by A Paduan 1 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
This phrase is in Peter I believe, and essentially relates to 'bending over for certain classes of people'
But, certain uses of this phrase by jws and the wtbts leads me to think they use it as an excuse to simply disrespect people - things like "shun them in their own home"
Do they use this phrase to support their personal sacrelige with "sinners" and "worldly people" ?
This is the classical (yet ambiguous in modern English) translation of a Hebrew idiom (also found as a semitism in LXX and NT Greek) - to raise (or lift, or pick up) the face of somebody = show partiality or favoritism toward him/her.
I recall Emmanuel Lévinas made an interesting comment on a Talmudic discussion of this expression about the formal contradiction that God doesn't "raise the face" in the above sense yet he raises the face of some individuals or raises his face upon them. The Talmudic conclusion being, before the judgement God doesn't raise the face. After the judgement he does.
