According to an Online Dictionary one definition of HIJACK is
to "illegally seize (an aircraft,
vehicle or in our case a WORD) and use it for one's own purposes." This
blog is going to look at the WT's practice of taking a Christian word,
redefining it, and then use it to confuse, confound, bewilder, baffle and just
plain bamboozle an unsuspecting "potential convert" who happened to
open their door to a Watchtower Autonotom (A human being conforming without any
self expression to a doctrine set out by another human being, or beings.) The
opposite word for this WT practice would be ENLIGHTEN.
I will look at just six WT HIJACKED WORDS. (1) Lying, (2) Son of God, (3) Savior, (4) Jesus/Jesus Christ, (5) Bible Study and (6) Born Again.
I will look at just six WT HIJACKED WORDS. (1) Lying, (2) Son of God, (3) Savior, (4) Jesus/Jesus Christ, (5) Bible Study and (6) Born Again.
LYING. (Back to our Online Dictionary) "is a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood." The WT's definition, in "Aid to Bible Understanding" pg. 1061 states, "While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are NOT ENTITLED TO IT." The "not entitled to it" is left up to the individual JW at your door. This "acceptable lying" is often referred to as "THEOCRATIC WAR STRATEGY". The WT itself practices this on its own members. See my blog, "Stay Alive til '75", where the WT blamed individual JW's for this failed prophecy when their own book,"Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God," shows the WT was to blame. Also see my blog, "Twisted Scriptures and Other Shenanigans Part 2" and look at the WT Explanation #4 and the 'However' response where the WT lied about the plain reading of John 20:28. Their latest use of this "strategy" can be seen at JW.org when viewing the video, "What happens at a Bible Study?" Especially note my comments at 28". I have blogged about this video here.
SON OF GOD. To a Christian this term is defined in
John 5:18. "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more
to kill Him (Jesus), because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was
calling God His own Father, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD." To a JW, Son of God means that
God (Jehovah) created the Son. The Son is God's first and greatest creation.
God then gave the Son the blueprints for creation and the Son created all other things. "All other things" comes from Colossians 1:16. Go here to see how the WT has added the word "other" to this verse to give the appearance their doctrine aligns with the Bible.
SAVIOR. To a Christian, Jesus is our Savior because by
His death on the cross He paid the full penalty our sin demanded and imparted
to us His righteousness, which God demanded to have fellowship with Him. To a JW, Jesus is only a
partial Savior. By His death on the cross He gives JW's the chance to
"work out their salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians
2:12). This means that the Savior opened the door to life eternal on a
"paradise earth" IF and ONLY IF a JW does everything the WTBTS says
they must do. See my blog on "The
Gospel of the Watchtower Explained!" for all the demands put upon the
door-knockers.
JESUS/JESUS CHRIST. To a Christian,
Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, he is very God of very God who
"became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). To a JW, Jesus existed in
three different forms. (1) Pre-human. Jesus was Jehovah's
first and greatest creation and existed as Michael the archangel. (2) Human. Michael was
transformed into human at Bethlehem, however, he did not become the Christ
until 30 years of age. (3) Post Human. "At death he laid aside the human
organism in which he ministered as a new creature for three and a half years;
and in his resurrection he was no more human. He was raised as a spirit
creature," see my Blog, "What
is the Jehovah's Witnesses View of Jesus?"
BIBLE STUDY. If you were to say, "I want to
study the Bible," the question most people would ask is, "What Book
are you going to study?" If you have never studied the Bible, one would
assume you would start with one of the Gospels. When a JW gives you some WT
literature, that handout invariably has on the back page a form to fill out if
you want to start a "free home Bible study." However, with the JW's
you will not start by studying one of the Gospels nor will you start with any
book in the Bible. You will start your "home Bible study" by reading
a WT book from cover to cover. If you become a JW and say, "I want to
study the Bible," the WT answer would be, "Heavy research is not
necessary. The Watch
Tower
At JW.org there is a video entitled, What Happens at a Bible Study. It is just over 2' long and I have blogged about it here.
At JW.org there is a video entitled, What Happens at a Bible Study. It is just over 2' long and I have blogged about it here.
BORN AGAIN. Looking at the WT’s Reasoning from the Scriptures book (pg.
79), it instructs a JW on what to say when responding to the question, “Have
you been born again?” The JW’s response: “You want to know whether I have
accepted Jesus as my Savior, may I assure you that the answer is yes.” What the
JW has just said is that they have accepted Jesus, as the incarnate Michael the
archangel and now Michael again after the crucifixion, and believes him to be
their Savior since he has given them the chance to earn eternal life on a
paradise earth IF they do everything the WT commands. Not even close to what
the phrase, “Born Again,” means to a Christian.
Why does the WT instruct the JW to give this misleading information? The answer lies in the definition for Lying which I gave above and in the WT's philosophy that the 'ends justify the means'. The 'End' is to gain another WT follower thus they are justified in using "Theocratic War Strategy (Lying)" to bring about that 'End.' By redefining words and seemingly to agree with orthodox Christianity the JW can disarm the home owner, who believes the WT has nothing in common with Christian doctrine, and gain an audience to spread their doctrine that they can be saved by following the WT.
Why does the WT instruct the JW to give this misleading information? The answer lies in the definition for Lying which I gave above and in the WT's philosophy that the 'ends justify the means'. The 'End' is to gain another WT follower thus they are justified in using "Theocratic War Strategy (Lying)" to bring about that 'End.' By redefining words and seemingly to agree with orthodox Christianity the JW can disarm the home owner, who believes the WT has nothing in common with Christian doctrine, and gain an audience to spread their doctrine that they can be saved by following the WT.
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