Claim 5 of 15 · Case 12 · Jehovah’s Witnesses
The New World Translation’s rendering “the Word was a god” is contested on grammatical grounds and reads oddly against John’s own next verse.
One claim from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
This is the weakest link to argue on grammar alone, so handle it carefully. Witnesses point out that the Greek at John 1:1 has no word “the” before “god.” That observation is real. It does not settle the meaning, because the same construction is common and the context pushes against “a god.” Two responses below are strong. The grammar point is more debated, and is marked as such.
Backed by 2 pieces of evidence
Greek grammar of John 1:1c, the qualitative reading
This names its own limit honestly: the strongest form is that the grammar allows and even favors full deity, not that “a god” is impossible, which keeps the point defensible if a Witness has studied the issue.
The Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 3
This is the stronger response and needs no Greek. If “a god” means a created being, then this created being made all created things, which would include itself. The context collapses the rendering, which is why it is better to move here than to fight only over the article.