Memes Don’t Refute the Deity of Christ, Christian Logic 101

 It was my intention to complete my Bible Study of Colossians before moving onto other topics, and I am going to finish it, but I seem to be pulled into another direction because of a persistent Jehovah’s Witness (JW, which I will use throughout this blog) on TruthSocial masquerading as a Christian. This is not an uncommon approach for cults and unbelievers. 

I have had brief encounters with this individual but never been able to pull him into an actual discussion on any topic. He likes to post ‘meme’ type information like what I’ve included below and because I’ve attempted to witness to JW's in the past, I know their tactics. In our specific interaction, I wanted him to agree to have an honest discussion with me instead of being barraged with ‘meme’ posts. In my experience, the normal JW approach is to avoid answering real questions. The Christian is always expected to answer their questions, and I have never shied away from answering any cult member’s questions, but I do expect the same willingness from someone who engages me. Unfortunately, the JWs I’ve encountered in the past have normally been unfaithful and dishonest in those discussions. Upon requiring some equitable rules to force him to be as honest as I am required to be (which I would do anyway), he promptly accused me of something untrue and checked out. JW’s generally want uneducated Christians they can easily manipulate in their conversations and since I’m neither a new believer nor uneducated, they generally don’t want to ‘chat’ with me.

My original goal for this blog post was to respond to his accusation that Jesus is not the incarnate God Scripture portrays Him to be, but unfortunately, there were so many flaws with his ‘meme’ post that I am not going to get to a defense of the deity of Christ in this post, so I will have to follow up this blog with that defense in a future post. The goal of this blog post will be to help the Christian see the underlying tactics that cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses attempt to use against Christians. If you see and recognize their tactics, you are more likely to either ignore the person, or know how to engage them with a Christian apologetic to refute their claims. Refuting their claims is not that difficult, but don’t expect them to actually engage in honest discussions. They have an agenda just like you should have when you engage them, but the Christian’s agenda is to lead them to the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The JW Pearls of Wisdom

Below is the ‘meme’ text posted to a TruthSocial group by a supposed JW leader/teacher/something of 40 years. He boasted to me once of his superior biblical knowledge and how he only uses the Bible to prove everything he says. OK, fine. I’ve been a Chrisitan since Oct of 1979 and even though I have read and studied the Bible for a lot of years, I’m not going to boast of a superior knowledge over anyone. I’ve learned over the years that the more I learn, the more I realize I still need to learn. 

For the time being, I will not reveal the JW’s name or his handle on Truth. I think he believes he is doing ‘God’s work’ even though he is completely deceived. But that is the situation of people in cults. My hope is that this blog will open dialog between us because he needs a true understanding of the God of the universe as portrayed in Scripture. Here is his ‘meme’ post:

Jesus is NOT God❗
LORD is a title.
Sarah called her husband,  Abraham, .. Lord.
See 1 PETER 3:6.
👇
Most preachers don't even understand who God is.
The most fundamental, basic truth in the Bible, and they get it totally WRONG❗
👇
The Bible is very clear about God's identity.
👇
( NOTICE : Jesus and the Holy Spirit are NOT mentioned at all )
👇
[ JEREMIAH 32:27 ]
(Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
“I AM LORD JEHOVAH, God of all flesh. Does anything hide from before me?"

(Young's Literal Translation)
"Lo, I am Jehovah, God of all flesh: For Me is anything too wonderful"

(American Standard Version)
"Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"

(Darby Bible Translation)
"Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"

(Smith's Literal Translation)
"Behold, I am Jehovah, God of all flesh: is there any word separated from me?"

(New World Translation)
  “Here I am, Jehovah, the God of all mankind. Is there anything too wonderful for me?"

* This is proof that the trinity doctrine, is FALSE !!

* Those who teach
( Jesus is Jehovah )
are wrong too !
😮
.
Want Bible truth❓
Visit JWORG.

Before I go into a discussion of his post, I need to dispel some of the things that you will hear from JWs you might encounter and see in their posts that might be similar to what was posted above. Once that is completed, we will do a quick walk through of what he posted. But there are a couple of general topics I need to cover before we get to that. 

