Sept KM - how those "still in" can comment

by still_in74 21 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  still_in74

  well all, we know this is a big deal. I for one will sit there during the discussion of this ariticle wanting to SCREAM yet I will say nothing if I am not prepared, and of course I have to "comment" with an angle that doesnt arouse suspicion.

  So here it is folks, we need to put together brief, VERY well worded comments to use during these meetings. Any takers?

  I KNOW Blondie will LOVE this opportunity! LOL

  How do I/we sound supportive of the FDS yet highlight the mindcontrol and fear going on here?

  Edited to add - SHOOT! How did this end up in personal experiences and reunions???
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  JK666

  Is it going to be Q&A or a talk over the article? JK
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  loosie

  As the FDS points out here we should not use our God given reasoning powers to research information on our own because the FDS has done it for us. This saves us time to use our God given reasoning powers to think about other issues.
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  Arthur

  "We alone cannot hope to gain an accurate knowledge from God's Word without the loving guidance of the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class. Jehovah God did not provide the Bible for individuals to decipher. He gave it to His organization through the Faithful Slave Class."

  "We must guard against developing any kind independent thinking. Just as Satan planted doubts into the mind of Eve, Satan also wishes to plant doubts into our minds regarding Jehovah's organization. We must be on guard against the tendancy to think too much of ourselves, and begin to think that we can study the Bible independently of the Slave Class."

  "Just as the forbidden fruit was appealing to the eyes of Eve, we must remember that Satan also disguises the wisdom of this world in an attractive package. We might view various publications written by worldly scholars and members of Christendom as appealing to our intellect. This would be foolhardy on our part. Satan would like nothing more than to draw us away from Jehovah's spiritual banquet, and to chase after the empty deceptions of this world. We must readily partake of the timely spiritual food that is lovingly provided to us by the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class; never allowing ourselves to develop an independent spirit."

  "By remaining steadfast in our faith and holy acts of conduct; and by humbly submitting to the theocratic arrangement, we can continue to prove Satan a liar, and bring glory to our great God Jehovah."

  I think I could have been a good Watchtower writing department hack.
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  inbyathread

  Three times for emphasis
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  darth frosty

  Arthur, loved your comments. Lets call a spade a spade. The BORG has always claimed that the scriptures are written to the anointed first and than pissed down to the R&F. Just make a comment that we should not touch a bible unless we are at the meetings and directed to do so by spiritually qualified brother's. That would go over well with the lazy ones who dont study anyway, plus it puts a delema onto the elders. do they agree with your reasoning not to touch or open the bible or follow what the 'Slave' says.
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  Odrade

  "We have already been told by the Society that the NWT is the best translation available today, so there is no reason for anyone to waste time studying biblical Hebrew and Greek to confirm its accuracy. That time would best be spent reading the Watchtower publications."
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  coaster

  Odrade, do you know where the Lit has ever actually said the NWT was the best translation? Thanks.

  Stillin74, I am thinkin like you as a STILL IN(sane) and have posted some ideas already. I have decided that I can no longer vent or comment with any type of "disturbing" thought. So I am going to try to always ask SINCERE question to TRY and get my wife, son, and friends to at least have some type of original thought. Sometimes doing this during an apology works well:

  As I grasp the microphone, I start to speak, but falter. The pause is loud, maybe ten seconds or so, which allows me to wipe a tear from my eye with a tightly clutched tissue. "I so appreciate this new information, because, sniff, as many of you know I seem to have really been off track lately, sniff. Just this week I was looking at the Encylopaedia Britannica under England trying to figure out how they were an "offshoot" of Rome, when they had already been called Briton for hundreds of years, sniff.

  And I even recently found out in Websters Dictionary that cunnilingus and fellatio are actually proper words for some VERY WORLDLY street talk synonyms. Without even realizing what I was doing, I was soon surfing the internet on all types of Non Watchtower web sites. In fact, I could not even get to JW.org without first going on some worldy site, sniff. I am sure the SLAVE will be fixing this little glitch shortly, and I look forward to the new books, web sites, movies and tv shows they are probably coming out with real soon.

  Coaster
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  Odrade

  Don't have WT library at my disposal presently, but in the Reasoning Book it insists that the NWT is to be appraised on its own merits, that it is "an accurate, largely literal translation from the original languages. It is not a loose paraphrase, in which the translators leave out details that they consider unimportant and add ideas that they believe will be helpful. As an aid to students, a number of editions provide extensive footnotes showing variant readings where expressions can legitimately be rendered in more than one way, also a listing of the specific ancient manuscripts on which certain renderings are based."

