Hi, I'm Miss Minton, and welcome to this lesson on the core beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and how this is distinct from other Christian denominations, and you'll be drawing on knowledge of Christian beliefs, such as the Trinity.

So let's get started by taking a look at the keywords for this lesson.

We have denomination, Jehovah, proclaim, and Trinity.

The word denomination refers to a branch of Christianity, so, for example, the Orthodox Church is a Christian denomination.

Jehovah is a biblical name for God.

The word proclaim means to announce something for other people to hear.

And the Trinity is the belief in one God as three persons, which are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Now, our lesson today will have three parts.

We'll start by looking at Jehovah's Witnesses as a Christian denomination.

We will then move on to look at the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

And finally, we'll look at the rejection of the Trinity by Jehovah's Witnesses.

So let's get started with Jehovah's Witnesses as a Christian denomination.

Now, Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian group or denomination, and it's estimated that there are over eight million of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world.

Now, we can actually learn a little bit about Jehovah's Witnesses by looking at the name of the denomination.

So let's take the first part of the name.

And in the first part of the name, we see the name Jehovah.

Now, Jehovah is actually a biblical name for God.

Now, this biblical name for God stems from Jewish holy texts when God is referred to as YHWH.

And the Hebrew name YHWH has been translated to the name Jehovah in some English translations of the Old Testament.

Now let's look at the second part of the name of this denomination, which is Witnesses.

Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, what does it mean to be a witness? And can you think of any examples? Off you go.

So to be a witness means to proclaim the truth, so to announce the truth for other people to hear.

And you may have thought of the example of a witness in court, so someone who takes the stand and declares the truth in front of a judge and a jury.

Now, when we're looking at the Christian denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses, they proclaim truths about God.

Now, Elliot is one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and he is explaining how we can refer to Jehovah's Witnesses and why this is the case.

So Elliot says that you can refer to individual members of the denomination as a witness or as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and this is because they proclaim truths about Jehovah.

In other words, they proclaim truths about God.

So let's check your understanding.

Jehovah's Witnesses seek to blank truths about God.

Is the missing word A, protest, B, Proclaim, or C, produce? Fantastic.

The missing word is B, proclaim.

So Jehovah's Witnesses seek to proclaim truths about God.

Well done.

Now, many of Jehovah's Witnesses share beliefs that are central to wider Christianity, for example, the belief in one God who is the creator of all things, the belief in the Bible as a source of God's authority, the belief in Jesus as the son of God, and the belief in the afterlife.

So let's check your understanding again.

True or false, Jehovah's Witnesses do not share any beliefs that are central to wider Christianity.

Well done.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because Jehovah's Witnesses do share beliefs that are central to wider Christianity.

An example of that would be the belief in an afterlife.

So well done for identifying that the statement is false and for identifying the reason why.

Now, central to the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses is the belief that the truth of God, or Jehovah, should be proclaimed, so the belief that truths about God should be announced for other people to hear.

Now, this is known as evangelising, and Jehovah's Witnesses can proclaim God, or evangelise, in many different ways, for example, by imitating Jesus.

Now, I would like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, what does it mean to imitate someone? And can you think of any ways that a person might imitate Jesus? Off you go.

So to imitate somebody means to copy them.

And as part of your thinking time or your discussion, you may have considered these ideas when you were asked how a person might imitate Jesus.

So through showing forgiveness, showing compassion towards others, working for peace, or maybe helping those in need.

And these four examples are things that Jesus did and taught, so when a person today performs actions that are in line with these, we might say that they are imitating Jesus, they're copying Jesus, they're using Jesus as a positive example.

Now, another way that Jehovah's Witnesses can proclaim truths about God is through informing others about the Bible.

Now, this can be done in a number of ways, for example, through preaching the teachings of the Bible or through holding worship that's inclusive of everyone, not just members of the denomination.

Now, Andrew is one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and he's explaining how a common way to proclaim truths about God is actually by visiting people's homes.

So Andrew says, "As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I believe that visiting people's homes is a great way to spread the word of the Bible.

