One of the tactics used by a dishonest debater is known as a "straw man". Similar to a red herring, the purpose of this fallacy is to avoid the real issue, the real argument. In the case of a red herring, the opponent's argument is avoided through diversionary means. In the case of a straw man, the opponent's argument is avoided by misrepresenting that argument. When a debater resorts to a straw man tactic, he presents as his opponent's argument what is actually a false picture - a close imitation - of his opponent's argument. The dishonest debater then proceeds to "knock down" this straw man, creating the illusion that he has refuted, defeated, or weakened his opponent's argument.
The Watchtower Society frequently resorts to straw man tactics when it comes to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The Society denies the Deity of Jesus Christ as well as that of the Holy Spirit, and takes great pleasure in "knocking down" the Christian Trinity doctrine. But as will be shown, what they actually "knock down" is merely a straw man trinity of their own making.
Consider the following "logic" from the pages of The Watchtower magazine:
Now, according to Trinitarian theology, Yahweh, or Jehovah, is the name of the God of the Hebrew patriarchs and the Jews, the God whom Jesus came to reveal as "the Father," or "God the Father." It follows that for Trinitarians the divine name Yahweh, or Jehovah, designates only one of the supposed "Three Persons" of the "Godhead." The "Second Person" has a name (Jesus), but the "Third Person" is the anonymous "Holy Spirit." Christendom's churches cannot logically use a name for God that does not designate the entire "Godhead." So their members are condemned to worship a mysterious triune God that has no name. –The Watchtower, September 1, 1984, page 26.
The Watchtower Society concludes "Trinitarians" are "condemned to worship a mysterious triune God that has no name." But this conclusion is based on a straw man description of the Trinity doctrine! According to the Society, "for Trinitarians the divine name Yahweh, or Jehovah, designates only one of the supposed 'Three Persons' of the 'Godhead.'" This is patently false, and besmirches the true Trinity doctrine. This, of course, is the objective of the Watchtower Society, and the point of their straw man trinity. The Society paints a phoney picture - a misrepresentation - of the Christian Trinity, to create the illusion that Christians worship a nameless, mystery God. The result is that the Trinity doctrine becomes sullied in the minds of individual Jehovah's Witnesses, who accept the Watchtower's straw man as an accurate representation of the Trinity.1
In reality, for "Trinitarians" the divine name does not designate only one person of the Trinity, but is the name of God Himself. Christians believe that the one true God whose name is Yahweh is manifest in three distinct persons.
That the Watchtower Society is intentionally misrepresenting the Trinity may be seen by examining the following statement made by the Society:
If he is one Jehovah, then could he be three gods, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, as the Trinitarians teach? –The Watchtower, April 1, 1970, page 210.
While this statement is itself another straw man,2 by saying "then could he [i.e. Jehovah] be three...as the Trinitarians teach", it is revealed that the Society is aware that "Trinitarians teach" that Jehovah (Yahweh) is manifest in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When the Watchtower Society states (as they did in 1984, quoted above) that "for Trinitarians the divine name Yahweh, or Jehovah, designates only one of the supposed 'Three Persons' of the 'Godhead'", they are once again proven to be the liars they are.3
Identifying the name "Jehovah" with only the Father is just part of the straw man the Watchtower Society attempts to pass off as the Christian Trinity. A second component to their straw man can be seen in the 1970 quote shown above. Notice the Society claims that "Trinitarians teach" that God (Jehovah) is "three gods". Of course, this is self-contradictory and wholly illogical - not to mention polytheistic.
Once again it is seen that the Society is knowingly misrepresenting the Trinity; once again they are proven to be liars. Notice the following quotation:
For centuries millions of people have believed the doctrine of the trinity, which teaches that "in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: 'The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.'" –The Watchtower, February 1, 1960, page 93.
The Watchtower Society has even acknowledged the insistence of "Trinitarians" that there are not three gods, but only one God:
So, to follow through with their own argument, the title El·o·him' would teach that there are two or more Gods in one, instead of "three Persons in one God". Thus the trinitarians would be guilty of arguing that there is a multiplicity of gods, contrary to their insistence that there are not three Gods, but only one God... –The Watchtower, September 1, 1953, page 536.
Despite the admitted "insistence" of "Trinitarians" that "there are not three gods, but only one God", the Society unabashedly misrepresents the Trinity doctrine as "three gods"!
