heresy and recovered to meet the challenge of another and more aggressive
threat to Christ’s divinity––namely Islam.
Modern-day Arians such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim an affinity with
Arius. They assert that he was one example of the earlier Witnesses who
have been “on earth in every period of human history.” Such a claim,
however, is scarcely accurate and borders on dishonesty. While Arius
taught that Christ was only a creature, he believed Him to be fully man.
Like Arius, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ is the created and
adopted Son of God but unlike him, hold that he is actually the Archangel
Michael in human form. This is a teaching they rarely reveal early on to
prospective converts. Before coming into the world clothed in human flesh,
they say Christ had the singular privilege of sharing in the creation of all
other creatures with Jehovah. In fact, Christ is the only creature directly
created by Jehovah.
Numerous passages in Sacred Scripture provide evidence of Christ’s
divinity:
“…a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his
shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6).
The term “mighty God” in this passage is derived from the Hebrew El
Gibbor which literally means “God the mighty.” The Witnesses try to get
around this verse by claiming that it speaks of Christ only as “mighty God”
and not as “Almighty God,” which is the term usually given to Jehovah.
Christ is not God in the supreme sense, but only a god in the same sense the
angels were called gods for their superhuman powers (Job 1:6). However,
the alleged distinction between “mighty God” and “Almighty God” does
not always hold, for God Himself is called mighty on many occasions
(Gen. 49:24; Ps. 50 [49]:1; Ps. 132 [131]:2 & 5; Is. 10:21; Jer. 32:18).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God ... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” (St.
John 1:1-14).
The Witnesses have a great preoccupation with this passage, devoting four
pages of footnotes in their New World Translation of the Bible to explain it
away. They render the last part of St. John 1:1 to read “and the Word was a
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