It was my mother that gave me the idea for this thread.
I said to her, "JWs think that they are the only christians that study the bible and behave like they have a monopoly on its understanding."
She replied, "They are the only ones with a bible in their house, the only ones that bother to actually read the Bible. Tell me one Catholic or Orthodox that you know that knows the front cover of the bible from the back. All they know is the odd prayer and when to buy Baileys Irish Cream for christmas."
The problem is I couldn't think of any non-JW that has an understanding of the bible as a christian ought to. To a degree she was right. So I kept quiet. JWs know this of other christians and so feel they are justified to make claims of superior understanding of the bible. What they fail to realise is the only difference between themselves and other denominations is JWs are better at spewing out what their leaders tell them.
Priest ))) love thy neighbour, follow Christ ))) church member - message stops here.
Elder ))))) make more JWs ))))) publisher )))))) become like us )))) community.
BTW ))) are sound ways!
Have I missed something out?!
JWs can quote you the bible back to front.
by Spectrum 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Spectrum
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greendawn
They may know the Bible more but what good is it when they misinterpret it to the extend that their basic beliefs are wildly wrong? They are not ignorant but neither are they properly enlightened they are semi ignorant and that's worse than being ignorant.
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Elsewhere
The problem is I couldn't think of any non-JW that has an understanding of the bible as a christian ought to. To a degree she was right. So I kept quiet.
You should try hanging out with more devout Christians. I know quite a few who can flip from scripture-to-scripture as quickly as a JW, if not faster.
What JWs do is a biblical "parlor trick". They have memorized a few dozen scriptures to "prove" their *scripted* points. When the scriptures are shot in a "rapid fire" style it creates the *illusion* that the JW knows what he's talking about. It would be the same as if I were to memorize a dozen or so Relativity related equations and then draw them up (without actually solving them). Sure, to some people that would look really impressive, but it does not mean I know how to solve the equations or do anything practical with them.
Just bring your mother to an evangelical bible study group where they study the bible, and only the bible, for an hour or two as a group. I guarantee you everyone in that group will do circles around your mother flipping from one scripture to the next.
Make sure you write down what your mother said before you take her and then quote it back after she experiences a bible study group.
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MidwichCuckoo
"They are the only ones with a bible in their house, the only ones that bother to actually read the Bible. Tell me one Catholic or Orthodox that you know that knows the front cover of the bible from the back....''
....and can a dub name ONE Catholic who doesn't know their Bible? JW speak with such authority about what individuals in OTHER religions are/are not doing, but in REALITY they don't socialise with members from other religions, and so make up what they WANT to believe.
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Scully
"They are the only ones with a bible in their house, the only ones that bother to actually read the Bible. Tell me one Catholic or Orthodox that you know that knows the front cover of the bible from the back. All they know is the odd prayer and when to buy Baileys Irish Cream for christmas."
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a sound [piece of] brass or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophesying and am acquainted with all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to transplant mountains, but do not have love, I am not anything. And if I give my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I am not profited at all. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
So what if JWs know the Bible from back to front? It's useless if they don't apply it. It's useless if they do not have and show love the way Jesus taught his disciples to love.
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Joe Grundy
This is true in all areas of life: Learning a few quotations is easy. What counts is being able to understand, explain and apply the context.
I was brought up as a small child in (non-exclusive) Plymouth Brethren. No doubt in my mind that a PB could give a JW a good contest on bible knowledge (for those who enjoy that sort of thing).
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unique1
I work with two baptists. Both read their bibles regularly and know as much or more than I do and I was raised a JW and memorized A Lot!!! I was so shocked to find that they knew their bibles so well, because I too thought only JW's knew their bible that well.
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Terry
Anybody who has made a living selling knows that all conversations within a buyer/seller context are divided this way:
1.The buyer is asking for information to create a mental data base for the purpose of making decisions based on personal values and needs.
2.The salesman is primarily concerned with overcoming objections to create a sale.
Jehovah's Witnesses are inculturated with sales techniques. They are taught ways to close the sale by creating a false dichotomy between extreme choices (good/evil, love/hate, everlasting life/death). These choices are presented as though they are the only possible way of looking at each issue.
This technique is only possible because of sleight of hand. The BIBLE is offered as being the only source of accurate information.
