Posts by opusdei1972

63

EXACTLY Why JW's Are NOT Christian

by Perry in

a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.

is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?

what exactly makes someone a christian?

opusdei1972

I think that Witnesses are as Christians as many Christian sects that existed in the first and second century. Christianity is a salad of theologies.

96

Ray Franz was an Idiot

by vinman in

ray franz who gave us insight into the gb due to a crisis of conscience was an absolute moron, with absolutely no critical thinking skills whatsoever like all of us have.

i mean, to have a conscience based on some magic man in the sky.. how stupid can you be?

in search of christian freedom?

I am agnostic, so I currently don't believe in Christianity. Raymond Franz died as a Christian. Whatever, I still think he was a great man who recognized his error in supporting a stupid religion. He indeed admitted the stupidity of the Organization's thinking. I admire him because he could maintain his comfortable status as one of the kings of Bethel New York, however, he chose the way of honesty.

16

The fall of Jericho - PROOF!

by Bloody Hotdogs! in

from the november 2015 watchtower:.

what have archaeologists found that shows that jericho was captured in a short time?.

joshua 6:10-15, 20 says that the israelite soldiers marched around the city of jericho once a day for six days.

opusdei1972

if the siege of Jericho was short it does not follow that the Israelites were causing that siege. For example, if what we read in 1 Kings 6:1 were true, the Israelites ended their 40 years in the wilderness around the year 1407 BCE. However, radiocarbon measurements state that this siege was around 1550 BCE, so 150 years before the Israelites started to conquer cities. So, if there was a man called Joshua leading the Israelites after 1400 BCE, he arrived at Jericho when the city was already destroyed.

34

Hebrew Was The First Language

by Bloody Hotdogs! in

according to the newest watchtower:.

jehovah communicated with adam in the garden of eden, using human language.

god likely did so in an ancient form of hebrew.

opusdei1972

Adam did not exist.

14

What did early Christians believe about the dead?

by fulltimestudent in

as witnesses we were truly convinced that we knew the truth about the dead.

they were truly dead, and we often quoted ecclesiastes 9:4-6, our favourite proof text on that topic, to prove the point.

that text reads (just in case you've already forgotten it - smile), (from the niv):.

opusdei1972

Early Christians believed different theories of the resurrection, because there were many christian sects. But, in the second century, the "orthodox" christians believed that the soul leaves the body after a person dies. Then, in the resurrection, the soul joins again a resurrected body.

14

The Watchtower says: The Septuagint became God's Word

by opusdei1972 in

the last edition of the watchtower (study edition) says the following:.

alexander the great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or koine, greek became an international language.

so, in this verse the septuagint was not god's word according to matthew.

opusdei1972

It would be great if US schools could implement lectures on textual criticism, using the books of Bart Ehrman. If that were the case, the next generation could give good arguments against Watchtower's claims door by door.

14

The Watchtower says: The Septuagint became God's Word

by opusdei1972 in

the last edition of the watchtower (study edition) says the following:.

alexander the great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or koine, greek became an international language.

so, in this verse the septuagint was not god's word according to matthew.

opusdei1972

Much updated manuscript evidence is available in computer format, making it easier to analyze
the differences between manuscripts to determine which reading of the Hebrew or Greek text
is best supported. The New World Bible Translation Committee took advantage of these developments to study certain verses, resulting in some changes. (The Watchtower, Study Edition, December 2015, page 17)

Most of the modern scholars in textual criticism know that the chapter 21 of the Gospel of John was not of the original work, but a later addition (or orthodox corruption). The same corruption happens with John 4:2, Luke 3:23, and so on.

14

The Watchtower says: The Septuagint became God's Word

by opusdei1972 in

the last edition of the watchtower (study edition) says the following:.

alexander the great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or koine, greek became an international language.

so, in this verse the septuagint was not god's word according to matthew.

opusdei1972

Hi Marvster:

14

The Watchtower says: The Septuagint became God's Word

by opusdei1972 in

the last edition of the watchtower (study edition) says the following:.

alexander the great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or koine, greek became an international language.

so, in this verse the septuagint was not god's word according to matthew.

opusdei1972

In page 17, the Watchtower (Study Edition, December 2015), says:

For example, at 2 Samuel 13:21, the Greek Septuagint contains the equivalent of the words: “But he would not hurt the feelings of Amnon his son, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.” Earlier versions of the New World Translation did not include these words because they are not in the Masoretic text. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls do contain these words, which are now included in the 2013 revision.

Note that The Watchtower has not shown a good argument for adding those Septuagint's words. They didn't include them "because they are not in the Massoretic text". However, we know that the Massoretic text does not contain, for instance, some chapters of the book of Daniel, but they appear in the Septuagint. Why doesn't the GB add them now?. Furthermore, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain writings of the Apocrypha, which appear in the Septuagint. This fact has been used in favor to Catholic Bible, which contains some of the Apocrypha.

14

The Watchtower says: The Septuagint became God's Word

by opusdei1972 in

the last edition of the watchtower (study edition) says the following:.

alexander the great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or koine, greek became an international language.

so, in this verse the septuagint was not god's word according to matthew.

opusdei1972

The last edition of the Watchtower (Study Edition) says the following:

Alexander the Great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or Koine, Greek became an international language. Many Jews began to speak that language, leading to the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. This translation, thought to have been done by 72 translators, became known as the Septuagint. It was the first translation of the Bible and one of the most important. The work of so many translators resulted in varied translation styles, from literal to rather free. Nevertheless, the Septuagint was viewed as God’s Word by Greek-speaking Jews and later by Christians. ........

It is noteworthy that when writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures, they usually did so from the Septuagint. These quotations, which at times vary somewhat from the exact Hebrew wording, are now part of the inspired Scriptures. Thus, the work of imperfect human translators became part of the inspired Word of God, a God who does not favor one culture or language over another.—Read Acts 10:34.

(The Watchtower, December 2015, page 5, paragraphs 5 and 9)

Interestingly, the Watchtower is stating that "the Septuagint was viewed as God's Word....by Christians" and it "became part of the inspired Word of God" though it was "the work of imperfect human translators". Furthermore, the Watchtower admits that the Septuagint "at times vary somewhat from the exact Hebrew wording". So, in other words, the Governing Body is saying that an imperfect translation can result in an inspired work.

Let's read some Septuagint's errors:

The virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanu-El. (Isaiah 7:14)

The Septuagint mistranslated the hebrew word "almah" (young woman) by the greek word "parthenos" (virgin). So, Christians misused this verse so as to "prove" that Mary was virgin after conceiving Jesus.

Another example is Hebrews 10:5,6, where the author of this NT letter quoted Psalm 40:6 form the Septuagint:

So when he comes into the world, he says: “‘Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me. You did not approve of whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.’

However, the Hebrew Bible says:

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire. But you opened up my ears to hear. You did not ask for burnt offerings and sin offerings. (Psalm 40:6)

Note that the phrase "you prepared a body for me" is absent in the Hebrew Bible, but the author of the letter to the Hebrews quoted this Septuagint's verse conveniently.

Now, note the following Matthew's trick :

So Joseph got up and by night took along the young child and the child’s mother and went into Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what was spoken by Jehovah through his prophet, saying: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:14-15)

Matthew quoted the phrase “Out of Egypt I called my son” from the Hebrew Bible in Hosea 11:1, because the Septuagint reads "out of Egypt have I called his children". So, in this verse the Septuagint was not God's Word according to Matthew.

Do you note how this stuff is a mess???