The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society says the Bible teaches the Trinity Doctrine: What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe?

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the spiritual guidance and authority for Jehovah’s Witnesses.  In one of the Watchtower’s magazines they said the following:

​

“They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home.  But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom’s clergy were teaching 100 years ago…” (The Watchtower, August 15, 1981, pages 28-29)

There are three things in this quote that are very important to see:

​

1. The Watchtower addresses those who read the Bible exclusively without anyone telling them what it means

2. The Watchtower addresses those who read the Bible alone

3. The Watchtower addresses those who read the Bible in small groups

The Watchtower says, “strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to apostate doctrines.”  This means that those who interpret the Bible with the Bible will believe in apostate doctrines.  In other words, if a person does not go with what the Watchtower says and reads the Bible alone, they will believe in the Trinity.  Now someone may say, “Where do they say that?”  The expression “apostate doctrines” is in reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. (And other doctrines)  The Watchtower in their books and magazines labels the Trinity doctrine as an apostate doctrine.

In the brochure called “Should You Believe in the Trinity?” the Watchtower says the following:

“Do YOU believe in the Trinity?  Most people in Christendom do.  After all, it has been the central doctrine of the churches for centuries…This disreputable history of the Trinity fits in with what Jesus and his apostles foretold would follow their time.  They said that there would be an apostasy, a deviation, a falling away from true worship until Christ’s return, when true worship would be restored before God’s day of destruction of this system of things…The testimony of history is clear:  The Trinity teaching is a deviation from the truth, an apostatizing from it…the Trinity doctrine also serves the interests  of clergymen who want to maintain their hold of people…By honoring God as supreme and worshiping him on his terms, we can avoid the judgment that he will soon bring on apostate Christendom.” (Should You Believe in the Trinity Brochure, 1989, pages 3, 9, 12, 31)

There can be no doubt that the Watchtower was addressing the doctrine of the Trinity in their August 15, 1981 magazine on pages 28-29.  The references from “Should You Believe in the Trinity?” makes that clear!

The Watchtower wants to control their members by telling them that they cannot understand the Bible outside of reading their publications.  For example:

“Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.” (The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, page 587)

“Jehovah God has also provided his visible organization, his “faithful and discreet slave,” made up of spirit anointed ones, to help Christians in all nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives. Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do.” (The Watchtower,  December 1, 1981, page 27)

“We have the opportunity to show love for our brothers who take the lead in the congregation or in connection with Jehovah’s visible organization worldwide. This includes being loyal to “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Matthew 24:45-47) Let us face the fact that no matter how much Bible reading we have done, we would never have learned the truth on our own.” (The Watchtower, December 1, 1990, page 19)

“All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the “greatly diversified wisdom of God” can become known only through Jehovah’s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.” (The Watchtower, October 1, 1994, page 8)

These quotes are clear on what the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society teaches concerning those who can understand the Bible.  The Watchtower says, “to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home.  But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrine,” which means anyone who studies the Bible alone will believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.