Category: Bible Interpretation (page 12 of 16)

The Watchtower Wrongly Supplements Biblical Authority

Twisting Supplementing Biblical AuthoritySupplementing Biblical authority means, “New revelation from postbiblical prophets either replaces or is added to the Bible as authority.”[1]

Jehovah’s Witnesses would deny that the Watchtower engages in this sort of error. They would point out that they recognize only the Bible as Scripture, unlike, say, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), which explicitly recognizes other scriptures—The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants.

However, the Watchtower does claim to be God’s modern day prophet and his sole channel of communication today.

Here are examples of claims it has made throughout its history (emphasis added in quotations): Continue reading

The Watchtower Claims Virtue by Association

Twisting Virtue by AssociationWhen criticized for errors it has made or for changing its doctrines, occasionally the Watchtower admits that its writings aren’t infallible or inspired like the Bible.

However, these moments of humility are dwarfed by the sweeping authority over the lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses which it claims God has given it. In effect, it places its own writings on a par with or even above the Bible, while denying that it does so. Continue reading

The Watchtower Wrongly Asserts That Certain Teachings Are Obvious

Twisting Obvious FallacyThe “obvious fallacy” occurs when “words like absolutely, undoubtedly, certainly, it is only reasonable to conclude and so forth are substituted for logical reasons.”[1]

Using such words or phrases isn’t always wrong, but we need to be careful to examine whether they are being used as a substitute for evidence and logic.

Here are three examples from Watchtower literature. Continue reading

The Watchtower Ignores Alternative Explanations

Twisting Ignoring AlternativesThe error of ignoring alternative explanations means that “a specific interpretation is given to a biblical text or set of texts which could well be, and often have been, interpreted in quite a different fashion, but these alternatives are not considered.”[1]     

Here are three examples from Watchtower publications: Continue reading

The Watchtower Confuses Definitions

Twisting Confused Definition“Confused definition” means, “A biblical term is misunderstood in such a way that an essential biblical doctrine is distorted or rejected.”[1]       

Let’s look at several Watchtower examples.

I won’t go into detail refuting each one. Rather, my goal will be to identify them so you will know the sort of thing to look out for. Continue reading

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