What I have learned about Rolf Furuli

Faraon

On a recent thread about the year of the destruction of Jerusalem, I learned from "Scholar" about Rolf Furuli.

I looked up his name in Google, and came with a few interesting links. All I can say is that I am glad there aren't too many witnesses going to universities, especially those claiming to be researchers. First they must take their blinds off.

A Review of Rolf Furuli's Book "The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation"

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ahein/f01.html

Rolf Furuli?s background is Linguistics as his credentials show.

http://folk.uio.no/rolffu/home.html

ROLF FURULI?S WARPED ?RESPONSE TO CARL OLOF JONSSON? DISPROVED

http://user.tninet.se/~oof408u/fkf/english/furuli.htm

Furuli, Rolf http://www.apologeticsindex.org/f00.html

Though Furuli does not answer the question of whether or not he is a Jehovah's Witness, he is considered one of today's foremost apologists for the Jehovah's Witnesses (see cult apologists).
His area of expertise is linguistics. However, reviving a century-old, refuted concept, Furuli believes that words are the essence of meaning This concept has been shown to be a fallacy...
Author of "The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation: With a special look at the New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses." Naturally, the book is heavily biased in favor of the New World Translation - a Bible version produced by Jehovah's Witnesses to support their false doctrines.
This book is just a Jehovah's Witness apologetic. In the description of the author, it does not state that he is one of Jehovah's Witnesses. This book picks out three books critical of the New World Translation to refute. These three books are Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ, and The Gospel of John by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.; The Jehovah's Witnesses' New Testament by R.H. Countess; and So Many Versions by S. Kubo and W.F. Specht. Considering the author's claims of providing an objective analysis, it is surprising that he attempts to refute books that are critical of the New World Translation.
James Stewart. Reader review at Amazon.com. Full review available here
- Book Review - A Book On Translation? Review by James Stewart
- Multimedia - Recent Advances in Watchtower Theology: Real or Imagined? (Tape) by Robert Keay
This workshop presents a thorough and scholarly examination of the latest JW "scholarly" defenses of the Watchtower and the New World Translation being mad by men such as Greg Stafford and Rolf Furuli. While these "new defenses" are clearly much more sophisticated and scholarly than previous offerings, the presenter will show they still labor under serious methodological problems.

The following site has an interesting note on Cult Apologists and what you should know about Cult Defenders. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c11.html . Part of it says:

Attacks on apostates
Among the most dangerous challenges to the work of cult apologists is the testimony of ex-cult members (apostates). Therefore, cult defenders claim that apostates can not be relied upon to tell the truth (e.g. this statement by J. Gordon Melton, and this one by Lonnie Kliever).
However, professor of psychology Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi states:
Recent and less recent NRM catastrophes help us realize that in every single case allegations by hostile outsiders and detractors have been closer to reality than any other accounts. Ever since the Jonestown tragedy, statements by ex-members turned out to be more accurate than those of apologists and NRM researchers.
Source: Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research, by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi

You can see how he tries to utilize his status as a university professor in linguistics to influence the blood denial issue on the BMJ http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/ . Someone should send them a link to ?Quote?s about how anti-medical and anti-science they have been in the past. It is ironic for quacks like these, with their beliefs about vaccines, germs, (illnesses cause germs and not vice versa), medical doctors, cigarettes and ultraviolet rays as curatives, Viola Machine, etc. The Medical Journal must be reminded that they are not dealing with a religion with a history of normalcy.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/322/7277/37

specifically in http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/322/7277/37#12803 Note his lack of objectivity.

ellderwho

Faraon,

Good stuff, Its obivious from scholars posts of threads past his inability to build upon any defense whatsoever. Thanks for the links about Furuli.

scholar

Faraon

When you have the academic qualifications that Furuli has achieved then you are in position to be critical of his scholarship. Furuli has done a magnificant jog in elevating the NWT, defending our blood issue and deconstructing the Jonsson hypothesis.

scholar

BA MA Studies in Religion

fjtoth

Scholar:

When you have the academic qualifications that Furuli has achieved then you are in position to be critical of his scholarship.

Aren't you attacking the wrong person? It doesn't seem to me that Faraon is claiming any academic credentials. He's merely putting us in touch with academics who are qualified to pass judgment upon Furuli.

Furuli has done a magnificant jog in elevating the NWT, defending our blood issue and deconstructing the Jonsson hypothesis.

With all due respect, Sir, that statement is laughable.

BA MA Studies in Religion

I assume you are telling the honest truth. Please tell us at what seminary, college or uinversity you earned your BA and MA.

fjtoth

ChristianObserver

An answer for the apologetics site

Furuli, Rolf http://www.apologeticsindex.org/f00.html
Though Furuli does not answer the question of whether or not he is a Jehovah's Witness,

from the bmj online discussion written by R Furuli in February 2001

"As a member of the hospital liaison committee in Oslo, Norway for the last ten years the question about medical ethics and the use of blood is very important for me. When I stand at the bed of a critically ill person who has called for my assistance, I feel strongly the responsibility for building on a firm Biblical foundation - life is not something with which to play."

Room 215

Scholar,

Why are you so keen to laud Furuli's ``academic accomplishments" in defense of his apologia when the organization you and he so loyally champion considers them irrelevant, even deleterious?

toreador

Scholar,
Why are you so keen to laud Furuli's ``academic accomplishments" in defense of his apologia when the organization you and he so loyally champion considers them irrelevant, even deleterious?

That is a very good point. I bet 90 percent of the rank and file JWs have never heard of Greg Stafford or Rolf Furuli. The GB would have us believe they need no one to defend their doctrine as they believe their doctrine comes from none other than holy spirit direction. What do they need inperfect men for. toreador

hillary_step

I have also heard that he rides a mean Bronco. Nice to know that his congregation always turn up to support his theological gallops :

HS

Satanus

tor

I bet 90 percent of the rank and file JWs have never heard of Greg Stafford or Rolf Furuli.

Yes, but jehovah god looks down from his leafy perch and is pleased. These spiritual green giants have unimaginable wealth stored up in heavenly vaults, interest compounding daily, as well as stocks, bonds, and tbills. Their everlasting life is more durable than the everlasting life of the ordinary dub, whose recognition they do not need.

SS

avishai

I think that scholar is Rolf Furili. Does'nt schloar have his degree in linguistics?

What I have learned about Rolf Furuli

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