This seems to be the only scripture I hear that supposedly supports the whole "new light" thing?? Does the society use anything else to back themselves up here? cos this excuse is just looking waaaay to weak to me!
is anyone else sick of hearing Prov 4:18??
by Notreadytorun 9 Replies latest watchtower bible
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designs
Prety much that's the one. New ideas are part of the Bible narrative when you look at the NT making leaps and assumptions from the OT.
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blond-moment
It is a weak excuse. It isn't even what the scripture means. It's just a cop out. They just make things up as they go along and then slap on that scripture to cover the new invention. To answer your question, YES I am so tired of that lame excuse, knee jerk answer, for everything. When it's used with other lame cop out excuse "not infallible" I seriously want to punch something.
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Ding
The WT continually employs Proverbs 4:18 as an excuse for errors and flipflops.
Any person or group could use that reasoning to escape responsibility for just about anything.
In fact, the very next verse says that the wicked walk in darkness and don't know what it is that they are stumbling over.
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WTWizard
To make things worse, I wonder what ancient doctrine Proverbs 4:18 was in fact plagiarized from. It's in the LIE-ble for one reason only: So that, when your religion fails you, you will not give up and find another one (or ditch religion altogether) and thus cut your losses.
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Phizzy
When I was an active JW I railed against their use of the scripture the way they do. Just read it, and the surrounding verses, or the whole of Proverbs if you have the time and the inclination.
It beacame plain to me that what the writer was talking about was what he said , "The path of the righteous one.." as the NWT has it. The Bible in Contempory English, which I did not have at the time, concurs with my view, and renders the verse this way :
"The lifestyle of good people
is like sunlight at dawn
that keeps getting brighter
until broad daylight"
Verse 19 goes on to show the contrast with the lifestyle of the wicked. NOTHING in v18 is to do with some old farts in New York fiddling about with scriptural interpretation and getting it wrong every time, to use the scripture that way is a travesty.
It is teaching a great truth, if you live the right way, and the right way becomes plainer to you.
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Mary
Yep. They use this an an excuse for all their pathetic and embarassing failed prophecies. The entire verse says:
"...Into the path of the wicked ones do not enter, and do not walk straight on into the way of the bad ones. Shun it, do not pass along by it; turn aside from it, and pass along. For they do not sleep unless they do badness, and their sleep has been snatched away unless they cause someone to stumble. For they have fed themselves with the bread of wickedness, and the wine of acts of violence is what they drink. But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established. The way of the wicked ones is like the gloom; they have not known at what they keep stumbling..."
It's pretty obvious what this scripture is talking about. It is simply referring to the two paths in life that a person can take: either the path of a righteous man, or that of a wicked man. If someone persists in "doing badness" with the "bread of wickedness" and "acts of violence", then the path they follow in life will indeed be "like the gloom", full of darkness and with no joy. But the person who is "righteous" and leads a good life, who's generous with their dealing with others, who is honest and trustworthy will (obviously) fair much better. Their path in life will be completely different from the wicked person and it will indeed be "like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established."
There is absolutely nothing in these verses that even hints that it is referring to Jehovah ‘shedding light' on their (erroneous) interpretations of the scriptures. But of course they have to come up with some excuse and I guess this was the best they could do.
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bob1999
What gets me is when they use "new light" to explain coming to a conculsion that "Christendom" has held for centuries.
Why does it take "new light"? Did "Christendom" get the "new light " first?
Peace
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blondie
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/light-gets-brighter.php
Here's a good essay on it. Actually the WTS misapplies this scripture.
Proverbs 4:18 reads: The path of the righteous one is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established. Reading the entire chapter shows that verses 18-19 contrast the benefit to the "righteous" of obeying the instructions of a wise father with the damage to the wicked who forsakes such wisdom. Proverbs 4:18 does not - taken in context - justify the need of any individual or organization replacing doctrines and failed prophecies with new doctrines and prophecies. False teachings can be called "false words" and Proverbs 13:5 says: "A false word is what the righteous hates."
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Disillusioned Lost-Lamb
Just another scapegoat; "don't blame us blame_____".
I wonder if they've ever stopped to think, gee when I'm walking from a dark room to a light one, how many times do I run into the wall before I get through the door? (Hint: the answer should be none.)