When I take part in this, I am following the commandment Jesus gave to 'make disciples of all nations' and the example set by early Christians." So what we can see here is that visiting people's homes is a really good way to inform people about the Bible, but it's also a way that many of Jehovah's Witnesses can follow God's command.

So let's check your understanding.

Which statement best describes how Jehovah's Witnesses can proclaim God? Is it A, by informing others about what can be learned from the Bible, or B, by keeping knowledge of the Bible private? Fantastic, the correct answer is A, by informing others about what can be learned from the Bible.

Well done.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

Now, Sofia is unsure what it means to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

I would like you to explain to Sofia what being one of Jehovah's Witnesses means using the keywords denomination and proclaim.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for all of your hard work during that task.

So you were asked to explain to Sofia what being one of Jehovah's Witnesses means using the keywords denomination and proclaim.

And your response might include that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian group, also known as a denomination.

Individual members of this Christian denomination can be referred to as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The name Jehovah is a biblical name for God that's used by this denomination, and the word witness means to proclaim.

This means that being one of Jehovah's Witnesses means that you proclaim God.

So, again, a huge well done for your hard work during that task.

So we're now moving on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Now, whilst Jehovah's Witnesses share many beliefs that are central to wider Christianity, there are also beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses, making it a distinct Christian denomination.

So let's take a look at beliefs about the Bible.

Now, many of Jehovah's Witnesses hold the belief that whilst the writers of the Bible were humans, so whilst they were ordinary people, they were inspired by God to write what he intended.

Now, this belief comes from a teaching from St.

Paul.

And in 2 Timothy, it says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." Now, I would like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, why did St.

Paul use the phrase God-breathed? Off you go.

So St.

Paul used the phrase God-breathed to show that the spirit of God guided the writers of the Bible.

Now, for most of Jehovah's Witnesses, this means that the Bible shouldn't always be taken literally as some parts are intended to be symbolic, and they should bear in mind when reading the Bible that the authors of the Bible were humans that were guided by God.

So let's check your understanding.

What phrase did St.

Paul use to show that the authors of the Bible were inspired by God? Is it A, God-spoke, B, God-influenced, C, God-breathed, or D, God-guided? Well done.

The correct answer is C.

St.

Paul used the term God-breathed to show that the authors of the Bible were inspired by God.

Now, within the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses, there are unique beliefs about the use of the cross as a symbol, and this is because most of Jehovah's Witnesses agree that Jesus actually died on a stake rather than a cross, and that the concept of Jesus dying on a cross has occurred as a result of the translation of the New Testament, and that actually the original language of the Bible intended to communicate that Jesus died on a singular piece of wood rather than two pieces of wood crossed over to make the shape of a cross.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false, many of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus died on a cross.

Fantastic.

That statement is false.

Now, why is that statement false? Well, it's because many of Jehovah's Witnesses actually believe that Jesus died on a stake rather than a cross and that the concept of Jesus dying on a cross has occurred as a result of the translation of the New Testament.

We're now going to take a look at the beliefs about the afterlife within the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses.

So most of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that heaven is a spiritual realm, and it's a spiritual realm where God, Jesus, and angels live.

Now, many of Jehovah's Witnesses actually believe that only 144,000 people will be resurrected into the spiritual realm of heaven.

Now, the belief about this specific number of people who will enter heaven comes from the book of Revelation in the New Testament.

And in Revelation, it says, "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, how might Jehovah's Witnesses interpret this passage? Off you go.

So many of Jehovah's Witnesses interpret this passage to mean that Jesus is the Lamb, and the passage says that Jesus had 144,000 people with him who are committed to him and his father, God.

So let's check your understanding.

How many people does the book of Revelation suggest will go to heaven? Is it A, 124,000, B, 134,000, or C, 144,000? Fantastic.

The correct answer is C.

The book of Revelation suggests that 144,000 people will go to heaven.

Okay, it's now time for you to have a go at a task.

So Sam, Lucas, and Sofia are discussing the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Sam says that most of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the writers of the Bible were inspired by God.

