Volume 17, Number 3 July • Aug • Sep 1997 AN INTERDENOMINATIONAL HERESY-EXPOSING QUARTERLY Editorial 2 William A. BeVier An Open Letter to a Jehovah's Witness 4 Roy E. Knuteson, Ph.D. Why I Am Not a Bible Student (Part One) 7 Robert C. Hill, Th.B. Volunteering for Oblivion (Part One) 12 The New Age Path to Heaven's Gate Brooks Alexander God's All Sufficient Word vs. Psychology 17 Michael E. Amatucci The Discerner Editorial Committee Volume 17, Number 3 Dr. William A. BeVier July • Aug • Sep 1997 Timothy J. Buege Published Quarterly RO- Box 22098 Price $4.00 for 4 issues Robbinsdale, MN 55422-0098 Foreign subscriptions extra Printed in the United States 1-612-535-8715 /1 -800-562-9153 FAX 612-537-5825 EDITORIAL By William A. BeVier hope that by this time each of you errors presented in Jehovah's Ihas received your copy of our new Witness literature. 1997-99 Catalog. Should you desire additional copies, please notify us. As Many seemingly are not aware I indicated in the newsletter enclosed that the Jehovah's Witnesses have with the Catalog, the publication and experienced several divisions and mailing of this edition was a costly breakups during their history. One project. We welcome your special major division goes by the name financial support at this time. "Bible Students" (but also is known by other titles). Robert Hill has done The Catalog is the best means we extensive research on these divisions have of informing people what's and we are pleased to begin a series available in good literature for infor- of articles on this subject. I do not mation and to counteract the myriad know of anyone else currently writing of cults and aberrations of on this topic. I believe you will find Christianity in the world today. the articles informative. Information is available if we will take the time and make the effort to With the passing of a few months acquire it. of time, Marshall Applewhite and "Heaven's Gate" have probably faded In this issue of The Discerner we from the memories of many individu- present another article by a member als. However, the basic phenomena of our Board of Reference, Dr. Roy E. (UFOs, New Age Movement, etc.) Knuteson. The article is in the form which produced the tragedy are still of an open letter to a Jehovah's with us. Brooks Alexander, one of the Witness friend stressing the Biblical most insightful Christian writers of revelation of the absolute deity of today, wrote an article for the Jesus Christ as contrasted with the Spiritual Counterfeits Project 2 EDITORIAL newsletter last spring on this subject subject which Christians are divid- which we have received permission to ed today, the proper or improper reproduce. The article is so exten- relationship between Biblical sive, but so worthy of complete pre- Christianity and the broad field of sentation, that it will have to be con- psychology. Michael Amatucci has tinued in the next issue of The strong views on this subject and he Discerner. supports them from the Bible. Our concluding article in this issue is by Michael Amatucci on a 3 EDITORIAL AN OPEN LETTER TO A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS By Roy E. Knuteson, Ph.D. Dear Ralph: "Tetragrammatan" because of the four Hebrew letters JHWH some- Thank you for your gracious reply times translated <cYahweh." On page to my letter. I appreciated the spirit 17 we are told: in which it was written, and I intend to continue this dialogue in the same "The divine name in Tetragram- manner. Regardless of our differ- matan form has been eliminated from ences on such things as military ser- the text by copyists who did not vice, saluting the flag, blood transfu- understand or appreciate the divine sions, or such doctrines as hades, the name, or who developed an aversion second coming of Christ, and the mil- to it, possibly under the influence of lennium, the major and key differ- anti-Semitism. In place of it they ence that separates us is the question have substituted Kyrios (usually regarding the full deity of Jesus translated "the Lord,") and Theos, Christ. Is He "a god" as you insist? meaning God." "A mighty god," but not "almighty"? Is He Jehovah? Obviously, this means that they accept Kurios (the correct spelling) as It is my firm conviction that if a meaning Jehovah, which is, they say: person is wrong about the person of "the divine name." On that basis Jesus Christ, nothing else matters, then, whenever we see Kurios, or because our ultimate salvation rests Theos, we should read "Jehovah." upon a proper understanding of the This is exactly what your New World person and work of our Lord Jesus