Posts by slimboyfat

164

How did JWs arrive at a clearer understanding of what the Bible teaches than other Christian denominations?

by slimboyfat in

for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.

but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?

new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.

slimboyfat

Your assertion that the NWT rendering of John 1:1 as "the Word was a god" is grammatically correct is not supported by most reputable Greek scholars.

Yes the rendering “a god” is supported by some of the most reputable scholars such as Adela Yarbro Collins, one of the most respected biblical scholars around. Even Trinitarian scholars who do not support the translation have admitted it is grammatically correct but do not support it on theological grounds.

Scholars who argue for a qualitative understanding of "theos" in John 1:1c emphasize that John was identifying the Logos as fully divine, not as one among many lesser gods.

Jesus himself indicated that he is a lesser God than his Father because he stated that his Father is the only true God in John 17.3, and in John chapter 10 he justified his own limited divinity by pointing out that creatures are called gods in Psalm 82. That’s an odd argument to make unless Jesus was clearly indicating that his divinity is on a level with other creatures and less than God almighty.

You argue with Robert Kraft that nomina sacra, “originated among Jews and was taken over and elaborated by Christians”. You also argue with Larry Hurtado that nomina sacra, “likely began with the abbreviation of the name of Jesus and then expanded to include other key titles, such as ‘Lord’ and ‘God.’” You do realise that those propositions contradict each other? Because, obviously, if Jews originated the practice of nomina sacra they would not have started with the name ‘Jesus’, and conversely, if the first nomina sacra was ‘ Jesus’, then obviously the practice originated with Christians, not Jews. So which are you actually arguing for?

19

The World Today

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

i've been meaning to share some recent experiences that defy the usual tropes about the 'world gone to hell' or 'people now days".. as some of you may remember i was seriously ill for a while and had to close my business and shop.

now, as it seems i have beaten it, i put up a sign again advertising that in a limited way i'm back.. what amazes me is how many times over the past 2 years customers and even competition have written and called to express their concern and best wishes.

just last week i had a personal visit of someone who i thought of as a rival, come in and shake my hand sincerely happy to see me up and around.

slimboyfat

I am very sorry to hear about you losing to your wife, Phizzy.

164

How did JWs arrive at a clearer understanding of what the Bible teaches than other Christian denominations?

by slimboyfat in

for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.

but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?

new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.

slimboyfat

You say:

He uses language familiar to Jewish readers like 'archangel' but does not suggest the Logos is a secondary god, in fact he argues against that.

Philo says:

For nothing mortal can be made in the likeness of the most high One and Father of the universe but (only) in that of the second God (deuteron theon) who is his Logos. Questionis in Genesim 2:62, quoted in Two Gods in Heaven (2020) by Peter Schäfer.

164

How did JWs arrive at a clearer understanding of what the Bible teaches than other Christian denominations?

by slimboyfat in

for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.

but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?

new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.

slimboyfat

The scholars who offer interpretations that support JW readings are not themselves JWs, they have a variety of backgrounds and views, including liberal Christians, atheists, agnostics, Jews, and others. Whereas scholars who read the Trinity into the Bible are themselves invariably Trinitarian believers.

There was an interesting exchange the Expository Times where the Trinitarian scholar Gerald O’Collins complained that Paul Holloway had not paid sufficient attention to Christian tradition and dogma when he wrote his commentary on Philippians which concludes that Paul believed Jesus is an angel. Holloway’s response to O’Collins is summarised in the abstract as follows:

Gerald O’Collins’s insistence that scholars read Paul’s encomium to Christ in Phil 2:6-11 as anticipating later Christian orthodoxy confuses theological apologetics for historical interpretation. His claim that Paul anticipates Nicene Christology is anachronistic, tendentious, and methodologically confused. Phil 2:6-11 expresses a Jewish angel Christology, not a teleological foreshadowing of Nicene orthodoxy. A close reading of O’Collins’s essay is instructive at a number of levels.

In a footnote Holloway makes the following comment on the topic of objectivity:

Conservative apologists often introduce a false equivalency here, claiming that critical historians are no less biased than they themselves are. But there is a vast difference between being a finite human being with a limited perspective and unconscious biases and an ideologue with an agenda that cannot be challenged and to which all evidence must bow. Objectivity, like other large and important values such as justice and love, is a stubbornly elusive goal, but it matters if one tries.

The whole response is well worth reading.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/85377748/Ideology_and_Exesgsis_A_Response_to_Gerald_O_Collins-libre.pdf?1651541037=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DIdeology_and_Exegesis_A_Response_to_Gera.pdf&Expires=1728238330&Signature=E~pKmTslWhatFRcPA-PULWHJKfe8CNfedf9Dmi6FwG3CHs1~-QTIXeQ1D1atDvy1~kfbjP~ejTCK~ctaAqlUAaXO9klI7PqZJowXk5A9~zG0NM41RteCq-4H3c7LGhgwt9h6-Sxm8F8i1R7l4uLkt~OJADKUVKi0VJCWevOQIVmtq18ChQ-5JbFyf1VTN0WsesoHpVZC0hJlkjeIELL-0dJTr7UJp3RypIjRNCSMkAJ48LprCaqc~RWRSxBIehpmNw1pUKolx7tHkv4PcYXRWXF2VGZjtDsMZTF6D~v3Pa9nUsiUPKaEDQkUceAF8OQinTx9J1PmibsJKVCpOQb1Zg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

164

How did JWs arrive at a clearer understanding of what the Bible teaches than other Christian denominations?

by slimboyfat in

for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.

but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?

new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.

slimboyfat

How does it come about that when experts examine the biblical texts without any prior faith commitment they tend to draw conclusions similar to JWs about the meaning of key passages such as John 1 and Phil 2? Whereas scholars who claim to find the Trinity in the Bible are invariably those with a prior commitment to the dogma. Doesn’t this tend to indicate that an objective reading of the texts contradicts the Trinity?

