***That’s not what the JWs say. :)
What do they say? ***
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in one God, the Creator of the universe and the God of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. They stress the fact that God has revealed his personal name to humanity, which is Jehovah.
Jehovah’s Witnesses disagree with the mainstream Christian belief that Jesus was “fully God, fully man.” Witnesses teach that Jesus was not God, but rather God’s first creation. Jesus existed in pre-human form as God’s agent of creation and God’s chief spokesman (the Word), and took on human form as the man Jesus by means of a virgin birth.
The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation on earth was threefold in the view of Witnesses: (1) To teach the truth about God; (2) to provide a model of a perfect life for people to follow; and (3) to sacrifice his life to set humans free from sin and death. His crucifixion was not on a cross, but a single upright stake. After his death, God raised Jesus from the dead “as a spirit creature” and Jesus returned to his home in heaven. Jesus was not made King, however, until 1914.
In accordance with their rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, Witnesses disagree with mainstream Christianity that the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons in the Godhead. Instead, they believe the Holy Spirit to be “God’s active force.”
from http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses/beliefs.htm
***Surprisingly, the mainline Protestants maintain theological orthodoxy when it comes to the Holy Trinity (at least in theory) even though it is not to be found in “sola scriptura.” ***
That is correct.
But the breakaways and the non denominationals which now make up the vast majority of Protestantism do not.
I hope you realize that they are getting this mostly from the New Testament, shocking as it may appear.
The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation on earth was threefold in the view of Witnesses: (1) To teach the truth about God; (2) to provide a model of a perfect life for people to follow; and (3) to sacrifice his life to set humans free from sin and death
All this is "sola scriputra" based New Testament reading.
Jesus was not made King, however, until 1914.
What an odd thing to say. Where did they get that from?
Witnesses disagree with mainstream Christianity that the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons in the Godhead. Instead, they believe the Holy Spirit to be “God’s active force.”
That is straight form the Old Testament and the Judaic understanding of the Hebrew term. It was the St. Paul, among the first, and the Church later in his steps, who changed ancient Hebrew terminology such as the "son of God," the "son of Man" (son of Adam, ben adam or bar adam in Aramaic Hebrew), the "Spirit of God," the messiah (meshiyah), the anointed one (which was never divine), the Age to Come, etc.
If you look up old Hebrew meanings of these terms you realize that, in the creation of Christianity as a separate religion, these terms were borrowed from Hebrew and their meanings radically changed for a purpose.
But the breakaways and the non denominationals which now make up the vast majority of Protestantism do not.
Even the "mainstream" Protestants/Baptists seem to have their own individualized "ideas" of the Holy Trinity rather than a theologically agreed upon concept. Scratch the surface of many of the Protestant "mainstreamers" and you will be amazed what they think of the Holy Trinity. It doesn't even come close to anything orthodox. Rather it is closer to Donatist, Adoptionist and Arian heresies.
Of course, the various unitarian sects and cults, not to mention the LDS, are not even on the same page.