GETTING APOLOGETIC on RELIGION: PART 2 of 2 - A ONCE LOST/TTUF Presentation

The following two part series was presented live at SHINE BRIGHT Church  by Kyle Peart of ONCE LOST ministries and me, James Fire (The TRUTH Under FIRE):

All cults, and false religions are identified by their view of Jesus Christ Himself. They will either take away or add to the person of Jesus. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Islam take away His Deity. Mormonism and Roman Catholicism add works as necessary for salvation, etc.

Three major religions in the world today are Mormonism aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Jehovah’s Witnesses and Roman Catholicism. We will cover these in PART 1; Kyle Peart will take PART 2 and cover other religions and spiritual movements such as Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age/Spirituality., etc.

This article is unusually long, but I've subdivided it into sections, each section treating one religion.

1) MORMONISM – https://biblereasons.com/the-bible-vs-the-book-of-mormon/
You can show that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is biblically wrong just by looking at the front cover of: The Book of Mormon: because the subtitle reads: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Yet the Bible states:

HEBREWS 9:16-17
16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 

Did Jesus die a second time? No? Then there can’t be “Another Testament…”. The Book of Mormon is invalidated on this basis alone, but there is a lot more to look at besides:

On the priesthoods of Levi and Melchizedek

1. Mormonism teaches: Joseph Smith inherited the priesthoods of Levi and Melchizedek; he couldn’t inherit the priesthood of Levi because he was not descendent of Levi. As for Melchizedek:

* What the BIBLE says:

HEBREWS 7:21-24
(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: "The LORD has sworn And will not relent, 'You [GOD's Son] are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek'"), 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable [that is to say a non-transferrable] priesthood.

On the Doctrine of GOD

2. Mormonism teaches: God (Heavenly Father) is an exalted man with a physical body of flesh and bone. Joseph Smith said, “If you were to see [God] today, you would see him like a man in form” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345).

The trinity is denied; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are seen as three separate entities. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit.” (Doctrine and Covenants [D&C] 130:22).

* What the BIBLE says: 

God is a Spirit who is the personal, eternal, and infinite Creator of all that exists (2 COR 3:17: “…the LORD is that Spirit…”; JOHN 4:24). He is the only God and necessary First Cause for all created things that exist. He exists eternally as a Tri-unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. DEUT 6:4 [“one LORD” – echad: a united one or as we might express it: ‘a team’, not a singular one (yachid)];

ISAIAH 43:10-11
You are My witnesses, says the LORD, And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.

TITUS 1:3-4
…but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; 4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

ISAIAH 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.

ACTS 20:28
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

(The trinity: MATT 28:19; 1 JOHN 5:7). The Son was Spirit just as the Father and the Holy Spirit, until the time of the incarnation (JOHN 1:14).

On the Doctrine of Jesus Christ

3. Mormonism teaches: Jesus was the spiritual “first born” Son of God in the preexistence.
“Everyone born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ, so he is literally our elder brother” (Gospel Principles [GP], p. 11).
He is also the “only begotten” physical offspring of God by procreation on earth. “Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of a mortal mother and an immortal father. That is why he is called the Only Begotten Son” (GP, p. 64).

* What the BIBLE says: 

Jesus Christ is the “firstborn” (not one who was ‘born first’ from some spiritual Father and Mother in heaven! Scripture?), firstborn as in having preeminence, or one who is greatest in importance (ROM 8:29; COL 1:15,18) and was virgin born (LUKE 1:26-35). Ephraim is called GOD’s firstborn (JER 31:9) because at that time this tribe was held in preeminence above all the other tribes of Israel, even though he was born last of all the sons of Israel.

COLOSSIANS 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

He is the only begotten Son not because of a union between ‘an immortal father and a mortal mother’ but because He uniquely is GOD the Son to GOD the Father. He is God incarnate Who existed eternally (JOHN 1:1-4, 14; 1 TIM 3:16) with the Father and Holy Spirit: the eternal Trinity (ROM 1:20 “eternal power and Godhead”). He possesses two natures - human and divine. He lived a sinless life and willingly died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sin of all humanity. (see JOHN 8:56-59; vs.58: “Most assuredly before Abraham was I AM”; PHIL 2:6-11; COL 1:13-22; HEB 1:3; 13:8).

