Okay, it's a Gray (even more simplified) Bible- Moving Along

by OnTheWayOut 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  OnTheWayOut

  I truly get it. This forum dissects everything from Watchtower. The Annual General Meeting was one of those things.
  
  Of course I get that wild speculations would come out. And of course, I get that JWN posters will continue to dissect the new Gray Bible that I will call the NNWT.

  But there was no general call to shun inactive members (faders). No reduction in printing announced. No meeting changes. There was no change yet in assemblies/conventions announced. No mention of lawsuits against WTS or any discussion of the sales figures on Brooklyn HQ, no financial discussion at all except maybe that they need help and money, especially money for their NY state HQ project.

  Someone posted that all the promises will be fulfilled within "the millenium," a period of 1000 years. That's kind of like a Governing Body promising with a guarantee that all members get a golden ticket to paradise, but it won't show up until after they are all dead. The guarantee is useless/worthless.

  It was interesting that they severely limited the number that could attend in the UK and many long-time members (especially elderly pioneer sisters) are royally pissed.

  But really guys- it was a big nothing. A NNWT where they removed "ass" in favor of "donkey." I understand that many will feel the need to pick it apart and I may read a bit of that, but really- don't get all caught up in a book with more than a thousand pages looking for a lack of scholarship and manuevering toward doctrine enforcement. Of course there is no scholarship in it, of course it supports WTS doctrine.

  But as for me, I am moving along.

  
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  zound

  I think there are other changes that are very notable. For example the removal of the brackets around "other" in... "Jesus created all [other] things" - I feel is a pretty blatant adding to the scriptures, and is something I'll be bringing up with JW's next time I talk to them.

  Also I think many future doctrinal changes will stem from rewording parts of this bible - so I can totally understand why people are examining it.
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  DesirousOfChange

  OTWO, you gotta admit it was a great PR event for the WTS.

  Whoo Hoo! New Bible!

  Doc
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  OnTheWayOut

  Thanks for proving and supporting my main point, Zound. WTS is all about change. Change, in the past, has always help them sell more literature.
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  zeb

  My wife having just returned said something about a new release.

  "Thats the new Bible" i ventured.

  "How did you know that!" she snaps

  "Its on the internet"

  "Well it shouldnt be"

  "Well people do talk"

  --silence.
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  Apognophos

  I agree that the event was a letdown compared to some of the bigger expectations on this forum. I recall at least one poster telling us that an inside source told him there was something bigger than a new Bible coming. Guess not. But I escaped the hype when I stopped reading the thread(s), because I knew I would find out the facts soon enough.

  So for me, as someone who was not laboring under heightened expectations, this is not a "moving along" event, this is a big deal. Really, I can't imagine how I personally would not want to know, still being an active Witness, what changes were made to the book my life is supposed to revolve around (and I will be starting a new thread on this subject shortly which you definitely won't want to read, OTWO).

  And those who are just recently out, or who have always been concerned with the scholarly (or "scholarly") aspects of the religion, and the Bible they use as the basis for their beliefs, are naturally going to want to analyze this under a microscope. A single word can make a big difference, as zound's example shows. At the very least, I think you can appreciate the expression "Know thine enemy".
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  Iamallcool

  Ugly Bible
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  Wonderment

  OnTheWayOut said:

  But really guys- it was a big nothing. A NNWT where they removed "ass" in favor of "donkey."

  The removal of "ass" in favor of "donkey" is a big improvement. When I went to the KH over 25 years ago, I could not help but visualize some sister's ‘ass’ with the simple mention of the word. Oh naughty me! So there!

  The change was necessary. Fred Franz wasn't as pure as many make him out to be. His product was full of sexual inuendos, more so than the competition could offer. The NWT was special indeed in so many ways, this being one of them.

  Now the hot blooded young brothers don't have to fantasize with Scarlett Johannsen or some other cutie sister in front of them when the Bible is read aloud about the donkey (not "ass") talking out loud.
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  skeeter1

  A Bible is the biggesst thing they offer. It gets the most donations, perhaps along with the CDs. So, getting millions of JDubs to buy a new Bible is a win-win for the WTS. Make a few changes and, most definately, change the outside color. Why change the outside cover? Well, who in their right mind would walk into a KH with a non-grey (old, outdated, old light) Bible. That, just wouldn't be Kosher.

  Skeeter
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  OnTheWayOut

  D.O.C., PR. Yes. I heard my wife talking to her mother on the phone:

  "Yes, I attended."
  
  "Oh, that was wonderful."

  I don't know what was wonderful. But everyone (except some pissed off UK pioneer sisters) got to see/hear the rockstars in action.

  Zeb, you could have said, "Well, because it's gray. I thought your Bibles were black."

  Apognophos, yes. Someone else can analyze the book for me and I appreciate that. I just hope some of you don't scour through hundreds of pages a day searching for an important change, comparing other translations/versions to accomplish some "AHA!" moment that the average JW would simply shrug their shoulders at.

  Iamallcool, some will get mad at me for saying it, but that was redundant.

  Wonderment, I used to picture Beavis and Butthead giggling and saying "He said 'Ass.'" Now I will picture Jesus mounting a woman from behind. So there is that which Watchtowr has helped me with.

  Skeeter1, that is exactly why they had to change the color. Thanks for reminding everyone.