Watchtower Errors by Topic: A-Z

This is the main index A-Z of my alphabetic index of Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) errors, by topic.

[Left: ex-JW elder David A. Reed's, "Index of Watchtower Errors 1879 to 1989" (1990), Amazon.com. See also `tagline' quotes below from this book.]

Although it's title is losely based on that book's, and is similar in concept to another of Reed's books, "Answering Jehovahs Witnesses: Subject by Subject" (1996), this index will be all my own work, adding topics as I think of them.

Topics with the same first letter will be in the same blog post for that letter, and each entry will be hyperlinked back to this main index page. Each entry will be brief, with references to the relevant Watchtower and other literature. To keep the references brief, they will be hyperlinked to the full reference in a Bibliography page. Once I have created a page for the first entry for that letter of the alphabet, further entries of the same letter will be added without a new blog post. This alphabetic topic index will be complementary to my future planned series, "Watchtower Errors by Bible Verse: Gen-Rev".

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Watchtower Errors by Topic: A-Z

Topics: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Bibliography.

Stephen E. Jones
My other blogs: CreationEvolutionDesign & TheShroudofTurin

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"David A. Reed became a baptized Jehovah's Witness in 1969. He served the Watch Tower Society as a full-time minister, an elder, and a presiding overseer. Eventually, personal Bible reading caused him to question the organization's teachings, and this led to his formal expulsion in 1982. After embracing biblical Christianity he began writing articles and tracts with the aim of evangelizing Jehovah's Witnesses. Today he is the publisher and editor of Comments from the Friends, a quarterly on the JWs; president of Gospel Truth Ministries, Inc.; editor of The Gospel Truth, which deals with cults in general; and a contributing editor of Christian Research journal, a publication of Christian Research Institute. His other books include: Behind the Watchtower Curtain; Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse & How to Rescue Your Loved One from the Watchtower " ("About the Editor," in Reed, D.A. , 1990, ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, p.5).

"To Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is God's sole channel for communicating truth to humankind today. Persons associated with the Watch Tower Society are considered to be `in the truth'-as opposed to outsiders who are `of the world.' Just as Christians speak of being `in the Lord' by virtue of having accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, in like manner Jehovah's Witnesses speak of being `in the truth' by virtue of having accepted the Watch Tower Society as God's `channel of communication.' So, the very mention of error in connection with the Watch Tower is enough to throw JWs into mental turmoil. How can the organization they call `the truth' be guilty of error? How can it be so full of errors that an Index listing the Watch Tower's major mistakes, doctrinal changes, false prophecies, frauds, and deceptions fills an entire volume? Hopefully this Index will prove such a challenge to the Jehovah's Witnesses who come across it that they will actually use it to verify the Watch Tower quotes and references listed." (Reed, 1990, p.9. Emphasis original).

"What if the Watch Tower publications cited reveal that the organization is a false prophet-not simply having made an occasional mistake, but having promulgated false prophecies repeatedly throughout its history? What if the prophetic dates were presented by the leaders as `God's dates, not ours' as stated by the Watch Tower of July 15, 1894 (Reprints, p. 1677)? Then the sincere Witness must pay special attention to God's words at Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (Watch Tower's New World Translation): `... the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak ... that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: "How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?" when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it.' Jesus foretold that `false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned you' (Matt. 24:24, 25 N.W.T.). A Witness confronted with the evidence must choose between obeying Christ or continuing to follow the Watchtower Society." (Reed, 1990, pp.10-11).

"And the evidence is overwhelming! Referenced in this Index are over one hundred false prophetic declarations the organization has published as `the truth,' besides more than six hundred other statements equally damaging to the leadership's credibility. Taken together, these over seven hundred pieces of evidence demand a verdict of `guilty on all counts.' The Jehovah's Witnesses who examine these references will be forced to admit that the organization they have been following is not what it claims to be." (Reed, 1990, p.11).

"This Index should be an effective tool in the hands of Christians reaching out to Jehovah's Witnesses. When Christians attempt to share the gospel with them using the Bible alone, Witnesses simply respond with their own favorite proof texts, and the discussion degenerates into a Scripture-trading match. The problem is that Witnesses do not really look to the Bible as the final authority on what to believe. They have been convinced that their leaders represent God's `channel of communication' and that, `unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do' (WT, 12/1/1981, p. 27). Since it is their organization's interpretation of what the Bible says that determines JWs' beliefs, those beliefs cannot be challenged effectively without first undermining the authority of the organization. And that is what is accomplished by the use of damaging quotations from the Society's publications. Its claim to being God's `channel of communication' falls into question when it communicates many ideas that could not possibly have come from God, including false prophecies as mentioned above." (Reed, 1990, p.11).

"In addition to false prophecies, the sect's books and magazines contain a permanent record of many peculiar teachings, doctrinal vacillations, and deadly errors taught over the years as `the truth.' From the beginning until 1953, for example, Almighty God was said not to be omnipresent but rather to reside upon the star Alcyone in the Pleiades star system ... The inhabitants of the ancient city of Sodom were dragged in and out of the grave as the organization kept changing its teaching on whether or not they would be resurrected. The answer was Yes in 1879, No in 1952, Yes in 1965, and No in 1988 ..." (Reed, 1990, pp.11-12" (Reed, 1990, p.11).

"And, crossing from the academic to the real world, between the years 1931 and 1952 vaccinations were prohibited, and during the years 1967 to 1980 organ transplants were banned. Those medical procedures are now permitted again, but who knows how many Witnesses or their children got sick or died during the interim for lack of a vaccination or for want of a kidney or cornea transplant? (A former JW elder in England told reporters that he resigned after a woman in his congregation turned down a cornea transplant in obedience to the Watch Tower and went blind.) How high will the death toll climb-already estimated by some to be in the thousands-as loyal followers continue to refuse blood transfusions, adhering to an interpretation introduced in the 1940s but not yet rescinded ...?" (Reed, 1990, pp.11-12" (Reed, 1990, p.12).

"As its documented errors pile up, the organization's claim to being `the truth' erodes. .... As Jesus said, `by your words you will be condemned' (Matt. 12:37)." (Reed, 1990, p.12).