On the Doctrine of Scripture and Authority

4. Mormonism recognizes the LDS Four Standard Works as authoritative. These include the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8). It also includes The Book of Mormon (BoM) which Joseph Smith declared is “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 194).
The church also regards The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) as Scripture as well as
The Pearl of the Great Price (PGP).

* What the BIBLE says: 

The Bible (Old and New Testaments) is the unique, revealed, and inspired Word of God. It is the sole authority for faith and practice for Christians (see 2 TIM 3:15-17; esp. vs. 16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD…”; also 2 PET 1:19-21). This book alone, barring all others, dares to tell the future before it happens and is 100% accurate in all instances of prophecy (ISAIAH 46:9-10 “[He] declares the end from the beginning”). Adding to this book by any other so-called ‘revelation’ is forbidden (REV 22:18; DEUT 12:32; PROV 30:6).

It should be pointed out that Joseph Smith was a “peeper” – that is, a diviner of knowledge, using ‘peep stones’ to acquire such by trafficking with ‘the spirits’. He also engaged in another form of divination, known as dowsing (dowsing rods – used to locate water or other objects of desire). This is something expressly forbidden in the Scriptures (DEUT 18:10-12). For more about Joseph Smith and his involvement in the occult, before and after the founding of Mormonism, check out this article: Joseph Smith, Magic, Masonry and the Occult.

ISAIAH 8:19
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

Joseph Smith made the claim that after translating the golden plates from Egyptian to English, from which he received the various doctrinal beliefs of the Mormon religion, that his translation was verified and authenticated by a learned scholar, one Professor Charles Anthon of Columbia University. Professor Anthon, upon learning of this falsification, went on record with a lengthy letter, denying that any such endorsement was given (from the book Kingdom of the Cults, by Dr. Walter Martin, pgs. 180-182.

The teachings of Mormonism portray the rise of two great civilizations in history with no less than thirty-eight cities cataloged in the Book of Mormon, and that the Native American peoples were essentially Jews. No archeological evidence whatsoever has proven any of the suppositions made in this book regarding these supposed civilizations, nor have any DNA testing provided evidence that the Indians of the North American continent were in any way Semitic but rather Mongoloid, having a East Asian connection to the ethnicities native to that region.

On the Doctrine of Humanity

5. Mormonism teaches: People preexisted spiritually as offspring of the Heavenly Father and Mother. “All men and women are . . . literally the sons and daughters of Deity . . . Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents” They are born basically good…” LDS president Lorenzo Snow) said “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” Essentially this is teaching the same sort of spiritual evolution as is taught in Hinduism! The lie of Satan: “Ye shall be as gods…”

* What the BIBLE says: 

We’re created in God’s image, meaning we’ve qualities similar to God’s (self-aware, self-determination regarding the power of will; personality, etc.; see GEN 1:26-27). We were not preexistent – we’re mortal: our existence began when we were conceived, not beforehand – but our souls, once created, will live forever. The first man Adam was formed of the dust of the earth, and life was breathed into him, and he then “became a living soul” (GEN 2:7). Nowhere does the Bible speak of Adam existing in heaven before he became flesh and blood. All souls will exist in eternity one place or the other – heaven or hell (REV 20:5-6,12-15).

Mormons will point to verses like JEREMIAH 1:5 to prove preexistence:
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
GOD knows the past, the present and the future – and so He knew Jeremiah, his calling and ministry in advance – not his preexistence, before he was ever born.
We aren’t automatically “sons and daughters” of Deity; we were not born “basically good”. We were born in sin because Adam passed his sin nature down to us (ROM 5:12) and this is why we must be born again (JOHN 3:3; 1 PET 1:23) so that we may become the children of GOD (JOHN 1:12-13).

