Worship Christ?

How does the NWT translate the word προσκυνέω “worship” 61x? Is this distinction based on Greek, or on theological convictions? Why would they make such a distinction? For about 70 years (until Jan 1, 1954) the WT had no problem with “worshipping” Christ.

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Verse Ref 
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Person 
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NWT 
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NIV 
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Mat 2:2 Christ
Mat 2:8 Christ
Mat 2:11 Christ
Mat 4:9 Satan
Mat 4:10 God
Mat 8:2 Christ
Mat 9:18 Christ
Mat 14:33 Christ
Mat 15:9 God
Mat 15:25 Christ
Mat 28:9 Christ
Mrk 7:7 God
Luke 2:37 God
Luke 4:7 Satan
Luk 4:8 God
Luke 24:52 Christ
Joh 4:20 general (God)
Joh 4:21 Father
Joh 4:22 general
Joh 4:23 Father
Joh 4:24 God
Joh 12:20 (God)
Acts 7:43 Idols
Acts 8:27 (God)
Acts 10:25 Peter
Acts 16:14 God
Acts 17:23 Unknown God
Acts 18:7 God
Acts 18:13 God
Acts 19:27 Artemis
Acts 24:11 (God)
Rom 1:25 created things
1Co 14:25 God
Php 3:3 in (by) the Spirit of God
Col 2:18 Angels
Col 2:23 unspecified
2Th 2:4 objects of worship
Heb 1:6 Christ
Heb 11:21 (God)
Rev 3:9 Philadelphians (people)
Rev 4:10 God
Rev 5:14 God and the Lamb
Rev 7:11 God
Rev 9:20 demons and idols
Rev 11:1 (God)
Rev 11:16 God
Rev 13:4 Dragon and the beast
Rev 13:8 The beast
Rev 13:12 The beast
Rev 13:15 The beast
Rev 14:7 Creator
Rev 14:9 The beast
Rev 14:11 The beast
Rev 15:4 God
Rev 16:2 The image of the beast
Rev 19:4 God
Rev 19:10 An angel
Rev 19:20 The image of the beast
Rev 20:4 The image of the beast
Rev 22:8 Angel
Rev 22:9 God

4 questions can be asked to distinguish the position Christ has from the angels:

What the angels were commanded to do in Heb 1:6 (without sinning) we can safely do as well.

What did the early Watchtower teach about worshipping Christ?

Zion’s Watch Tower March 1, 1880 “There is and ever has been but one Christ. A change of nature does not change identity. Whether as the pre-existent One, as the Word made flesh, or as the High Priest who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He still is Lord, and as such we worship Him... The wise men came at His birth to worship Him. (Matt. 2) The leper worshiped Him. They in the ship worshiped Him, as did also the ruler and woman of Canaan. Yet none were ever rebuked for it... To worship a false Christ would indeed be sin, but to worship Christ in any form cannot be wrong, for when He bringeth the first Begotten into the world, He sayeth, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.””

Zion’s Watch Tower June 1, 1880 “A mere human being, having our fallen nature, as some tell us Christ was and had, should not have received worship, and could not have forgiven sin, both of which Christ did.”

Zion’s Watch Tower Oct, 1880 p. 2-3 It seems clear that His Divinity was retained in humanity because He repeatedly spoke of Himself as having come down from heaven, and because He, though passing through trial and sorrow as a man, was yet possessed of the authority and exercised the prerogatives of a God. He was the object of unreproved worship even when a babe, by the wise men who came to see the new-born King. `Matt. 2:2-11`. Even the angels delighted to do Him honor. "When He bringeth the first-begotten into the world, He saith, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." `Heb. 1:6`.
He never reproved any one for acts of worship offered to Himself, but when Cornelius offered such service to Peter—the leading apostle—"he took him up, saying, stand up; I myself also am a man." `Acts 10:26`. The great apostle of the Gentiles scarcely restrained the idolatry of the people in sacrifice offered to himself and his fellows, giving as a reason why it should not be done: "We also are men, of like passions with yourselves." `Acts 14:15`. Had Christ not been more than man the same reason should have prevented Him from receiving worship.

