More of What the Watchtower Didn't Teach You (page 2)

EdenOne

OT - Hebrew, Aramaic

NT - Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek Koiné, Syriac

Eden

Doug Mason

Caleb,

Re Question #8: Are you asking about the apocryphal texts of the Hebrew Scriptures or the apocryphal texts of the Christian Scriptures (Didache, Barnabas, Shepherd, etc.)?

Why did you not ask why there are so many different canons?

Why did you not ask why the NT writers quoted so frequently from the Hebrew apocryphal writings (Enoch, Sirach, etc., etc.)?

Ask which writings are acknowledged as being written by Paul and which were written by people who claimed they were Paul - but were not.

Doug

SecretSlaveClass

Caleb has great posts. This thread had me up last night doing a little reading.

CalebInFloroda

Doug,

No. 8 has only one possible answer.

I made sure I chose questions that had uncontroversial answers, had something in common in regards to basic Bible study, and could be used to show how greatly the Watchtower starved us.

Remember, the rules to this little test are to use nothing bit your memory of what knowledge you had while a JW. Whatever you answer now represents the type of Bible education the Watchtower provides, or at least that is what it should offer.

I will offer this tidbit: all the answers are not merely basic and uncontroversial, they create a formidable paradox for Watchtower theology.

Vidiot

Thirty-ish years ago, WT "scholars" might have been able to answer most of those questions.

These days, though? Frankly, I'd be surprised if GB members could answer even half of them.

TheWonderofYou

Pooohhh, i know its a shame but i must admit that I cant answer one question without an aid, somethings I never heard of before. Even now after nealry 30 years have passed since i left

OverlappingGeneralizations

@Vidiot

That's what is sad to me. When I came in, it felt like I was in college (I have never been in college, so that's probably not a good analogy). But there were many reference books, and the writing style back in those days was on a higher level (to me anyway). Now its just so repetitious and dumbed-down. I wouldn't be surprised to open the watchtower and see a coloring contest for the adults to take the place of the Sunday study...

Vidiot

@ OG...

"Stay inside the lines, children..."

CalebInFloroda

I cannot recollect that the Governing Body or the Watchtower has ever correctly answered any of these questions. They were originally designed for a situation in which someone was bothering members of a Jewish-Catholic community center in New England.

The man, in his late 40s, claimed to be a mainstream Protestant, not interested in challenging members of the community center, but wishing to join since, as he claimed, he had been engaged in missionary work for his religion and had recently retired. Now he wished to enjoy time around fellow "believers in God."

Anyone, of course, can join such centers--you don't even have to be religious. They are centers for community gatherings and programs sponsored by the local synagogue and Catholic parish, usually, designed to give neighbors and their children something to do and somewhere to go, and have access to halls for meetings, plays, and wedding parties, etc.

But this fellow made it a point to hang around, want to get involved, and to mention his 'not being Catholic or Jewish' again and again. I had a feeling he was going to spring into some type of proselytizing tap dance, and suddenly smelled "Watchtower" all over him when he admitted he wasn't a formal missionary but did volunteer to work "spreading the good news as part of a worldwide Bible education work where the need was greater."

A dialogue ensued between 15 or so folks and him, and one day I was called to help settle what usually turned into heated and loud debates every 3 pm or so in the rec room. Claiming he knew how to read the Bible in its original tongues and had a vast background on all religions, I was asked if I could deduce if he was just being misunderstood or really was a JW using the center as an "easy way to count time," as I explained to them.

As part of my deduction process, I introduced this list of questions. I explained that we were using these as a part of our new weekday discussions on religion, and that I was assigned by the center as the new moderator of them all.

After we had made a circle of chairs and each had a copy of the list of questions, the man excused himself to go the bathroom. He never returned from the bathroom and we never had the discussion. In fact he never returned to the center again.

Much to my lack of surprise, our "friend" was spotted several months later offering the latest Watchtower and Awake! mags in the public ministry.

While many of us probably know the answers now after leaving the JWs behind or can easily Google them and get one, I knew from my own experience that I had learned either complete falsehoods regarding some of these things when I was in the Watchtower or that the subjects were never brought up by the JWs. Therefore I developed this list to see how "well-educated" any Witness was who claimed he was on scholar-level in regards to the Scriptures.

Muddy Waters

Bahhahahah- this is great! I know the answer to only ONE of those questions (#8) !!

Yep, is totally obvious I was a "bible student" for close to 30 damn years!!! Damn and double damn them.

Not that I care about any of this bible knowledge stuff now though, lol. Good riddance to it.

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