Posts by CalebInFloroda

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@Earnest

"...when a Bible is not translated from the original languages it is more honest to refer to it as a version rather than a translation."

Again, that is a made-up JW definition of the term "Bible version."

Take for instance the New Revised Standard Version. The NRSV is considered the top-notch Bible translation in American English. It used an ecumenical translation committee made up of thirty men and women who are among the top scholars in the entire world taken from Protestant denominations, the Roman Catholic church, the Greek Orthodox Church and even a Jewish scholar.

Even though this is clearly a translation taken from the original language texts, it is called the NRSV" New Revised Standard Version. This could not be possible if your explanation matched reality.

Jesus and first century Jews spoke an Aramaic mishmash which contained Hebrew, and the Romans involved in the situation spoke Latin. Greek was the language to write things in, not speak. The Greeks had been conquered a couple of generations before, and it was a classical literary idea to keep Greek the language of written documents (the same idea that kept Latin the official language of the Bible for centuries to follow). Koine Greek was called the "lingua franca," a Latin term identifying it as the official written tongue of Rome.

But again, people did not speak or converse in Greek, not when the actual events of the Bible were occurring. As the "lingua franca" Koine Greek was the standard that everyone could translate from, like Latin today. If you write something that you want understood universally, especially in science, write it in Latin. (But even this is changing, and English is fast replacing Latin as the "lingua franca" in the 21st century).

This means that the Bible was a translation of the real events. And by your made-up definition no Bible translation could really be called a "translation." They would all be "versions." But the word "version" doesn't mean "not from the original language," it merely means "taking a unique or different form from another like it."

I have actually traced the origins of this Watchtower "legend," which is what it is. It seems to have originated in the 1970s, before my time, down in Texas with a popular Spanish elder or overseer who spoke English. This JW man gave a talk at an assembly or likely a convention, before even I was associated. The elder was talking about the difference between the NWT and recent Bible "revisions." What he meant to say was that the NWT was not a "revision" of a previous translation but was made directly from the original language texts. However, due to his poor English (and the fact that JWs did not use word-for-word manuscripts to deliver talks back then) the elder said "version" throughout the talk when he meant to say "revision."

This stuck and carried through Texas and many parts of the United States, but not all. New England and much of the East and West Coast was unaffected, and most Witnesses from these parts never heard of such a thing. There is also no mention of this definition in any Witness literature from the 1800s onwards. It was a mistake from someone who couldn't think of the right word, like a recent Governing Body member who said "Spanx," a brand name for women's shapewear when he should have said "yoga pants."

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@Earnest

If one renders the English text of the NWT into Japanese, doesn't someone have to translate? Regardless if it is translated directly from Japanese or the Hebrew or Greek text, it is still a translation...and a version.

The word "translation" does not mean "directly from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek." If I translate for my deaf neighbor next door I never use any of those languages. I am using American Sign Language and English. It's translating because I am rendering one language into another.

The NWT and the NRSV and the NABRE are all translations, but they are versions that differ from one another. The terms are synonyms, and believe me that scholars and academics will laugh you to shame if you state the words refer to something different.

The Jerusalem Bible is an English translation of the original French Jerusalem Bible. Only the original French version comes from the original language texts, but the English JB is still called both a translation and version.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@Phizzy

I am quite convinced that both the first and especially the revised NWT is the result of borrowing and lifting from other translations and lexicons.

However, what has been lifted from were word-for-word translations, and these are markedly different from paraphrase.

The Living Bible is a well-known example of a paraphrase, which puts the Bible is different words and idioms than what exists in the original text.

To illustrate, the current NWT rendering of John 17.3 is a translation. Even if this was lifted from another version like the NRSV or NIV, because these two Bibles are formal equivalence translations, the end result are the words of a formal equivalent translation.

A paraphrase of John 17.3 would read something like this:

"There is a key to getting to live eternally, but it's simple to find. If you have a relationship with Jesus, and really get to know him and the God that sent him to save you, then you have found that key to live forever."