On the Doctrine of Sin

6. Mormonism teaches: People sin by disobedience to God’s laws. Adam’s fall, a part of Heavenly Father’s plan, caused a loss of immortality, which was necessary for mankind to advance (see GP, pp. 31-34). As Eve declared according to LDS scripture, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have . . . known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (PGP, Moses 5:11; see also BOM, 2 Nephi 2:22-25). Each person is responsible for his or her own sin (according to their doctrine Adam’s sin carries no curse on the rest of us). One of the false doctrines of Pelagianism.

* What the BIBLE says:

ROMANS 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…
Human beings have chosen to sin against God, rejecting His truth and holy nature and pursing life opposed to His essential character and revealed law. (see ROM 3:23; 7:14-25; vs. 18 “in my flesh nothing good dwells”; 1 JOHN 1:8-10).

No where does the Bible claim that the fall into sin was an opportunity for ‘advancement’. On the contrary, the fall of Adam was a diabolically planned demotion from a man, made in the image of GOD to a monster, deformed by sin, as lured by the devil! Sin brought the opportunity for GOD to express His mercy and grace (GEN 3:15). All spiritual advancement is brought about by the gift of eternal life through Christ, not death by sin. Sin is a curse that brings death and separation from GOD (ROM 6:23a).

On the Doctrine of Salvation

7. Mormonism teaches: Jesus’ atonement provided immortality for all people. Exaltation (godhood) is available only to Mormons through obedience to LDS teachings: faith, baptism, endowments, celestial marriage, and tithing. “Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God-Wherefore, all things are theirs” (D&C, 76:58-59). Notice this is a salvation/exaltation to celestial heaven by works!
These are some of the blessings given to exalted people:

        a. They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see D&C, 76).
        b. They will become gods.
        c. They will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children also. These spirit children will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father. They will be an eternal family.
        d. They will receive a fullness of joy.
        e. They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have – all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge (See GP, p. 302).

* What the BIBLE says: 

Salvation is judicial release from the guilt and power of sin through God’s gift of grace. It’s provided through Christ’s atonement and received by personal repentance and faith in Christ as LORD and Savior. (see MARK 1:4-5; EPH 2:8-10; ROM 1:16; 3:20; 10:9-10) not given automatically to all souls. The Bible doesn’t teach that we will ever become gods or that we are gods now. PSALM 82 says regarding these men “You are gods” but in reading this in context, “gods” in this case is eloheim, which can mean GOD, or gods as in the false gods – or it can also and in this case, it does refer to judges, which is what this whole Psalm is about!
Check out Walter Martin’s and Ed Decker’s presentation on Mormonism, in this two part video series: Dialoguing On The Doorsteps with a Mormon – Part One, Part Two.
Also: How To Witness To a Mormon by Walter Martin.

For more TTUF Stuff on Mormonism, go here: most especially, check out Rick Beaudin on this page, his podcast: Mormonism Reviewed is excellent!

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2) JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES – https://biblereasons.com/christianity-vs-jehovah-witness/
Founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Charles T. Russell was given to swindling funds donated to his religious cause as is documented in Walter Martin’s Kingdom of the Cults, pgs. 39-43.
He didn’t know the Greek language, to say nothing of the Greek alphabet as he claimed to (pg. 43-44).

He denied the cardinal doctrines of the Bible: the Trinity, Deity of Christ, the physical resurrection and return of Christ, eternal punishment, the reality of hell, the eternal existence of the soul and the validity of infinite Atonement, among others.

He never earned any pastoral degrees which he claimed to have done, nor was he familiar with the standard theological disciplines afforded to anyone so schooled.

The Virgin Birth

1. What JW’s teach: Russell contends that Jesus, the Son of GOD was transferred from heaven to Earth, and there lived as a sinless man, but was not GOD Incarnate, merely the Son of the Most High, but not possessing all of the attributes, powers, abilities of Father GOD.

