In an effort to convince you that we should call God “Jehovah,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses may tell you that God’s name “was clearly of crucial importance to him [Jesus] since he mentioned it repeatedly in his own prayers.” (The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, p. 3) Continue reading
Tag: John 13:13
Key Scripture: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
The objective of The Divine Name Approach is to show Jehovah’s Witnesses that, while it is fine to refer to God as “Jehovah,” it is not necessary. In fact, in the New Testament the name that is above every other name is “Jesus.” Continue reading
Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website
Last week, I discussed the first two topics in Chapter 1 of “Bible Teach.” Today, I’ll move on to the next subject.
Topic #3: The importance of God’s name—“Jehovah”
Given the importance of the name “Jehovah” in the Watchtower religion, it’s somewhat surprising that “Bible Teach” doesn’t introduce the topic until midway through the chapter, but the Watchtower often catches us off guard by introducing key teachings when we least expect it.
In Watchtower publications, photo captions often convey doctrine. As an example, the photo caption at paragraph 14 (p. 12) reads, “When you want someone to get to know you, do you not mention your name? God reveals his name to us in the Bible.” The same point is made in the text itself, under the heading, “God Wants You to Know Who He Is.”
You can point out that our children and grandchildren know us intimately even though they call us “Dad” and “Grandpa” rather than using our given names. Likewise, our friends often refer to us by nicknames. Continue reading
The Watchtower insists that we must use the name “Jehovah” in order to have an intimate relationship with God.
It states: “In replacing God’s name with titles, Bible translators make a serious mistake. They make God seem remote and impersonal, whereas the Bible urges humans to cultivate ‘intimacy with Jehovah.’ (Psalms 25:14) Think of an intimate friend of yours. How close would you really be if you never learned your friend’s name? Similarly, when people are kept in ignorance about God’s name, Jehovah, how can they become truly close to God?”[i]
Here’s how to answer them. Continue reading
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