Where would a serious study of the treachings of Polycarp, Clement and Igantius lead?

Question

Mormons, Jehovah Witness and Muslims all claim to believe the apostle's teaching but believe it was lost and set aside the church's interpretation of the scriptures as corrupted and every translation excepting their own special books. But if we look at the writings of people taught directly by the apostles and even appointed by the apostles would we come to their conclusions?

The apostles taught men like Polycarp the successor to John chosen by John, Clement the successor to Peter chosen by PEter and people of their day like Ignatius who Polycarp wrote to. As serous challenge to all would be If you look at Polycarp, Celement and Ignatious writings see if they do or do not agree with Jehovah witness doctrines but rather would be consistent with orthodox Christian beliefs which they prefer to set aside and let the chips fall where thye may

I would love to hear from some JW's Mormons and Muslims on this Thanks in advance

Answer 1

They would be more consistant with Orthodox Christian Old Believer beliefs.

Answer 2

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe or teach as this so-called "question" supposes. They are far more interested in what the BIBLE teaches.

Jehovah's Witnesses have certainly NOT "set aside" every translation of the Scriptures except their own. By no definition was there any "JW translation" until the 1960's, about a century after the modern origins of the religion. Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider this "New World Translation" to be inspired or infallible in a manner that other translations are not. NWT is freely available on the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses:
http://watchtower.org/bible/

During their entire history, each Jehovah's Witness has always used whatever translation or translations he prefers, and in fact Jehovah's Witnesses themselves distribute several different translations.

Ironically, unlike the philosophers of so-called "Christendom", the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses rejects paganism and human tradition that contradicts the teachings of the apostles and the other Christian bible writers. For example, it is the Catholic church which is 'forbidding [priests] to marry', seemingly ignoring the fact that several of the apostles were married.

(2 Timothy 3:14-16) Continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to believe, knowing from what persons you learned them... All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight

(1 Timothy 4:1-3) However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, marked in their conscience as with a branding iron; forbidding to marry

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/pr/index.htm?article=article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/t13/

Answer 3

Muslims provided financial incentives for people to convert from Christianity and Judaism.

JW's are nothing more than complex pyramid schemes which deny the divinity of Jesus and say that the Messiah will rapture all JW's into Heaven to be with "holy man" Jesus.

Mormons have been deceived by the admitted con artist, Joesph Smith. They have little or no knowledge of any religious writings besides their own.

Answer 4

Aren't CHRISTIANS supposed to follow CHRIST?

JWs say that thier Christians. What part of "CHRISTIAN" says anything about following anyone but CHRIST?

I'd guess Witnesses are happy to let Orthodoxists be Polycarpenters or Clementines or Igna-ramouses or whatever you call people who think philosophy is better than the bible.

Christians like Jehovah's Witnesses just want to follow Christ.

Answer 5

First it is well documented that the bible doesn’t teach a trinity. Even the Catholic Church is honest enough to say it.

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.

Notice: ‘Among the Apostolic Fathers, (this would include John) there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.’

What about ‘Ignatius’? Are his letters authentic? What is the total understanding Ignatius had of Jesus and God the Father?

Ignatius did not say that the Son was equal to God the Father in such ways or in any other. Instead, he showed that the Son is in subjection to the One who is superior, Almighty God.

Ignatius calls Almighty God “the only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, the Father and Begetter of the only-begotten Son,” showing the distinction between God and His Son.9 He speaks of “God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”10 And he declares: “There is one God, the Almighty, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son.”11

Ignatius shows that the Son was not eternal as a person but was created, for he has the Son saying: “The Lord [Almighty God] created Me, the beginning of His ways.”12 Similarly, Ignatius said: “There is one God of the universe, the Father of Christ, ‘of whom are all things;’ and one Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord, ‘by whom are all things.’”

“There is one God who manifested himself through Jesus Christ his Son, who is his Word which proceeded from silence and in every respect pleased him [God] who sent him. . . . Jesus Christ was subject to the Father.”

However, are the 15 letters attributed to Ignatius accepted as authentic? In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I, editors Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson state:
“It is now the universal opinion of critics, that the first eight of these professedly Ignatian letters are spurious. They bear in themselves indubitable proofs of being the production of a later age . . . and they are now by common consent set aside as forgeries.”

“Of the seven Epistles which are acknowledged by Eusebius . . . , we possess two Greek recensions, a shorter and a longer. . . . Although the shorter form . . . had been generally accepted in preference to the longer, there was still a pretty prevalent opinion among scholars, that even it could not be regarded as absolutely free from interpolations, or as of undoubted authenticity.”

Though we can not fully trust the writings of Ignatius, we can trust what John wrote.

What was happening even during John’s life time?

1 John 2: 18 Young children, it is the last hour, and, just as YOU have heard that antichrist is coming, EVEN NOW (caps / italics added) there have come to be many antichrists;

26 These things I write YOU about those who are trying to mislead YOU.

John tells us that even in his day, there were those teaching wrong things about Jesus. This is in agreement with Paul at: Acts 20:29.

This means we cannot fully trust what 1st and 2nd century ‘Christian’ writers said or didn’t say.

That is why Jehovah's Witnesses only teach what the Bible says, and not man's.

Rev 1:6 John tells us about the God and Father of Jesus.

Rev 3:12 Jesus tell us we are to be blessed by his God.

Who are you going to believe?

.

Answer 6

It would lead me to only one conclusion:

"No Bishop, no Church."