* What the BIBLE says: The Bible expressly states that the LORD Jesus was virgin born (LUKE 1:34; ISAIAH 7:14), that His Father is GOD, and that He is one with the Father, and equal to Him in every way (JOHN 10:30) except for the role He took on as an obedient Son, whereas GOD took on the role of Father, to Whom the Son would express that obedience. That Christ was with the Father in eternity is plainly stated (JOHN 17:5).

JW’s will claim that the word for “virgin” in ISAIAH 7 simply means ‘maiden’. Yet without even getting into the Greek, the context of this chapter is GOD giving Ahaz a blank check in asking for any sign “ask it either in the depth or in the height above” – in other words, “The sky’s the limit Ahaz!” But the corrupt king feigned in piety, saying that he would never test the LORD. In exasperation the LORD said He would provide a sign, one that everyone would recognize as an act of GOD, in order to provide assurance that what the LORD promised, He would perform.
What sort of indisputable miracle would it be if a young woman had a baby?? But a virgin!? That would absolutely be a miracle! And incidentally, the Hebrew word almah used in ISAIAH 7:14 can mean either young woman or virgin; and in Mary's case, she was both!

Russell was adamant that the prefix “a” was in the Greek text of the verse, indicating that Jesus was a subordinate Deity:

JOHN 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was [a] God.

No such prefix exists in any of the ancient texts; this is a pure fabrication from a man who didn’t even know the Greek alphabet.

It’s also asserted that in the following verse:

1 TIMOTHY 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

In the Greek this text supposedly reads: “He was manifested in the flesh…”. However any cursory view of any Greek lexicon will show that the word used is Theo [God], rather than aftos [he]. This is a deliberate deception in order to deny the Deity of Christ, that further supports that Jesus had no earthly father; that Joseph was only His step-father, and that GOD was truly His Father, and as His Son, Jesus was His equal.

JOHN 5:17-19
17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." 18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

JW’s will infer the inferiority of Jesus to the Father, because He is helpless to do anything on His own, not being capable of doing anything His Father does, unless the Father does it through Him.

Truth cannot contradict itself. Truth is a non-contradictory concept. Where there are two truths that contradict each other, one must conclude that their understanding of one or both truths is wanting.

In like manner, GOD cannot contradict Himself – in word or deed.
Thus, it is because Jesus is GOD, in the same way that the Father is GOD, that Jesus cannot do anything independent of the Father. Were He to do so, He would contradict the Father – an impossibility.

JW’s will point out the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane:

MATTHEW 26:39
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

This seems to suggest that what Jesus wanted (to avoid the cross) is in contradiction to what the Father wanted (to offer His Son as the sacrifice on the cross); yet here we must understand that Jesus is both GOD and man (the hypostatic union), and that what He expressed as His will, was that of a man, not GOD, for were He to have a desire contrary to the Father in His Divinity, that would be a contradiction. Yet, expressing a perfectly human desire to avoid torture is understandable. Ultimately, Jesus submitted to the Father as a Perfect Man, willing to do the Father’s will as His suffering servant (ISAIAH 53:3-5; HEB 5:8).

On the Deity of Christ

2. What JW’s teach: Jehovah’s Witnesses explicitly deny the deity of Christ while they affirm the deity of God the Father. They believe that Jesus can be called a deity or a god, but only in the sense that an angel can be thus called.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and teach that Jesus Christ is the incarnate name of Michael the archangel. They believe that Michael was the first angel created by God the Father and is second in command in God’s organization.

* What the BIBLE says: (https://biblereasons.com/is-jesus-god-himself/)

We showed by Scripture in dealing with Mormonism that Jesus is indeed GOD the Son, so we won’t repeat that here, but here is a link to a lot of information all about the LORD Jesus Christ . [TTUF page on Evidence for Jesus]

Think about this: If any of you men father a baby boy, he is a human just like you, has a mind and body just like you (immature, but the same kind); he may inherit your attributes such as personality, talents, abilities. But he isn’t an ostrich, a fish, or a mosquito. You have begotten a human being just like you. He is “after your kind” as are all living things (GEN 1:21,25; GEN 6:20; 7:14).

