They make all these claims about believing the bible but always refer questions back to the Governing Body of JW's. So, who is the final authority on the scriptures for the JW's? Is it really the bible or what some men decipher to be what the bible says? Why would God have the bible written if it was going to have to be hidden from all of mankind except some old dudes up in NY?
Do The JW's Really Believe The Bible?
by Honesty 16 Replies latest watchtower bible
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DannyBloem
You give the answer yourself...
What they believe is this:
They believe that they are too stupid to understand the bible, and believe that GB understands the bible.
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jula71
The answer is yes and no. They believe what the GB tells them what the bible says. So they believe the GB's interpretation of the bible. The bible, as a whole, is pretty vague and you can make it say almost anything you want.
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NeonMadman
So, who is the final authority on the scriptures for the JW's? Is it really the bible or what some men decipher to be what the bible says?
Chearly, for Jehovah's Witnesses, it is the latter.
Why would God have the bible written if it was going to have to be hidden from all of mankind except some old dudes up in NY?
He wouldn't. In fact, He said so in Scripture:
1Jo 2:27
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. -
IP_SEC
They like to think so, but naw, not really. I do think that the society could print a wt with zero cited scriptures without raising an eyebrow. Just a few quoted scriptures will suffice. The majority of the publishers dont even read the wt much less study it, much less look up the scriptures. I know, I was a wt conductor for 6 years.
If publishers start looking up the scriptures and start pondering and researching, that means they think. Thinking is berry berry dangerous.
The publications speculate sooo often that it would not be a grand step to just leave off of even using the bible, and the the flock would still eat up all of the conjecture.
They cite scriptures to give some sembalance of greater authority and scholarliness.
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greendawn
What happened to those bethelites back in the early 1980's when the wanted to study the bible without the watchtower magazines? They got vilified by members of the GB and thrown out of the org, not just the bethel.
The dubs were conditioned into not understanding the Bible by themselves but relying on the GB to explain it to them. -
Doubtfully Yours
To answer the subject title question: Yes, JWs do believe the Bible. Whole heartedly. However, they have quite the unique understanding of the Word.
DY
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blondie
I would say that JWs believe the Bible but
- They believe that the NWT is the best translation and avoid reading other Bibles
- They rarely read the Bible reading segment for the week
- They rarely look up the scriptures in the WT or book study assignments
- The conductors less and less have scriptures looked up and read during the meetings
- JWs rarely use the Bible from door to door despite the sample presentations in the KM
- Most JWs could not name the 66 books of the Bible (even old-timers); some don't even know there are 66 books
- Too many JWs (even old-timers) don't have even one scripture memorized to support the basic beliefs of the WTS
- Most JWs could not name who wrote the books of the Bible (other than God) quick who wrote Genesis.
- Too many JWs could not name the 9 fruitages of the spirit, the 12 apostles, and no Mark and Luke were not apostles.
Blondie
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jula71
The dubs were conditioned into not understanding the Bible by themselves but relying on the GB to explain it to them.
Exactly, how many times have we heard, "how can we possibly understand it on our own". And at this point they talk about the Ethiopian Eunuch.
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Ticker
Very obvious answer to that question. The GB is the final authority and if any would discount this then they are lacking true honesty. Anyone associated even for a brief time with the witnesses would have to say GB has final say even over scripture. They are placing themselves up as Gods'. For instance for a active witness to show that 1914 and 1935 lack any scriptural support would be a DF offence. So who holds authority, obviously not the bible but men.
I thought this commment was absolutely true,
you can make it say(the bible) almost anything you want.
Yes, you can and my brother in law proved this true to me at one time. He said "pick any scripture you want", so I proceeded to pick a random scripture out of the OT and he read into it a meaning that was not thier but you know if you were gullible you would believe his reasoning. He did this to show me how the Watchtower can manipulate meanings into scriptures that are actually not even their.
How can the bible have authority if it is merely manipulated by humans for their own purposes?
Ticker