Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2003).     In cases where Jehovah's Witnesses use the New World Bible translation, it will be marked NM; translation by Archimandrite Macarius - PAM; The "synodal" translation will not be marked with a note. In the case of the part of the dispute where the "Jehovist" speaks, the pronouns and words referring to the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity are not the same. Trinity (by agreement)

, remain taking into account the opinion of the speaker of them. 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 meeting", "historical church", etc. - This is an absolutely necessary strategy for seeing a conversation with a non-Orthodox.     The almost complete absence in the dispute of references to the Holy Scriptures.

The Fathers is conditioned by 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, that he may 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 the 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.

    Debate with Jehovah's Witnesses   First Meeting: 1. On Tradition and Scripture Orthodox : 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 to 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 main criterion for us: Scripture or Tradition?   Sectarian: The Bible is a precious gift from God. It teaches the truth about Jehovah, who he is, and what his standards and purposes are. Only the Bible can teach us 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 living 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 to be 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 Pet. 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, who are not baptized and who have not been taught. 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 was reading the prophet Isaiah, to the question of the Apostle Philip: "Do you understand what you are reading?