Posts by Doug Mason

17

"Aren't you going the wrong way at this stage of your life?"

by donny in

that was a question posed to me by a friend who just recently discovered my switch from one who used to have a belief in god to one that has a lack thereof.. they stated "most people i know, including your truly, were not much interested in closely following the tenants of the faith we were brought up in when we were in the prime of our young adulthood.

you on the other hand, were much more zealous back then and now have pretty much left it all behind.

surely it is not because you are not sowing your oats at this time.".

Doug Mason

Excellent Donny!

I am now 73 and I am comforted with the thought that when I die, which by the law of averages cannot be in the distant future, that I shall return to the non-conscious state that I came from. At peace. Death thus has no fear for me. Religion works on fear, saying that you have a problem and we have the only cure.

For many people, religion provides them with comfort and meaning in a threatening world that is out of control. People generally look for patterns and when there is none, they blame it on their God punishing those who have strayed. The ancients had their multiple Gods, each assigned a task.

But the reality is that chaos is the norm. Everything is random. The only constant is variation.

Whether God exists or not is God's problem, not mine.

Doug

8

What does this sentence mean?

by Doug Mason in

the very first sentence of the topic "inspiration" at "insight on the scriptures" volume 1, page 1202 reads:.

"the quality or state of being moved by or produced under the direction of a spirit from a superhuman source.".

is it defining "inspiration" as a "quality or state"?.

Doug Mason

talesin,

Would it be any easier to comprehend the sentence if it were to be considered in the context of 2 Tim 3:16 as rendered in the NWT? Talking about that verse, why do translations render it as "inspired OF God"? Does the word "of" mean "by" or "about"? (There is no verb in the Greek, as you will have noticed: "All Scripture God-breathed and beneficial ... ." [Kingdom Interlinear Translation, 1969].)

I hasten to add that the Greek word rendered as "inspired" (breath in) is taken to be "God-breathed".

Can you see why I have problems with that opening sentence from the "Insight on the Scriptures"? And of course "inspiration" is a noun while "inspired" is not.

Thanks,

Doug

20

John 1:1-18

by Doug Mason in

i spent a couple of hours trying to work out the poetic structure of john 1:1-18. i have made my first rough draft available as a word document so that others can amend it for themselves.

the text i used is from the niv.

it will be interesting to see the poetic structures produced by analyses of other translations.. http://www.jwstudies.com/chiasms_of_john_1_vv_1_to_18.docx.

Doug Mason

villagegirl,

Even though this is a paraphrase rather than a direct translation from the available Greek, I find it interesting. Can you show me the text through to and including 18?

Have you tried to identify any chiasms in this paraphrase?

Doug

8

What does this sentence mean?

by Doug Mason in

the very first sentence of the topic "inspiration" at "insight on the scriptures" volume 1, page 1202 reads:.

"the quality or state of being moved by or produced under the direction of a spirit from a superhuman source.".

is it defining "inspiration" as a "quality or state"?.

Doug Mason

talesin,

I do not know where I got them, but I have the volumes on my Hard Drive. Each volume is about 45 meg. Email me.

Doug

8

What does this sentence mean?

by Doug Mason in

the very first sentence of the topic "inspiration" at "insight on the scriptures" volume 1, page 1202 reads:.

"the quality or state of being moved by or produced under the direction of a spirit from a superhuman source.".

is it defining "inspiration" as a "quality or state"?.

Doug Mason

Hi,

The very first sentence of the topic "Inspiration" at "Insight on The Scriptures" Volume 1, page 1202 reads:

"The quality or state of being moved by or produced under the direction of a spirit from a superhuman source."

Is it defining "inspiration" as a "quality or state"?

I have tried many ways, but I have difficulty working out preciely what it is saying. Please help me!

Thanks,

Doug

20

John 1:1-18

by Doug Mason in

i spent a couple of hours trying to work out the poetic structure of john 1:1-18. i have made my first rough draft available as a word document so that others can amend it for themselves.

the text i used is from the niv.

it will be interesting to see the poetic structures produced by analyses of other translations.. http://www.jwstudies.com/chiasms_of_john_1_vv_1_to_18.docx.

Doug Mason

I spent a couple of hours trying to work out the poetic structure of John 1:1-18. I have made my First rough draft available as a Word document so that others can amend it for themselves. The text I used is from the NIV. It will be interesting to see the poetic structures produced by analyses of other translations.

http://www.jwstudies.com/Chiasms_of_John_1_vv_1_to_18.docx

Doug

42

What did Jesus really mean, when he said he had made his Father's name known?

by Faithful Witness in

i am preparing for my meeting this friday with miss k. we are reviewing the bible teach book, and she is looking forward to "showing me some things about the divine name.

