Okage Takes Issue with: November 1st 2013 Watchtower Magazine

by okage 23 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  okage

  Just a few issues I had from looking at this potential New York-printed toilet paper:
  
  pg 4: The Lie That Made God Nameless
  This sub-article talks about how God's name is Jehovah and quotes Isaiah 42:8 "I am Jehovah. That is my name." I take issue with this because they later go on to say that you cannot know God as a person or love God if you don't know his name. But what about calling God by the wrong name? I imagine a jealous, vengeful deity would harbor ill feelings with being called somebody else's name. If I called my wife by some other woman's name, she would certainly have a problem with it. And it can try to be argued that Jehovah is a latinized form of Yahweh, but if I called my brother Matthew "Mateo," he wouldn't like it. In fact, he used to get pretty pissed when I would call him Mateo.
  Wouldn't a deity who is infinitely powerful and wrathful become angered with a century of Bible Students calling him the wrong name? Or even be upset when they formed a group refering to him with the wrong name? And if not, why would it matter if we use his name at all?

  pg 12,13,14: She was declared "righteous by her works."
  For a group that claims to value truth, I take issue with their repeated efforts to whitewash characters from the Bible. Numerous images of Jesus as a white man, numerous depictions of God and the angels as white men, and in this Watchtower, Rahab is portrayed as a white, fair-skinned ginger. I don't recall scripture describing her as such but I don't recall many middle-eastern gingers.

  pg 16: Who will go to heaven and why?
  Why don't they say in the public edition what they so freely print in the study edition? If they proudly believe only 144,000 will be going to heaven, why not state it to the public? Why not state that those "rulers" they are writing about only consist of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses? Or that of the 144,000 rulers, only the GB will rule among them?
• 

  LostGeneration

  These public WTs have become a joke, especially with the 16 page format. They say nothing anymore, just a repetition month after month of Jehovah's name, god hears prayers (well some of them) and paradise earth promises. At least the kool aid editions "keep it real" as you mention in the last paragraph.

  It really is a big bait and switch with the mags, all the fluff for the public and the beatings for the sheep delivered in the private edition.
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  Crazyguy

  Yes I agree, I dont know where they come up with this idea that if you do not know gods name you cant have a relationship with him and your not a true follower. The Bible says that God will call ones to Jesus and that one must know Jesus to get to the father. And that Jesus name will be exalted above all other names. Their message is so far off the true gospel meassage of the bible its pathetic!!!!!
• 

  rmt1

  This is the first time I have heard there is a public 16 page version of Watchtower. This so totally makes my day.
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  Stealth

  I don't read their rags anymore, but when I did, this 2 versions would've raised red flags with me. How does the WT spin the need for 2 versions that does not raise any suspicions with the flock?
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  Crazyguy

  The simplified version is for children and ones that may not be able to read very well, so they say. But in all reality both versions are simplified for they really dont say much anymore, its all just milk no meat. Probably because they know that the meat they put out is rotten.
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  Tech49

  Just to clarify, there are actually 3 different WT magazines printed each month (besides the single issue of AWAKE)

  1. The PUBLIC copy for placement and distribution, full of pretty pictures, big margins, and lots of bullet points.

  2. The STUDY copy to be used at the KH on Sunday's program.

  3. The SIMPLIFIED STUDY copy of the STUDY copy, same but re-worded and with more pictures, for all you who can't understand the really big words in the regular one.

  Tech49
• 

  frankiespeakin

  Tech,

  Even with a simplified version it still smell like a heaping pile childish delusional nonsense.
• 

  rmt1

  This is really astounding. It serves as evidence to my own suspicion that TWS could care less about fulfilling their ostensible mission, to make Jehovah's name known, if the primary argumentation to the recipient who does not yet know Jehovah's name is at a primary school level. And a simplified version? (What in the name of <>?) From a corporate standpoint, I understand if they want to limit their overhead to finding sufficiently illusioned new feedstock, which encompasses what I call mentally, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, psychiatrically, economically marginal or marginalized persons. From a corporate standpoint, does that mean they are willing to risk the insufficiently 'sunk' catching a wiff for the savings of lower overhead to retaining the sufficiently 'sunk'? By the scientific term 'sunk', as in one-time hook/line/sinker 'sunk', I mean to include persons who are actually stupid, and the much greater crowd of persons who are held hostage by family and social support systems, JW employers, sunk cost fallacy, etc.

  Am I the only one for whom the URL http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible returns the error message "Sorry, an error occurred while processing your request", and then you have to refresh it, and then you can only see four older threads?
• 

  Apognophos

  I see six threads... something is definitely wrong.

  Simplified English is also helpful for those learned English as a second language ;-)