In reality, however, it is not the bible per se which is the source of the Jehovah's Witness information propaganda.
The core of JW sales logic consists of linking key words in quotations out of any situational, historical or cultural context.
This linking method is rather simple (and simple-minded) but effective against people whose religious information base is ill-defined.
Rank and file JW members are given a fantasy view which is constantly reinforced by meeting attendance and propaganda magazine articles. This fantasy view is as follows:
1.The Governing Body is Jehovah (for all practical purposes.)
2.The organ of communication is whatever we print or say. Follow it or die.
3.The TRUTH is what we say it is. Don't listen to anybody else.
4.These key scriptures (the blah blah blah) PROVE what we say is true and is from Jehovah.
5.We are different from all other religious groups. (Or else!) Our behavior proves it (crazy beliefs: no cross of Jesus, no holidays, no birthdays, little education, door-knocking sales, wacky doctrines, love among ourselves, pedophilia, shunning, etc.)
6.When you join us you are on the winning team. If not; you die a horrible death at Armageddon (which is coming so soon you may as well throw away all your personal plans for any future.)
The longer a person attends Kingdom Hall meetings the more sophisticated he becomes at reaching into the grab bag of linked-scripture-proofs.
A veteren JW can blaze from one end of the NWT to the other in a flurry of disconnected synchresis the way a parrot can string words into "Poly wants an F-ing cracker!"
It is, alas, a parlour trick.
If you (as I have early on) have ever been on the receiving end of this method you'll know the embarassment of feeling very stupid in the face of seemingly "superior" knowledge.
In realty, however, what is really going on is a practiced and polished card trick that you can't guess.
Once you know how the trick is done it becomes very mundane, boring and rather pathetic to observe.
T.
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AuldSoul
JWs are preprogrammed with certain permitted Scriptural responses, from which they dare not stray within earshot of an elder. Does this mean they know their Bible? No.
For instance, as a lark you might want to do a small independent poll of Jehovah's Witnesses: How many times does the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures use the phrase, "paradise earth?" My wife guessed 3. You may get varying responses. The answer is 0. Nada. Never. Three is how many times the Greek word paradeisos appears in the NT. Twice, linked directly to heaven.
They do not know their Bible.
Or try this one: How many times does the NT mention house to house? Well, Jehovah's Witnesses view this as the primary vehicle for their ministry so knowing this seems pertinent. The answer is, three times. Once when Jesus gave instructions for the ministry, he said, "Do not keep transferring from house to house." The next time, Acts records that they taught "in the temple and from house to house." The last time, Paul was addressing Ephesian elders saying he taught them "publicly and from house to house."
How many times does the NT mention witnessing in the marketplaces (commercial centers), temples and/or synagogues (centers of false religious worship)? I counted at least 22 times.
They do not know their Bible.
Or try this one: Whom did Jeremiah specify that the 70 years was for, and did Jerusalem have to be destroyed for the 70 years to be fulfilled? (Jeremiah 25:12; 27:17)
They do not know their Bible.
Or try this one: Does Holy Spirit teach individually or collectively? (1 John 2:26-29)
They do not know their Bible.
Or try this one: Does Hebrews 10:24, 25 apply to only the anointed? (Hebrews 10:19-25)
They do not know their Bible.
They read from scripts they have memorized, learned by rote. Eyes they have, but they do not see. Ears they have, but they do not hear. They are without understanding. They practice ahead of time what they will say. (Matthew 10:16-23; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-19) They "sell" their doctrine door-to-door and for many decades were (quite literally) "peddlers of the word of God." (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)
They gather yearly in large numbers to deny Christ. As an organization, they reject Christ as their personal mediator between themselves and God thereby denying that the ransom can be applied to them. They trustingly accept a body of earthling men who have seated themselves as lawgivers. (Psalm 146:3; Matthew 23:2) This very body has interjected itself between the disciples and Christ, stating that the doing of the will of the Governing Body is required for salvation, in direct contradiction to the Bible. (1 John 3:19-24; Ephesians 5:15-20; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Matthew 23:12, 13 27, 28)
They do not know their Bible. They know some verses from it.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul -
Hellrider
Yeah, AuldSoul is right. They do know what passages to cite, but they have very little understanding of the passages. They don`t even understanding the meaning of the term "context", and their view of the Bible is very naive and oversimplified.