" i don't know what she might pull out of her hat this time... but that section of the teach book is so completely assanine, i don't even know what to say.

) what did jesus mean when he said that to his father?.

Doug Mason

I always find it interesting that the WT's HQ is named after the god EL: "Bethel" literally means the house of El.

Doug

42

What did Jesus really mean, when he said he had made his Father's name known?

by Faithful Witness in

i am preparing for my meeting this friday with miss k. we are reviewing the bible teach book, and she is looking forward to "showing me some things about the divine name.

" i don't know what she might pull out of her hat this time... but that section of the teach book is so completely assanine, i don't even know what to say.

) what did jesus mean when he said that to his father?.

Doug Mason

Yes, to Jews "name" meant the person, it was not a handle. Hence the need to change a person's name (examples: Israel, Peter, and Paul).

The name "Jesus" is a Latinisation for Yeshua which in English is "Joshua". Remember that the letter "J" was likely the last letter to make it into the English alphabet. Hebrew writing reads from right to left, so that looking at the tetragram it phyically appears as: HWHY.

Have a look at Acts to see whose "name" they preached in: "the 'name' of (Jesus) Christ".

The WTS uses the "name" as a means to keep their sheep from wandering. Does anyone really think that a god would destroy people because they don't use the correct word (whether Yahweh or whatever)? Is God so petulant and childish? Will he burn people because they think his/her name is Allah or Zeus?

Doug

7

Was Jehovah 40 years early

by Socrateswannabe in

here's a question for all you bible students out there, both critics and apologists: in 1513 bce the israelites were said to be in the wilderness, without food, so jeh gave them miraculous manna to eat.

exodus 16:35 says they ate it for 40 years.

the funny thing is that a year after they began eating manna, the bible book of leviticus, which wts says was written in 1512, records a mind-numbing litany of rules and regulations regarding sacrifices that were to be made at the tabernacle, which had just recently been put into use.

Doug Mason

Your question touches several key issues.

The Bible is not literal history. Its primary intention is religious; each account was a religious story designed to influence the communities that belonged to the writers and to the editors (redactors). Most of the writing took place during the 8th to 5th centuries BCE, and the religious politics of the respective groups influenced their own accounts. For example, the writings of the priests who had an allegiance to Moses wrote accounts that had a different slant to those whose allegiance was towards Aaron. And as the copying process continued, each generation modified the texts according to their own beliefs.

During the Persian Period (5th to 4th centuries), action was taken to amalgamate the varying writings, resulting in the amalgum that has been passed down. As an example, the Creation myths at Genesis 2 (the account that was written earlier) and at Genesis 1 were written and handed on by different groups. Skilful weaving during the Persian period has almost hidden that there are two different Flood myths.

When you get to Joshua, you are in another territory, and I suggest you immerse yourself into the Documentary Hypothesis as well as into the Deuteronomic History. (Joshua is part of that history which owes its existence from the actions taken by the priests during 6th century neo-Babylonian Captivity. That history includes Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and so on.)

The general Late Iron Age populace would not be in a position to compare the varying accounts. Firstly, they could not read; secondly, they would only be told the stories produced by their immediate religious leadership.

Given the diversity of the material being passed on (and reinterpreted in the process), it is amazing that the people of the 5th to 4th centuries BCE (Ezra and his ilk) were able to produce documents that are so skilfully woven.

A couple of books (read widely, of course): "Who Wrote The Bible?", Richard Elliott Friedman; and "How the Bible Became a Book", William Schneidewind. Then read books by people who disagree in certain respects with these authors. Also research the Canonisation process.

Doug

2

"The Bible - A Remarkable Story of Survival"

by Doug Mason in

the watchtower magazine of november 1, 2009 includes the article: the bible - a remarkable story of survival.

for support, the article quotes three sources.. does the watchtower provide its readers with balanced information?

does the watchtower provide a full and frank account of each source that it holds up as evidence?.

Doug Mason

The Watchtower magazine of November 1, 2009 includes the article: “The Bible - A Remarkable Story of Survival”. For support, the article quotes three sources.

Does the Watchtower provide its readers with balanced information? Does the Watchtower provide a full and frank account of each source that it holds up as evidence?

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

Doug