Below are questions and my answers concerning denominations and other religions: responses to questions about the beliefs and practices of denominations within "Christendom" or other religions in the world.
Q: In what religious groups is circumcision necessary?
A: In terms of physical circumcision, the only groups that bind it as necessary to my knowledge are the Jews and the Muslims.
Now, all Christians are to be spiritually circumcised, as demonstrated by Colossians 2:11:
In whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ.
Q: Do the Seventh-Day Adventists impose male circumcision on its members?
A: I have not found any evidence that Seventh-Day Adventists impose circumcision on their members.
Q: A Jehovah Witness asked me to prove the doctrine of the Trinity. In Ecclesiastes, it reads, "they shall turn to dust"; explain that? What about the 144,000 that they mention? How can I make this forty year old Jehovah's Witness believe?
A: Let us try to answer your questions in order.
- The Trinity (or Godhead).
We certainly see that Christ is divine, and, in fact, God, from three significant passages: John 1:1, John 10:30-33, and Colossians 2:9:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
"I and the Father are one
The Jews took up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?"
The Jews answered him, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Now, the JWs will try to show you the New World Translation's version of John 1:1 where the translators, without sound justification from the Greek, add the article "a" to, "the Word was God", so that it becomes, "the Word was a god." They also attempt to lessen the force of Colossians 2:9. It shows how they must change what God has said to justify their belief system.
- Dust.
The verses to which you refer are Ecclesiastes 3:20 and 12:7:
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.
Jehovah's Witnesses tend to use these verses to try to show that man does not have an immortal soul, but simply the "life force" that God gave him: at the resurrection the righteous will be resurrected and live again in the flesh, while the wicked merely perish. Matthew 5:29-30, 8:11-12, 10:28, 13:49-50 and Philippians 1:22-24 show well that man consists of body and soul and that there will be eternal punishment for the wicked.
- The 144,000. From A Study of Denominations: Jehovah's Witnesses:
The Jehovah's Witnesses further believe that the Kingdom of Heaven will soon be established after the "end times" with 144,000 faithful saints being chosen by God to become spirits and to rule with Christ for the Millennium. They further believe that these rulers will be ruling over the Earth, which will contain resurrected fleshly humans along with animals. They derive this belief from Revelation 7:4 and Revelation 14:1:
And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel.
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
Do these verses show that there will only be 144,000 saints in Heaven?
The Jehovah's Witnesses regard these passages highly, but do not recognize the implications of the following verses in Revelation 14, Revelation 14:2-5:
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie: they are without blemish.
If we are to take the number 144,000 literally, we must also therefore believe that these 144,000 will be male Jewish virgins. Yet the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Simon Peter will be one of them; he is surely male and Jewish, but the Scriptures demonstrate that he was not a virgin (1 Corinthians 9:5). Therefore, it is evident that this passage is not speaking in literal, but figurative, terms.
Furthermore, there is much to be discussed concerning the resurrection. We have been told the following in 1 Corinthians 15:42-53:
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
So also it is written, "The first man Adam became a living soul."
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.The Jehovah's Witnesses assert that this passage speaks uniquely of the 144,000, yet we do not see any language that delineates who receives this resurrection. It is also sometimes argued that here Paul speaks of those who will receive immortality in their physical bodies, but this is not the case: Paul says very clearly in verses 51-52:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
We will go through some transformation, although which specifically is unsure. This fact is further demonstrated by John in 1 John 3:2:
Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.
Paul discusses further concerning the nature of the return of Christ and the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
These verses show clearly that all those who are deemed to be children of God, those who live as Christians, will take place in a resurrection that will involve a transformation from a physical form to a spiritual form. Such transformation will not be limited to a mere 144,000.
Much more information is available at A Study of Denominations: Jehovah's Witnesses and links presented on that page.
Q: I've read your column and find it interesting. My question is based on the belief of my cousin regarding the true name of Jesus Christ in Hebrew. He was a Baptist before and now converting to another group that rejects the name Jesus because for them it is not original and blasphemous to the "real name". They said that the true name is "Yawhusua". What is the truth in it?
A: There has been a proliferation of people who seek to try to go back and find the original name of Jesus and presume that it is only within the original name that power may be found.
In reality, Jesus and the Apostles and others probably did not speak much Hebrew proper; they would have known it in order to read the Old Testament, but the common language of the day was Aramaic (rather closely related to Hebrew). Jesus' name, in Aramaic, was Y'shua or Yeshua, the same as "Joshua".
As to matters of lack of originality or blasphemy, Jesus' closest associates clearly preached in Greek to many audiences and called Him Iesous and had no difficulty doing so. The New Testament does not feel the need to return to Hebrew or Aramaic to describe Jesus (or God Himself, for that matter). The concerns of your cousin are without Biblical merit.
Q: I know that there are no modern day prophets. But, Where do I find proof to show one of my co-workers who does believe that there are prophets and prophetesses (female prophets).