GOD the Father has eternally begotten His Son so He is just like His Father, sharing His attributes: His abilities, His eternal existence, His nature – He is all powerful as is His Father, all knowing, holy as is His Father, He is Truth as is His Father, etc. the SON is “after His kind” the Father and Holy Spirit – when you have seen Him, you have seen the Father (JOHN 14:7-9).

JW’s will point out JOHN 8 to show that Jesus is inferior to the Father, incapable of doing anything apart from the Father Who grants Him the ability:

JOHN 8:28
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Yet when we realize that truth cannot contradict itself, and GOD the Father is Truth just as Jesus Himself is Truth, this points out the fact that the Son cannot contradict the Father, nor can the Father contradict the Son. What the One will do, so will the Other. That speaks of His Deity. On the other hand, there is His humanity, and so just as the LORD purposely made Himself dependent on the Holy Spirit’s anointing, so too He made Himself dependent on the leading, direction, and “teaching” of the Father. While on Earth, there were things that Jesus didn’t know that the Father did (MARK 13:22).

He is God incarnate Who existed eternally (JOHN 1:1-4, 14-18; 1 TIM 3:16)

On the Holy Spirit

3. What JW’s teach: Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that the Holy Spirit is a person, and often refer to Him with the inanimate pronoun ‘it’. They believe the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force that God uses to accomplish His will.

* What the BIBLE says: 

Christians believe that God is triune; that is, that He is one being expressed in three persons (1 JOHN 5:7). The Holy Spirit is not a power or a force – you can’t grieve a power, but you can grieve the Holy Spirit (EPH 4:30); you can’t be led intuitively by a power like electricity or solar energy, but you can be led by the Holy Spirit (GAL 5:18); power or force can’t communicate with you, but the Holy Spirit can (JOHN 16:13). You can’t be comforted by an impersonal force, but you can be comforted by the Holy Spirit (2 COR 1:3-4). The idea of the Holy Spirit being ‘the Force’ is more in accord with Star Wars rather than with Scripture!

On Salvation (https://biblereasons.com/salvation-and-being-saved/)

4. What JW’s teach: The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in a very complex, work-oriented, two-class system of salvation. Most Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to earn their way into the “New Order” or “the reward of eternal life”, and most fear that they will fall short. In their view, only a very limited number of people – 144,000 (they get this number from REV 7 but there, it names the 12 tribes of Israel: ask a JW which tribe these belong to and how they’ll be identified for their Jewishness!) – will enter the higher levels of paradise. By their witnessing for Jehovah, and any persecution that they receive because of it, they believe they are essentially ‘earning points’ to earn their salvation.

* What the BIBLE says: 

Salvation is by grace, through faith, and based entirely on the work of Christ (EPH 2:8-9). The Bible denies that salvation can be achieved by works (GAL 2:16). We believe that a person is justified (declared righteous) on the basis of Christ’s imputed righteousness (PHIL 3:9; ROM 4-5:1). All saints will be in heaven with the Father, because of the Son!! (JOHN 14:1-6).

On the Resurrection

5. What JW’s teach: The Watchtower insists that “God disposed of Jesus’ body, not allowing it to see corruption and thus preventing its becoming a stumbling block to faith.” (The Watchtower, November 15, 1991, page 31). They explicitly deny that Jesus Christ was physically raised in the flesh and believe that all statements to that effect are unscriptural (see Studies in the Scriptures, vol.7, page 57).

The Watchtower teaches that Jesus passed out of existence at death, that God disposed of his body and that on the third day God created him once again as the archangel Michael.

* What the BIBLE says: 

Christians affirm the biblical description and apologetic for the Resurrection – that Jesus Christ was truly and physically raised from the dead by God on the third day following His crucifixion.