That is a paraphrase. The word "key" doesn't exist in the original text, nor is the sentence concentrating on the "search and find" paradigm that is central to this paraphrase. But the meaning of the text does indeed come across, employing a different idiom and different vocabulary than chosen by the original author. It is very different from direct word-for-word and even thought-for-thought (dynamic) versions. The NWT always followed a general formal or word-for-word manner of rendering, never paraphrase.

In the end, however, a paraphrase is still a type of version or translation, so there is still no argument. It's just a different type of rendering, and it couldn't lend itself to the type of deep study JWs employed during the Franz era.

My theory is that the original NWT was a revised RSV, and the latest NWT is definitely the NRSV, sometimes shamelessly so.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@John Aquila

Generally speaking the answer is no.

While some might have this same understanding regarding the earth, Catholicism eschatology was inherited from Judaism's Olam Ha Ba and was in existence before the epistles and Revelation were composed.

Since Protestanism rejects Apostolic Tradition, the reading of Scripture occurs without this preconception. Some denominations will still read the texts about a "new earth" as literal, but most seem to translate these as views of heaven.

While I see it as problematic, the concept that personal salvation is central to Christianity seems to make many minds stop as heaven as their personal goal. It can either greatly focus the Christian in their desire to minister to the world around them or it can cause them to further draw lines of exclusion wherein heaven becomes an exclusive club for them only and those they see fit to share it.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@paradisebeauty

Here's some new vocabulary for you.

You are describing a form of "premillennialism," and the "glorified" body hope is the general and traditional view of the "resurrection" accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and most Protestants.

A few points may differ between individuals regarding the 1000-year reign among premillennialists and those who embrace traditional Christian resurrection, but you are definitely in the ballpark of mainstream theology where there are actual terms and fields of study embracing your particular "eschatology."

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

And because you've all been so patient, here's the rest:

11. Sacramentality

The belief that something physical can impart a charism or grace from G-d. The shadow of Peter (Acts 5.15) and the miraculous events that came from cloths taken from Paul (Acts 19.12) and even the resurrection of a dead body that merely touched the bones of the dead prophet Elisha (2 Kings 13.21)are Biblical examples of sacramentality.

The formal acts of Holy Communion, Baptism, Reconciliation, etc. in the Catholic Church are known as “the Sacraments” because Catholics believe these acts or objects used in the acts impart similar graces or charisms.

12. Relic

A memento or corpse (or even parts of one) of a saint or martyr esteemed and venerated because of the association with said person. The veneration stems from a belief in sacramentality (see no. 11 above).

13. Sola Scriptura

The Protestant Christian doctrine that the Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of doctrine and practice (faith).

It should be noted that neither Judaism nor Catholicism/Orthodox Christianity can adopt this belief since their religious systems were alive and well before the Biblical texts were written and the canon defined. The liturgy of these religions actually helped settled the questions regarding inspiration and canonicity, and authorities from these groups set the canon.

In light of this “sola scriptura” is actually a logistical paradox as it requires accepting a canon based not on Biblical authority but shaped by the Magisterium and patriarchal heads of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, not to mention century upon century of Jewish tradition.

13. The difference between "everlasting life" and "eternal life"

The Jehovah’s Witnesses tend to use the phrase “everlasting life” due to the belief that G-d experiences the unfolding of time and history as we do.

However both Judaism and Christianity view G-d as the creator of the space-time continuum, and as such G-d is not subject to the confines of either space or time. The type of life experienced by G-d in Judeo-Christian theology is “eternal” meaning one that is not affected by time with its “beginning, middle, and end.” In this theological paradigm G-d has no beginning because G-d is eternal and thus incapable of having a beginning or end.

While JWs see “everlasting life” as the hope held out in Scripture, it is actually “eternal life” or life with G-d, be it in Heaven or on an earthly plane. (Compare John 17.3 where the NWT uses “everlasting life” but the NRSV uses “eternal life.”) Whereas the JW definition is based on the belief that G-d is obsessed with time and time-prophecies and is thus subject to time, Judeo-Christianity sees G-d as transcending time.