Lucas says that many of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus died on a cross.

And Sofia says that most of Jehovah's Witnesses agree that heaven is a spiritual realm.

Who is not showing accurate understanding, and why? Pause the video and have a go at explaining.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you were asked to explain, out of Sam, Lucas, and Sofia, who was not showing accurate understanding and why, and your response should look a little bit like this.

Lucas is not showing accurate understanding because he says that many of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus died on a cross.

Lucas should have said that many of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus died on a stake and that the concept of Jesus dying on the cross has occurred as a result of the translation of the New Testament.

So, again, a well done for your work during that task.

We're now moving on to the final part of our lesson, which is to look at the rejection of the Trinity by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Now, most of Jehovah's Witnesses actually reject the Trinity, so they reject the belief in one God as three persons in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And this is because the word Trinity is not used in the Bible, and the Bible has extensive evidence for the existence of one God.

And most of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there is no biblical evidence for one God in three persons.

So let's check your understanding.

Fill in the blank.

Most of Jehovah's Witnesses reject the blank.

Fantastic.

The missing word is Trinity.

So most of Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity.

Well done.

Now, there's two key reasons for this rejection of the Trinity, and the first one is that most of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is the son of God but reject the belief that Jesus is God.

So because Jesus is not God, this means that it's not possible for God to be three persons, which is what the doctrine of the Trinity claims. Now, in addition to this, many of Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the Holy Spirit of God, but they reject that this spirit is a distinct person.

Instead, for many of Jehovah's Witnesses, the spirit can be seen as God's power or God's force.

And this means that because the Holy Spirit is not seen as a distinct person, again, it's not possible for the Trinity to exist.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false, most of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is God.

Well done.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because most of Jehovah's Witnesses actually believe that Jesus is the son of God but not that he is God.

So well done for identifying that that statement is false and for identifying the reason why.

Let's do another check.

How do many of Jehovah's Witnesses view the Holy Spirit? A, as God's power or force, B, as a distinct person, or C, as a person of the Trinity? Fantastic, the correct answer is A, many of Jehovah's Witnesses view the Holy Spirit as God's power or force.

Well done.

Now, the rejection of the Trinity by many of Jehovah's Witnesses can be seen as controversial.

And for some Christians, they would actually say that this is a rejection of the core Christian beliefs, and they may question whether the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses can be considered Christian.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false, the rejection of the Trinity can be seen as controversial.

Well done.

That statement is true.

But why is this statement true? Well, it's because the Trinity is considered a core Christian belief, so some Christians may question whether the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses is Christian if it rejects a core Christian belief.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

So Alex is explaining why many of Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity, and he says, "Many of Jehovah's witnesses reject the Trinity because there is no biblical evidence for God in three persons.

They also reject the belief that Jesus is God, which means it's not possible for Jesus to be considered a person of God, which is what the doctrine of the Trinity claims." Now, Alex hasn't mentioned the Holy Spirit, so I would like you to add to his answer to include the Holy Spirit.

Off you go.

Well done for your hard work during that task.

So Alex was explaining why many of Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity, but he didn't include the Holy Spirit in his answer, so you were asked to add to his answer to include the Holy Spirit.

Now, your answer might include that many of Jehovah's Witnesses also reject the Trinity because they disagree with the belief that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person.

Instead, they view the Holy Spirit as God's force or power.

As the Holy Spirit is not seen as a distinct person, it's not possible for the Holy Spirit to be part of the Trinity.

So, again, well done for your work during that task.

We've now reached the end of our lesson on the core beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

But before we finish up, let's summarise the key things that we have learned this lesson.

So we've learned that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian denomination and that proclaiming truths about God is central to Jehovah's Witnesses.

We've also looked at how Jehovah's Witnesses share many beliefs that are central to wider Christianity but also hold some beliefs that are unique to their denomination.

Many of Jehovah's Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and the rejection of the Trinity is linked to the belief that Jesus is not God, and the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person from God.

So well done for all of your work during this lesson.

It's been wonderful learning with you today.