A third element of the Watchtower Society's straw man trinity is the assertion that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds Jesus and "Jehovah" (in Watchtower dogma, the Father) to be the same person. Notice:
At Zechariah 11:12,13 (AS) Jehovah speaks of "thirty pieces of silver" as "the goodly price that I [Jehovah] was prized at by them." At Matthew 27:9,10 the prophecy is applied to the price Judas received for betraying Jesus. Does this indicate that Jehovah and Jesus are the same person, as taught by trinitarians? –The Watchtower, April 1, 1959, page 224.
This shows clearly that Jehovah and Jesus are two separate persons and not two parts of a triune God, or Trinity. –Revelation-It's Grand Climax At Hand!, 1989, page 65.
Not only does Stephen's request, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," not prove the trinity, but Jesus' similar fervent prayer, "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit," conclusively shows that Jesus is not the same as his Father Jehovah. –The Watchtower, February 1, 1959, page 96.
By making it appear that the Trinity doctrine holds that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person, the Society is then able to refute the doctrine using scriptures that show Jesus and the Father to be distinct persons. A classic straw man!
Of course, as already shown, the Watchtower Society has elsewhere admitted the Trinity doctrine does not hold Jesus and Jehovah (or Jesus and the Father) to be the same person. Rather, as acknowledged by the Society, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are held to be "three Persons being truly distinct one from another."4
But the Watchtower Society's straw man trinity is not yet complete. Another misrepresentation of the doctrine is seen in the following quotation:
Christendom has copied the heathen, pagan nations of Asia in teaching that God is a trinity, three Gods in one Person. –The Watchtower, April 15, 1962, page 235.
According to the Society, not only is the Trinity "three gods", but "three gods in one person". Again, this is pure deception, being a contradiction of the proper doctrine as already admitted by the Society. Notice again:
For centuries millions of people have believed the doctrine of the trinity, which teaches that "in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: 'The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.'" –The Watchtower, February 1, 1960, page 93.
After erecting their straw man trinity, the Watchtower Society is free to knock it down using scripture as well as more traditional Watchtower methods: name-calling and slander.5 According to the Watchtower Society, the Trinity is 'pagan', 'inexplicable', 'blasphemous', 'unscriptural', 'mystical', 'profane', and 'satanic'.6 I do not dispute that the doctrine as presented by the Society is all these things. What it is not, however, is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
By deliberately misrepresenting a doctrine with which they are well familiar, the Watchtower Society is revealed yet again as a liar-organization.7
In conclusion, I offer individual Jehovah's Witnesses some of their Society's own advice on the matter of honesty:
As servants of Jehovah, they are obligated not to imitate this condemned world's dishonesty-not for any reason. Instead, they must carry on all their activities in harmony with God's laws. And his laws have not changed in this regard. ... All who want to live in God's new system must reflect his qualities, one of which is that "God ... cannot lie." (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18) Dishonesty originates with Satan, "the father of the lie." ... So Jehovah's servants must be honest in all things. Since that is the way everyone will have to be in the new system, it is the way God's people must be now. –The Watchtower, November 15, 1986, page 11-12.
Footnotes
1. That Watchtower leaders might lie about the Trinity doctrine would not even be considered by members of the Watchtower religion, who are trained to accept the Watchtower Society as God's "channel of communication", and to respond to the directions of the Society "as to the voice of God":
Let us now unmistakably identify Jehovah's channel of communication for our day, that we may continue in his favor. –The Watchtower, June 15, 1957, page 370.
It is vital that we appreciate this fact and respond to the directions of the "slave" [i.e. the Watchtower Society] as we would to the voice of God, because it is His provision. –The Watchtower, June 15, 1957, page 370.
2. The Society here portrays the Trinity as "three gods...as the Trinitarians teach", in effect making "Trinitarians" to be polytheists. This is another blatant lie by the Watchtower Society, as will be shown in the balance of this essay.
3. For further examples of the deceit of the Watchtower Society, look here.
4. The Watchtower, February 1, 1960, page 93.
5. For additional examples of the Society's slander tactics, look here.
6. Cf. The Watchtower, January 1, 1951, page 21; The Watchtower, July 15, 1981, page 14; God's "Eternal Purpose" Now Triumphing For Man's Good, page 36; The Watchtower, November 1, 1975, page 651; The Watchtower, January 1, 1992, page 22; The Watchtower, August 1, 1957, page 455; The Watchtower, September 1, 1957, page 524.