Hi everyone
The latest December 15th Study Edition of the Watchtower opens with an intriguing article entitled "Beware of Superstitious Use of the Bible".
As an example of what constitutes "superstitious use" of the bible, it has this to say...
"Perhaps a more common misuse of the Bible is the practice of bibliomancy. What is that? It refers to opening at random a book, often the Bible, and reading the text that first meets the eye in the belief that those words will provide needed guidance. For example, according to Professor Gamble, when Augustine on one occasion heard the voice of a child in a neighboring house saying: “Take and read, take and read,” Augustine took that to be a divine command to open the Bible and read the first text that he saw.
Have you heard of people who when facing a difficult situation prayed to God and then opened the Bible at random, believing that the first verse they saw would help them cope with the problem? Although they may have had good intentions, that is not the way Christians should seek guidance from the Scriptures.
Jesus assured his disciples that he would send them “the helper, the holy spirit.” He continued: “That one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you.” (John 14:26) In contrast, bibliomancy requires no knowledge of the Scriptures.
The practice of bibliomancy and other superstitious uses of the Bible are common.God’s Word, however, condemns looking for omens. (Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:9-12; Acts 19:19) “The word of God is alive and exerts power,” but we must be skilled in the use of it. Accurate Bible knowledge, not using the book superstitiously, improves people’s lives. Obtaining such knowledge has helped many to develop sound morals, to abandon ruinous lifestyles, to strengthen family life, and to nurture a personal relationship with the Bible’s Author."
When I read the above, something clicked. I felt sure there were experiences in Watchtower publications that described this very practice favorably, even though the Society now condemns it as "looking for omens".
Here are a couple of examples that I found on my Watchtower Library...
Awake 1970, 10/22, pages 13-14 "Turning Point in a Priestly Career"
The Bible Speaks
In seminary institutions it is common to have a half hour each day set aside for “spiritual” reading, that is, in any book that narrates the life of a “saint.” One particular evening I had no such book on hand, so I had to fall back on my pocket edition of the Nácar-Colunga Version of the Bible. Not knowing where to start, I opened the Bible at random and began reading at Exodus chapter 19. All went well until I reached chapter 20, verses four and five.
What a surprise to find in the Word of God a text condemning the making and worshiping of images! I could hardly believe my eyes! I had always viewed the Bible as sacred. I closed the Bible and pondered. “How is it possible?” I thought to myself. “Have they been deceiving me all this time?” My next thought—“I should not be thinking this way about our church’s teaching, for I could be consigned to hellfire.”
Again I opened the Bible to finish out my half hour of reading, and this time it fell open at Isaiah chapter 40. By the end of the time allotted I had reached Isaiah 42:8, where it says: “I am, Jehovah is my name, I give my glory to no other, neither to idols the honor that is due me.” Once more I realized with a jolt that the Bible was speaking to me directly and emphasizing that God is not pleased with the worship of images. How confused I felt! Could it be that my religion was on the wrong track? Just then the bell signaled that it was time for bed.
Here is a more recent example from the 1996 Yearbook (page 48)...
"A young man in Thailand had heard a missionary witness to his older sister, but he did not express interest. He was involved in spiritism. Then one day he picked up a Bible, opened it at random, and read 1 Peter 2:9, where it says that God called his people “out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This scripture puzzled him, and he began thinking of the missionary. The very next day, she was at his door. When he told her that he had wanted her to visit, she replied that the angels had probably directed her. Then, to his utter amazement, before he said anything about the scripture he had read, she opened her Bible and read the very same text. He was so surprised that he cried. He agreed to a Bible study, which the sister turned over to an elder."
Nowhere in the above two accounts are those evidently practicing "bibliomancy" condemned as "looking for omens". Rather, both accounts speak favorably of the practice, or its end results. Indeed, the latter experience appears to have been deliberately worded so as to invoke awe or wonderment at the fortuitous nature of events. The quote from the 1970 Awake even begins with the heading "The Bible Speaks"!
Conversely, this latest Watchtower article (although accurately describing this practice as "superstitious") fails to acknowledge anywhere that Watchtower publications once spoke favorably of the practice on at least two occasions. If pre-1950 magazine articles were searchable, I'm convinced I could find even more!
Like I said, the article is correct in highlighting this practice as "superstitious", but surely it's rather disingenuous of the Watch Tower Society not to admit that its publications have fallen into the trap of using such experiences to their benefit in the past?
Thoughts?
Cedars
