but what I do have is the deeply held belief that Jesus is God – a belief which is based on a modest understanding of scripture coupled with my personal experiences. So, the big question I was faced with and what we all must wrestle with at some point is if our beliefs are founded in truth. This is what I set out to clarify for myself, and hopefully, for them.

So, I did the intellectually honest thing and researched the translation on which their claim is staked: The New World Translation. Written in the mid-1900s by The Watchtower Society, the corporation owned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, it claims to be founded on Greek manuscripts which clearly and undeniably assert Jesus’ anti-deity. The resulting text conversation with my new friend essentially went like this:

Me: I typically read the ESV, NIV, and NLT translations, and then research specific points in their original Greek or Hebrew language to make sure I get a well-rounded understanding of what I’m reading. All of those translations support that Jesus is God.

Him: The New World Translation says in John 1:1 that Jesus isn’t God.

Me: Okay, but here are more verses in the ESV, NIV, and NLT that all say Jesus is God.

Him: Ya, but the New World Translation says in John 1:1 that Jesus isn’t God.

Me: Okay, let me shift gears. I have some concerns about the integrity of the NWT. Can we look at those?

Him: John 1:1 of the NWT says Jesus is not God. Here is a list of scholars who say the NWT is accurate (shows a list of Baptist scholars who believe in Jesus’ deity, a unitarian and a gnostic - neither of whom believe in the God of the bible).

Me: (Realizing that asking for scholarly sources didn't accomplish what I hoped) Okay, thanks for sending those names and reviews. When it comes to the formation of beliefs, I perform great scrutiny over what voices I listen to, and most of the people on this list don’t pass that test. Can we look at the integrity of the NWT itself now?

Him: Okay, this conversation has become circular, so I have to remove myself from it. Best wishes!

Me: Okay, best wishes to you too.

This isn’t intended as a knock against my Jehovah's witness buddy because now that I have had my first go at this, there are several things I plan to say differently whenever I get the next knock on my door. We both owned a portion of the confirmation bias and circular logic we brought to the table. That being said, it was an incredibly polite and thorough conversation, albeit ultimately unproductive. All of this is meant to emphasize the importance of carefully choosing the voices to which we listen. My new friend had chosen to believe the voice of the Watchtower folks. I have chosen to scrutinize the voices I listen to as I make my own ongoing investigations into my beliefs, and then have put those beliefs to the test as I go. At the end of those tests, my beliefs are always more certain than before. Here is my take, for whatever it is worth, on why this conversation ended without any discernable agreement.

The foundation of our beliefs – every belief – is in whether we trust what we are being told. This is why journalistic integrity is so important and why so many people tune out when they see CNN or Fox News come on the screen – they have lost, at least in perception, the integrity of their work. This is why news agencies must work diligently to provide an over-abundance of neutrality in their coverage. Anything less compromises the integrity of the very work they aim to accomplish. When we couple this compromised integrity with each of our confirmation biases essentially saying that we are right and they are wrong - who "they" are - and it's a powerful cocktail that can shut down any conversation.

If this is true for the news, how much more should it be for our core beliefs like who God is, who we are, what our purpose is, and what happens after this life ends? These beliefs – the very foundational building blocks of our existence, must be viewed with the highest level of scrutiny and an open mind. I probably lacked a degree of open-mindedness, but as I applied a high level of scrutiny to the Jehovah’s Witness translation of the bible, I very quickly uncovered some substantial issues of integrity that make their translation, and the beliefs on which they are formed, misguided. Here is a quick rundown of those concerns:

- The established New Testament, which I believe asserts that Jesus Christ is God, was compiled from over 5,800 manuscripts, taking into account textual variations. They use these original Greek manuscripts and translate the text directly into whatever the target language is. Greek to French. Greek to English. Greek to Spanish. So on and so forth.

- By contrast, the Jehovah’s Witness New Testament was compiled based on something known as the “Greek master text,” which was written by two scholars in the 19th century, who both later faced criticism for the accuracy of their translation. Certain unnamed manuscripts were also used in the creation of the Jehovah's Witness translation, but they remain unnamed. This means the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New Testament is an interpretation of this Greek Master Text and not a translation of the Greek scriptures, as they claim. At best, the Jehovah's Witness New Testament is an honest misinterpretation of these 19th century scholars’ translation and at worst, it is an intentional manipulation of scripture to fit a certain doctrine. Think: a less volatile Westboro Baptist Church.

- Every translation of the traditional Christian bible is open-source when it comes to who wrote it, the method of translation, and the text on which that translation is based. These facts take up many pages at the beginning of every bible. This allows for scrutiny and challenges, should any arise. The New Living Translation goes into great detail explaining the translation process, what the review process looked like for recommended changes, and what team of three scholars translated which books. It is thorough, easy to understand, and transparent.

- In contrast, the Jehovah’s Witness translation was written anonymously and without external scrutiny.

It is because of these - and several more - issues of quality assurance that I find the New World Translation to be a less than reliable interpretation of God’s divinely inspired message to humanity. However, the process of honestly examining the Jehovah’s Witness belief system was a healthy exercise for my mind. Yes, my confirmation bias was on full display in the discussion, which is something I regret. However, this exercise has helped me to better understand why I believe what I believe and how to tell when a new idea is amiss. See, whenever we are presented with an idea that would fundamentally shift our core belief structure, the burden of proof is on the agent of change, not on the agent of constancy. Like Aristotle claiming the world is round, the burden of proof was in Aristotle's court since he was challenging the commonly held belief that the world is flat. In this case, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ belief is the new idea. The New World Translation and the beliefs on which they are formed has been left wanting, and therefore, is not worthy of following. It really is as simple as that.

The bottom line for me is twofold:

1. Any honest examination of our beliefs must start from a place of scrutiny. Asking the difficult questions of why we believe what we believe is the only way to truly find out if it is worthy of our belief in the first place. If we are unwilling to scrutinize our beliefs then we must at least admit that we are unwilling to have our minds changed. To do anything less is intellectually dishonest. In the case of faith, God is not afraid of your scrutiny, so don’t withhold it. The key in developing a genuine trust in God is to find a group of intellectually honest people who want to scrutinize with you.

2. The voices we listen to matter deeply. On the surface there are many arguments that claim to be truth. This is the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing that Jesus himself warned us about in Matthew 7:15. It is only upon a closer and thorough examination of these voices do we find them unable to hold water. Do not be afraid to scrutinize the voices you listen to, no matter how long you have been listening to them. This is true for matters of faith, self-image, politics, and everything in between. The reality is that truth does not mind scrutiny. If the voices you are listening to do not allow transparency or welcome scrutiny, then it is quite possible the voice you’ve been listening to is not based on truth.

Sources:

HANDOUTS-Is-Scripture-Reliable.pdf (thecollegechurch.org)

How the Bible Came to Us: The Hebrew Scriptures, Dead Sea Scrolls, and More | NWT (jw.org)