Why dont jehovah witness have refrences on the ante-nicene fathers qoutes? Should you believe in the trinity.?

Answer 1

Christians follow Christ.

True Christians discern Christ's teachings from the Scriptures, rather than from humans. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Scriptures alone quite plainly demonstrate that Jesus and the Almighty are separate distinct persons, and the Almighty created Jesus as His firstborn son.

(Colossians 1:15) the firstborn of all creation

(Mark 10:18) Jesus said to him: 'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.

(Revelation 3:14) the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God

(Philippians 2:5-6) Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God's form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God

(John 8:42) Neither have I come of my own initiative at all, but that One sent me forth

(John 12:49) I have not spoken out of my own impulse, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to tell and what to speak

(John 14:28) I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am

(1 Corinthians 15:28) But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him

(Matthew 20:23) this sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father

(1 Corinthians 11:3) I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; ...in turn the head of the Christ is God

(John 20:17) I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.

(Deuteronomy 6:4) Jehovah our God is one Jehovah

(1 Corinthians 8:4-6) There is no God but one. For even though there are those who are called "gods," whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many "gods" and many "lords," there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20010701/
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20000515/

Answer 2

Here are a few quotes from some of our literature:

AFTER Nicaea, debates on the subject continued for decades. Those who believed that Jesus was not equal to God even came back into favor for a time. But later Emperor Theodosius decided against them. He established the creed of the Council of Nicaea as the standard for his realm and convened the Council of Constantinople in 381 C.E. to clarify the formula.

That council agreed to place the holy spirit on the same level as God and Christ. For the first time, Christendom’s Trinity began to come into focus.

Nicaea, though, did represent a turning point. It opened the door to the official acceptance of the Son as equal to the Father, and that paved the way for the later Trinity idea. The book Second Century Orthodoxy, by J. A. Buckley, notes:

“Up until the end of the second century at least, the universal Church remained united in one basic sense; they all accepted the supremacy of the Father. They all regarded God the Father Almighty as alone supreme, immutable, ineffable and without beginning.

None of the bishops at Nicaea promoted a Trinity, however. They decided only the nature of Jesus but not the role of the holy spirit. If a Trinity had been a clear Bible truth, should they not have proposed it at that time?

One of these theological disputes involved the Nicene Creed, which furthered the development of the unscriptural Trinity doctrine. As developed by the first three general councils held by the church (Nicaea in 325 C.E., Constantinople in 381 C.E., Ephesus in 431 C.E.), the creed spoke of the “Holy Ghost . . . who proceedeth from the Father.” But at a council in the sixth century, the Western church changed the phrase to read “who proceedeth from the Father and the Son.” This issue of the filioque (Latin for “and the son”) was, and still is, a point of dispute between these “Christian” sister churches.

AND THERE ARE MANY, MANY, MORE.

Answer 3

I think it's interestering that JW's are accused of being a cult because they follow "men",

Yet this question is why don't we follow the teachings of this group of men?

An honest study of the bible shows that the trinity is a false teaching,

Even the Catholic Church says that the Early Church Fathers did not teach the trinity and that the trinity wasn't remotely thought of.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.

Answer 4

As a non-witness I feel I can answer this some what objectively.
Jehovah's Witnesses due recognize Jesus as God's son. And that he died for mankind. Scripture shown to me was John3:16"God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son". So yes they do put faith in the ransom. But when someone lumps anyone that doesn't believe in the trinity as a cult better be careful, there are quite a few people that will take umbrage. Like Buddhist, Jews, atheist, etc.

Answer 5

I do not necessarily agree with the Trinity, but was very disappointed when I compared what the Watchtower Trinity brochure says about the Ante Nicene Fathers with what they actually wrote. Here is a good article discussing the quotes.

http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/antenicene.doc

Answer 6

The Jehovah's Witnesses have included many, many articles and quotes in much of their literature regarding the development of the Nicene creed and its role in the origin of the Trinity doctrine. I am not sure, however, what you are referring to by 'ante-nicene' fathers.

