Jesus is a god? The Watchtower thinks so and tells us by translating John 1:1 to “the word was a god.” But why do they do this. They say the Greek says so:
“Actually, in the Greek text, the definite article ho, “the,” appears before the first “God,” but there is no article before the second.” (Aid to Bible Understanding p. 1669)
Is the New World Translation consistently placing an “a” before all the times “God,” theos or theon, appears in John chapter 1? Let’s see:
John 1:12 should then read: “However, to all who did receive him, he gave authority to become [a] God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name.”
Verse 13 should read: “And they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from [a] God”
Verse 18: “No man has seen [a] God at any time; the only-begotten god+ who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him”
Well, you get the picture. The Watchtower uses the “a” only when it suits their wishes. Some Watchtower articles say “divine” would be a good substitute here rather than “a god.” But does that work consistently? Here’s their reasoning for why “divine” might work:
Therefore, John’s statement that the Word, or Logos, was “a god” or “divine” or “godlike” does not mean that he was the God with whom he was. (Kingdom Interlinear Translation p. 1139-1140)
Of course, the Watchtower assumes and teaches as truth that God is only one Person. This statement this “does not mean that he was the God with whom he was” is the equivocation fallacy. Some words can mean several things. “My ship is fast,” for instance can mean the ship is tied to a dock and can’t move or the opposite, that it’s speedy. We need to look at the context of the document in which the statement is used to gain it’s meaning.
Since John comments several times, including in quotes of Jesus, that Jesus and the Father are equal in nature, we have to conclude John is consistent in his thinking and Jesus is God as much as the Father is.
AnswersAZ 