I promise to share the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God!
The Watchtower society is active in our little town. Jehovah’s Witnesses periodically come around
to share their faith by reading a few Scripture verses and offering their
literature. I admire the effort. Door-to-door evangelization is not easy when
most people do not want to be bothered by religious zealots.
A few weeks ago, I arrived home to find a strange car parked
near my driveway. Soon the front
doorbell rang and a well-dressed man holding a bible asked if I had a few minutes
for him to share some Scripture with me.
I smiled and said, “Certainly!” One of the verses he read was 1 Corinthians 1:10 where Paul
expresses concern over divisions that have arisen in the Church.
I
appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the
same mind and the same judgment. (1 Cor 1:10, RSVCE)
His New World Translation altered the text
somewhat, but the message was the same. I thought it funny that he would choose that
particular verse since we Catholics sometime use it to lament the many
Protestant denominations that have separated themselves from the true Church,
and I told him so. Realizing I was
Catholic, he mentioned the word Purgatory, saying it was nowhere to be found in
the Bible. I said it was implied and a conversation
ensued.
After about thirty minutes of spirited,
but friendly discussion, during which my open front door allowed numerous flies
to enter the house, I asked if he would like to continue our talk
sometime. He said, “If you have the
truth, I would like to hear it,” and we agreed to meet at my house the
following Wednesday at 10:30 AM. We
exchanged contact information, and he went on his way.
I am not so naïve to think he was
really interested in learning about Catholicism. Undoubtedly he still viewed me as a potential
convert. After all, a great percentage
of Jehovah’s Witnesses are purportedly former Catholics. Being firm in my Faith, I had no qualms about
meeting with him again.
The following Wednesday, he brought
another woman with him. This time, I
tried to make them comfortable by inviting them into my living room. The gentleman (I’ll call him Rik) did most of
the talking, asking me to read certain Scripture passages. His selection had me a bit puzzled, as I
could not figure out what point he was trying to make. I was able to share a few Catholic
viewpoints, but it was becoming obvious to me that I needed to develop a better
understanding of Jehovah's Witness beliefs.
We agreed to meet a third time,
allowing me a chance to do some research.
I found Trent Horn’s guest appearance on Catholic Answers Live (August 3,2015) where he discussed the faith of the Witnesses. I listened to the podcast several times, and
also ordered his booklet, Twenty Answers, that was advertised on the
program. Another invaluable resource is
Jason Evert’s book, Answering Jehovah’s Witnesses, which I purchased and read
cover to cover.
So many of the JW beliefs are foreign
to mainline Christianity. While
apologetic discussions with our Protestant brothers and sisters can be trying,
we at least share a certain commonality in our Trinitarian understanding of
Christ’s divinity. Not so with the
Jehovahs. They believe Jesus Christ is
actually Michael the Archangel,. They
believe only 144,000 can be in heaven, the rest of us will live in a paradise
here on earth. They also try to use
Scripture as evidence for their beliefs.
Now, one would think it should be easy for a good Catholic to refute these
claims, and it is, but doing so is complicated when arguing against a skewed interpretation taken from an already skewed New World
Translation.
As in most apologetic discussions, the
question boils down to authority. Unlike
some of our Protestant brothers and sisters, the Jehovahs at least agree on the
necessity of an authority. Theirs is the
Watchtower Society, founded around 1872 by Charles Taze Russel, while ours is
the Magisterial authority of the Pope in union with the Bishops of the Catholic
Church, founded around 33 AD by Jesus Christ.
Here is where much discussion time must be spent.
To date, we have met five times, with
session six scheduled for next week. The
past three weeks have been with Rik and another JW gentleman on one side of the
dining room table, and Donna, a knowledgeable Catholic partner I recruited to assist me, on my
side. We typically have coffee and donuts while talking about our differing beliefs. Coincidentally, Donna knew Rik’s family some
fifty years ago when they lived next door to each another. This has helped make the conversation more
personable. We are all becoming friends
and the talks are always respectful, enjoyable, and stimulating. We all claim to want the truth, wherever it
takes us.
Now for my confession. The first day, when I came home to see their
car by my driveway, my initial reaction was to avoid them. I drove past my house and turned down the
next street. After doing so, I felt
guilty of missing an opportunity to evangelize.
I hurried around the block and pulled into my driveway so they would see
me coming home. It was only a few
minutes later when the doorbell rang.
That initial contact has blossomed into an ongoing relationship. Where
will this all lead? Stay tuned!
