THIS JUST IN: Jesus had writer's block.
Jesus ,the son of GOD,on earth as a man,never wrote down his words of wisdom,message of salvation,only talked to a minority group,majority of what he preached was never recorded by observers,?
by smiddy 45 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Heaven
Call me a skeptic, but I'm pretty sure these people have no clue who Jesus is/was. I'm also pretty sure none of their ancestors have heard of him either:
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OldGenerationDude
Francis of Assisi, founder of the Roman Catholic order known as the Franciscans, said in reference to the Gospel:
"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."
The question that is posed here is another example of Watchtower influence we may still have floating around in our heads that may cause us to come to incorrect conclusions. The Jehovah's Witnesses, like the Latter Day Saints, are obsessed with a written revelation. While Martin Luther taught that the Scriptures should be the basis for direction in the Church, he did not hold that revelation from God originated from this written form. The Church, like Judaism, came first. Some of the tradition or revelation from God was in written form--not all according to Jews and Christians--but again some of it.
The Jehovah's Witnesses, on the other hand, believe that revelation is limited to what is found in Scripture. Unless it is preserved in this format it does not qualify under the Governing Body's view of divine disclosure.
The religions of Christianity and Judaism are unique in that they are not religions based on a book or looking to any book as the basis for their beliefs or theology. The opposite is true. The books of Scripture reflect the teachings of Judaism and early Christianity, each group developing from a theophany or series of such. Except for the Ten Commandments, no theophany was ever limited to the scope of writing, not in Judaism or Christianity for the most part.
This is incompatible with the Governing Body’s view, of course, because it necessitates study and frequent catechesis in centuries-old religious tradition. But the study and reading of Talmud, Midrash and/or the Church Fathers and the works of Christian Saints would expose Jehovah’s Witnesses to at least abandon the Governing Body, if not choose the teachings of these religious groups themselves.
Jesus didn't leave a book behind, he left a Church or a Congregation of believers behind. These written testimonies are not the entire message, as Francis of Assisi was pointing out. Each member was the message (or is supposed to be). How they live is supposed to be a greater and more substantial teaching than any written document can provide, but as we can all attest very few seem to fit this description. As one writer put it: "It's not that people have thoroughly tried Christianity and found it wanting. It's that people have found that Christianity is very difficult to live out, and thus it has been left untried."
But regardless, if like the Witnesses teach, salvation is limited to a written testimony, then yes it would be an odd thing. But the reason that Christianity is general is not worried about this is because for the majority of them the Bible is not the basis for their beliefs nor is it the primary witness to Christ.
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mP
Yes you would think Jesus would have understood the imortance of writing and accurate message for posterity. Somehow he didnt have the intelligence to read or write or think of the future, letting some greeks write his story with all their greekisms and mistakes...
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still thinking
Francis of Assisi, founder of the Roman Catholic order known as the Franciscans
The order of Franciscans was resposible for some of the most heinous crimes against humanity....I wouldn't bandy them about it you want to make a point about god or Jesus....I prefer not to take the advice of murderers and torturers.
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JWdaughter
That Jesus lived, I accept fully. That he had good teachings-I accept fully. That he was the be all and end all and answer to everything-nope. The "gospel" that he preached to all is universally accepted as moral(the beatitudes, golden rule), but the stuff that he supposedly just said to his closest most intimate followers -not so credible. What would be the purpose of a message for the entire inhabited earth if he is just telling twelve guys about it? None of whom record it or report on it consistently? Tthe good stuff got out, but the dogmatic, "private" stuff has been manipulated and twisted to become messages of hate, division and antipathy. So what does that make Jesus? A prophet? Perhaps! But a man. Not a god. I think the truth of what is good in his message is clear and the interferance given by other men such as Paul is also clear.
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mP
@designs
xianity is not really related to judaism, the two have very different thoughts on many matters. Sabbath, Circumcision, Religious holidays are but a few. To be fair xianity needed a history or pedigree when it was formed and it grafted on the back of the old religion of Judaism. Tell any xian about the 613 mitzvot i the OT and they will be offended or shocked and yet they still say its gods will they just dont care about them and ignore them not because jesus said so, but because Paul some gu y did. How Paul got authority over Jesus i dont know but he did.
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Diest
What bothers me is that God could not be bothered to ensure that there was one bible manuscript that was made before the destruction of Jerusalem. There is not one transcript out there that is older than 150ish. Why bother having a prophesy about the destruction in 70 CE yet you can't be bothered to prove that you wrote it down before it happened?
Realizing that, pretty much destroyed the purpose of the NT. It made me think God/Jesus was either lazy or stupid.
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Sulla
Interesting observation, Diest. If only there was someting with a direct connection to the person of Jesus himself that survived since then...
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Diest
Yes what would that connection be?
