Hi. This is my first post here ever.
I was hoping some may be able to tell me the author(s) of any of the Watchtower books - especially those from the last couple of decades. If you can back it up with anything, that'd be great, too.
Thanks.
Publication Authors?
by Shepherd Book 15 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Brother Beyond
Welcome to the board.
When publishing a book the WTS is careful to keep the actual authors anonymous. They have a writing committee who decide what should be included and left out. The only times you will see the writer credited for his work is when the Awake publishes one of its life stories. Then sometimes the author is credited, but only then if the author is also the subject of the piece.
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Ade
Hi,
and welcome to the board, as afore mentioned it is a rarity to find the authors name in a book ( that i am aware of )
however if one name should be there it should be satan lol
all the very best
Ade -
Honesty
By design the Watchtower Society almost never reveals who authors its publications because it is very difficult for charlatans to continue deceiving if their credentials are made public.
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moggy lover
Hi, Shepherd Book and welcome to JWD.
As has been mentioned above, all WTS publications are now being published anonymously. Evidently the reason for this is a need for the WTS to display "modesty" and the lack of wanting to gain the spotlight. This seems rich, seeing that it is coming from a bunch of self-serving arrogant lunatics obsessed with the notion of exclusive divine sanction. The more plausible reason appears to be to make research into WT "scholarship" impossible, thus avoiding accontability and public scrutiny.
Up to 1942, all WT books were published with an author's name, usually the head honcho of the time, either Russell, or Rutherford. Since 1942, with the publication of the book "The New World" - which purported to be a commentary on the book of Job - the policy changed and it was published anonymously, this policy has remained ever since. It is evident, however, that since he was considered, by the WTS at least, to be God's "oracle" on earth, most of the books published between 1942 - 1969 were written by Fred Franz, the 4th WT president.
Ray Franz, his nephew, and one intimately connected with the inner workings of the WTS since he was a former member of the inner sanctum called the Governing Body, informs us, in his book "Crisis of Conscience" pg 61, that his uncle authored the book "Life Everlasting in the Freedom of the Sons of God" published in 1966. Other defectors from behind the WTS "iron curtain" have revealed that Franz also wrote the excreable "Babylon the Great has Fallen" published in 1963.
Several web sites reveal the names of the New World Translation "committee". This WTS slanted Bible "translation" was essentially the work of Freddy Franz who was "largely self-taught" in Bible languages. He was assisted by a committee comprising: Milton Henschel, Nathan Knorr, Hayden Covington, George Gangas, Albert Schroeder, and Grant Suiter. As to how these looney toon characters could be of any "assistance" to Franz is a mystery more obtuse than the Trinity, since none of them could tell a Greek Alpha from a leg of pork. Far from being Greek scholars, they could be best described as geek scholars!
Since 1970, WTS books have been written by groups of writers rather than a single author. A twenty man [''person'' actually, since we know of at least one woman, Barbara Anderson in this group] "writing department" under the oversight of Karl Adams now produces all the WTS literature.
In his book mentioned earlier, on pg 22, Ray Franz reveals the authors of the "Aid" book, published in a complete edition in 1971 [there was an earlier, incomplete edition released in 1970] These were: Ray Franz, Ed Dunlap, Lyman Swingle, Rheinhardt Lengtat, and John Wischuk.
Dunlap later wrote the "Commentary on James" released in 1979.
Ray Franz also tells us that he, along with Karl Adams and Ed Dunlap also wrote the manual "Organisation for Kingdom-Preaching and Disciple-Making" a sort of church instruction brochure oulining the various tiresome WTS procedures for doing just about anything.
Interestingly, Franz also points out that this "Writing Department" no longer has any of the "anointed" counted among its ranks. Which therefore means that the idea of the "anointed" providing the "food at the proper time" is nothing more than a polite fiction. All the writers who pen the WTS publications are mostly young turks who profess to be of the "Other Sheep" and appear to be more familiar with the nuances of the legal profession, rather than the Bible. Many of the "anointed" have often professed total surprise at any "new truth" devised by these new writers, rather than supposedly being the originators of this "food". A question of the "tail" wagging the dog, perchance. To the WTS, perception is more important than reality, and as long as the perception is maintained that all the "Food at the proper time" is coming from the "anointed" no explanations to the rank-and-file seems necessary. [ See Ray Franz's book" In Search of Christian Freedom" pgs 154 -164]
There is a web site maintained by a former Bethel supervisor, Randy Watters, called "Free Minds". Scrolling through there will provide you with the names of the current Writing Department members.
Hope this helps
Cheers
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parakeet
Welcome, Shepherd Book! I can't help you with your question, but I wanted to tell you I like your nickname. Glad you got away from those feds in the core planets and are with us out here in the black. Nothing in the 'verse can stop us!
parakeet, of the Firefly class -
voltaire
While it's no doubt true that most of the members of the New World Translation Comittee had no training in Greek, I'm assuming that Gangas had received fairly extensive training in Biblical Greek. He was from Greece and it would be very hard for anyone who went to school in Geece to avoid studying the Greek of Homer or the New Testament. They're very proud of their linguistic heritage.
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Shepherd Book
Thanks everyone for welcoming me and for the info that you did have.
Parakeet - Wow, my cultural reference did not go unnoticed! I guess have done the impossible, and that makes me mighty! A big thumbs up to your nickname as well, I have owned parakeets for many years and have loved the companionship and beauty they provide.
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parakeet
Shepherd Book: "... my cultural reference did not go unnoticed!"
No indeed! Firefly rules!!! IMNSHO, the cancellation of Firefly was the single biggest bonehead decision ever made in the history of television. -
elatwra
While it's no doubt true that most of the members of the New World Translation Comittee had no training in Greek, I'm assuming that Gangas had received fairly extensive training in Biblical Greek. He was from Greece and it would be very hard for anyone who went to school in Geece to avoid studying the Greek of Homer or the New Testament. They're very proud of their linguistic heritage.
indeed, greeks(myself included) are annoyingly proud of their linguistic heritage. And yet I am very curious as to what Gangas' credentials were because if he was remotely honest with himself and read John 1:1 he would have known how their theological theories are baseless. It is greek at its simplest form. It does get more complicated though especially when Paul is the writer so if he had just studied Homer in high school he would be able to understand it but not necessarily produce an accurate translation as the variations in tenses and are subtle and theology is often based on the type of a hypothetical speech or verb tense -lets just say it gets really complicated. I studied ancient greek for two years and biblical greek for one. I can spot some mistakes or "tweeks" in the New world translation (or any other translation for that matter)but by no means am I qualified to translate it myself. I guess what I m saying it that understanding something and accurately translating exactly what the author meant ot say-and what the readers understood it to say at that time period is two completely different things.