Should you believe in the Trinity? This is the question raised by the widely circulated, 1989 booklet published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS)*, appropriately titled Should You Believe in the Trinity?and ubtitled Is Jesus Christ the Almighty God?1 Well, should we believe in the Trinity? Is Jesus Christ Almighty God?

In verse 20, we are told that eight souls were saved by water. What does the water represent? God’s judgment. Did the eight souls get wet??? NO! They were in the ark and stayed dry, being preserved from God’s judgment while the ark got wet. The ark, representing Christ, took God’s punishment in their place while they “were brought safely through the water” or delivered from judgment. Peter further clarifies this in verse 21 by stating, “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh” (KJV), This baptism is not an outward action which can be performed by mere men, “but the answer of a good conscience toward God” (KJV) It is an inward cleansing, performed by God Himself.

I was born into a Brahman family 27 years ago, one the most orthodox castes of Hinduism in India. I was raised by parents and grandparents who adhered to high moral standards. As the first grandson born to my loving grandparents, and had the privilege of visiting several sacred Hindu places and participating in rituals with them. My grandparents followed a very orthodox life style: they worshipped gods, fasted, recited slokas (Sanskrit poems) every day by the family altar, visited the Hindu temple, and performed temple rituals every week.

You begin to wonder if they’re right about this issue. Are they right? Must we reject any and all customs or practices with “pagan roots”? In the interest of fairness, we thought we would let the Watchtower Society answer the questions for us (really!)

What does God want from us? If you took a survey among the people you know, asking them what God requires from them in order to gain His acceptance, what do you think they might answer? I think most people would say God wants us to be good; to keep the ten commandments, to follow the golden rule. God wants us to go to church. God wants us to give to the poor, be kind to strangers, be nice to our family members. Some people might stress the “don’ts” over the “do’s,” Don’t get drunk, don’t cuss or swear, don’t smoke cigarettes.

Then, during his senior year of undergraduate school, my eldest son announced to our family, in the presence of both immediate and extended family members who were celebrating Christmas Day at our home, that he had abandoned his life-long Christian religion of Lutheranism to become a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). How we pleaded and begged him to leave Mormonism! How could this happen? Had his Mormon roommate during his freshman year at college influenced him? The LCMS pastor at his church near campus personally knew our son and informed us that our son had been actively participating in church Bible studies.

In the last two issues, we have been examining the ICC, or the International Church of Christ. Our first installment covered the history of the movement, and part two was about discipleship as defined and administered by the ICC as meritorious toward salvation. There are six parts to the “puzzle” of salvation, ICC style: discipleship, belief, repentance, confession, baptism, and Christian living. As we pointed out in our last issue, to demand discipleship as a prerequisite to salvation makes the cart pull the horse. We all know that carts cannot pull horses. They have no power to do so. Just so, an unregenerate non-Christian cannot live as a regenerate believer. Discipleship follows salvation. It cannot lead.