Truth

The Nature of Truth

Truth is true regardless who says it. If a homeless person witnesses to the Truth or if a pope witnesses the the Truth, it doesn't add or remove anything from the Truth.

Key point here, is that Truth doesn't gain his power from who proclaims him. The Truth has his own power.

Truth with a capital "T" vs truth with a small "t"

The Truth is the person of God not a set of facts.

Our entire existence is predicated on the Nature of God Himself. What we call God's laws revealed to us through Holy Scripture, delivered to us through the Church, are not like man's laws. They are not arbitrary. It's not like one country can adopt one set of laws and another can adopt a second and both can argue about the merit of their justice system. But they are based on the Nature of God himself, and therefore our very reality can not go against these Laws. For the simple reason, that God is the author of everything.

To draw a parallel, gravity is a law of nature. It doesn't matter if you believe in the law of gravity or not, if you step off a building, without assistance you will fall.

In the same manner, the Law of God is the reality upon which the entire universe, seen and unseen, is built. It can not be broken. Go against it at your own peril. 

God reveals who he is through Biblical scripture and through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

But a key point we have to understand is that Scripture is not of private interpretation.

Further more Peter follows this chapter by further making a distinction between "Truth"hood and falsehood:

Peter then further delves into the different types of false teachers and their impact. He  then makes the following statement

Truth and the Individual

Some people look at the truth as a limitation to their own freedom. They can even go as far as saying that it erases their personhood. You've heard the term "speak your own truth". It is taken to encourage others to live their own reality; believe in whatever they want to believe without feeling the need to correct their path. We all fall into that desire to some degree or another.

But I would argue that without absolute Truth our very existence would be impossible; our very personhood can not be. 

Again to draw some parallel to natural law. If gravity behaved erratically and had no consistent nature, can anything survive? probably not. 

We are created in the image of God, to live within the Truth. Unlike the laws of Nature which we can not disobey (without assist) the uniqueness of humanity is that we have the freewill to live outside the Truth. However, living outside  the Truth, basically means we are actively killing ourselves, maybe slowly, but surely. You can see evidence of that in the world we live in. All the evil, all the government policies, which is leading to depression, anxiety, suicide, etc. This is the result of us living outside the Truth. If we do not choose Truth, we choose death.

Concluding Points on Truth

• Truth is the Nature of God Himself.
• The Nature of God is revealed through Holy Scripture, delivered to us through the Church.
• Throughout history there has been ideas trying to suppress or confuse the Nature of God.
• There will be a day of reckoning.
• The results of ignoring the truth is clearly manifest to us, if we are honest in looking
• However, God is giving all time to repent.

Importance of Being Grounded in Truth

All this, I hope, makes it clear how important it is for us to know the Truth. Not only know a set of rules, but be "one" with the Truth. 

This can be done in 4 ways:

1. Steeping yourself in the Holy Scripture
2. Being part of the Body of Christ (the church)
3. Choosing to follow the Truth in your everyday life.
4. Building a personal experience with God.

Jehovah Witnesses

So what does this all have to do with "Jehovah Witnesses"?

The Most Deceiving Lie

It is the one which veils itself in a veil of righteousness

Many of the destructive heresies came in palitable form and it deceived the simple. Therefore:

All this to say: "Know the Truth because in the Truth is your safety"

With that, let's take Jehovah Witnesses as a case study in what we've said about the Truth

What they Believe

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovah-witness-beliefs/

1.  God. We worship the one true and Almighty God, the Creator, whose name is Jehovah. (Psalm 83:18; Revelation 4:​11) He is the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.​—Exodus 3:6; 32:11; John 20:17.

2.  Bible. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired message to humans. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:​16) We base our beliefs on all 66 of its books, which include both the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament.” Professor Jason D. BeDuhn aptly described it when he wrote that Jehovah’s Witnesses built “their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there.” a

    While we accept the entire Bible, we are not fundamentalists. We recognize that parts of the Bible are written in figurative or symbolic language and are not to be understood literally.​—Revelation 1:1.

3.  Jesus. We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:​31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.​—John 14:28.

