Miss K returned yesterday, for a last and final pitch. I managed to postpone our discussion for almost 2 months.
She brought a new partner this time, and was a little suprised to see that I had invited my own friend along. Diana is an evangelical with a passion for witnessing to JW's, and "trying to bring them to the Lord." Since I knew I was giving up on my study with Miss K, I let Diana make her attempts at sharing the gospel with her. It was interesting to watch, but completely fruitless for both of them (surprise, surprise!)
I expressed my concerns and asked my questions, and watched Miss K avoid, deflect and turn them all around on me. During our 90 minute conversation, they managed to touch on every key JW doctrine. Ugh... but they still never were able to show me in the Bible, where Jesus actually used a personal name of God. There were also no instructions recorded, in which Jesus told us to use any name but his own.
Instead, he told them to ask in his name, pray in his name... then after a long prayer to his father, he says, "I have made your name known." (John 16:23- John 17)
(Where is the personal name made known? ... it's not in the BIble, in the directions from Jesus... )
Jesus spent a lot of time giving speeches and correcting people. If it were that important that we start calling God by a different or specific name, surely someone would have recorded it. I'm also wondering what response there would have been, when he quoted Hebrew scriptures, and used the personal name of God. Was he speaking Aramaic? If he was "quoting" or "reading" from the scriptures, was he translating, or reading a translated version? Was anyone even speaking Hebrew at that time? How did he pronounce the tetragrammaton? Was there no reaction from those listening? No one asked him to clarify or why he was using the name that was too holy to say out loud?
Odd... if this was SO important, and you are going to base an entire religion on it, then it seems Jesus would have been more specific. If he told them to use a name, why didn't he tell them how to pronounce it?
I said to Miss K, "If Jesus really wanted us to call God by the name Jehovah, why is there no record of him using it himself? He called him Father."
Her response was (gasp! A question!), "Do you call your father by his first name?"
"No," I said, "I have known my dad's name since I was about 3 years old, and if I started calling him Doug, he would not be pleased."
"Exactly! Jesus didn't call God by the name Jehovah, out of respect. Jehovah is his father." --- WHAAAAT??? You have to be kidding me right now! Wow. That was a mental backflip. I did not see that coming. Haha.
I said, "But he also never came right out and told US to call him by any specific name. He never said, 'Listen up you guys. You're getting this all wrong, and it's very important. You're getting this part all wrong. When you call on God, you need to use the name Jehovah (or Yahweh or however the tetragrammaton is supposed to be pronounced). I came to make his name known... and His name is JEHOVAH.' "
Blank look from Miss K, and then, "Ah, but don't forget, the scriptures had been corrupted and twisted by the 1st century."
I said, "Wait a minute, we started this discussion, and we all had to agree that the Bible was the true and accurate word of God. Is it true and accurate, or do you need to add to it? There is no evidence for these interpretations you are giving me."
Anyway, I am going to start a new thread to update and conclude the saga with Miss K. She and her friend came to the conclusion that I was "happy where I was," and that I had chosen "to be led" in another direction. I told her that I was going to follow what Jesus said, and it did not agree with Watchtower instructions.
I feel very sorry for Miss K and for her friend, who have both been robbed of their reasoning ability. I will miss our discussions, but know that ending this relationship was the best for my sanity and my family. I can't waste time studying a false religion anymore.
