Witnessin’ to Witnesses

By Chuck White, Catholic Evidence Guild of Guam

 

I was just about to leave my house this Wednesday for the Liberation Day parade, when two beautiful ladies clutching bibles and parasols knocked on my front door.  "Good Morning, sir, do you have a few minutes to talk with us?"

 

Looking quickly down my street, I saw two dozen others ready to knock on other doors in my neighborhood.  Deep down, I knew I was prepared for this encounter with these Jehovah's Witnesses, and that it was probably no accident that these two ladies happened to knock on my door.  So I stepped outside, greeted them and quickly told them that my wife and I were devout Catholics.

 

Where Did The Bible Come From?

They wanted to discuss the Bible first, saying, "The Bible is from God and contains all the truth we need to know."  I quickly assured them that I read the scriptures every day and I agreed that the words of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  But then I asked them if they knew where the Bible came from.  One answered, "From God, of course."  Her companion added, "from the Prophets."  "Yes," I said, "I know that, but how did all of the books of the New Testament, for example, come to be collected into one volume, and who decided which books should be considered to be inspired?"  Blank stares.  They obviously had never considered this question.  "Did you know”, I said, “that the Bible came from the Catholic Church, and that it was her leaders, the bishops, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who decided which books to include in the New Testament and which to exclude?”  “And what's more,” I added, “this process took a few centuries to fully complete!  Now, you obviously trusted the Catholic Church in deciding which books belonged in the Bible, so why don’t you trust it in other matters as well?"

 

Wait, Let Me Get My Bible

Well, they didn't seem to know how to respond to this, so the older of the two ladies said:  "Did you know that the Bible says that there would be great apostasy in the Church?"  Well, I knew that one foundational belief of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was that the Catholic Church had completely apostatized, that is, it had completely broke faith with God.  At this point I said, “Wait, let me get my bible.”  When I came back I opened my bible to the sixteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel where I read, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)  I said, “Now, I know that there are sinners in the Church – being a sinner is a membership requirement!  But was Jesus’ prophesy here false?  Did the powers of death prevail against the Church so that it apostatized even though Jesus promised otherwise?”  I continued, “And in the last chapter of Matthew, Jesus says, ‘lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.’ (Mt 28:20). Was he lying to his Church when He said this?” 

 

Please Take This Literature

Instead of responding to my questions, they instead offered me some literature.  I told them, “I’d be happy to take your literature, if you would agree to take some of mine.”  They showed great reluctance to take what I offered.  I said, “Did someone tell you not to take literature from the people you visit?  Will you get into trouble if you do?”  They didn’t answer me, but I could tell that my arrow had hit its mark – they are forbidden to read religious material produced by others.  “Please take this information about the Catholic Church as you leave if you dare.  I’ll be praying that someday you return to the Catholic Church.  After all, the Church needs people with your zeal!  For your part, will you agree to pray for me?”  They readily agreed, and took my booklets as they left.

 

I’m sure that I could have done better with my zealous visitors, but I had to start somewhere and I know that it will get easier with practice.  If you’d like some help in sharing your Catholic faith with family, friends, or anyone that happens to knock on your door, contact the Catholic Evidence Guild of Guam at catholic@cegguam.org.