  Ironically, in view of this latest KM, the RS book also goes on to say this:

  "Some verses may not read the same as what a person is accustomed to. Which rendering is right? Readers are invited to examine manuscript support cited in footnotes of the Reference edition of the New World Translation, read explanations given in the appendix,"* "and compare the rendering with a variety of other translations. They will generally find that some other translators have also seen the need to express the matter in a similar manner."

  *which also reference secular and religious scholarly (non-WT) materials

  It should be noted that the RS book was designed to be used with the public by reading the answers to Householders' questions directly from the book. Thus it is to be expected that there are stronger statements of the NWT's supposed superiority contained within other literature. In any case, the belief that the NWT is superior is implicit in WT publications, and most JWs credulously accept the idea.
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  Odrade

  WT 10/15/99

  Millions of readers have done just that and have discovered the NewWorldTranslation to be not only readable but scrupulously accurate. Its translators worked from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, using the best texts available. Unusual care was also exercised to render the ancient text as literally as possible but in language that would readily be understood. Accordingly, some scholars praised this translation for its integrity and accuracy. For example, the AndoverNewtonQuarterly of January 1963 said: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."

  WT 9/15/95

  The major concern of the Masoretes was the accurate transmission of each word, even each letter, of the Bible text. To ensure accuracy, the Masoretes utilized the side margins of each page to record information that would indicate any possible change of text made either inadvertently or deliberately by past copyists. In these marginal notes, the Masoretes also noted unusual word forms and combinations, marking how frequently these occurred within a book or within the entire Hebrew Scriptures. These comments were recorded in a highly abbreviated code, since space was limited. As an additional cross-checking tool, they marked the middle word and letter of certain books. They went so far as to count every letter of the Bible in order to ensure accurate copying.

  In the top and bottom margins of the page, the Masoretes recorded more extensive comments regarding some of the abbreviated notes in the side margins. These were helpful in cross-checking their work. Since the verses were not then numbered and there were no Bible concordances, how did the Masoretes refer to other parts of the Bible to make this cross-check? In the top and bottom margins, they listed part of a parallel verse to remind them of where the word or words indicated were found elsewhere in the Bible. Because of space limitations, often they would write just one key word to remind them of each parallel verse. For these marginal notes to be useful, these copyists would virtually have to know the entire Hebrew Bible by heart.

  ...

  Millions of readers have done just that and have discovered the NewWorldTranslation to be not only readable but scrupulously accurate. Its translators worked from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, using the best texts available. Unusual care was also exercised to render the ancient text as literally as possible but in language that would readily be understood. Accordingly, some scholars praised this translation for its integrity and accuracy. For example, the AndoverNewtonQuarterly of January 1963 said: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."

  WT 6/15/85

  Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are recognized even by their critics as excellent Bible students, have found that the NewWorldTranslationoftheHolyScriptures admirably meets the requirements of clarity and accuracy. It renders that passage from the Sermon on the Mount: "Happy are those consciousoftheirspiritualneed."

  WT 12/1/62

  By making a distinction between anástasis and exanástasis the NewWorldTranslation again gives proof of its exactness and accuracy.

  WT 10/15/61

  Taking advantage of the oldest Bible manuscripts that have been found as well as the improved understanding of koine Greek, the translators of this version have produced a copy of the Bible in English that is extremely accurate. It carefully expresses the fine shades of meaning in the Hebrew and Greek words. Its literalness, however, is not carried to the point where reading is made difficult. At all times an easy, expressive flow of thought is maintained. Its accuracy makes it more desirable than a free translation, that is, one in which the translator takes the general thought and expresses it freely in his own words. The extreme care taken to make the NewWorldTranslationoftheHolyScriptures accurate is an assurance to readers that what they read is as near to the original thoughts as is possible to express them at this time.

  WT 7/15/62

  The word "sanctified" is to be preferred to the word "hallowed" since it is used far more commonly. Not only that but, except for its use in our Lord’s prayer, hagiazo is always translated "sanctified" by the KingJames translators as well as the many others that use "hallowed" in this one instance; there are some twenty-five instances of such translation all told. So the NewWorldTranslation is only different in this instance because it alone is consistent.

  WT 12/15/63

  Among other ways in which the NewWorldTranslation shows itself to be an outstanding translation is in its consistency and accuracy. For one thing, it distinguishes between gnosis (knowledge) and epignosis (accurate [full] knowledge); between makários, which means "supremely blest, . . . fortunate, well off," and eulogetós, which means "blessed."