Did the Watchtower misquote the Catholic Encylopedia in "Should you believe in the trinity" magazine

Question

THE New Catholic Encyclopedia offers three such "proof texts" but also admits: "The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament]. In the N[ew] T[estament] the oldest evidence is in the Pauline epistles, especially 2 Cor 13.13 [verse 14 in some Bibles], and 1 Cor 12.4-6. In the Gospels evidence of the Trinity is found explicitly only in the baptismal formula of Mt 28.19." (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1965, "Trinity, in the Bible", p306, As quoted in "Should you believe in the trinity?")
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the OT. In the NT the oldest evidence is in the Pauline epistles, especially 2 Cor 13.13, and I Cor 12.4-6. In the Gospels evidence of the Trinity is found explicitly only in the baptismal formula of Mt 28.19. ...In many places of the OT, however, expressions are used in which some of the Fathers of the Church saw references or foreshadowings of the Trinity. ... The revelation of the truth of the triune life of God was first made in the NT, where the earliest references to it are in the Pauline epistles. The doctrine is most easily seen in St. Paul's recurrent use of the terms God, Lord, and Spirit. (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1965, "Trinity, in the Bible", p306)

Answer 1

Since when is The Watchtower NOT misquoting all things Catholic?

Are They Awake on the Watchtower?
http://www.catholic.com/library/Are_They_Awake_on_the_Watchtower.asp

Distinctive Beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/Distinctive_Beliefs_of_Jehovahs.asp

The God of the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/God_of_the_Jehovah_Witnesses.asp

History of the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/History_of_the_Jehovah_Witnesesses.asp

Strategies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/Strategies_of_Jehovah_Witness.asp

Stumpers for the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/Stumpers_for_Jehovah_Witnesse.asp

More Stumpers for the Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.catholic.com/library/More_Stumpers_for_Jehovah_Wit.asp

Answer 2

The simple answer to your Q is, "No. There are no misquotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia in the JW publication, "Should You Believe In The Trinity". (However, the Asker failed to tell us what pages in the 31 page "Trinity" booklet those quotes are to be found on!)

BUT, look out for the dots... in all such quotes. They are there to signify a part that has been ommitted by the quoter. It could be a few words within a sentence that have been edited out, or a few sentences within a paragraph, or a few paragraphs within a chapter. If all JWs took the trouble to find out what those missing bits said, and suss out why they were de-selected by their leaders, there would be a dashed sight fewer JWs around. Alas, their leaders rarely provide enough detailed references for their readers to do such checking. How peculiar.

With regard to the Trinity doctrine, Wt.Soc literature sets up a straw man, which it then demolishes with ease. The Wt.Soc either fails to understand what the Trinity teaches or (worse) does understand it yet presents a distortion of it. That is why the aforementioned booklet partially quotes ancient "Church Fathers" like Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian etc to give the impression those worthies did not believe Jesus was God. The exact opposite is true. Just fill in the missing dots...

The Wt.Soc also introduces red herrings into the arguments, such as Roman Catholic adoration of Mary, to suggest Mary is, somehow, involved in the Trinity doctrine. Again, this does not misquote, or even misrepresent Roman Catholicism, but it DOES misrepresent the Trinity doctrine. Let the unwary beware!

Answer 3

If you are correct then the Catholics are contradicting themselves.

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.

At one place they say the trinity is hinted at, then they say nothing even remotely approaching it.

Note Matt 28:19-20 doesn't say anything about a trinity.

18 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”

First it shows that 'all things' have been 'given' to him.

If you are given something it means it wasn't yours to begin with.

'In the name' of something denotes authority not identity.

In the name of the law, means the authority of the law.

The Catholic bible NAB footnote states at John 1:1 (God2) is a quality and not an identification.


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Answer 4

I do not know the accuracy of the article in the encyclopedia or whether it was quoted accurately.

But the concept of the Holy Trinity is not completely biblical. The growth of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is another example of Holy Tradition.

