The Churches Misrepresent God!
IF YOU are one of the 960 million persons who regard the churches of Christendom as representatives of God, you may be shocked by the bold statement that they misrepresent him. From your personal experience you may not see how this could be so, but permit us to present some facts. If you are not afraid of the truth, you will consider them.
The personal name of God appears as four letters in the portion of the Bible that was originally written in Hebrew. The churches know what these letters stand for. They have even put them on many of their buildings throughout the world, such as Saint Paul’s Chapel in New York city, the Basilica of St. Victor in Varese, Italy, and Paris’ oldest church, Saint Germain des Près, to mention a few. Although knowing God’s personal name, the churches have kept it from the people by suppressing it. They have even done this in their translations of the Bible.
SUBSTITUTE TITLES
Wherever the four Hebrew letters for God’s name appear in the Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible, the churches have almost invariably substituted the title “Lord” in their translations. In English the letters for his name are JHVH or YHWH. How can you get Lord out of that? It does not even remotely resemble the personal name of God, which, with vowels added, is Jehovah or, as some prefer, Yahweh.
Church organizations produced the King James Version of the Bible and the Catholic Douay Version. The King James Version translates God’s name as Jehovah only four times by itself and only three times in combination with the name of a place or altar out of the more than 6,800 times that the letters for his name appear in Hebrew. (Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4; Gen. 22:14; Ex. 17:15; Judg. 6:24) The Douay Version does not translate it as Jehovah even once. Both use the undistinguishing title “Lord” or “God” in place of his name, thus changing what the Bible in its original languages actually says. While keeping people ignorant of God’s name, the Catholic church acknowledges the name in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Its edition of 1910, in Volume 8, on page 329, says: “Jehovah, the proper name of God in the Old Testament.”
Even though “Jehovah” may not be the way the Hebrews originally pronounced the name, that is not a valid argument for not using it. The name “Jehovah” preserves the four letters representing God’s name in Hebrew and has long been recognized as his personal name. It distinguishes him from the millions of man-made gods, such as the 330 million gods of India, which cannot be said for the common title “Lord.” While rejecting the name Jehovah, claiming that it is not the accurate Hebrew pronunciation of God’s name, the churches inconsistently use the proper name Jesus, although that is not the accurate Hebrew or Greek pronunciation of the name of the Son of God. By suppressing Jehovah’s name and substituting titles for it, the churches misrepresent him, making him appear to be nameless.
MISREPRESENTED AS A TRINITY
As if this indignity were not enough, the churches have misrepresented the true God as an incomprehensible triune God of three persons in one. They refer to him as the “Triune God” or the “Blessed Trinity.” As you search your Bible, you will not find one mention of the word “trinity” or any statement that Almighty God is three coequal and coeternal persons, as the churches claim. What you will find there flatly contradicts them, making their trinity doctrine a lie.
In support of their doctrine the churches claim that various statements in the Bible imply that God is three persons in one. When he says, at Genesis 1:26, for example, “Let us make man in our image,” they claim that the use of the word “us” implies three persons in one God, although the verse does not indicate how many persons were meant by the word. They insist on distorting this scripture to fit their pet doctrine. That the one to whom the Creator was actually speaking was his first creation, his only-begotten Son, is testified to by the Bible at Colossians 1:15, 16: “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and upon the earth.” That mighty spirit Son was Jehovah’s master workman. Logically it was to this spirit creature, and not merely to himself, that the Almighty God was speaking.
Another scripture the churches distort to imply seeming support for the trinity is John 10:30, where Jesus says: “I and the Father are one.” They contend that Jesus was testifying that he is God, but is that really what he was saying? By comparing John 10:30 with John 17:20, 21, it becomes evident that Jesus was not doing that at all. In the latter scriptures he speaks of those that have faith in him as being one with himself and the Father. Obviously, Jesus was speaking of unity of purpose and not oneness in godship.
Many churches go so far as to misrepresent God as sacrificing himself for the redemption of mankind. A Catholic publication put out by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri makes this unscriptural claim in its title: “God Himself Our Sacrifice.” And the Book of Mormon makes a similar claim at Alma 42:15: “God himself atoneth for the sins of the world.” This gross misrepresentation of the eternal God results from the lie that Jesus is God. The Book of Mormon carries that lie to the point of having Jesus Christ say at Ether 4:12, “I am the Father.”
Throughout his ministry Jesus Christ proclaimed himself, not as God, but as the Son of God. He said nothing about being part of a triune God and neither did the Bible writers. Instead of claiming to be equal with his Father, he said: “The Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28) This relationship of unequality with the Father did not change after his resurrection and ascension to heaven. This is shown at 1 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Co 15:28, where it shows subjection of the resurrected Jesus Christ to the Father.
Jesus referred to his Father as his God when he told one of his followers: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.” (John 20:17) He worshiped the same God as did his followers. It was to this God, Jehovah, that he prayed when dying on the torture stake: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—Matt. 27:46.
As these scriptures plainly show, the churches of Christendom are lying when they say that Jesus Christ is God and that God came to the earth and died to save men. They grossly misrepresent the Creator when they claim that he is a triune God of three persons in one, thus likening him to what pagans say about their gods. They dishonestly twist the Scriptures to make them appear to imply support for their doctrine. Considering how the churches thus misrepresent the true God and his name, how could they possibly be his representatives? Do you honestly believe that you can please the God of truth by belonging to such organizations?—Rev. 18:4.