After His resurrection, they held Him by His feet and worshiped (MATT 28:9); He instructed His disciples to touch His physical body, complete with wounds (JOHN 20:27; LUKE 24:39) and apostle John confirmed this: 

1 JOHN 1:1 

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;” 

He ate food in their presence LUKE 24:42; He was seen by over 500 witnesses at one time (1 COR 15:6).

On the Doctrine of hell (https://biblereasons.com/hell/ https://biblereasons.com/what-is-hell/)

6. What JW’s teach: Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the idea of hell, insisting that a soul passes out of existence upon death. This is a particular form of the error often referred to as annihilationism.

* What the BIBLE says: 

 Biblical Christianity affirms the existence of hell, as a place of eternal punishment for all sinners who die outside of God’s grace in Christ. It is the just punishment for sin; MATT 5:22-30; 11:23; 23:33; LUKE 12:4-5; 2 THESS 1:9; REV 20:13-14. [Christ’s Court Soon In Session] 

On the Subject of The Bible differing from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures https://biblereasons.com/which-is-the-best-bible-translation-to-read/ 
7. What JW’s teach: The Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that there is one translation that is faithful to the Word of God: The New World Translation, first published in 1950, and now translated into over 150 different languages.
The translation is full of alternate readings that have no textual warrant in either the Greek or the Hebrew. Nearly all of these alternate readings are intended to support the particular views of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

So, for example, in GEN 1:2, the Spirit of God becomes God’s active force. This supports their view that the Holy Spirit is an inanimate force. Notoriously, “the Word was God” in JOHN 1:1 becomes “the Word was a god”. This supports their denial of Christ’s deity.
Needless to say, this translation is crucial for Jehovah’s Witnesses to “biblically” support their unorthodox views.

* What the BIBLE says: 

There are many Bible translations to choose from in the English language, and Christians prefer different translations for a variety of reasons; among the more commonly accepted English translations that Christians read are: the New American Standard Bible, the King James Bible, the New King James Version, the English Standard Version, the New International Version and so on.

What’s interesting is that among the translations of the Bible that are the least accurate, and at times remove references to key doctrines are based upon what’s known as the Westcott and Hort text: two extremely liberal theologians that denied the virgin birth, the atonement of Christ on the Cross, His resurrection and second coming. But where these less accurate translations lean to one degree or another on Westcott and Hort, in the main The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is based solely on the Westcott and Hort text – with a few revisions by JW so-called scholars who knew little if any Hebrew or Greek. [How Near East Religion Invaded the West]

Walter Martin on Jehovah’s Witnesses Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.

For more TTUF Stuff on Jehovah's Witnesses, go here.

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3) ROMAN CATHOLICISM – 
1. What the RC teaches on: WATER BAPTISM “Salvation in Roman Catholicism is a process. To begin this process, God grants actual grace to a person which enables him to believe in Christ (CCC 2000) and also believe in the truth of the Catholic Church (CCC 1814). After belief, the person must be baptized, which is necessary for salvation (CCC 1257). This baptism erases original sin (CCC 405), unites the person with Christ (CCC 977), infuses grace into the person (CCC 1999), and grants justification (CCC 1992, 2020). After baptism, he is then saved.”

* What the BIBLE says: 

We are not redeemed, that is saved, by water baptism, but by repentance and believing the Gospel based on the shed blood of Christ that establishes the New Testament:

HEBREWS 9:12, 22
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

EPHESIANS 1:6-7
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

This Sacrament is actually something called Baptismal Regeneration.

From the GOT QUESTIONS web site: ’Baptismal regeneration’ is the belief that a person must be baptized in order to be saved. It is our contention that baptism is an important step of obedience for a Christian, but we adamantly reject baptism as being required for salvation.
"We strongly believe that each and every Christian should be water baptized by immersion. Baptism illustrates a believer’s obedience in identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

"Jesus' death alone paid for our sins (ROM 5:8; 2 COR 5:21). Jesus' payment for our sins is appropriated to our “account” by faith alone (JOHN 3:16; ACTS 16:31; EPH 2:8-9). Therefore, baptism is an important step of obedience after salvation but cannot be a requirement for salvation. There is no biblical basis that associates the atonement, which is the shedding of Christ’s blood for the forgiveness of our sins, with water baptism.