“Everlasting life” is a self-centered definition whereas as “eternal life” is one based on being with G-d and enjoying life as G-d does. “Everlasting life” is about having life without death whereas “eternal life” is “sharing in the divine nature” as mentioned in 2 Peter 1.4

14. Temporal

Existence in the time-space continuum. It should be noted that Jews and Christians believed time and space have always been relative in that these are not experienced on the plane in which G-d dwells. The opposite of the “temporal” plane is “eternity.”

JWs, while not believing G-d exists in the physical universe, still believe that G-d exists on the temporal plane.

15. The Divine Comedy

I once had a friend who believed that Dante’s Inferno was a painting hanging in an art museum. I have discovered that many JWs have similar beliefs about Dante’s Inferno.

The idea of demons and devils tormenting people in a hell of never-ending fire are imaginative fictions which come mainly from a poem by Dante Alighieri (died 1321), known as “The Divine Comedy.” These images are caricatures loosely based on Catholic doctrine, but not Catholic doctrine per se.

While it is true that Catholics did their part in creating horrific descriptions of the pains of hell, most of the fodder used by the Watchtower against the Catholic doctrine is actually based on the caricatures found in the Inferno as described by Dante in this poem. Catholic doctrine does not teach that the hellfire is literal fire (well, at least not anymore), but JW literature often portrays this as the popular belief among Catholics. In this the Watchtower is about 7 centuries behind in the times.

16. Illumination

The art of lavishly decorating and illustrated pages of Bibles and other religious books, usually by turning the actual letters of the text into the art itself. Illustrative drop caps and the addition of gold leaf is an earmark of these works of devotion, often found these days only in museums.

However the latest illuminated manuscript is the St. John’s Bible which has reproduced the entire text of the NRSV and is currently available in whole or in part for purchase.

17. Explain the difference between "uncial" and "cursive"

Greek manuscripts were originally written in all capitals or “uncials.” A “cursive” Greek text is that which you would find in an interlinear Greek Bible which has both capital and lower case Greek type.

18. Terse

Hebrew words have layered meanings, which is what the word “terse” means. For instance, Genesis 1.1 that is traditionally rendered as “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” actually reads “when God created the heavens and earth.” The “in the beginning” part comes from the terse meaning that “bereshit” the first word of Genesis has. The terse meanings are “starting at the peak, as if at the tip of a mountain, at the outset, the beginning,” even though the words “in the beginning” aren’t really there.

19. Explain the importance the book of Ecclesiasticus played in Christian history

Yes, “Ecclesiasticus,” the book from the Apocrypha and not “Ecclesiastes” the book supposedly written by Solomon.

Generally referred to today as the Book of Sirach or Ben Sira, it was known as “Liber Ecclesiasticus,” meaning “Church Book,” appended to some Greek and Latin manuscripts because of the extensive use the early Christian church made of this book in presenting moral teaching to catechumens and the faithful in general.

While most Christians never owned their own personal Bibles until the 19th century, the Wisdom of Ben sera was often the only text actually exposed to the earliest Christians. It introduced Gentile Christians to Jewish wisdom and manners which helped to make both groups more at ease with one another as they joined in early Christian days.

20. Explain difference between a Bible "translation" vs. "version"

None.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a JW spout the idiotic statement: “The New World Translation is different from other Bibles because it’s a translation and not a version.” I knew enough back then to argue this point every time I heard it or the other: “Translations are better than versions.”

The words are merely synonyms. Bible translations come in various versions, such as the NWT, the NRSV, the NIV, the KJV, the NABRE, the NJPS, etc.

It made me so aggravated to hear this over and over, from the platform, from elders, from publishers out in the field teaching others. It was one of those things that kept me from falling asleep and drinking the Kool-Aid 100% while I was there among the other Kingdom Hall heads.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

And the list continues...

6. Hasmonean

I never understood how the Watchtower would admit that Jesus celebrated the Festival of Lights (Chanukkah) but still teach that it was wrong to observe holidays. Chanukkah is not a holy day from the Mosaic Law but came from later history, observing the rededication of the Temple after Hellenists attempted to turn it into a heathen place of worship.

It was the Maccabees or the "Hasmonean" dynasty that rose to power due to this family being central to these liberating events. The descendants of the ruling House of David are said to have partially returned to Jerusalem by this time with some refusing to return from their settled placed of Seferad (Spain) once the Hasmoneans became the ruling class.

