1… 2… 3… Punch
A Quick Guide on Refuting J-Dubs
A picture of my 1961 edition of the “
First of all, “J-Dubs” is my way of saying Jehovah's Witnesses. I have been studying the Watchtower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) for almost twenty years that this more personalized way of saying Jehovah's Witnesses is similar to the nicknames old friends have for each other.
- Usually when you bump into a J-Dub you are walking into a donut shop to pick up some quick snacks for co-workers or a family trip, so your time is precious. Or its 8:30 in the morning and the doorbell rings and you are in a robe and slippers and the kids are bugging you for some Co-Co Puffs that are out of their reach on top of the fridge.
Whatever it is, our lives are normally pretty busy, so here is a great way to use your time wisely. Before that though, you might be asking why it matters. I will tell you. J-Dubs are not just a “theological cult,” a designation that mainly only historical Christianity would place on them, but they are likewise a “killer cult.” A killer cult – as I designate them – is a movement that even non-religious persons should be interested in getting people out of, and so the designation “cult” is something both the secularist and the Christian can apply to J-Dubs.
You see, Jehovah's Witnesses lift a verse from Leviticus (specifically, Leviticus 7:26-27) that makes these sincere people into sincere murderers. This verse is taken from both its theological, logical, and historical context in order to be misapplied to meaning that Jehovah's Witnesses cannot get blood transfusions. So if a daughter or son are in a car wreck and all they need is a few pints of blood to keep them alive, or their newborn infant has an infection that merely requires a simple blood transfusion, they would rather let their closest of kin die than have this very simple procedure given in order to save their lives. So I am sure that many readers of this, whether non-religious or religious could agree that any impact made on these people to make them second guess their misapplied theology would and possibly could save a life! I will give an example of a real life incident that happened in my life:
At the time I was working for a mom-and-pop carpet cleaner, a great guy and fellow believer with a simple faith. One day we were doing a job for an account, an apartment complex, and the apartment complex maintenance guy was over talking to us off and on as we worked. As I often do, I speak about stuff that I enjoy, which is political, religious, and philosophical application of those two. So I mentioned to my boss something about J-Dubs, and the maintenance guy asked me to clarify as he was a J-Dub. So I clarified my statement about Jehovah's Witnesses being a “killer cult” based on their misapplication of Leviticus.
I then asked if he had any kids. He responded in the positive, he had a teenage daughter. I asked him if his daughter was in a car wreck and all the responders had to do was to give the person some plasma to keep them alive from the scene of the accident to the hospital, would he allow them to if he was on scene? He had trouble answering that question. Finally he said “no.” During this encounter that I felt compelled to be in (at the urging of the Holy Spirit I am sure) my boss pulled me aside and asked me to stop the conversation, I politely refused and mentioned that I had a huge urge as well as a responsibility to challenge this person as it may impact a life… literally.
A week later I gave him a book that would challenge this Leviticus interpretation. One-month later I heard through my now ex-boss that his daughter was in a car wreck. It was a minor one, the car was totaled but she was fine. I never saw the maintenance guy again, but I am sure after that wreck he veraciously went through that book and most probably left this “killer cult.” Amen!? Or for the secular reader, Right On!?
(If you see any J-Dubs and have decided to enter the “counter-cult fray,” say a quick prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to be involved in this encounter, this is the most important step for the believer.)
Enough with the intro, now to the meat of the subject. When you bump into these folks, wherever it may be, you do not have to have your Bible on you, merely ask for theirs. You can do this a few different ways, you could say, “Oh, hey guys (or gals), I have a cousin who is a Jehovah's Witness and he (she, or in California, he-she) just showed me a couple of great verses, do you mind if I share them with you… oh, I don’t have my Bible, can I borrow yours?” Or, “Hey, I have a question about a verse and I have heard that you guys… you are Jehovah's Witnesses right?” (Wait for the response) “… Great. Maybe you guys have a Bible so I can find the verse and ask you for your input.” Practice some techniques with the wife or kids so you can become comfortable with a routing. All you are trying to do is actually have their Bible in your hands. Your Bible will not work as well… as they have changed theirs to fit their particular theology/ideology.
Once you have it in your hands you want to turn to John 17:3, which is below (click on it to enlarge):
Now I am going to post the notes I have in my copy of their Bible:
Did you get it? Ask them “what is everlasting life” in the hopes of getting the response “knowing the one true God.” If you do not get this clear response, maybe just mention what you think it is…/ but usually they are well-versed in the meaning of this verse. Next, go to Isaiah 45:5-6:
Here are my notes on this verse:
Again, get them to say there isn’t any other God but Jehovah. Ask them if, “then all other god’s are false in light of John 17:3 and these two verses,” always the answer is in the affirmative. You may also add to this conversation the fact that this is called “mono-theism,” and compliment these J-Dubs for holding to such an important doctrine such as mono-theism. (For the secular person, “mono-theism” is not a communicable virus passed in a kissing session, it is defined as such: the doctrine or belief that there is only one God. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary.)
Now comes the meat of the “1,2,3 Punch” aspect of this short process. Keep in mind that if you are truly in a rush you can drop the Isaiah passage and make it a “1,3 Punch” session. Okay, next turn to John 1:1:
All you have to do after reading this verse is simply ask, “is Jesus a true God or a false God?” They will now writhe in theological pain as they contort and try to explain why Jesus is a true God as well, even though they just confirmed to you that Jehovah is the only true God (John 17:3 and Isaiah 45:5-6) and that this is part of everlasting life, e.g., salvation (John 17:3).
You could ask them if they are truly monotheists or if they are polytheists (which is a belief in more than one God… a more technical theological term is henotheism, which is a belief in many gods but the worship of one. Both of these options are in stark contrast to the Jehovah's Witnesses statement that they are monotheists.). All you have to do now is go back and forth between these three or two verses and make your points over again if need be. Even if you walk away from this encounter feeling like you didn’t “convert them on the spot” the job has been done. You have planted a theological seed of doubt that will be used – prayerfully – by the Holy Spirit to cause the Jehovah's Witness to question his or her religion.
You have walked away from a very short encounter and caused the maximum amount of doubt in these [often] two sincere people.
I hope this has helped, and is used by you to literally “save a life.”