4

Why do most ordinary Christians agree with JWs that Jesus is God’s first creation?

by slimboyfat in

in a book which attempts to refute jw christology, the trinitarian scholar greg lanier begins his argument with the surprising admission that a majority of evangelical christians agree with jws that jesus is god’s first creation.

a 2018 survey by ligonier ministries and lifeway research found that nearly 95 percent of self-described evangelical christians affirm the trinity, but simultaneously, about 80 percent believe that jesus christ is the "first and greatest being created by god.

" the shocking thing is that these respondents do not appear to realize the stark contradiction in these two positions.. greg lanier, is jesus truly god?

slimboyfat

In a book which attempts to refute JW Christology, the Trinitarian scholar Greg Lanier begins his argument with the surprising admission that a majority of Evangelical Christians agree with JWs that Jesus is God’s first creation.

A 2018 survey by Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research found that nearly 95 percent of self-described evangelical Christians affirm the Trinity, but simultaneously, about 80 percent believe that Jesus Christ is the "first and greatest being created by God." The shocking thing is that these respondents do not appear to realize the stark contradiction in these two positions.
Greg Lanier, Is Jesus Truly God? How the Bible Teaches the Divinity of Christ (2020), page 14.

While it might at first appear surprising that 80% of Evangelicals agree with JWs that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God, this finding is in line with other surveys of the beliefs of ordinary Christians.

For example, the book Ordinary Christology: Who Do You Say I Am? Answers from the pews (2012) by Ann Christie, conducted a qualitative analysis of Christian believers who made statements such as:

Bruce
'I do see it as, sort of, God being at the top and Jesus being at the right hand-side or just below, however you want to describe it.'
'I would see [Jesus] as something slightly less than God.' (page 56)

Adding:

Many talk about Jesus as God's creation, using phrases such as, 'God produced Jesus', 'God created Jesus', 'Jesus was God's creation'.

Which raises the question why, despite centuries of Christian dogma denying that Jesus was created, do so many ordinary Christians agree with JWs that Jesus was created by God? Although JWs have been preaching their message with unprecedented vigour for over a century, it would be hasty to conclude this is the reason most ordinary Christians agree with JWs on this topic. A simpler explanation lies in the fact that ordinary Christians have drawn the reasonable inference from the plain language of scripture on the subject. A son is ordinarily younger and subordinate to his father; Jesus sits at the right hand of God; and he is described as the “firstborn of all creation”. Despite the efforts of Trinitarian dogmaticians over many centuries, ordinary Christians draw the obvious conclusion from these biblical images and phrases.

164

How did JWs arrive at a clearer understanding of what the Bible teaches than other Christian denominations?

by slimboyfat in

for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.

but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?

new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.

slimboyfat

The Jew, Philo described the Logos as an archangel and a secondary god around the time that the gospel of John was written. Origen, the greatest scholar of the early church explained that Jesus is a “second god” in John 1.1. In modern times, the scholar Jason BeDuhn argues that the NWT’s “a god” is the most accurate translation. Another scholar, David Bentley Hart, who is an Orthodox Christian, and a Trinitarian, argues that “god” is the best translation. Adela Yarbro Collins, a senior biblical scholar who is a past president of the Society of Biblical Literature, argues that the Word is “a god” in John 1. Those scholars who argue that the NWT’s “a god” is not accurate are invariably trinitarians who are motivated to protect church dogma.

56

Annual Meeting live updates

by ukpimo in

i have obtained the live link for the annual meeting tomorrow:.

annual meeting live link.

the meeting will begin at 9:45am eastern time, for those of us in the uk, that will be 2:45pm.

slimboyfat

They had 12 in the past - in the classic Proclaimers group GB portrait in 1991 .

They seem to aim for roughly twelve but are not fixated on the number. I think the most has been 17 and the fewest 7 - off the top of my head.

56

Annual Meeting live updates

by ukpimo in

i have obtained the live link for the annual meeting tomorrow:.

annual meeting live link.

the meeting will begin at 9:45am eastern time, for those of us in the uk, that will be 2:45pm.

slimboyfat

Jackson’s talk was the most entertaining. He made a good few jokes about elderly anointed. He’s a good speaker, but at the end of the day the new insistence that anointed don’t need to be elderly is a climbdown. In the long run people will remember the climbdown rather than the amiable delivery and the jokes.

42

Two new Governing Body members

by slimboyfat in

jeddoly and rumph???.

who are they?

.

slimboyfat

Only joined Bethel in 2020? I wonder what he was he doing before that.

I wonder if it grates on all the helpers who’ve been there for decades. And what about poor old thingamy from Edinburgh – overlooked again. (I forget his name)