There is no biblical basis for water baptism of infants. Everywhere in the Bible, any time anyone is baptized, they are instructed to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as LORD and SAVIOR – an infant obviously can’t perform these requirements in order for baptism to be valid. The act of baptism itself cannot confer to people the causes and effects of salvation.

Justification is based on no ritual, but upon believing faith in Christ!

ROMANS 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

2. What the RC teaches on: HOLY COMMUNION/The EUCHARIST –This sacrament is not merely a commemoration of the LORD’s sacrifice, it is a mystical phenomenon that brings about what the Roman Catholic Church refers to as ‘the Real Presence’ through transubstantiation:

“Transubstantiation is the teaching that during the Mass, at the consecration in the Lord's Supper (Communion), the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus and that they are no longer bread and wine, but only retain their appearance of bread and wine. The "Real Presence" is the term referring to Christ's actual presence in the elements of the bread and the wine that have been transubstantiated.
Paragraph 1376 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states,
“The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring:

"Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation (CCC, 1376).”

Because [the elements of bread and wine] are the presence of Christ himself, Catholics worship and adore [them]. The doctrine of the real presence states that the bread and wine contain the actual presence of Christ in bodily form as a result of the process of transubstantiation.

Roman Catholicism states that the incarnation of Christ itself, where Jesus was a man but contained an invisible divine nature, is analogous to the doctrine of the real presence. Communion is necessary for the infusion of grace, and supplements towards the saving of the Roman Catholic’s soul.

One verse used to substantiate the Eucharist is the following:

MATTHEW 26:28
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
(also 1 COR 11:27).

* What the BIBLE says: 

Nowhere in scripture do we find this teaching. The elements of the body and blood are referred to, but the LORD Jesus clearly stated that His words were spiritual words.

JOHN 6:52-56, 60-63
52 The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

He did not say they were literal words; that is, He did not say that these were His actual body and blood. But a Catholic might object and say that Jesus clearly said, "This is My blood..." and "This is my body..." This is true, but Jesus frequently spoke in spiritual terms:
"I am the bread of life," (JOHN 6:48); “I am the Light,” (JOHN 8:12; 9:5); “I am the Door,” (JOHN 10:7, 9); "I am the true vine," (JOHN 15:1), etc.

Jesus telling His disciples that they must eat His body and blood, clearly He was speaking in spiritual terms, "...the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (“the flesh profits nothing"; JOHN 6:63).

* - After Jesus said, "This is my blood," (MATT 26:28-29), He said, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Fathers kingdom,”

Why would Jesus speak figuratively of His blood as "the fruit of the vine" if it was His literal blood? We can clearly see that Jesus was speaking figuratively.

* - If the bread and wine were transubstantiated into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ, the disciples gave no such indication that they thought so, nor did they worship the elements as Roman Catholics are taught to do, nor did they teach such things in their epistles! Nor would they as observing Jews ever eat blood which is forbidden (DEUT 12:16) or eat human flesh which is seen in Scripture as a great evil (EZEK 5:10).

* - How could these elements be truly transformed when Christ in the flesh was officiating over this Last Supper? And according to LEV 17:14 no Jew could ever eat blood of any kind! If the wine became actual blood, they wouldn’t have drank it!” - Also - The biblical doctrine of the incarnation states that the Word which was God and was with God (JOHN 1:1), became flesh and dwelt among us (JOHN 1:14). This "became flesh" involves what is known as the Hypostatic Union. This is the teaching that in the one person of Christ are two natures: divine and human. That is, Jesus is both God and man at the same time and He will forever be God and man.

