The New Covenant makes it clear that God meant for us to experience Him rather than simply to spend a lifetime studying about Him.

Even as a Jehovah's Witness elder, I began to realize that we were simply reading and studying about what the early Christians really experienced--we were not living it. Watchtower theology told us about God but did not really introduce us to Him personally. It was similar to the situation Jesus described:

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. --John 5:39-40 NIV

So, switching from Watchtower theology to orthodox theology is not the answer. As the previous article demonstrates biblically, the answer involves putting the books aside and coming into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Then, "As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you" because "his anointing teaches you about all things and . . .that anointing is real, not counterfeit."--1 John 2:27 NIV

It all boils down to what an elderly black woman I met at a charismatic church told me soon after I left the Jehovah's Witness organization. She said she got to know God at the school of kneeology, not theology.

Historically, it seems that the early Church functioned well without much theology at first. Then, when divisive forces started trying to tear the Church apart, enemies used false theology as a weapon to diminish Christ, and defenders found themselves resorting to theology in response. In a somewhat parallel situation today, people from a JW (or similar) background seem to need to address theological questions to offset false teachings, while the ordinary harlot or tax collector can turn to Christ and start following Him without such a complicated baggage check. In any case, it is the turning to Christ that brings them salvation, not the correcting of their theology.

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