4.  The Kingdom of God. This is a real government in heaven, not a condition in the hearts of Christians. It will replace human governments and accomplish God’s purpose for the earth. (Daniel 2:​44; Matthew 6:​9, 10) It will take these actions soon, for Bible prophecy indicates that we are living in “the last days.”​—2 Timothy 3:​1-5; Matthew 24:​3-​14.

    Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom in heaven. He began ruling in 1914.​—Revelation 11:15.

5.  Salvation. Deliverance from sin and death is possible through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 4:​12) To benefit from that sacrifice, people must not only exercise faith in Jesus but also change their course of life and get baptized. (Matthew 28:19, 20; John 3:​16; Acts 3:​19, 20) A person’s works prove that his faith is alive. (James 2:​24, 26) However, salvation cannot be earned​—it comes through “the undeserved kindness of God.”​—Galatians 2:​16, 21.

6.  Heaven. Jehovah God, Jesus Christ, and the faithful angels reside in the spirit realm. b (Psalm 103:19-​21; Acts 7:​55) A relatively small number of people​—144,000​—will be resurrected to life in heaven to rule with Jesus in the Kingdom.​—Daniel 7:​27; 2 Timothy 2:​12; Revelation 5:​9, 10; 14:​1, 3.

7.  Earth. God created the earth to be mankind’s eternal home. (Psalm 104:5; 115:16; Ecclesiastes 1:4) God will bless obedient people with perfect health and everlasting life in an earthly paradise.​—Psalm 37:11, 34.

8.  Evil and suffering. These began when one of God’s angels rebelled. (John 8:​44) This angel, who after his rebellion was called “Satan” and “Devil,” persuaded the first human couple to join him, and the consequences have been disastrous for their descendants. (Genesis 3:​1-6; Romans 5:​12) In order to settle the moral issues raised by Satan, God has allowed evil and suffering, but He will not permit them to continue forever.

9.  Death. People who die pass out of existence. (Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:​5, 10) They do not suffer in a fiery hell of torment.

    God will bring billions back from death by means of a resurrection. (Acts 24:15) However, those who refuse to learn God’s ways after being raised to life will be destroyed forever with no hope of a resurrection.​—Revelation 20:14, 15.

10.  Family. We adhere to God’s original standard of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, with sexual immorality being the only valid basis for divorce. (Matthew 19:​4-9) We are convinced that the wisdom found in the Bible helps families to succeed.​—Ephesians 5:22–​6:1.

11.  Our worship. We do not venerate the cross or any other images. (Deuteronomy 4:​15-​19; 1 John 5:​21) Key aspects of our worship include the following:

    •  Praying to God.​—Philippians 4:6.

    •  Reading and studying the Bible.​—Psalm 1:​1-3.

    •  Meditating on what we learn from the Bible.​—Psalm 77:12.

    •  Meeting together to pray, study the Bible, sing, express our faith, and encourage fellow Witnesses and others.​—Colossians 3:​16; Hebrews 10:23-​25.

    •  Preaching the “good news of the Kingdom.”​—Matthew 24:14.

    •  Helping those in need.​—James 2:​14-​17.

    •  Constructing and maintaining Kingdom Halls and other facilities used to further our worldwide Bible educational work.​—Psalm 127:1.

    •  Sharing in disaster relief.​—Acts 11:27-​30.

12.  Our organization. We are organized into congregations, each of which is overseen by a body of elders. However, the elders do not form a clergy class, and they are unsalaried. (Matthew 10:8; 23:8) We do not practice tithing, and no collections are ever taken at our meetings. (2 Corinthians 9:7) All our activities are supported by anonymous donations.

     The Governing Body, a small group of mature Christians who serve at our world headquarters, provides direction for Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide.​—Matthew 24:45.

13.  Our unity. We are globally united in our beliefs. (1 Corinthians 1:​10) We also work hard to have no social, ethnic, racial, or class divisions. (Acts 10:34, 35; James 2:4) Our unity allows for personal choice, though. Each Witness makes decisions in harmony with his or her own Bible-trained conscience.​—Romans 14:​1-4; Hebrews 5:​14.

