Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses accept the deity of the Lord Jesus?

Answer 1

I have study Theology and I got to say is mostly ignorance, they don't deny Jesus divinity or involment with God's plan, in fact, they deny that there is a Trinity. It is common to associate the Trinity with God or Jesus but, in fact, trinities were part of the pagan cult long before Christianity arrived and is common knowledge that many of their rites where included as part of Christian life. Furthermore they regard Jesus as the Messiah and the righthand of God, his Son, God's first creation that he send to Earth to atone for Humanity sins. THEY ARE STRICT, BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF IS. Let's just look for the ONE TRUTH, THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD. I'M JEHOVAH THIS IS MY NAME...(ISA 42:8). If you wouldn't like to read their Bible King James or Reina Valera would work, other Bibles have ommitted God's name because they believe it to be too sacred, but remember god is a word of classification. How do we distinguished the one true God from so many others? Answer: BY HIS PERSONAL NAME. "The truth of the matter is; Jesus Christ was neither "a god" nor "God". The original Greek word used by apostle John for the term "Word" is "Logos". It literally translates the "spoken word" or "thought" just as in the Greek word "Logic". The use of name "Jesus Christ" for "Logos" is an INNOVATED SUBSTITUTION. The above passage does not make sense with this kind of Substitution. Since the "Word" was "with God" it could not be God. The opening of John's Gospel upholds the concept for 'THE CREATION', recorded by the author of the Book of Genesis, in its opening chapter. In the beginning there was God and everything that came into being did happen by the COMMANDS [the Spoken Words or Thoughts] of God."

see link for source... Who was Jesus Christ?

Mark: He was the son of man.

Matthew and Luke: He was the Son of God.

John: He was God himself.

In the Four Gospels are presented three entirely different conceptions of the Christ. In Mark he is represented as the son of human parents -- the Messiah -- but simply a man. In Matthew and Luke we have the story of the miraculous conception -- he is represented as the Son of God. In John he is declared to be God himself. "In the beginning was the Word [Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (i, 1).

According to Mark Christ is a man; according to Matthew and Luke, a demi-god; according to John, a God.

Voltaire thus harmonizes these discordant conceptions: "The son of God is the same as the son of man; the son of man is the same as the son of God. God, the father, is the same as Christ, the son; Christ, the son, is the same as God, the father. This language may appear confused to unbelievers, but Christians will readily understand it."

This is quite as intelligible as the Christian Confession of Faith, Article II of which reads as follows: "The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man."

"The theological Christ is the impossible union of the human and divine -- man with the attributes of God, and God with the limitations and weaknesses of man." -- Ingersoll.

ANSWER

Because, as answer 2 shows, they ignore certain verses or portions of The Bible.

John 1:1 (complete) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and THE WORD WAS God .

--John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...

John 14:7-11 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him AND HAVE SEEN HIM."

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I AM IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN ME? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but THE FATHER WHO DWELLS IN ME DOES HIS WORK.

Joh 14:11 BELIEVE ME THAT I AM IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN ME, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

John 10:29-33 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE." (the Lord our God (Elohiym [Elohiym = plural of Eloahh]) is ONE Lord Deut6:4 ... Gen 1:27 and they two shall be ONE flesh)

John 10:37-38 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, THAT YOU MAY KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE FATHER IS IN ME AND I AM IN THE FATHER."

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"

The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are goingto stone you but for blasphemy because you, being a man, MAKE YOURSELF GOD."

John 8:24 Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.

(related: Exodus 3:14 And God(Elohiym) said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and He said, you(Moses) shall say this to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. )

John 12:44-46 And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And WHOEVER SEES ME SEES HIM WHO SENT ME. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

And forbid (from what I understand) what Jesus (being in, and one, and equal with the Father) allowed Thomas to rightly do.

John 20:28-29 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Google the origin of the Trinity, you will see that the word Trinity is not in the Bible ; the teaching originsted in AD325 at the Council of Nicea.

Answer 2

According to Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus is a divine being -- a God-like one. Jehovah's Witnesses deny Jesus "divinity" in that the churches of Christendom teach that Jesus was part man and part God while on earth, and that Jesus himself was divine because, he is part of the Godhead, a Trinity.

God's own word, the Bible, on the other hand, teaches NO such thing. The Bible teaches: 1) Jesus was fully human while on earth, 2) Jesus is not part of a Godhead or Trinity, and 3) Jesus himself taught that he was (and is) the divine "Son of God", God's firstborn creation.

JW's therefore, DO believe that Jesus is "a divine being" or a god-like one, but NOT that he is part of a Godhead, NOR is he equal in power or position to Jehovah, his father.