A: The best proof is probably in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10:
Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
We can know that it is not Christ whom Paul refers to since he uses the neuter gender, not the masculine, to describe the "perfect thing". The word for "perfect" can also mean "complete", and when we look at the history of Christianity, we do see that the three gifts mentioned do fade at the end of the first century after the New Testament was completed.
Only in the beginning of the twentieth century did the world again really see these claims taken seriously. It is difficult to explain the 1800 year gap, especially when Paul's prediction is rather clear.
Q: Do you know any group that practices a "salt covenant" in a marriage ceremony?
A: I am not aware of any group that binds as a practice the idea of the "salt covenant," although it would not surprise me if many people performed this action. The only evidence of the "salt covenant" being used today is for the purpose of identifying members of an Evangelical televangelist ministry.
Q: Do the Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) practices conflict with Christian living?
A: Having examined the materials available at the website for the Independent Order of Oddfellows (http://www.ioof.org), it appears to me that it is an organization founded on brotherhood principles and religious principles. There does not appear to be strange initiation rituals or progression rituals or any other "cultic" rituals as would be seen in Freemasonry; by what I am able to tell, the IOOF would be as harmful/harmless as the Boy Scouts of America.
Having said that, I would warn about the inherent ecumenical drive in many of these organizations and also the possibility of allowing the responsibilities of the organization to drain one's time for Christ.
Q: What day do of the week do Christians, Jews, and Muslims worship?
A: The general, formal day of worship for most Christians is Sunday, for Jews Friday evening through Saturday evening (the Sabbath), and Friday afternoon for Islam. For all three religions worship is not confined to those days, and there are always exceptions.
Q: I understand that God states in the OT and NT that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Hence, in the OT there were the animal sacrifices and now Jesus is the perfect Lamb, replacing all other sacrifices. However, if the the Jews of today do not believe in Jesus, why don't they offer burnt sacrifices anymore?
A: You ask a very good question; Moses did say that the Law was not to be added to or diminished from in Deuteronomy 4:2:
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
And yet we see today that Jews who profess to follow the Law of Moses do not perform any sacrifices despite the significant references regarding the need for such sacrifices throughout the entire Law, especially in Leviticus 1-8, and that sacrifices were an integral part of the religion from the time of Moses until the Babylonian Captivity and then again from Ezra to 70 CE. Why, then, do the Jews no longer offer sacrifices?
We must first recognize that modern Judaism is not as simple as many Christians believe. Modern Judaism is not what would happen if you just followed the Old Testament alone; Judaism relies heavily on traditions. These traditions begin before the time of Christ and were perpetuated mainly by the Pharisees; their penchant for developing and holding to the traditions of men was roundly condemned by Jesus on many occasions (Matthew 15:1-9, Matthew 23). The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE effectively ended the life of all other forms of Judaism save the Judaism of the Pharisees, and therefore the period after 70 CE is known as the "Rabbinic" period. It is during this time that the traditions were codified; their validity was established by supposing that God really gave Moses two laws at Sinai, the written one that we have in the Bible, and also an oral law, supposedly passed down to the Pharisees and these rabbis who finally wrote it down in the form of the Mishnah. Later the Talmud was written, and that was a commentary of many prominent rabbis of later times on the Mishnah. Modern Judaism, therefore, represents the religion of the Israelites with all of these later traditions placed upon it.
Now, back to the discussion about sacrifice. When Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 CE, and no prophet could be found in Judaism to tell anyone how long it would last or how the Jews were to carry on, and so the Pharisees/rabbis determined that the new exile was just like the previous exile after the Babylonian Captivity, and that the Jews should do exactly what they did then-- pray to God for the forgiveness of sin and pray to return to Israel. As time progressed, and less and less hope existed for a return to Israel to build another temple, it was basically agreed upon that prayer was an acceptable substitute for sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. This is the opinion of the majority of religiously practicing Jewish persons today.
Now, from a Christian standpoint, we recognize that the destruction of 70 CE was assuredly prophecied, both by Daniel in Daniel 9:20-27 and Jesus in Matthew 24:1-36, Mark 13, and Luke 21:5-36. The destruction of the Temple with no prophet to encourage the building of a new one should have been seen as proof that God had established a new covenant under His Son Jesus Christ and that no more sacrifices were needed since He was the sacrifice for all sin.
This, of course, was lost on most of the Jews then as it is also today. Isaiah spoke rightly of them in Isaiah 65:2:
I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.
This typifies the Jews, for they were--and are-- more willing to constantly omit many portions of the Law to hold fast to their traditions and not to the truth of God.
Q: Is Islam anticipated in the Bible? Is it a pagan religion?
A: Islam as such is not anticipated in the Bible; however, it is surely covered under the "false teachers" that will lead people away from the Word according to 2 Timothy 4:3-5, along with the many denominations and other religions that have come about since the first century AD.
Islam is not pagan by definition; it is not Christianity, but it does not have the characteristics of what is deemed "pagan:" polytheism, immorality, lack of civilization, etc.
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