14.  Our conduct. We strive to show unselfish love in all our actions. (John 13:34, 35) We avoid practices that displease God, including the misuse of blood by taking blood transfusions. (Acts 15:28, 29; Galatians 5:​19-​21) We are peaceful and do not participate in warfare. (Matthew 5:9; Isaiah 2:4) We respect the government where we live and obey its laws as long as these do not call on us to disobey God’s laws.​—Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:​29.

15.  Our relationships with others. Jesus commanded: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” He also said that Christians “are no part of the world.” (Matthew 22:39; John 17:16) So we try to “work what is good toward all,” yet we remain strictly neutral in political affairs and avoid affiliation with other religions. (Galatians 6:​10; 2 Corinthians 6:​14) However, we respect the choices that others make in such matters.​—Romans 14:12.

Considering some of the key Differences

Before we start our analysis, I want to point something out.

It is not necessary to prove that everything they believe is wrong. We do not have to feel compelled to do that.

It's not about disrespecting them. It's about recognising what the truth is.

In fact we can admit some of the items we align on, but others we definitely do not.

Since this is off their "What we believe" page and this is a religion, we must focus on their theological points and not get distracted by other points we might have in common with them.

By far the most important one I'd like to focus on today is # 3.

Doctrine of Trinity

If I ask you, explain the Trinity to me? Can you give a good answer? Or are you going to fall back on the common allegories, like the golden triangle, the sun, etc? 

Remember, the doctrine of the Trinity is entirely based on Biblical Scripture, which JW say doesn't talk about the Trinity.

Here comes an example of Half Truths. 

They say that the term Trinity was officially formulated as part of the Nicaean counsel more than 300 years after the apostles, which is true. However,  what they fail to mention is the concept of the Trinity is well covered in Biblical Scriptures.

The Trinity is the nature of God, which we only know because it was revealed to us, not because we have some how discovered it through experimentation.

The Nature of God was understood by early Christians, although the term trinity was never used in the Bible. Another similar example, is the term Christians, which formulated in Antioch. Does that mean all those who came before, were not Christians? Of course not. It's a new term used to explain an existing phenomenon.

To prove that, we can take a look at Biblical Scripture to see how the concept of The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit was there from the beginning of time.

Biblical Proof

Jesus is the Ever Existing Word

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)

Jesus is the I Am of the Old Testament

• God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14)
• Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

Equal to the Father

• Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9)

The Judge of all the Earth

• Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25)
• For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22)

Who is to be worshipped as Only God is allowed to be

• It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. (Deuteronomy 6:13)
• And Jesus answered him, “It is written,“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” (Luke 4:8)
• And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

The Holy Spirit is God

• When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13)

The Holy Spirit Intercedes for us proving He is a separate person from God the Father and God the Son

• When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (Romans 8:27)

A human can not be forgiven for Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit

• And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:32)

The Old Testament Mentions the Trinity Concept

• Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

God Declares He alone made the creation

• Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself (Isaiah 44:24)

However, Jesus was the instrument in God's creation

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
• For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

In the Company of the Holy Spirit

• The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

Conclusions

• The Truth is a Person not a set of facts
• The Nature of God is based on the Truth
• It is of utter importance to live within the Truth, because outside the Truth is death
• There are a lot of deceptive teachings which Holy Scriptures warned us of
• The doctrine of JW is an example of teachings which have deceived many
• Their doctrine to an ignorant person can seem good.
• We do not have to object on everything they believe, we just need to recognize that they might have some form of truth, but they are missing the mark big time.
• As an example we looked at how they object on the Doctrine of the Trinity, which is a cornerstone of Christianity, for the simple reason, that it is reality

References

The Trinity is Christianity’s most unique, defining, incomprehensible, and awesome mystery. It is the revelation of who our Almighty Creator actually is—not just a god, but an infinite Being existing in eternity as three co-equal, infinite Persons, consubstantial yet distinct. The origin of the doctrine of the Trinity is the Bible, although the word Trinity is not used in the Bible.

