Robert M. Bowman Jr.
Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements
Alan W. Gomes, series editor
Zondervan, 1995
Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, what do they really believe, and how should Christians respond to them? This little book of just 85 pages packs a lot of information with the material organized in outline form that gets right to the subject matter. The book begins with a brief but informative overview of the religion’s history and practices. The bulk of the book discusses Watchtower theology, specifically its authority claims and its doctrines about God and Christ; death, the soul, and hell; Jesus’ resurrection; salvation; and Christ’s return. This theology section sets forth the Jehovah’s Witness position on each topic, objectively states the arguments they use to support their position (with documentation from their own publications), offers a refutation from Scripture of those arguments, and concludes with arguments defending the evangelical Christian position. The last three sections of the book offer some witnessing tips, a select bibliography, and a chart comparing statements from Watchtower literature with texts from the Bible.
The author had written three books on Jehovah’s Witnesses prior to this one, all analyzing and refuting their doctrinal interpretations of the Bible. He was never a Jehovah’s Witness (and so was not an “apostate,” as the Witnesses call former members). Rather, he had at the time already twenty years of extensive experience meeting and corresponding with Jehovah’s Witnesses (including some of their influential apologists), researching their literature, and writing both academic papers and ministry articles on the subject. That research and experience is all distilled here in an easy-to-follow, fair-minded manner.
“Bowman does a great job in introducing the theology of the Witnesses and showing how one can interact with them. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to engage in fruitful conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness about the Christian faith.”
Anders Nissen, Holy Trinity’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Gothenburg, Sweden
Here are some places where you can order the book:
Amazon.com (paperback, Kindle)
ChristianBook.com (paperback)