Posts by Doug Mason

21

Critique of the October 1 Watchtower article"When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?"

by Doug Mason in

my critique of the october 1, 2011 watchtower article "when was ancient jerusalem destroyed?

http://www.jwstudies.com/critique_of_when_was_ancient_jerusalem_destroyed.pdf .

i am looking forward to hearing of correction or omissions.. please note that this is a large file (almost 7 meg) which takes a while to download and a while to format in a web browser.. the design of the critique allows a single major topic to be individually printed, so that those pages may be handed to an apologist for the watchtower society.

Doug Mason

My Critique of the October 1, 2011 Watchtower article "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?" is available at

http://www.jwstudies.com/Critique_of_When_Was_Ancient_Jerusalem_Destroyed.pdf

I am looking forward to hearing of correction or omissions.

Please note that this is a large file (almost 7 Meg) which takes a while to download and a while to format in a web browser.

The design of the Critique allows a single major topic to be individually printed, so that those pages may be handed to an apologist for the Watchtower Society. In those circumstances, the Critique needs to be printed single sided.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Copernic,

I expect I will be able to provide my fuller rebuttal of the October article tomorrow.

It appears that Amazon carries the book by Dougherty (a reprint, no doubt) for $20 plus postage.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Copernic,

You can use whatever you wish from my site.

One day the twig will still be there but I will not be on it, so I am quite keen for others to take material and circulate anything they agree with.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Alleymom,

I notice that on page 21 of "Achaemenid Chronology and the Babylonian Sources", Christopher Walker writes:

"We appear to be dealing with a surprisingly sophisticated eclipse theory already in the eighth or seventh century BC (Stephenson and Steele, forthcoming)".

Given your contact with Steele, are you able to elicit the relevant information from him?

Thanks,

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Alleymom,

Thank you for your permission.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

St G,

Thanks for the correction.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

This is my uninformed guess at the reason these chronology articles appeared. Just a guess, nothing more.

Mr Furuli has developed a following among many Witnesses, almost a personality cult. As the saying goes, if you tell a lie often enough and loudly enough, it becomes truth (that's how the WTS system works, anyway).

Over time, some of these fully convinced Furuli adherents have made it into areas where they were able to wield their influence on the Writers. At some stage, Furuli would have become involved.

I have a feeling that the November issue was delayed by a few days. If that is correct, this suggests difficulties over certain details. It will be interesting to be able to know the internal discussions, who the dissenters are and what they had to say. I would not be surprised if some of the questions raised in this Forum were also raised internally, such as "Why bring up the subject?"

Just wild guesses. Nothing more.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Alleymom,

I hope you do not object, but I plan to include your excellent diagram (your post Sept 3 "A Quick Rebuttal"), suitably credited to you, in my Critique of the article in the October Watchtower.

If all goes according to plan, I will make my Critique available in a day or two. I will start a new thread when I do.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

The articles on “When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?” gloss over key omissions:

(1) Neither article provides any evidence that proves Jews returned to the temple site at Jerusalem in 537 BCE. The reason is that they cannot; no one knows the year, although many hazard a guess. But for the WTS it is crucial.

(2) Neither article provides a Biblical statement that explicitly states this event marked the conclusion of the Seventy Years.

(3) Neither article provides a Biblical statement that explicitly states which event marked the commencement of the Seventy Years. The articles cannot, for the Bible writers were not interested enough to point to any specific event.

(4) Although the WTS starts the Seventy Years with the entry of the murderous Jews into Egypt, the WTS is incapable of proving that this happened in the same year that Jerusalem was destroyed. The Bible writer only mentioned the Jews’ key religious month of Tishri, without identifying the year. Everything that happened between the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jews’ entry into Egypt took much longer than two months. The WTS’s Seventy Years does not start with the destruction of Jerusalem.

Doug

322

WT Nov. 1, 2011 (public) - When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed - Part 2

by AnnOMaly in

out now.. yes, yes, yessssss!

on p. 26-27 they talk about how the lunar positions on vat 4956 fit 588/7 bce!!!.

"clearly, much of the astronomical data in vat 4956 fits the year 588 b.c.e.

Doug Mason

Alleymom,

I hope you do not mind, I have put your response from John Steele on my web site:

http://www.jwstudies.com/Response_from_John_Steele.pdf

Doug