* - Incidentally, there was another purpose for the Incarnation of Christ, that is, God becoming a man, according to the official Roman Catholic doctrine – do you know what this other purpose is? Answer, according to the Catholic Church Catechism: so that we might become God!
CCC 460, The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79
"For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he that made man, might make men gods."81
80 St. Athanasius, De inc. 54, 3: PG 25, 192B
81 St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57, 1-4

3. What the RC teaches: TRADITIONS –
One of the great differences between Protestant and Catholic doctrine is in the area of Tradition. The Protestant church maintains that the Bible alone is intended by God to be the source of doctrinal truth (2 TIM 3:16). The Catholic Church, however, says, "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God . . ." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 97. Note, all citations in this article are from this Catechism).
The Catholic Church reasons thusly:

* - "The apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority.'" (Par. 77).
* - "This living transmission, accomplished through the Holy Spirit, is called tradition..." (Par. 78).
* - "Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence." (Par. 82).

* What the BIBLE says: Yet Scripture itself warns that no one, no church or religious institution is to add anything to the completed Word of God (DEUT 12:32; REV 22:18).

Within the Catholic scope of Tradition, many doctrines have been "revealed" to the Church over the centuries. For example, there is the veneration of Mary to her exalted position as Mother of God, Queen of Heaven (431 AD), [Queen of heaven – a title of a pagan goddess associated with her infant deity son; JER 7:18] her Immaculate Conception (1854 AD) and her bodily Assumption into heaven (1950 AD). There is also the Traditions of the apocrypha, transubstantiation, praying to saints, the confessional, penance, purgatory, and more.

The Bible is for tradition where it supports the teachings of the apostles (2 THESS 2:15) and is consistent with biblical revelation. Yet, it is against tradition when it "transgresses the commands of God" (MATT 15:3). By Jesus' own words, tradition is not to transgress or contradict the commands of God. In other words, it should be in harmony with biblical teaching and not oppose it in any way. None of the Roman Catholic dogmas as listed above as their sacred traditions are in harmony with Scripture but contradict them.

Indulgences & Purgatory–

An indulgence, according to the Roman Catholic Church, is a means of remission of the temporal punishment for sins which have already been forgiven but are due to the Christian in this life and/or in purgatory. This punishment is most often in purgatory but can also be suffered in this life. An indulgence removes time needed to be spent in purgatory. There are two kinds of indulgences: partial and plenary. A partial indulgence removes part of the punishment of sins. A plenary indulgence removes all of the punishment of sins.

The Second Vatican Council, p. 63, mentions purgatory as a place of punishment for our sins: "The truth has been divinely revealed that sins are followed by punishments. God's holiness and justice inflict them. Sins must be expiated. This may be done on this earth through the sorrows, miseries, and trials of this life and, above all, through death. Otherwise the expiation must be made in the next life through fire and torments or purifying punishments." Indulgences only have value in Catholicism due to the unbiblical teaching of purgatory, which the Roman Catholic Church teaches is a place of punishment where people expiate their own sins there (CCC, 1475).

Expiation is "a term associated with the removal, cleansing, or forgiveness of sin." But how does a person expiate or cleanse himself of his own sins? If there were a means by which we could cleanse ourselves of our own sins, then God would have provided that.

GALATIANS 2:21
I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.

More on the Issue of Indulgences and purgatory

JOHN 8:36, 46-47,51,58
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. [no other price needs be paid (i.e., indulgences) to free a soul from damnation, and bring them by GOD's grace immediately into His presence upon death; see 2 COR 5:8] 

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

HEBREWS 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

There is no biblical basis to support the view that there really is such a place as purgatory; such a place and such an activity wherein a Christian must suffer for themselves in order to purge their souls of sin is completely unnecessary because Jesus Christ already “purged our sins”.

For more TTUF Stuff on Roman Catholicism, go here.

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4) The religion of ISLAM (which we didn't have time to cover in person at SHINE BRIGHT Church), check out this three-part series on TTUF: ENGAGING ISLAM, Part One, Two and Three

For more TTUF Stuff on Islam, go here.