by JH 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
You can pray to either Jehovah or Jesus. Today the elder in my church said the opening prayer for the church and addressed it to both.
As of now, Jehovah has subjected everything under Jesus including the church - that is his arrangement. So for spiritual matters regarding my church I address my prayers to Jesus. For other matters including thanking Jehovah for sending his son, thanks for my life and family, I address Jehovah.
Me
Goddess! ... wait according to the Devince Code, that is who is answering the Christian prayers too! What a small world in the world of religious history.
Many may not agree with me, don’t know, but, it seems to me that we’re supposed to pray to Jesus. I concluded that what Jesus was saying with regard to the Father is, because Jesus would not be able to answer our prayers without the Father. I've read those verses and others on that subject over and over trying to make sense of them, that's what I came up with and I'm comfortable with it.
plm
13 Also, whatever it is that YOU ask in my name, I will do this, in order that the Father may be glorified in connection with the Son. 14 If YOU ask anything in my name, I will do it.
V. 14 is even better in the KIT (the WT's own word-for-word translation of Westcott & Hort's Greek critical edition): "if ever anything YOU should ask me in the name of me this I shall do".
(Dropping the "me" is a possible yet debatable textual choice, as the NWT footnote implicitly admits.)
LT, I can't see how Hebrew 3:7 connects with praying to the Holy Spirit, there we find an instruction for obedience not prayer. Still, I heard people in real life or on TV praying to the Father or to Jesus but never anyone praying to the Holy Spirit eg "Holy Spirit I implore you to help so and so"
Funny is that if you read originall this John 14:13-14 then Jesus is telling that if you pray ME in My Name I will do it! There 3 "ego" in passage - one is "ego name" then second is "ego will do it" and 3rd is to WHOM we should pray. But tradition translates it without specific mentioning whom we have to pray, coz it was pretty clear that we go to Father through Jesus. Can you go through door without going TO the door?
Greendawn,
http://romaaeterna.web.infoseek.co.jp/liber1/lu0885.html
Shazard,
It's just that the "me" is found in some manuscripts of John 14, not all... so exegetes and translators have to decide whether it is original or not.
As a JW I prayed to Jehovah and talked to Jesus sometimes. But I had a guilty conscience towards the brothers, whereas I felt reading about the disciples that it was ok to talk to our king and eternal father Jesus. Being taught that only the little flock enjoys this special relationship with Christ I was confused, yet somehow felt that I was not sinning in only ‘talking’ to Jesus.
Sadly I did this without seeing and challenging the real issue of prayer and thought I was exercising free thinking as a JW without realizing my little freedom was suppressed with guilt and forced into the WT mold .
Freetosee
Greendawn:
It's a side issue. Try decoupling it from the present topic and elaborating on how you understand the verse in isolation.
Freetosee:
The same issue was influencial in my own epiphany