Additional thought: JW's do NOT deny Jesus divinity in the sense that he is a "divine person." He is now a spirit, in the presence of God in heaven. In fact, he is now the mighty ruling King of God's Kingdom, appointed to that position by his father, Jehovah. (See Daniel 7:13,14 ; Matthew 16:15-17 ; Mark 14:61,62 ; Romans 1:3,4 ; 1 Peter 3:22 ; and Acts 7:56)

This is not to say that he is equal to Jehovah, as the trinity teaches. Jesus always referred to himself as God's SON, and as such, in subjection to his father. Even his father's voice was heard from heaven calling Jesus, "my son." (See John 14:28 ; Matthew 3:16,17 ; 1 Corinthians 11:3 ; 1 Corinthians 15:28 ; John 13:16 ; and John 20:17)

Jesus referred to his being sent to earth to do God's will, NOT his OWN. He also spoke of things that his father knew, but he did NOT know, which further shows that he and his father are two separate persons. (See John 6:38 ; John 5:19 ; and Mark 13:32)

If Jesus were God Almighty, there would be no one superior to him, yet Jesus said that even he has a "God," and that his god is the same god that Mary worshiped, as he was speaking to her then. (John 20:17)

JW's recognize Jesus as our King, our Redeemer, and our Savior. He provided the ultimate sacrifice for our sinful condition, and ONLY through him can we gain everlasting life. At the same time, we recognize his father, Jehovah, as superior to Jesus. In fact, Jesus was appointed to his position by his father.

Jesus had a beginning, being referred to in the Bible as "the firstborn of all creation," and that he "belongs to God." Jehovah did not have a beginning and belongs to no one. Jesus is divine, and a mighty god. But he is second in authority to his father, Jehovah, who is the only Almighty God. Read Colossians 1:15; Proverbs 8:30 ; 1 Timothy 2:6 ; and 1 Corinthians 3:23)

Additional Answer: Divinity comes from the Latin for "godlike". Jesus was indeed god-like but not Almighty God.

Since the 4th century many people have believed in the trinity. The Bible, however, never mentions the trinity. No one in the Bible even explains the trinity concept, or and three person god head.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not teach man made doctrines. Read Matthew 15:6-9.

Jesus makes it clear his father is his God and his head. Jesus never says he is the almighty God.

To repeat, Jehovah is the almighty God and Jesus is the son of God. They are two different people in heaven - to this very day. Jesus now sits on the right hand of God in heaven, thus he cannot be equal to (or the same person as) God Almighty.

The false trinity doctrine is similar to doctrines that promote Christmas, Easter, fighting in man made wars, drinking blood, bowing before other humans, building idols, etc. as Biblical and Christian. These are all man made traditions and NOT things God's people are told to do.

Another perspective: "In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together." This is a quote from the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, indicating that neither the word trinity, nor its false doctrine is found in the Bible.

Jehovah God is the Creator. (Revelation 4:11) He is without beginning or end, and he is almighty. (Psalm 90:2) Jesus, on the other hand, did have a beginning. (Colossians 1:15, 16)

Referring to God as his Father, Jesus said: "The Father is greater than I am." (John 14:28)

Jesus also explained that there were some things neither he nor the angels knew but that were known only by his Father. - Mark 13:32.

Jesus prayed to his Father: "Let, not my will, but yours take place." (Luke 22:42) To whom was Jesus praying if not to a superior Personage?

It was God who resurrected Jesus from the dead, not Jesus himself. (Acts 2:32)

Obviously, the Father and the Son were not equal before Jesus came to the earth or during his earthly life. What about after Jesus' resurrection to heaven? First Corinthians 11:3states: "The head of the Christ is God." In fact, the Son will always be in subjection to Jehovah God, his father and creator. (1 Corinthians 15:28)

The Scriptures are refreshingly clear and show that Jesus is not God Almighty. Instead, he is- just as the holy scriptures plainly state - God's Son.

The so-called third person of the Trinity - the holy spirit - is not a person.

Addressing God in prayer, the psalmist said: "If you send forth your spirit, they are created." (Psalm 104:30) This spirit is not God himself; it is an active force that he sends forth or uses to accomplish whatever he wishes. By means of it, God created the physical heavens, the earth, and all living things. (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 33:6) God used his holy spirit to inspire the men who wrote the Bible. (2 Peter 1:20, 21)

The Trinity, then, is not a Scriptural teaching. "Jehovah our God is one Jehovah," says the Bible.- Deuteronomy 6:4.

If one reads the gospels free of influence from any church doctrine, it is far more understandable - just as God intended it to be.

Answer from a non-JW: Whilst Jehovah's Witnesses do in fact believe and teach a certain "divinity" of Jesus Christ it is important to note that they see him as a little god next to Jehovah and not the literal word of God. Like many other biblical terms and phrases Jehovah's Witnesses have redefined the phrase "Son of God". The phrase "Son of God" to a JW is one that refers to creation, not literal begetting. They even go as far to try and redefine the phrases "only begotten Son of God" to mean "only direct creation of God", and "firstborn of creation" to mean "first created of creation" in an attempt to support their doctrine that Jesus was created.