The Bible Is My Only Source

This is a common statement that people make as if it demonstrates some sort of integrity on their part. And most of the time, I’m sure that is a truthful intent. But what if you have a Bible translation that is 400 years old with words that are no longer used in that language or has some words that have changed in meaning over time. [1] Does just using the Bible really help you understand a passage with archaic words? And what’s worse, in recent years, a lot of common words have changed in meaning, which could make a modern Bible lose its clarity too. So, just using the Bible doesn’t really guarantee that you will understand the translation properly. And this is why the JW makes this claim, which is especially effective for a new believer who might be unfamiliar with the Bible. A boast like this from a JW, or any cultist, is to encourage you that he can help you understand what the Bible says where other people most likely cannot. It's his attempt to make you to think of him as the expert you might be looking for. But it's just a ruse because his understanding is twisted and not at all what has been taught throughout the centuries in the Church. There are readily available Bible tools on the Internet (check out the resources listed here: Resources) that can easily help you understand any words you might not understand completely. Part of this blog will show you how to do that all by yourself. And just because you use a tool like this does not mean you are no longer using the Bible. That is the JW’s subtle insinuation but it's simply not true. God gave YOU His word, and He wants you to understand it which is why these tools exist. He specifically gifted people in the past to create resources so that you can look up any Greek word in any passage in the New Testament and understand what that word means. You don’t need his expertise, you just need to open your Bible and read and not be afraid to look something up when you might not understand what some of the words in a verse might mean. 

Jehovah as the Name of God

JW’s are obsessed with using the word ‘Jehovah’ as the name of God. It is offensive to them to not do so. But I will not be following their obsession in this blog because their obsession is not my obsession. Besides, it is not even an obsession within Scripture. What are the original languages of the Old and New Testaments? If you said, ‘Hebrew and Greek’ then you get a gold star (to be complete, there is a little Aramaic thrown in a few places). The name for God in Hebrew is ‘YHWH.’ So, where did Jehovah come from?

The name arose among Christians in the Middle Ages through the combination of the consonants YHWH (JHVH) with the vowels of Adonai (“My Lord”).

Jehovah | Meaning & Use | Britannica, see also: Is Jehovah the true name of God? | GotQuestions.org

And what language was the Bible written in during the middle ages? If you said ‘Latin’ then you get another gold star. So, Jehovah was a Latinized creation of the name of God that does not have any truly biblical roots. Is there anything wrong with using Jehovah? No, as long as you understand that the name was created solely so someone could speak the name as they read Scripture or in conversations about God. But there is nothing ‘holy’ about using an extrabiblically created name not found in the Scriptures of the day. 

A more proper pronunciation would most likely be,

Yahweh, name for the God of the Israelites, representing the biblical pronunciation of “YHWH,” the Hebrew name revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. The name YHWH, consisting of the sequence of consonants Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh, is known as the tetragrammaton.

Yahweh | YHWH, Adonai, Elohim, Meaning, & Facts | Britannica

But does this matter? No. But if the name of God has to be ‘Jehovah’ and you get exercised anytime someone doesn’t use it to refer to God, then you probably have no idea what salvation actually is and that likely means you aren’t even a Christian. So, if that’s you then you really have much bigger problems than you originally thought.

Bible Versions Used

I read and study a lot and I have Bible study tools on my computer and windows open to several Bible study sites on the Internet, so I’ve actually heard of all of the versions the JW listed in his ‘meme’ post, but I’m betting that the vast majority of people who read the ‘meme’ post above have likely only heard of one of them, if they’ve heard of any at all. So, I have to admit, I was a bit surprised that he chose these versions, even though it wasn’t hard to figure out why he chose them. The following are the versions used for his ‘proof’ about the name of God, so let’s discuss some facts about each of these versions.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English

This version attempts to sell itself as "derived from the original language written by the Apostles in Aramaic.” [2] So, does this mean it was translated from the original Greek language, or that Aramaic was the original language the Apostles wrote in? If the second part is meant, then this version is a complete fabrication (i.e., lie) and should not be trusted by anyone. And if the first part is meant, which is what I think is the case, then it’s a translation of a translation (i.e., translated from Greek to Aramaic and then translated from Aramaic to English). This might be helpful for a translation committee if the manuscript is 2000 years old, but it is definitely not a version that everyday Christians should be using. In other words, it is a bad version choice for his ‘meme.’