Translation does in Revelation 1:8 Christ. It is possible to believe sin- and in 236 other places in the New cerely in "another Jesus" as 2 Testament. This is good and correct. Corinthians 11:4 states and be eter- But, in order to be consistent, based nally lost. In that light I ask you to upon the above quotation, we must carefully consider several key then confess that Jesus is Jehovah as Scriptures from your own sources Philippians 2:11 states we should. In regarding the deity of Jesus Christ this passage, Kurios means Jehovah and His claim to be Jehovah in and is in complete agreement with human form. Revelation 1:8 and 22:6, where Kurios is openly translated "Jehovah" First a look at "The Kingdom in the New World Translation. Interlinear Translation," published According to your own translation of by your society, regarding the name Romans 10:9, if you do that, you will Jehovah, also referred to as the be saved now! 4 AN OPEN LETTER TO A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS On the Romans 10:9 passage, the as the one "whom they pierced Kingdom Interlinear Translation in through." Obviously another refer- the right hand column says: "If you ence to Jesus Christ. This means publicly declare that 'word in your that Jehovah-Jesus died for our sins, mouth' that Jesus is Lord... you will does it not? be saved." The left hand column con- tains the Greek word Kurios which is There is much more irrefutable translated "Lord" and the footnote to proof that Jesus is Jehovah. For this passage has several texts where example, in John 8:58 where the Kurios is equated with "haAdon," the Kingdom Interlinear translates ego Hebrew name meaning "Lord." Then eimi as "I Am," it then says, in the left curiously, they state: "Not Jehovah." hand column, this should be translat- However, on page 1453 of the New ed: "I have been." This is not an accu- World Translation, under the title: rate translation of the present tense "Isaiah 1:24 — The (true) Lord" it ego eimi. In John 18:5, Jesus claimed states: "This prefixing of the definite the title "I Am" again (left hand col- article before the title a-don limits umn). He was using the divine name the application to the title of Jehovah for Jehovah as God revealed it to God." If I understand what they are Moses in Exodus 3:13-15. For the use saying, the conclusion must be that of this name the Jews decided to kill Jesus. Why? Because they under- Jesus is indeed Jehovah! Wouldn't stood His, and their language, cor- you agree? rectly. He was claiming equality with In Isaiah 6:1-10 we have a clear God the Father. Compare this with statement about "Jehovah sitting on John 10:33, where the New World a throne lofty and lifted up" (NWT, Translation tries to avoid this conclu- page 778). The Apostle John refers to sion by using the words "a god" just this passage in John 12:41 and says: as it does in John 1:1. This is not "Isaiah said these things because he good grammar, as proved by your own saw his glory and spoke of him." The translation of Theos without the defi- context of this remarkable commen- nite article in Matthew 6:24, where it tary on this Old Testament passage is correctly translated "God," not "a clearly indicates that this a reference god." to Jesus Christ and not to God the Father. It cannot be understood any Ralph, you cannot honestly ren- other way. Jehovah is Jesus and der Theos "a god" in John 1:1 and Jesus is Jehovah. then translate Theou "of God" (Jehovah) in Matthew 5:9; Luke 1:35; Zechariah 12:1 records "the utter- and John 1:6 when Theou is in the ance of Jehovah, the one who is genitive case of the same noun and stretching out (the) heavens and lay- without the definite article. In one ing the foundation of (the) earth and case your translation renders this "a forming the spirit of man inside him" god" and another "of God." There is (NWT, page 1047). In verse 10, this no consistency on the part of these same person -"The One - is identified translators as there should be among 5 AN OPEN LETTER TO A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS good grammarians. Hebrews 1:8 has the Bible itself," and that anyone who the word Theos without the article lays aside his studies and reads only and yet the NWT renders it "God," the Bible will within "two years go not "a god." If your society is right in into darkness." On the other hand, stating that Jesus is "a god," then you he claimed that if a person "had not are forced to admit that you have two read a page of the Bible as such, he gods (a big one and a little one), and would be in the light at the end of the this is polytheism.