Jehovahs Witnesses:101 Questions & Answers to the JWs

101 Answers to 101 Questions to Ask Jehovah's Witnesses Using the NWT
Foreword
"You people have your own Bible!"
That is a common objection that all of Jehovah's Witnesses hear in our public ministry at one time or another. Indeed, the accusation is even louder on the Internet, as evidenced by a website of 101 questions to ask Jehovah's Witnesses using the New World Translation. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses who has encountered such objections over the more than quarter of a century of my ministry, it is my privilege to specifically address each question here.
It is without question a very serious accusation that implies that Jehovah's Witnesses have intentionally tampered with or altered God's precious word of truth. Of course, most people have never actually examined the New World Translation for themselves, and fewer still are up to the task of critically analyzing the numerous criticisms leveled against it. Sadly, the majority of people do not really know what to believe and through default they allow their opinions to be molded by hearsay and popular prejudices.
But what is the truth of the matter? Do Jehovah's Witnesses have their own Bible? The answer is yes and no.
Yes, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Society translate, publish, and distribute the New World Translation in numerous languages. No, we have not tampered with or changed the Bible—at least not in the way that it is implied by our critics.
It is interesting to note that when Martin Luther first published his translation of the Bible in the 16th century, his work was denounced by the religious establishment of the day as being full of lies and falsifications. Now, though, scholars generally recognize it as a brilliant work. The New World Translation is no different. The truth of the matter is that the most popular versions of the Bible are produced by denominationally-oriented publishers that have their own peculiar bias. The Catholics have their own Bibles. Protestants have their own Bibles, too. Each have their merits and weaknesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses respect the Bible and have a healthy fear of the God who inspired its writing. Rather than changing or tampering with the Scriptures, Jehovah's Witnesses have sought to restore the Bible and purge it from many of the errors and inconsistencies that have crept in over the centuries.
For example, one of the most valuable features of the NWT is that it has discontinued the improper use of LORD to translate YHWH, and has restored God's personal name—translated into English as Jehovah—to the nearly 7,000 places where it occurs in the original language.
The Watchtower is a Bible-producing organization. Many people are unaware of the fact that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has printed and distributed numerous versions of the Bible over the years, other than just the NWT. At one time, the Watchtower printed the King James Version of the Bible as well as the American Standard Bible. The Watchtower also owned the publishing rights to what is called the Bible in Living English, translated by a scholar named Stephen T. Byington.
With over a century of experience in publishing and distributing Bibles and Bible study aids, and with the scholarly resources at its disposal to examine all of the knotty issues pertaining to translation, and being the only organization solely dedicated to the Author of the Bible—Jehovah God—the Watchtower is more than qualified to sponsor the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
Here are a few relevant facts regarding the New World Translation. Work on the NWT began shortly after 1946, when a translating committee was first commissioned. Translators worked from the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. By 1950, the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was published. Over the next decade, segments of the New World Translation of the Hebrew text continued to be released, until the entire Bible was completed in 1961. As of 1998, over 100 million copies had been printed, now in over 40 languages.
One feature that is valued by Bible students is the New World Translation with References, which has extensive footnotes that give much additional information, including alternative renderings. For instance, where the English text varies from the original language text, the footnotes give the basis for the English rendering by indicating which manuscripts and versions support such variations. Thus, the diligent student is enabled to gain a depth of insight that is unavailable in most other Bibles.
One of the criticisms leveled against the NWT is that the translators are anonymous and so their scholarly credentials cannot be checked out. However, such criticisms are unfounded. We believe that any translation should be judged on its own merit—not by the scholastic pedigree of the individuals who may have produced it. In that respect, the NWT is more than able to stand up to the harshest critic.
Here is what the Andover Newton Quarterly had to say back in 1963 about the NWT when it was first published: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."
Edgar Goodspeed, the translator of the Greek in An American Translation wrote the Watchtower in 1950 saying: "I am interested in the mission work of your people, and its world wide scope, and much pleased with the free, frank and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify."
More recently Professor Benjamin Kedar, a Hebrew scholar in Israel, said in 1989: "In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translations, I often refer to the English edition of what is known as the New World Translation. In so doing, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible."
Of course, the criticisms of the Watchtower's New World Translation Bible run much deeper than just scholarly questions involving translation and exegesis. The fundamental reasons for dispute have to do with the doctrinal teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and the fact that from the inception of the Watchtower Society, our ministers have relentlessly attacked the unscriptural theology of Christendom.
The real issue comes down to the truth. For example: Long before the NWT was produced, Jehovah's Witnesses came to believe and teach that Jehovah alone is God and that Jesus is a son whom God brought into existence in the beginning of creation. Christendom has long taught that Jesus is God and that the name of Jehovah is not important.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God is going to save the earth and mankind from destruction. Christendom generally teaches that God is going to depopulate the earth and destroy our beautiful planet.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God's kingdom is a special heavenly government composed of Christ and 144,000 humans bought from the earth and that they are going to rule over the earth and restore it to paradise. Christendom teaches that it is mankind's birthright to go to heaven.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan the Devil is the actual god of this world and that he is misleading mankind through the insidious control he exerts over its political, commercial and religious institutions. Christendom has misled her followers to believe that the Devil resides in some subterranean inferno; or that if he does have any misleading influence, it is through "cults" like Jehovah's Witnesses and not the mainline religions.
Obviously someone is wrong. Two contradictory teachings that claim the Bible as their authority cannot both be correct. Certainly the Bible does not contradict itself, as many have been misled to believe. Either Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong, or Christendom is wrong. While most people are satisfied to simply follow the mainstream, it is sobering that the Bible itself bluntly states that most people are wrong in their religious assumptions.
Jesus illustrated the contrast between the way of the truth and the popular course when he said: "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it."
Jehovah's Witnesses are realistic. We realize that the "many" cannot be persuaded by any means to leave the temporary comfort and luxury of the popular course. While the answers offered to 101 Questions to ask Jehovah's Witnesses are by no means exhaustive, it is our hope that by considering some of the criticisms leveled against the NWT, the relatively "few" truth-seekers among us might be encouraged to join Jehovah's Witnesses on the cramped and narrow road leading to life.
Foreword - Questions 1-10 - Questions 11-20 - Questions 21-30Questions 31-40 - Questions 41-50 - Questions 51-60 - Questions 61-70Questions 71-80 - Questions 81-90 - Questions 91-101
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Tower of Truth for JWs & Mormons