Young's Literal Translation

Although this can actually be a great tool to use for study purposes, it is one that 1) virtually no one has ever heard of or used and 2) was done by a single person not a translation committee. That makes this version more of a paraphrase than a translation. Its usage here does not provide real clarity or proof for the case this JW is attempting to make. 

American Standard Version

This is actually a translation from a committee, so points for finally including a real Bible version for his ‘proof.’ Unfortunately, it’s a translation that never gained any following and again virtually no one has ever heard of or used. 

Darby Bible Translation

This version has the exact same drawbacks as Young’s. 

Smith's Literal Translation

And again, this version has the exact same drawbacks as Young’s and Darby’s. 

New World Translation

First, this is a JW created translation and is universally condemned by true scholars who actually know and read the original languages for the obvious lack of scholarship and outright mistranslations of some key verses. (Col 1:16, John 1:1 are classic examples, but there are many others) Second, the JW organization refuses to produce a list of the translation committee members and their qualifications and expertise. You can easily find the committee members and their qualifications and expertise for any major translation like KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV as well as others that are less known. It's why I pointed out the paraphrases versus the actual translations used in the ‘meme’ post to be discussed below. A real translation is done by a committee but it's hard to believe there was a committee when they hide the members, if they actually exist, from examination. And third, there are purposeful misrepresentations in this version which are unsupported by the manuscript evidence. That means this is NOT a real translation. It is a bastardization of Scripture for the sole purpose of supporting the doctrines of the JW organization. In other words, the translation was created to provide “scriptural” proof for JW beliefs even when the manuscript evidence contradicts their translation and beliefs. [3] 

The end result is that this is not an example of scholarship on the JW’s or his organization’s part; it’s an example of shopping for proof texts to support his organization’s beliefs. That is called ‘eisegesis’, or reading into Scripture what is not originally present in the text. What should be done is called ‘exegesis’, or drawing the meaning out of Scripture so that someone understands the text's meaning. Maybe every Bible version has translated Jer 32:27 the same, but if so then why not use a known and trusted version that Christians actually use? I didn’t see the KJV, NIV, ESV or NASB in this list. These versions would have given him much more credibility with the people he is actively attempting to proselytize with his cultic beliefs. And I certainly would not have used the severely flawed and corrupt New World Translation!

Setting the Hook

So, let’s take a look at the above ‘meme’ post of the JW in question and what he’s really attempting to do. He starts his so-called biblical case with this,

Jesus is NOT God❗
LORD is a title.
Sarah called her husband,  Abraham, .. Lord.
See 1 PETER 3:6.

Besides his statement that, ‘Jesus is not God!’, how many people have any idea what he is really talking about? I’m betting not very many. It’s actually a terrible way to argue against the deity of Christ, but probably a great way to pull the unsuspecting Christian into a conversation because they are going to have to ask him questions, and he really wants that! He wants you to think that he’s the man with all the answers. Well, how about the man with all the wrong answers.

The average JW can twist a Christian into a pretzel in about 30 seconds, and if you think I’m kidding, go engage one and see how fast you get twisted up. If you have not done your homework like they do, you are toast! They receive constant training to be able to confuse the Christian with their fast answers and redirection away from your questions and the truths that are so clearly presented in the Bible. I know because I’ve been tripped up in the past when I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was. So, let’s unravel this twisted mess so you can see the tactic being used for what it is, and then help you see the lie in an approach like this before you get involved in a conversation with a JW cultist. 

The first thing I want you to see is that cultists always make their main mistake right up front. I am still surprised how often they repeat this mistake and how often Christians completely miss it. If you don’t see it, the hook is set in you and the cultist starts reeling you in like a fish. 

So, let’s begin. Without any proof whatsoever he boldly states, “Jesus is not God!” That is his main topic even though he really never returns to it. It’s the hook he wants to set in you. Then he says, “LORD is a title.” The next statement is, “Sarah called her husband,  Abraham, .. Lord.” He then tells us to see 1 Pet 3:6. This all seems a bit random, right? So, let’s read 1 Pet 3:6 together,

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. (1 Pet 3:6 NASB95)

Can anybody see the problem yet? 

