Date
12-19-2023
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics (MA)
Chair
Benjamin C Shaw
Keywords
Jesus Christ, Christ, Jesus, Jehovah's Witnesses, Watchtower, Watchtower Society, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Governing Body, Bodily Resurrection, Resurrection, Immaterial Resurrection, Sheep, Goats, Great Crowd, Righteous, Unrighteous, Annihilation, Second Coming of Christ, Tribulation
Disciplines
Christianity | Religion
Recommended Citation
Murphy, Carey A., "A Comparative Analysis of the Doctrine of Bodily Resurrection in Jehovah's Witnesses Versus Traditional Christianity" (2023). Masters Theses. 1091.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/1091
Abstract
The present thesis aims to provide a critical analysis of the immaterial resurrection proposed by the Governing Body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and, in doing so, demonstrates the superiority of the orthodox Christian position on the bodily resurrection because of its consideration of key aspects such as Christology, the resurrection, gospel, and eschatology. The first chapter explains how the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society became a global religious organization. In chapter two, Jehovah's Witness documentation on the immaterial resurrection of Christ is presented, with occasional commentary on issues. Chapter three delves into the historical perspective of the bodily resurrection, building on the minimal facts approach developed by Gary Habermas. The argument demonstrates that the earliest eyewitnesses believed they encountered the risen Jesus in bodily form.
