But words associated with the personality of the enemy of the human race will not be given (as is customary with "Jehovah's Witnesses") with a capital letter. Some words are underlined by me – for the sole purpose of indicating semantic accents on them. For the exact transcription of some Hebrew words, the English letter "h" should be read as the Ukrainian "h". Sometimes I have to use expressions and words in a conversation with a sectarian that I would not use in a conversation with the Orthodox, such as "Christian congregation," "historical church," and so on.

– this is an absolutely necessary strategy for seeing a conversation with a non-Orthodox. The almost complete absence of references to the Holy Fathers in the dispute is due to the negative attitude towards them on the part of sectarians. Unfortunately, Patristics is of no value to the proponents of the Protestant view of the Church. References to the Holy Fathers are present only as historical evidence aimed at establishing or refuting a particular practice.

A missionary must become everything to everyone. It is said: "To the Jews I was as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; He was as one under the law, that he might gain those under the law; to those who are strangers to the law, as a stranger to the law, not being a stranger to the law before God, but subject to the law of Christ, in order to gain those who are strangers to the law; He was as a weak man to the weak, that he might gain the weak.

I have become all things to all, in order to save at least some. But this I do for the sake of the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:20-23). The dispute on the part of Jehovah's Witnesses was conducted by an "elder" who did not consent to the disclosure of his data. The purpose of this disputation is to help erring heretics return to the path of salvation, and for the Orthodox, to learn to use the biblical texts more attentively and actively in the matter of converting our erring brethren, for whom we pray every day during the reading of the Morning Canon: "Those who have departed from the Orthodox faith and have been blinded by pernicious heresies, enlighten with the light of Thy knowledge, and partake of Thy Holy Apostles, the Catholic Church." Moscow. 2003 A.D  . First meeting. 1.

Orthodox Tradition and Scripture: I am glad that you have agreed to this meeting. The Scriptures say: "Those who were here were more gracious than those of Thessalonica: they received the word with all diligence, examining the Scriptures daily, whether it was so" (Acts 17:11). Indeed, it is very important when we study the biblical texts to clarify this or that issue. I propose that the first topic be to consider the question of what is the criterion for us?

The main criterion: Scripture or Tradition? Jehovah's Witness: The Bible is a precious gift from God. It teaches the truth about Jehovah, who he is, and what his standards and purposes are. The Bible is the only way to learn how to please God, Jehovah. It is said: "Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is profitable, who leads you in the way in which you must go. Oh, that thou wouldst hearken unto my commandments!

then your peace would be like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea" (Isaiah 48:17-18). The author of the "Hebrew" and "Greek" Scriptures of the Bible is not a man, but God who lives in heaven. I will read: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16); and again: "Knowing first of all that no prophecy in the Scriptures can be resolved by itself.

For prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20-21). Orthodox: I would like to draw your attention to the text from the Epistles of the Apostle Peter: "And consider the patience of our Lord salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, as he says about it and in all the Epistles, in which there is something incomprehensible, which the ignorant and unconfirmed, like the rest of the Scriptures, turn to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:3). 15-16).

Here it is said that there are two categories of people who "turn to their own destruction, like the rest of the Scriptures," these are the "ignorant and unapproved." The ignorant are people who have been baptized, but have not been taught the faith. The unconfirmed are those who do not belong to the Church, the unbaptized and the untaught. Each of these two groups of people, when reading the Bible, communicates not with the Word of God, but with their own subjective understanding of this Book.

Scripture needs to be interpreted correctly. Of the Jews who did not believe in Christ the Lord Jesus, it is said: "But their minds are blinded: for the same veil remains unremoved to this day in the reading of the Old Testament, because it is removed by Christ. To this day, when they read Moses, the veil lies over their hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). The eunuch of the queen of Ethiopia, when he read the prophet Isaiah and when the Apostle Philip asked him: "Do you understand what you read?

", answered: "How can I understand, if someone does not instruct me? and he asked Philip to go up and sit down with him" (Acts 8:30-31). Scripture is always in need of interpretation. In the biblical book of Nehemiah it is said: "And they read from the book, from the law of God, distinctly, and added the interpretation, and the people understood what they read" (Neh. 8:8). Jehovah's Witness: All of our congregations are organized in this way: Together, they form a single worldwide congregation with the anointed members of the "Governing Body" as the leading nucleus.

"World Headquarters", located in New York (Brooklyn). The role of the worldwide management of our organization is foretold in the Bible: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: It shall come to pass in those days, that ten men out of all the nations of many languages shall take hold of the hem of Judah, and shall say, We will go with thee, for we have heard that God is with you" (Zech. 8:23). Unity is achieved by the fact that everyone loyally submits to the organized channel of communication, the "faithful and discreet slave."

Jesus said that the "slave" should distribute food on time and take care of all His "possessions," His interests of the kingdom on earth. Let us read: "Who then is the faithful and discreet servant whom his master has set over his servants, to give them food at the right time? Blessed is the servant whom his master finds, when he comes, doing so; verily I say unto you, that he shall set it over all his possessions" (Matt. 24:45-47).

This "faithful slave" is not an individual Christian, but there is a remnant of the 144,000 anointed followers of Christ who are still on earth, walking in His footsteps. Today, they are part of spiritual Israel, anointed with the spirit of God's congregation. "To those who walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and on the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16)