Catholic encyclopedia misquote

by alcyone 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  alcyone

  I do not know if this misquote has been discussed here already.

  New Catholic Encyclopedia says this about JW:

  "Judge" Rutherford introduced important changes in the Witnesses' creed and transformed the congregational structure of the sect as it was under "Pastor" Russell into a rigid theocracy. The third leader, "Brother" Nathan H. Knorr, gradually replaced the offensive convert-making tactics of the Rutherford era by suave manners that have gained the Witnesses their current reputation as one of the best-behaved groups in the world.

  see here: http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3407705846/jehovah-witnesses.html

  The statement is not very positive, is it? Watchtower being true to its reputation quote-mines it multiple times in the literature:

  *** g 4/07 p. 27 What Does It Mean to Be a Christian? ***
  For instance, the New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges that Jehovah’s Witnesses are known as “one of the best-behaved groups in the world.”
  

  I am wondering if there is even one example of WTS not quoting out of context.
  
  
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  Room 215

  Overall, it seems a fair statement if necessarily generalized for brevity.
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  I had not seen the encyclopedia entry in the OP, but I am a little surprised by it. It is comparatively biased for an encyclopedia.
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  TheOldHippie

  "It is comparatively biased for an encyclopedia. "

  All encyclopaedian articles are written by persons, and so reflect what the author wants to state. You find the strangest opinions on various religious and political groups in encyclopaedias.
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  Darkknight757

  The Org claims to have ownership over "truth" yet they are the biggest liars.

  I find it funny that one of the recent magazines on their web site had a cover article about Honesty.😷 I mean really? Every time it seems they quote a source they are wrong in some way especially if it favors the witnesses.
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  TTWSYF

  What does the WTS encyclopedia say about the Catholic Church I wonder?
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  steve2

  It is not a misquote - but an example of a partial quote or quote out of context.

  A misquote would be having the statement say something different from what it originally said.
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  Ruby456

  it isn't a misquote at all and not even out of context
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  Terry

  How does an encyclopedia make a statement about what is "known"?

  Wouldn't this sloppy statement be better served with a citation of quotations to the effect?
  
  Sounds like a JW press release accepted as proof of a true fact, to me.
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  steve2

  it isn't a misquote at all and not even out of context

  Fair enough Ruby. I could be persuaded.

  The only point of difficulty is that the quote was from the latter part of a sentence in which the first part of the sentence (not quoted) expressed some unflattering conclusions about JWs earlier history (e.g., 'the offensive convert-making tactics of the Rutherford era') .