My first question would be, “Do you mean ‘lord,’ ‘Lord’ or ‘LORD’?” Because he’s told you that LORD is a title, then tells you that Sarah calls Abraham ‘Lord’, but the verse he points you to uses the word, ‘lord.’ So, which is it? If you think that all three words have the same meaning then he’s reeling you in right now. Remember, he’s already telling you that he ‘only uses the bible’ to build trust in you that he is your spiritual guide to the truth about who God is. He’s ready to tell you that you’ve been lied to all your life and he is here to guide you into the correct understanding of the Bible. But the JWs have no idea how to interpret Scripture, so this guy will never be able to guide you into anything but confusion and error.

Dissecting the Meme

So, let’s determine first whether ‘lord’, ‘Lord’ and ‘LORD’ all mean the same thing. I really don’t have to define ‘LORD’ here, so we’ll focus on the first two. Let’s start by looking at the verse again. Here is the verse in both the NASB95 and the KJV,

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. (1 Pet 3:6 NASB95)

Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. (1 Pet 3:6 KJV)

And in this verse, the word in question is: ‘lord,’ not ‘Lord’ and not ‘LORD.’

The Greek word, kyrios, which means ‘he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord.’

G2962 - kyrios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NASB95)

So, Sarah was calling Abraham her master, which was not that uncommon in those days. Louw and Nida define ‘lord’ in 1 Peter 3:6 as, 

one who owns and controls property, including especially servants and slaves, with important supplementary semantic components of high status and respect—‘owner, master, lord.’ ‘(even) though he is owner of everything.’ 

Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 558.

And that reinforces what I just said above.

Now, let’s look at the word ‘Lord’ and how it is used as a reference to Jesus in the New Testament. Notice that I am changing the word ‘lord’ to ‘Lord’ because that is the reference that is used for Jesus and for good reason. I did a search of the New Testament for ‘lord jesus’ (NASB95 Search Results for "lord" AND "jesus") in the Bible Search and Study Tools - Blue Letter Bible and the results were that ‘lord jesus’,

occurs 349 times in 166 verses in the NASB95, including 103 exact phrases.

But since not every believers uses the NASB95 version, here are some results for the KJV, NIV and the ESV:

occurs 379 times in 179 verses in the KJV, including 118 exact phrases.

occurs 367 times in 173 verses in the NIV, including 103 exact phrases.

occurs 343 times in 163 verses in the ESV, including 104 exact phrases. [4]

Every reference to ‘lord jesus’ was ‘Lord Jesus.’ There were none that were ‘lord Jesus.’ Most of the separate results for ‘Lord’ were the disciples referring to Jesus as ‘Lord’ not ‘lord.’

So, let’s take the first result in the search results list linked above for Mark 16:19. 

So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19 NASB95)

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19 KJV)

Now, let’s see what ‘Lord’ actually means in this context. Not surprisingly, it’s the same Greek word as above, kyrios. Now, don’t let that surprise you; so, stick with me on this. Just as I did above, I’ll be using Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance on the Blue Letter Bible website and provide an additional definition from Louw and Nida, which is part of the Logos Bible Software. Here is Strong’s for the word as used in this context. The Greek word, kyrios, which means, 

‘to Jesus as the Messiah, since by his death he acquired a special ownership in mankind, and after his resurrection was exalted to a partnership in the divine administration.’

G2962 - kyrios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NASB95) 

Now, why is the definition different from the one above? Because the word is used in a different context. Remember, context is key for every word in the English language, so why wouldn’t Greek be the same? To help drive the point home for you, here is a list of 100 English words with different meanings based on the context for the usage of the word. Here is one example on the list, but please feel free to look at the entire list:

Arm – A limb of the human body, or a weapon or device used for a specific purpose. 

100 English Words With Multiple Meanings

And this is exactly what the JW is attempting to slip by you - the context of the word usage. He wants you to think that the word, ‘lord’ and ‘Lord’ in every context in the Bible always means the same thing. That is NOT true so don’t fall for that. To reinforce this, let’s see what a more modern Bible dictionary says for ‘Lord’ in Mark 16:19, 

(a title for God and for Christ) one who exercises supernatural authority over mankind—‘Lord, Ruler, One who commands.’ 

Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 138.

