Jehovah’s Witnesses have a rather unique way of explaining wickedness. In The Watchtower 2011, January 1, page 9, they explain that God allows wickedness:

Why does God allow wickedness? In the garden of Eden, Satan called God a liar who withholds good from his creatures. (Genesis 3:3-5) He thus called into question the rightfulness of Jehovah’s way of ruling. Adam and Eve chose to follow Satan; so they likewise rejected Jehovah’s sovereignty and, in effect, asserted that man can decide for himself what is good and what is bad. In his perfect justice and wisdom, Jehovah knew that there was only one way to answer the challenge properly—allow time to pass, giving humans the opportunity to rule themselves as they choose. The resulting wickedness is due, in part, to Satan’s continued influence and has gradually revealed a great truth: Man is incapable of governing himself without God.—Jeremiah 10:23.

In explaining wickedness, The Watchtower has made EIGHT statements and quoted TWO scriptures:

  1. God has allowed wickedness.
  2. Satan called God a liar.
  3. Satan called into question God’s right to rule.
  4. Adam and Eve chose to follow Satan.
  5. Man has asserted his right to rule himself.
  6. Jehovah has allowed time to pass to give humanity the opportunity to rule themselves.
  7. Wickedness is due, in part, to Satan’s influence.
  8. Man is incapable of governing himself without God.

Let’s look at these statements a little closer to determine if they stand up to scrutiny.

God has allowed wickedness.

By means of the question, “Why does God allow wickedness?”, the Watchtower is asserting that God allows wickedness. But there is no scriptural basis for this hypothesis. There is no verse in the bible that says God has allowed wickedness. Neither of the two quoted scriptures support this hypothesis either.

Satan called God a liar.

The Watchtower quotes Genesis 3:3-5 to support the statement that Satan called God a liar. Those verses don’t support such a statement. Instead, Genesis 3:3-5 supports the idea that Satan is a liar. Satan never said that God said Eve wouldn’t die if she ate of the fruit; it was he who said that lie. Satan did say that God knew Eve would know the difference between Good and Bad when she ate of it, which was a truthful statement. Evidently, Satan made it clear that it was he who was the liar, not God.

Satan called into question God’s right to rule.

God’s right to rule is not questioned in Genesis 3:3-5. Nor is it questioned in Jeremiah 10:23. In fact, there is no scripture in the bible where Satan has questioned God’s right to rule.

Adam and Eve chose to follow Satan.

This statement is extremely harsh. To follow Satan is to be a Satan worshipper. There is no evidence in scripture to support the claim that Adam and Eve were Satan worshippers. If that were the case, surely all their children would have been brought up to be Satan Worshippers. One only has to continue reading Genesis 4:1-7 and see that Adam and Eve’s children were worshippers of God.

Man has asserted his right to rule himself.

Did man assert his right to rule? Not according to Genesis 3:13 where it reads:

Jehovah God then said to the woman: “What is this you have done?” The woman replied: “The serpent deceived me, so I ate.”

It’s clear that Adam and Eve were not assertive at all! They were deceived by the Devil.

Jehovah has allowed time to pass to give humanity the opportunity to rule themselves.

Nowhere in the bible does it say that God has given humanity an opportunity to rule themselves. However, there is a scripture that contradicts this idea. It’s found in Daniel 2:21, where it reads:

He changes times and seasons,
Removes kings and sets up kings,
Gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with discernment.

Really, if God “Removes kings and sets up kings”, is he giving mankind an opportunity to rule themselves or is He in charge of who rules?

Wickedness is due, in part, to Satan’s influence.

This statement is the first statement the Watchtower has made that has some truth.  1 John 5:19 says:

We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.

Or as the Worldwide English Bible words this verse:

We know that we belong to God and the whole world belongs to the devil.

If “the whole world belongs to the devil”, it can be stated that wickedness is due in part to Satan’s influence.

Man is incapable of governing himself without God.

This is the only statement that the Watchtower makes that they claim is supported in scripture. The Watchtower quotes Jeremiah 10:23. It reads:

I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him.It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.

This verse does not say that man is incapable of governing himself but rather that it does not belong to man to govern himself. This is quite different from what the Watchtower is stating. In fact, if we refer back to Daniel 2:21,  where it says that God “removes kings and sets up kings”, we find support for the notion that rule does not belong to man but that it belongs to God. Neither verses in Daniel or Jeremiah support the idea that man is incapable of governing himself.

In Review…

Jehovah’s Witnesses have made eight statements explaining wickedness. However only ONE statement is supported in scripture; ONE statement is taking scripture out of context; ONE statement is contradicted by scripture; and the remaining FIVE statements have no support from the bible at all!