Regarding the trinity, it is not taught in the bible.

Answer 7

What in the world is a "ante-nicene fathers"?

Are you talking about true leaders like Polycarp, that didn't swallow the stuff the growing church was developing?

Polycarp by the way was trained by a disciple of John.
He was later burned at the stake by the developing Catholic church in the year 150
.

Answer 8

I hate to say this because some of the nicest people I have ever met ate Jehovah witness but I believe they are a cult for the simple fact that they do not give honor to Jesus as the son of God and believe he is God. They also believe Jesus died for Adam and Eve's sin not mankind. They don't believe in the divinity of Jesus but believe you get to heaven by works. They use the argument that the word trinity is not in the bible and it isn't but it is a word to describe what we know as trinity, I guess we should always say The Father, The Son, and The HOLY Spirit instead?

Answer 9

Many Christians begin to learn about the Trinity through knowledge of Baptism. This is also a starting point for others in comprehending why the doctrine matters to so many Christians, even though the doctrine itself teaches that the being of God is beyond complete comprehension. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are structured around profession of the Trinity, and are solemnly professed by converts to Christianity when they receive baptism, and in the Church's liturgy, particularly when celebrating the Eucharist. One or both of these creeds are often used as brief summations of Christian faith by mainstream denominations.

One God
God is one, and the Godhead a single being: The Hebrew Scriptures lift this one article of faith above others, and surround it with stern warnings against departure from this central issue of faith, and of faithfulness to the covenant God had made with them. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4) (the Shema), "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Deuteronomy 5:7) and, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6). Any formulation of an article of faith which does not insist that God is solitary, that divides worship between God and any other, or that imagines God coming into existence rather than being God eternally, is not capable of directing people toward the knowledge of God, according to the trinitarian understanding of the Old Testament. The same insistence is found in the New Testament: "...there is none other God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4). The "other gods" warned against are therefore not gods at all, but substitutes for God, and so are, according to St. Paul, simply mythological or are demons.

So, in the trinitarian view, the common conception which thinks of the Father and Christ as two separate beings, is incorrect. The central, and crucial affirmation of Christian faith is that there is one savior, God, and one salvation, manifest in Jesus Christ, to which there is access only because of the Holy Spirit. The God of the Old is still the same as the God of the New. In Christianity, it is understood that statements about a solitary god are intended to distinguish the Hebraic understanding from the polytheistic view, which see divine power as shared by several separate beings, beings which can, and do, disagree and have conflicts with each other. The concept of Many comprising One is quite visible in the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verses 20 through 23.

God exists in three persons

The "Shield of the Trinity" or "Scutum Fidei" diagram of traditional Western Christian symbolism.This one God however exists in three persons, or in the Greek hypostases. God has but a single divine nature. Chalcedonians — Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants — hold that, in addition, the Second Person of the Trinity — God the Son, Jesus — assumed human nature, so that he has two natures (and hence two wills), and is really and fully both true God and true human.


The singleness of God's being and the multiplicity of the Divine Persons together account for the nature of Christian salvation, and disclose the gift of eternal life. "Through the Son we have access to the Father in one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:18). Communion with the Father is the goal of the Christian faith and is eternal life. It is given to humans through the Divine union with humanity in Jesus Christ who, although fully God, died for sinners "in the flesh" to accomplish their redemption, and this forgiveness, restoration, and friendship with God is made accessible through the gift to the Church of the Holy Spirit, who, being God, knows the Divine Essence intimately and leads and empowers the Christian to fulfill the will of God. Thus, this doctrine touches on every aspect of the trinitarian Christian's faith and life; and this explains why it has been so earnestly contended for, throughout Christian history.

Answer 10

They do have. Eventhough some are not in the brochure, but you can request for all the references used to the Watchtower office. A JW brother did this, and he got all the references.