Zion’s Watch Tower May 15, 1892 p. 157 It is undoubtedly proper enough for us to address petitions to our Redeemer and Advocate, who loved us and gave himself for us. He is still interested in us--still loves us. He is still the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and we are his sheep. He is still our faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities and who is ready still to succor them that are tempted. And although we are nowhere instructed to make petitions to him, it evidently could not be improper so to do; for such a course is nowhere prohibited, and the disciples worshiped him.--`Matt. 28:9,17`.

Zion’s Watch Tower July 15 1898 p. 216: “Question. The fact that our Lord received worship is claimed by some to be an evidence that while on earth he was God the Father disguised in a body of flesh and not really a man. Was he really worshiped, or is the translation faulty?
Answer. Yes, we believe our Lord Jesus while on earth was really worshiped, and properly so. ... It was proper for our Lord to receive worship in view of his having been the only begotten of the Father, and his agent in the creation of all things, including man.”

The Watch Tower Jan 1, 1906 p. 15 In one respect many of Christendom could learn numerous important lessons from these wise Gentiles. No false patriotism stood in their way to hinder their appreciation of any manifestation of divine favor to the children of men. And when they found the Savior they were nothing daunted by the fact that his home surroundings were of the humbler sort. They worshiped him in three senses of the word: (1) They fell before him, prostrated themselves, thus physically expressing their reverence. (2) They worshiped him in their hearts and with the tongue gave expression to their rejoicing and confidence. (3) They opened their treasure-box and presented to him three gifts appropriate to royalty: the myrrh representing submission, frankincense representing praise, gold representing obedience.

1937 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses “While every Christian joyfully bows to and worships Christ Jesus himself as commanded, to bow before an image is an entirely different thing.”

Rutherford supported the same teaching

Watchtower Nov 15, 1939, p. 339: “Jehovah God commands all to worship Christ Jesus because Christ Jesus is the express image of his Father, Jehovah, and because he is the Executive Officer of Jehovah always carrying out Jehovah’s purpose.”

1945 Yearbook “The words of its present charter show that the purposes of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society are: … to prepare, support, maintain and send out to various parts of the world Christian missionaries, teachers and instructors in the Bible and Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ Jesus…”

1945 Watchtower, Oct 15 p. 313. "Now, at Christ's coming to reign as king in Jehovah's capital organization Zion, to bring in a righteous new world, Jehovah makes him infinitely higher than the godly angels or messengers and accordingly commands them to worship him. Since Jehovah God now reigns as King by means of his capital organization Zion, then whosoever would worship Him must also worship and bow down to Jehovah's Chief One in that capital organization, namely, Christ Jesus, his Co-regent on the throne of The Theocracy."

1954 Watchtower Jan 1 p. 31 - the belief changes "Should we worship Jesus? Consequently, since the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is not a trinitarian co-person with God the Father, but is a distinct person, the Son of God, the answer to the above question must be that no distinct worship is to be rendered to Jesus Christ now glorified in heaven. Our worship is to go to Jehovah God. However, we show the proper regard for God's only-begotten Son by rendering our worship to God through and in the name of Jesus Christ. Even now when we kneel in prayer, as Paul did according to Ephesians 3:14-19, we offer prayer in the name of Jesus Christ in obedience to his own directions (John 15:16; 16:23-26), but the prayer itself is addressed, not to Jesus, but to God his Father. In this way we keep things in their relative positions."

Current teaching “THROUGHOUT the centuries, many in Christendom have worshiped Jesus Christ as if he were Almighty God… Yes, reverent adoration should be expressed only to God. To render worship to anyone or anything else would be a form of idolatry, which is condemned in both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures… Accordingly, true Christians do well to direct their worship only to Jehovah God, the Almighty.” JW Library