The Bible does not contain the word Trinity. However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments.

Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians prayed and struggled over these hints for a couple of centuries. The concept of the Holy Trinity (three persons in one God) was mainstream Christianity in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea and our belief is expressed in the Nicene Creed from that council:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him, all things were made. For us and our salvation, He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day, He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Just a note to Imacatholic2:

Make up your mind. You cant have it both ways.

In one breath you say,
"But the concept of the Trinity is not completely biblical".

In the next paragraph you say,
"However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments."

There is no such thing as something being "not completely biblical" and biblical at the same time, (by being "hinted" at).

This is doublespeak.

Something is either biblical, or it isnt. And God only has to say something once for it to be biblical.

I believe you do this to elevate "Holy Tradition".

We do not need "Holy Tradition" to believe in the Trinity.

The Doctrine is in the Old Testament implicitly, and is revealed in the New Testement explicitly.

It is in the Gospels with all of the "I AM" statements of our Lord.
With much of the grammer used in referring to the Holy Spirit by our Lord.
With such statments such as, "The Father and I are one". "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father".

It is not only revealed in the letters by Paul and the other Apostles, it is ASSUMED to be so. Just as if Paul and the Apostles were writing to people who were already AWARE of it.

Which of course, is why you never see any of the New Testaments writers attempting to PROVE it. It was assumed to be a TRUTH known to their readers.

I could quote a hundred passages in the New Testament where the Diety of one or the other Persons of the Godhead is just assumed to be so. Most of the time it's not even the main point of the passage. And that shows how much it WAS assumed.


The Church (All True Believers) did not need centuries of "Holy Tradition" to reveal this Doctrine.


...theBerean

Answer 6

Deut 6:4 Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Isa 43:10 The Lord says, "You are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so you would know and believe me, so you would understand that I am the true God. There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. 11 I myself am the Lord; I am the only Savior. 12 I myself have spoken to you, saved you, and told you these things. It was not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses, and I am God," says the Lord. 13 "I have always been God. No one can save people from my power; when I do something, no one can change it."

Matt 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. 19 So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age."

Luke 3:21 Jesus Is Baptized by John

When all the people were being baptized by John, Jesus also was baptized. While Jesus was praying, heaven opened 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."

Although the word Trinity is not found in the Holy Bible (O/T or N/T) the Biblical teaching and principle are there.

The mystery of the Trinity for some it too much to understand. However, it is a mystery worth researching and praying about.

Think of it this way...ice, water, steam...three forms of the same substance.

Or root, stem, flower...three parts of the same plant.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit...three essences of one God. The Father is spirit. The Son, God in the flesh and the Holy Spirit is sent to dwell in and among us.

I hope that helps.

Answer 7

No.

The quote used in the brochure "Should You Believe in the Trinity?" accurately and fairly represented 'New Catholic Encyclopedia'. Here is the quote, fully in context in the brochure (which is duplicated in its entirely at Jehovah's Witnesses' official website):
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_05.htm

Answer 8

Yes, The Watchtower misquote a lot of things. The Watchtower is the Pope of the Jw's. Just as the Pope have the final word, so it is with the watchtower.

Jesus said you believe in the Father; believe also in me.

God in Christ reconciling the world back to himself.

Jesus said,"When I leave I will send the Comforter; He will bring back to your rememberant all things I have taught you".

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one

Answer 9

I can't say whether the quote is accurate because I don't have the New Catholic Encyclopedia, nor is it online (that I know). I do know that the New edition is not exactly known for orthodoxy. I personally know a priest who wrote one of the entries, and he is a heretic.

Answer 10

I don't know what the WatchTower article said, but knowing JW teachings as I do, it probably was offering "proof" that the belief in the Holy Trinity is unbiblical, as they do not believe in the Trinity.

The Watchtower teaching is wrong. Here is a link that shows numerous indications in scripture that the belief in the Trinity is sound: http://www.scripturecatholic.com/jesus_christ_divinity.html

God bless and take care.