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 core concepts

"It is important to understand that in most Bible-based cults, although the member is aggressively taught doctrine, it is not the doctrine that holds him in the group. It is the sense that the group is God's true people, a feeling cultivated by techniques of mind control. Thus, to engage the cult member in a Biblical argument or discussion is often futile." Stephen Hassan Releasing the Bonds p.145

A Witness will commonly claim that they alone have the truth because they alone understand Bible doctrine correctly, and hence only they worship Jehovah. The end product of such reasoning is that they solely are worthy of salvation. However, as the above quote from Steven Hassan identifies, it is not the doctrine that holds the members in the religion, but rather more fundamental underlying concepts. This can be seen from the fact that when key doctrines changed over the decades the majority of members remained part of the group. Furthermore, almost none of Watchtower doctrine or practices are unique. Similar religions can be found that share a majority of doctrine and moral standards preached by the Watchtower Society.

This section covers core concepts that form the basis to why a Witness is a Witness. Arguing doctrine will rarely convince a Jehovah's Witness the religion is wrong whilst they hold to these concepts. There are a number of rhetorical fallacies within these beliefs that must be identified for any discussion with a Witness to be effective. Otherwise, a range of thought stopping responses arise, such as:

• The Governing Body are directed by Jehovah, and you must not question Jehovah
• God must be using an organization and there is none (that I know of) that is better than the Watchtower Society
• The Bible said mistakes would be clarified over time

For this reason, the articles in this section should be pondered as a starting point prior to reading the rest of the site. This does however present a chicken or egg quandary; a person cannot fully comprehend the core concepts without an understanding of the history and doctrinal errors of the Watchtower Society, but cannot appreciate the full significance of the history and doctrine without identifying the flaws behind the core concepts.

Salvation only for Jehovah's Witnesses

The Watchtower teaches that at Armageddon only Jehovah's Witnesses will survive and billions of people will be eternally destroyed. It is common for a Witness to claim that is not the case, but this article contains numerous Watchtower quotes making such statements. It then goes on to explain why such a teaching it not at all realistic.

Directed by Holy Spirit

The Governing Body claim to under Jehovah's direction by means of his holy spirit. The logical conclusion is that what they teach should be accurate; yet numerous changes show this is not the case. The Governing Body's defence is that they are actively directed by holy spirit - but not inspired. Strange, since in such context the definition of inspired is to be directed by holy spirit. This article brings clarification to the confusion.

Light gets Brighter

Previous errors should indicate that Watchtower doctrine is not being relayed from Jehovah, through the Slave class. However, the Governing Body dispel such a conclusion by saying historical errors in Watchtower doctrine were foretold by a phrase in Proverbs that the "light gets brighter". This is a highly successful concept in preventing a Witness questioning Watchtower teachings. This article shows how this Scripture is misapplied and also that Watchtower doctrine does not get brighter, but changes and flip-flops.

Organization - Essential for Salvation?

Organization is not a word that appears in the Bible, yet the Watchtower constantly refers to belonging to an organization as essential for a person's salvation; the Watchtower Organization. This article shows that for the majority of Bible history, there was no organization to belong to, and when there was, servants of God regularly operated outside of or against God's Organization.

Faithful & Discreet Slave

The defining concept to being a Jehovah's Witness is not worship of Jehovah, but rather following the "faithful and discrete slave". Though defined as Anointed Christians, in practice the Governing Body represents the Slave class. No satisfactory evidence exists to show God actively directs the Watchtower Governing Body, but by drawing on the parable of the Slave, Watchtower leaders demand all-encompassing power over their followers, with tragic consequences.