The events of the Maccabean period are preserved in 1 Maccabees with general religious interpretations and teaching that stem from this era found in the other books of Maccabees. The Hasmonean dynasty ruled amid Seleucid intrigue between circa 140 through 116 B.C.E.

7. Proto-Masoretic

Hebrew Bible texts produced by copyists before the Masoretes of the Common Era are called "proto-Masoretic." The Dead Sea Scrolls are proto-Masoretic.

8. Divine Office

The official daily prayers of the Catholic Church, divided into five to seven times to pray marking the hours of the day such as sunrise, noon, sunset, etc., is known as the Divine Office. It consists of praying the Psalms over a period of four weeks until each of the Psalms has been prayed at least once. Selected readings from the Old and New Testsment as well as from the Church Fathers, Saints, and doctors of the Church are included.

Known today as "The Liturgy of the Hours," it is based on the ancient Jewish practice of praying at select times sanctifying the day. Psalters were created as the basis for both liturgical practices and is generally viewed as the prayer of the people, clergy and lay persons, rabbis and people.

Canonization of Scripture was intended mainly for liturgical purposes, and most people through the centuries have had their only exposure to the Scriptural tradition through such liturgy.

Catholics who pray the Divine Office will read more Scripture in a day than Witnesses read in a week, maybe a month.

9. Lectionary

The readings used for Christian worship such as in a Mass are divided into readings prepared according to days on the Litrugical Calendar. This collection of readings is known as a "Lectionary." More people in history have been exposed to Scripture from Lectionary readings than from reading directly from a Bible.

Personal Bible ownership was not a common phenomenon until the 19th century.

10. Nova Vulgata

The Nova Vulgata (a.k.a. Neo-Vulgate) is the current critically developed Latin translation of the Scriptures employed by the Roman Catholic Church. Published in 1979 it replaced the Vulgate as the official Latin text.

The Watchtower often makes mistakes in discussing the Latin text, confusing quotes and stats between the Vulgate and the Neo-Vulgate.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

@John Aquila

Regarding your question about Ecclesiasticus, since I am going down the list right now, but pausing after each five to all people to digest it all, I can only quote the Wicked Witch of the West:

"All in good time, my pretty. All in good time."

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

Pretty interesting that most of us who know at least some of these words also admit we didn't learn them at all when under the dark shadows of the Watchtower. I know that I was truly ignorant.

Here are the first five words and their definitions. The first is probably the most important of all the words on the list.

1. Liturgy

If it were not for Jewish and Catholic/Orthodox liturgy, there would be no Bible--that is how important this word is.

The "liturgy" consists of the formal acts of worship of these religions, including their ritual and (most important of all) the materials they read and sang from. In Temple and later synagogue liturgy the worship sessions were based on a yearly calendar marking out the historical experiences of Israel, reading from ancient texts that described the events from what is now known as Torah and the other writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Their official book of hymns and prayers were collected as the Psalms.

When Christians began their worship services, these were based on the only ones they knew, namely the Jewish synagogue service. Along with readings from the Hebrew Scriptures the Christians added readings from the apostles. Christians adopted the Jewish collection of Psalms as their official hymnal and prayer book.

When the question of settling the New Testament canon arose, Church authorities made their final call based on what the majority of churches read in liturgy. Judaism's Hebrew Bible is also developed from this model based on liturgy. If you ever wondered why the Bible doesn't have a detailed explanation of how to hold a worship service, it is because the canons grew out of the worship services themselves: liturgy.

To this day you can tell which religions are historically and legitimately connected to the past because they are "liturgical"--following a yearly or three year cycle in which to read the canon of texts in formal proclamation which acts as the theme for the service of the day. By the late 20th century this fact became so profoundly understood that most Protestant churches adapted the Roman Catholic liturgical reading cycle and calendar for holy days. To this day the official prayer book of Catholics is the Psalms, which are prayed daily on a rotating cycle of weeks by clergy and layperson alike.

Litrugy is responsible for the canon that the JWs cherish.

