Didya ever notice that the cited scriptures often didn't make the point?

by AlmostAtheist 11 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  AlmostAtheist

  Even when I was a faithful dub, it used to bother me that the Watchtower would make some point, then cite a scripture that didn't prove that point at all. I saw time and again where they would say something like, "Just as Jehovah created the universe, so the faithful and discreet slave is leading his human creation today. (Gen 1:1)" And if you bothered to check the reference, you realized the point that actually needed substantiated was not covered by the verse.

  I used to brag to potential Bible Study's that the books were peppered with scriptural references, opening at random and pointing to various cited scriptures. But even then I knew that some of them were just "fluff".

  Ok, I totally feel dirty now. Sorry, all you potential Bible Study's, won't happen again!

  Dave
• 

  The wanderer

  Dear Dave:
  
  Can you give us a definite sample? I am
  not saying that what you say is untrue,
  but a real-life sample would be helpful.
  
  uh,oh Dave, your treading into creation
  be very careful you might actually believe
  in God again. (LOL)
  
  Respectfully,
  
  The Wanderer
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  >>uh,oh Dave, your treading into creation be very careful you might actually believe in God again. (LOL)

  Oh God, No!!!! :-P

  I'll poke around a bit and see what I can find. Unfortunately, Watchtowers aren't thick on the ground around my place, so no promises.

  Dave
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  Here's one. It's not as weak as some I've seen, but it's a good start. From the box "How Angels Are Organized" at http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060115/article_02.htm

  The angel foremost in power and authority is Michael the archangel, or Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 9)

  A casual read by a JW would leave him believing that those two cited verses prove that Jesus is Michael. When in reality they don't do that at all.

  Dave
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  A somewhat better example, from that same link:

  The rebellious angels escaped destruction at the time of the Flood. They abandoned their fleshly bodies and returned to the spirit realm as spirit creatures. Thereafter, they are referred to as demons. They put themselves on the side of Satan the Devil, who is called “the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:24-27)

  Several statements are made; angels escaped the flood, abandoned their bodies, returned to somewhere, got the name 'Demons' -- but the scripture cited at the end doesn't make any of those points. It merely calls Satan the 'ruler of the demons'. Moreover, that's verse 24. Verses 25-27 add nothing to the discussion, but they DO make the reference longer. Maybe I'm being overly paranoid, but I think it's reasonable that they included the extra verses as padding, in the hopes that you wouldn't bother to look it up.

  Dave
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  The wanderer

  Okay Dave:
  
  I go with your point regarding Matt: 12:24-27,
  however, I can see there point regarding Jude 9
  and 1 Thess 4:16.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  The Wanderer
• 

  lrkr

  We used to notice this "head fake" approach at Bethel. Often, the GB would start with one scripture, then with a few odd connectives begin talking about something in the entirely opposite direction. I notice this in WT cover articles and study articles often. Title and theme scripture is something like "Serve God out of Love for him" and most of the article is about serving God out of fear, hope for reward or some other motivation than love.
• 

  choosing life

  The scriptures cited were sometimes so weak that I just avoided them. I would always look up the scriptures ahead of time and mark the ones that made sense. Then I used the same study book with all my studies.

  The most interesting thing was to read the context around the scriptures cited. I had a couple of studies who insisted on this and it was so obvious they were misapplying the scriptures. These studies thought for themselves and never became witnesses.

  My last study helped me leave the organization. She made more sense than they did because she took such a common sense view of the Bible and how it applied to our lives today.
• 

  free2beme

  I always liked the ultra faithful trying to make them, make the point, when they did not.
• 

  Arthur

  I would say that the biggest lemon has been Proverbs 4:18 which discusses the "light getting brighter". Nowhere in the context of this chapter is the writer talking about divine revelations, but is writing about Godly conduct. This scripture has been used so effectively to not only excuse flip-flops like the 1914 "Generation", but to make members feel proud of these changing teachings. Members are lead to believe that changing teachings are a sign of God's favor because of the "light getting brighter".