So, for this usage, it is a title for God and Jesus as God. Now, you realize what that means, right? I just showed you, accidentally (or was it purposeful), that ‘Lord’ is used as a title for Jesus and that title references Him as God. Honestly, there are quite a few references to Jesus as God within the pages of Scripture and this one would not have been on the top of my list. Furthermore, don’t think that this is the only place where ‘Lord’ is used in reference to Jesus. Here is a list from the Strong’s word we just referenced (G2962 - kyrios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NASB95)) and the Scripture references. But again, don’t take my word for it, click on the linked verses and the Greek Lexicon reference provided above and below.

Acts 10:36; Rom 14:8; 1 Cor 7:22; 1 Cor 8:6; Php 2:9-11; Eph 4:5; Mark 16:19; Acts 9:1; Rom 14:8; 1 Cor 4:5; 1 Cor 6:13; 1 Cor 7:10, 12, 34; 1 Cor 9:5, 14; 1 Cor 10:22; 1 Cor 11:26; 1 Cor 16:22; Php 4:5; 2 Tim 4:22; Heb 2:3; Heb 2:7; James 5:7; John 20:28; 1 Cor 11:23; 2 Cor 5:6; 2 Cor 5:8; Acts 1:21; Acts 4:33; Acts 16:31; Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 11:23; 1 Cor 16:23; 2 Cor 1:14; 2 Tim 4:22; Rev 22:20; 1 Cor 16:22; 2 Cor 13:13; Eph 1:2; 2 Tim 4:22; 1 Tim 1:14; 2 Tim 1:8; Heb 7:14; 2 Peter 3:15; Rev 11:15; 1 Thes 3:11, 13; Heb 13:20; Rev 22:21; Rom 16:18; 1 Thes 1:3; 1 Thes 3:11; 1 Thes 3:13; 1 Thes 5:23; 2 Thes 2:1, 14, 16; 2 Thes 3:6; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:3; Gal 6:18; Eph 1:3; Eph 6:24; Rom 16:24; 1 Tim 6:3, 14; Phil 1:25; Php 4:23; Rom 1:4; Col 2:6; Eph 3:11; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; 2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 Cor 7:22, 25; 1 Cor 10:21; 1 Cor 16:10; 2 Cor 3:17; 2 Cor 12:1; 2 Tim 2:24; James 5:11; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev 19:16; Deut 10:17; Col 3:24; 2 Cor 11:17; 2 Cor 3:16; 1 Thes 4:17; 2 Thes 2:13; [5] 

Now I realize this is a bit of ‘overkill’ on my part, but it is also purposeful because I don’t want you to think that Mark 16:19 is the only verse using ‘Lord’ in reference to Jesus as God. As you can see from the above list, it’s everywhere in the New Testament! Jesus is undeniably God according to the Apostles. Also, I use the NASB95, but use whatever major Bible translation you normally use: KJV, NKJV, ESV, NIV, NASB, etc. But please, don’t use a paraphrase, use a real translation. 

Who Knows Who God is?

So, now that I’ve destroyed his intention to make you think that ‘lord’ and ‘Lord’ mean the same thing, let’s go through the rest of this ‘meme’ post. 

Most preachers don't even understand who God is.
The most fundamental, basic truth in the Bible, and they get it totally WRONG❗

This is an arrogant and bold statement to make and it’s a bit of a surprise that he gives no proof at all. In addition, this seems to stand by itself even though I’m sure it’s intended to refer to the unstated meaning of ‘Lord’ that JWs wanted to pour into the word, whatever that might be. But as we saw above, it is not the Christians that misunderstands who God is, it is the JW. I will go into depth in the next blog post where I will demonstrate from Scripture who Jesus actually is. But for now, this JW has no case whatsoever. He makes bold statements but has no proof, no facts, nothing. 

Next, 

The Bible is very clear about God's identity.

( NOTICE : Jesus and the Holy Spirit are NOT mentioned at all )

[ JEREMIAH 32:27 ]

His first statement is actually one of the few things he’s said that is true. But his next point is an attempt to draw a distinction between who the Father is and who Jesus is by quoting from the 5 nonstandard Bible versions that 99% of all Christians have never heard of or read from. His point here is the usage of “Jehovah” in the verse. But like I said above, LORD, Jehovah, and Yahweh are all viewed as the proper name of God. Jehovah is no more ‘holy’ or proper than LORD or Yahweh is. And if we really want to get technical about the most likely proper pronunciation for the word in Jer 32:27, it’s most likely ‘Yahweh’ and not ‘Jehovah.’ 

"Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?" (Jer 32:27 ASV)

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jer 32:27 NASB95)

And what we see in Strong’s for the word, LORD, is that LORD or Jehovah or Yahweh is the proper name of God. I’m good with that. But this type of so-called evidence tells us nothing, other than that God has a proper name. But it does not prove that Jesus is not God. The JW’s insinuation is that if Jesus was God, Jer 32:27 would have said so. Therefore, Jesus is not God. And for him the case is closed. But this is actually a rather horrible biblical exegesis because he doesn’t look at anything in the New Testament. He cherry picks the Bible version for one specific verse that has the word, Jehovah, in it, as if that proves his point. It proves nothing at all. What else would we have expected the Old Testament to say? The Jews didn’t believe that Jesus was God either, which is why they sought to kill him so many times in the New Testament when He told them He was. If this JW is actually a ‘bible teacher’, he must not be a very good one. 

Conclusion

As I said in the introduction of this blog post, my goal was to help Christians see the tactics used by cultists, and in this case JWs, to get Christians to interact with them so that they can control the conversation and the narrative. In the case of this JW’s ‘meme’ post, I dealt with a few of the tactics this specific JW has attempted to use on me. He supposedly only uses the Bible, but I showed how this is more deceptive than one might think. There is nothing wrong with tools to help you understand Scripture. But also remember that modern translations purposely use words to communicate the original Greek word meaning they want you to understand in the verse. This is very important for young believers who really have limited or no exposure to the Bible. Some versions are a lot harder to understand than others because of outdated or archaic words, so get a Bible version that you can understand, which might be different from your friends. I then dealt with the ‘Jehovah is the true name of God’ myth. Next, I looked at the Bible versions this ‘meme’ post uses and why they were chosen.

I then moved into the tactic used in this ‘meme’ post to attempt to hook the Christian into the JW’s snare. This post starts with a statement that has no proof. Most Christians are not educated in how to refute the skilled JW who is taught to twist the Christian into a pretzel in less than a minute. As is done here, the post is purposely obscure to entice you to ask them questions. That is the open door to set the hook in you and hopefully real you in. 

I then dissected the ‘meme’ post in the hopes that the reader would see what to look for in a post like this, and how to use logic and some basic tools to refute the intention of the post. And lastly, I looked at his attempt to plant doubt in the Chrisitan’s mind about their pastor’s ability to teach the basic doctrines of God found in Scripture. 

What we found was that this post has nothing of real value. It has no facts, just some bold but unproven statements portrayed as facts. It presented unknown Bible versions as proof that God’s only true name is ‘Jehovah’ without actually saying that in words. His whole point with this post is to plant doubt in you and is predicated on your desire to engage him with questions created by that doubt, since he provides no real proof of anything he says in the post. That is the hook he wants to set in you, if you’re not careful.

In my next post, I will present a biblical case for the deity of Christ that the Church has taught since Jesus ascended to heaven. But don’t just take everything I’ve said above about this JW ‘hook, line and sinker.’ Send this blog to your pastor and let him read it and give you some feedback. I trust your pastor’s ability to discern truth and provide you guidance. My opponent will not be making you that deal. 

Footnotes

[1] Please do not think that I’m trashing the KJV. It is, to this day, one of the most beloved versions ever created. Its poetic style is timeless and beautiful. But, it does have archaic words that are difficult for new believers to understand. Some of the online tools mentioned will help provide some much needed help for those archaic 17th century words. And, yes, one could say the same for the NASB. 

[2] The book of Matthew

[3] Is the New World Translation a valid version of the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

[4] Each of the translation committees for these versions used the latest set of manuscripts at the time the translation project began, which is why you see a slight difference in the results. Some translations try to use a more literal translation approach and some use what is called a dynamic equivalence approach, but as you can see, the totals are really not that different. 

[5] I removed the Greek references because the vast majority of people, including myself, cannot read Greek. (G2962 - kyrios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NASB95))