Did you find reading the Bible enjoyable but your enjoyment was later soiled by the watchtower's take on it?

by punkofnice 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  Jack C.

  I actually hated reading the Bible up untill 10 or 12 years ago. The problem was that I believed what the JW's taught and it didn't set well with me at all. After casting of that belief I have found reading and researching the Bible to be fascinating. I have about 10 different translations and comparing the readings from all of them yields some very surprising results. My favorite is the Companion Bible. The footnotes in the CB will really open your eyes. It was compiled by E.W. Bullinger, one of the most renowned bible scholers of the past century. The text is the KJV but it's the footnotes that are amazing. It's available online as a free download (sorry, don't have the link) but you should be able to find it by just entering Companion Bible download.

  Jack
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  factfinder

  It was the WT that got me into reading the Bible. Once I left the witnesses my interest in the Bible faded...I don't care much about what it says now.
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  Retrovirus

  I'd always enjoyed reading the KJV so the watchtower phrases grated on me. I'm not a bible scholar so cannot say about accuracy . . but "till time indefinite" and "taking in accurate knowledge" etc sound so dreary. Added to that the smug way they were pointed out,(perhaps you didn't know, but... ) it really diminished the Bible for that "study" session.

  And what NRFG said - they were always right. If another verse seemed to contradict, it was "allegorical". No exploration, no scholarly sources, no debate. Sad.
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  Snoozy

  Never really read the bible till I met the JW's. Then loved it. Now don't read it. I feel a lot of it doesn't apply today.

  Snoozy
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  ABibleStudent

  Reading the Awake! and Watchtower can make me sick, but so can reading the NWT make me ill. It is amazing how translation of the Bible can be influenced by the preceptions of the translator. I was amazed how translating the word pornei to fornication instead of sexual immorality could change my interpretation of the Bible. I prefer to read my 2008 NIV Bible a lot more.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  ABibleStudent
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  punkofnice

  @BP - More interesting than the WTB$ spin!

  @Designs - Heads down.......snooze! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  @Unshackled - Dr Phil's brussel sprouts!! (Not sure who Dr Phil is...not heard of him in my part of the UK. He sounds fun.......if rectal piles is your thing!!)

  @JackC - I'll have a gander at the CB when I locate it, thanks.

  @Factfinder - The WTB$ poisoned the Bible with their toxic austere version.

  @Retrovirus - The NWT is austere, spiritless and as mental as Fred Franz!