2. Exegesis

Everyone's got their interpretation of Scripture, right? But not everyone can supply "exegesis." That's because exegesis is a critical interpretation of Scripture, based on critical methods of analysis and examination. An exegesis of Scripture works much like a scientific theory. You can examine exegesis, test it, and see if it produces the same results to verify it. Like science theory exegesis is generally accepted critical Bible theory, validated and tested. The word seems to be getting around however and people on the Internet are beginning to apply it to all types of Bible and personal interpretation, but that isn't what true exegesis is.

The Watchtower doesn't employ critical methods or approves of their being subjected to them since it requires the step of independent validation. As such no exegesis comes from the religion of the JWs.

3. Psalter

As mentioned above, the official hymns and prayers of both Judaism and liturgical Christianity are the Psalms. As such they often get printed alone in a collection designed for prayer and chanting use, known as "Psalters." They generally contain a liturgical calendar (what day to pray, sing or chant a particular psalm), as well as contain material such as lists and stories of saints. Psalters ancient and modern confirm the canonization of the psalms and help in assuring accuracy in translation.

Of course the religion of the JWs does not employ a Psalter. They read the Psalms as if they are dry texts meant to be examined and use a "song book" of non-inspired songs. It is also against Watchtower rules to use and repeat written prayers in JW worship even though this is how the Psalms have been employed for centuries.

4. Doublet

The Watchtower often states that it is an ancient Hebrew technique to write a story and then repeat it again. This is, like so much they teach, very wrong.

Ever wonder why there are two creation stories or why one story of Noah has him bring pairs of animals into the ark and another has him bringing seven pairs each of every species? What you are reading is called a "doublet."

Doublets are signs that the Bible books were composed of various traditions, sometimes conflicting ones, and that redactors of the text could not decide which was the true one. So both were placed side-by-side in the narrative flow. There are even "triplets" and "quadruplets" in some texts. Scholars see in these the editorial process that shaped the Bible.

Unlike the JWs who claim this is "just the way the ancient Hebrew wrote," it is actually more telling that the ancients wrote in a linear and logical fashion and were so respectful of their traditional heritage that they dare not exclude stories on the basis of contradictory details. So eventually all stories found their way beside other traditions. This even shows that it is very likely that the authors and editors didn't see the material as a literal narrative, otherwise they would never have allowed doublets.

5. Shem Ha-M'forash

Also known as the Shem Ha-Meyuhad, the Shem Ha-M'forash is the Jewish expression for what you proabably know as...the Tetragrammaton.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

CalebInFloroda

When I began formal study of religion and Biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth. I learned that under the Watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of Biblical academia and scholars.

I used to think I knew a lot because I learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a Witness. Boy, was I wrong!

Here are a list of basic words that college and even some high school level students of Scripture and religion already know well. Without them you can't really understand what you read from some of the blurbs the Watchtower quotes.

Match your knowledge after leaving the JWs with this vocabulary list (plus a few extras) and see if you can define them without looking them up. They are placed in general level of importance (based on lesson plans I gathered over the years from various classes). Don't look them up, just use your memory or best guess. I will return with their definitions, why they are important, and we can compare this to what type of "education" in the Bible the Watchtower claims to offer.

1. Liturgy

2. Exegesis

3. Psalter

4. Doublet

5. Shem Ha-M'forash

6. Hasmonean

7. Proto-Masoretic

8. Divine Office

9. Lectionary

10. Nova Vulgata

11. Sacramentality

12. Relic

13. Sola Scriptura

13. The difference between "everlasting life" and "eternal life"

14. Temporal

15. The Divine Comedy

16. Illumination

17. Explain the difference between "uncial" and "cursive"

18. Terse

19. Explain the importance the book of Ecclesiasticus played in Christian history

20. Explain difference between a Bible "translation" vs. "version"

No fair looking them up. Use your Watchtower training (if you know these definitions because you got smart and educated yourself, try sharing how you felt when you discovered how little you had really been taught as a JW while giving others a chance to give answers).

This is an experiment designed to demonstrate how lacking the "worldwide Bible education work" really is, so cheating will be counter-productive.