As all orthodox Christians agree, the doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one essence but three Persons; God has one nature, but three centers of consciousness; God is only one What, but three Whos. Some unbelievers mistakenly call this a contradiction. Rather, the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery revealed by God in His Word. A contradiction would be to claim that God has only one nature but also three natures, or that He is only one Person but also three Persons.

From the very beginning of the church, Christians have understood the mystery of the Trinity, even before they began using the term Trinity.

For example, the first Christians knew the Son was the Creator (John 1:1–2), the “I Am” of the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58), equal to the Father (John 14:9), and the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25; John 5:22), who is to be worshiped as only God is allowed to be (Deuteronomy 6:13; Luke 4:8; Matthew 14:33).

The first Christians knew the Holy Spirit was a separate Person with His own thoughts and will (John 16:13), who intercedes for us with God (Romans 8:27), proving He is a distinct Person from God the Father—since intercession requires at least two parties (no one intercedes with himself). Furthermore, a human can be forgiven for blaspheming God the Son, but not for blaspheming God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32).

New Testament writers mention all three Persons of the Trinity together numerous times (e.g., Romans 1:4; 15:30; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:13–14; 1 Thessalonians 1:3–6). The early believers knew that the Father and the Son sent the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit—“another counselor”—to live in our hearts (John 14:16–17, 26; 16:7). These mysteries were accepted fully by the early church as revealed truth, yet without the label of “the Holy Trinity.”

The Old Testament gave glimpses of the Trinity, and no passage of Scripture contradicts the doctrine. For example, in Genesis 1:26 God says in the plural, “Let us make mankind in our image.” God declares that He was completely alone when He created everything, stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth “by myself” (Isaiah 44:24). Yet Jesus was the instrument of God’s creation (John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:16), in the company of the Holy Spirit who was hovering over the primordial waters (Genesis 1:2). Only the doctrine of the Trinity can explain it all.

The Torah hinted at the idea of God existing in multiple Persons and predicted His coming in the flesh. The Old Testament is filled with references to a coming world ruler (Genesis 49:10) to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), who was not only God’s Son (Isaiah 9:6) but a Messiah who would be God in the flesh (Isaiah 7:14; Zechariah 2:8–11). But the Jews were looking for—and, under Roman occupation, desperately hoping for—a triumphant, conquering Messiah, not a lowly, suffering Servant (Isaiah 53). Israel failed to recognize the Son of God due to His ordinariness (Isaiah 53:2; Matthew 13:54–58; John 10:33), and they killed Him (Zechariah 12:10; Acts 2:36).

In the years after the death of the last apostle, John, there were many attempts by Christian theologians to define and explain God to the church. Explanations of spiritual reality to earthly beings will always fall short; some teachers’ explanations were a bit off, while others sank into heresy. The errors put forward in post-apostolic times ranged from Jesus being all God and only appearing to be human (Docetism), to His being created rather than eternal (Adoptionism, Arianism, and others), to there being three separate gods in the same family (Tritheism), to the one God playing three different roles at different times (Modalism, Monarchianism).

As no religion can exist without knowing who or what its followers worship, there was a great need to define God in a way that all followers of Christianity would agree upon as “official” or orthodox doctrine. And, if Jesus were not God, all Christians were heretics for worshiping a created being.

It seems that the church father Tertullian (AD 160–225) was the first to apply the term Trinity to God. Tertullian uses the term in Against Praxeus, written in 213 to explain and defend the Trinity against the teaching of his contemporary Praxeus, who espoused the Monarchian heresy. From there, we can jump forward over a century of church discussion, schisms, and debate to the Council of Nicea in 325, when the Trinity was finally confirmed as official church doctrine.

A final observation. Theology is the attempt by flawed humans to understand the words of the Bible, just as science is the attempt by flawed humans to understand the facts of nature. All the facts of nature are true, just as all the original words of the Bible are true. But humans are limited and make lots of mistakes, as history continually shows. So, where there is error or disagreement in science or theology, both disciplines have methods of correction. The history of the early church reveals that many sincere Christian believers “got it wrong” when it came to defining God’s nature (a great lesson on the need for humility). But, through a careful study of God’s Word, the church was finally able to articulate what the Bible clearly teaches and what they knew to be true—God exists as an eternal Trinity.