A real Bible study would include checking the origins of the book

dgp

On another thread that I started (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/191731/1/A-book-on-how-the-Bible-canon-was-decided-upon#3575623), Palmtree asked the question of why she, while a witness, was never taught about how the canon of the Bible was decided. I commented that we Catholics aren't taught that, either. But this time I would like you people to give your opinions on a different matter.

If I were interested in converting someone to my faith, and wanted this person to be a true believer, why would it need to be wrong to let the person check on books that criticize the beliefs I'm trying to convince the person to follow? Why is it that believers aren't encouraged to check everything, independently, so they can arrive at their own decision, which is supposedly what God wants? Why not consider the point of views of heretics or atheists, for example?

When I got my copy of the Gnostic Gospels, my friend said those were "the forbidden books". Why does it have to be wrong to read the Gnostic gospels? Why should a believer be bullied into being afraid of even reading them?

I believe that a true Bible study would include checking the origins of the book. Since it has to be a translation, we should be free to check those translations, and to question them. Everything should be freely verifiable by anyone interested. That would perhaps make few believers. That seems to be the problem.

Terry

Any HONEST investigation becomes a matter of not just the truth.

You have to include THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.

Church denominations want to filter what you are exposed to. Once you filter you exclude evidence.

This is intellectual dishonesty.

Any cult will force you to exclude non-corroborating evidence because it wants control over what you think to capture your loyalty.

My worst fault in my whole life consisted of being ignorant when I started my first JW bible study.

Being ignorant I was unable to know what I should ask.

I may as well have been trying to refute calculus with a Calculus Professor as to come up with anything remotely plausible in countering Jehovah's Witness interpretations.

If I now knew what I DIDN'T know then I would simply ask my bible study instructor one question:

"IF the original, uncorrupt autograph manuscripts of scripture do not exist, how can we know that the copies are anywhere near accurate for

interpreting and proof texting?"

That would have gotten me off on the right track because only an apologist can answer that one with "God preserved his word miraculously"

Which is demonstrably AT ODDS with the JW assertion that after the death of the last apostle Apostacy corrupted the bible, true religion and christian teachings.

palmtree67

I guess what I meant was that, while we were given reasons for why the Bible as we see it has the canon that it does......

This is the first I've learned about other books that were not included.

I feel like the information I got as a Witness was only what they wanted me to know.

PSacramento

Organizations exist to protect themselves and control thsoe that belong to the organization.

In the time of Jesus, the different organizations (pharsiees and saudacess to name two) had their own "canons" also.

Jesus din't go to either fo them and there is a lesson there too.

Before his death Jesus told his disciples that a helper woudl come to them, the HS would guid them and teach them what they needed to know, ALL they needed to now ( see the Gosple of John), he said nothing of them creating an organization and they didn't.

What they did do, however, was set up groups with a head in the different places where they set up churches and these heads became Bishops and they in turm created an organization, whichin turn controlled the spreading of the teachings of Jesus.

Why did they do that? why did the apostles drop the ball that way?

Well, they were Jewish and that is what they saw in their own "mother" religion ( the sanhedrin) but they still understood the vital importance of independance - see the case of Paul.

The later generations screwed the pooch royally !

It became more about the organization ( the church) than about the message or the messenger, the faith in the HS was "lost" and faith was put into writing and faith was placed on PEOPLE ( the bishops) and on Books ( The Canon).

And God and Jesus and the apostles warned what would happen if we palce our faith in man.

dgp

I feel like the information I got as a Witness was only what they wanted me to know

Palmtree, that was exactly what I understood your post to mean.

They don't tell you everything and they scare you into finding out more. And it's not just the Watchtower, though perhaps they go a bit more to the extreme. It's intellectual dishonesty, yes. Gross intellectual dishonesty.

Psychotic Parrot

I think a general study of world history is far more valuable than a bible study could ever be.

mindmelda

AAAAHHH, the brains of Jewish mystics and scribes scare me.

And first century Christians were almost as varied and sectarian as they are now...which is why Paul and some of the apostles were always getting upset about it.

You can't stop sectarianism because no two people can really appreciate and understand God the same way. It's like telling everyone to like the same color or think Mexican food is better than Italian.

Heaven

I feel like the information I got as a Witness was onlywhat they wanted me to know.

This is exactly how the JWs operate, from day one when they don't identify upfront who they are and what they really want from you when they're on your door-step.

The free home Bible Book Study, is a pre-determined, organizationally orchestrated manoeuvering through the Bible.

A real Bible study would include checking the origins of the book

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