Vol. 8, No. 3, 1991

Articles on Jehovah's Witnesses

Sonny Bowman

The human mind has the ability to maintain two mutually exclusive beliefs at the same time. Often, this is accomplished by keeping the two beliefs in separate mental "compartments."

This compartmentalization is similar to keeping the two beliefs in separate rooms. As long as the beliefs are in separate rooms, the contradiction between them is not noticed. Without this ability, many false religions would be unable to hold their teachings together and their members would soon leave.

One of the jobs of Christian apologetics is to drag contradictory beliefs into the same mental "compartment" and show that they cannot both be true.

An example of compartmentalization is evident in the cultic teaching that Jesus is not God, but that He was a good teacher.

Jesus left only three options when He claimed to be God.

These options are that He was a liar, a lunatic or God as He claimed.

Since a liar or a lunatic cannot be a good teacher, Jesus cannot be a good teacher if He is not God. Yet many people hold these two mutually exclusive beliefs through the wonders of compartmentalization.

Another example of compartmentalization is in the Watchtower teachings that there is only one true God (Jehovah) and that Jesus is only "a god."

By asking a few questions, these mutually exclusive teachings or contradictions can be seen.

Start by pointing out that the Watchtower translation of John 1:1 calls Jesus "a god."

Next ask if Jesus is a true god or a false god (these are the only possibilities). Since Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider Jesus to be a false god (an idol), He must be a true god.

Finally, ask the Jehovah's Witness, "How many true gods does the Watchtower have?"

This method of decompartmentalization will help you expose the Watchtower's error about Jesus.

When talking with those in false religions look for contradictory beliefs. Then lovingly demonstrate the impossibility of both beliefs being true to "decompartmentalize" these beliefs, thus making it more difficult for the person to stick to the false teachings he has embraced.