Unfortunately when it comes to theological matters of the true and biblical divinity of Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses are fed a web of deceptive half truths and outright lies by their leaders in the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. This is to create confusion in the mind of JWs about exactly what the historical Trinity doctrine teaches, thus forming much misunderstanding, and subsequently leading to arguments against "the Trinity" that don't even address the real doctrine (as seen above).

Google the origin of the Trinity, you will see it is not found in the Bible and has pagan origins dating back to AD325 the Council of Nices

Answer 3

Correction, we do. We accept that Jesus is a god, just not THE God. JWs believe that he was the firstborn creation of God Almighty (Jehovah) and he is a god as well. (That is why in the book of Genesis, Jehovah turns to Jesus and says let us create stars....let us make man in our image) But we believe that he is not the one and only God (The Alpha and the Omega) b/c Jesus had a beginning. Jehovah God had no beginning, which is why he could rightly be called the Alpha and the Omega.

Also, many people say JW's do not believe in the deity of Jesus b/c we do not believe in the Trinity- and that gets them confused. For the record, the word "Trinity" is never mentioned in the Bible. We do not believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the holy spirit. We believe in one God- Jehovah, Jesus as his son (and heir, and he is a god himself) and Jehovah God's holy spirit (which is his active force). If you'd like to do more research about this, please go to watchtower.org. If you want to do research independent of the JW faith, google it. Look up the origin of the Trinity- and you will find that it is a falsehood, myth and dogma. But like many religious traditions and practices- it was adopted into Christian faiths to appease other faiths and/or ensure that the public be kept in the dark.

Hope this helps!

Answer from a Christian PerspectiveThe Watchtower organisation was begun in the 19th Century by Charles Taize Russell, who set himself up as a 'pastor' (without calling nor qualifications) and began to publish tracts based on what is called Arian theology. Arian theology was declared an heretical belief way back in the early Church - while there were people still around who were eyewitnesses themselves to the events surrounding Jesus, or who could trace their ancestry back just a generation or so to actual eyewitnesses. these eyewitnesses, who believed firmly in the divinity of Jesus Christ naturally declared Arianism wrong. It was then shelved for the mest part of 1800 years until revisited by Russell.

Russell was regarded as somewhat of a charlatan and fraud by many. A self-confessed amateur, he knew no Biblical Hebrew nor Greek and yet set himself up as a bible scholar. There are many questionmarks over his integrity, and that of the founders of the Watchtower society - both in allegations of financial irregularities and also regarding womanising on the part of Russell. All-in-all the watchtower socety was regarded by Christians as a cult and a rather dangerous one at that.

Since then, of course, the Watchtower society has grown, not least because of the efforts of converts cajoled into converting others by door-to-door high-pressure evangelism of the unaware. The simple fact is that, whilst on the whole lovely and sincere people, they have been duoped into accepting a very skewed and warped theology that has to be accepted on pain of disfellowshipping. The unbelief in the deity of Jesus Christ has been passed down through the JW elders to the novices as irrefutable fact, and the omission of the 'word' Trinity in from the Bible cites as evidence for this. Yet the Bible does not contain the words telephone, plasti or psychology - yet all these exist. Trinitarian belief was present throughout the Church from the beginning - from John, Jesus' closest apostle himself - through Polycarp and Irenaeus his own disciples, as well as with many other believers and Church leaders.

The divinity of Christ is the only belief that makes any sense theologically. The JWs believe that Jesus was a created being like us. If that was the case, God sacrificed another person on the Cross. This speaks, then, of a God who requires sacrifice; it speaks of a vengeful God who has to be appeased - just like the false gods of the Aztecs that required human sacrifice. That is not the God Christians believe in, nor the God of love spoken about by Jesus. However, in God sacrificing himself on the Cross as Jesus, this speaks of an ultimate act of love - God suffering and sacrificing himself for our sins. That is the God of supreme love of whom Jesus taught.

The JWs have a very confused theology where they believe in the Bible absolutely literally - so much that they will even watch their own children die for the want of a blood transfusion - yet they talk of the Cross as being a pagan symbol and now believe that Jesus was 'Crucified' on a stake - despite biblical, historical and archaeological evidence to the contrary. But there again, this is partly what one might expect if their founder had little education, Biblical or otherwise, their leaders subsequently had no calling nor education in scripture, and JWs even today are not allowed independent thought outside the Watchtower society, are banned from Bible college and proper Bible study in the original languages lest they learn the truth, and who and not allowed, throug pain of disfellowhipping, of questioning what their 'superiors' tell them.