Posts by Doug Mason

1

Even if you do not purchase this book ...

by Doug Mason in

even if you do not purchase this book, at least read the preview pages freely available online:.

https://www.amazon.com/discovering-second-temple-literature-scriptures/dp/0827612656.

doug.

Doug Mason

Even if you do not purchase this book, at least read the preview pages freely available online:

https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Second-Temple-Literature-Scriptures/dp/0827612656

Doug

20

Jesus is Yahweh......Titles applied to YHWH and Jesus in Old and N.T.......credit to Bill Cetnar

by krismalone in

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Doug Mason

Hi Smiddy3.

Good references include: "The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel", Mark Smith;

"Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan", John Day.

(Search online for PDF files -- or email me).

"Asherah and the cult of Yahweh in Israel", Saul Olyan.

"When God was a woman", Merlin Stone. etc., etc.

In Genesis 1, the name of God is given as EL. He was the main God of Canaan (from the north). He and his wife Asherah had 70 children, all gods, one of whom was the warrior god Baal. The group was known as the Elohim ("let US make ..."). YHWH was not one of the Elohim.

A group of Jews came up from the south, where Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, was priest to the God Yahweh. So this small group brought Yahweh, also a warrior god, up with them.

The people who wrote Genesis 2 display the merging of YHWH with EL, hence we get YHWH EL => LORD God.

The Israelites were quite tolerant (Monolatrists) and they worshipped several gods. A small minority faction were monotheists, worshipping YHWH. It is their propaganda that we now read, although traces of the opposing views still filter through. We read of the Yahwists' anger at the opposition. At one stage the people moved Asherah from EL and have her to YHWH. We read that they even put Asherah poles in the sanctuary.

Both YHWH and Baal were warrior gods, hence the frenzied opposition we read about in the Yahwists' writings (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Yahwists, who were centred in Jerusalem, used the opportunity given to them by the neo-Babylonian period. Read, for example, their manifesto at Isaiah 40. Or what they wrote at Deuteronomy 6:4.

The nation that left Babylon was very different to the nation that went into captivity. From that time, the monotheists, the Yahwists, exerted increasing power. That was not the sole metamorphosis experienced by the Hebrews. Slowly they became known as Jews through living in Judah. Later, following the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, the rising Rabbinic Judaism slowly transformed the peoples into the versions we witness today.

Any help?

Doug

20

Jesus is Yahweh......Titles applied to YHWH and Jesus in Old and N.T.......credit to Bill Cetnar

by krismalone in

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Doug Mason

And from where did the Hebrews get YHWH?

26

"The Origin of Life" fails to deliver

by Doug Mason in

https://jwstudies.com/_the_origin_of_life_-_fails_to_deliver.pdf .

Doug Mason

deepblue,

I will appreciate knowing exactly and precisely where my Critique needs amending.

Thanks,

Doug

12

Help with my novel I'm writing

by pimonotforlong in

i don't know if i'm submitting this under the proper subject area, but i had a question i was wondering if anyone had any expertise on.. i'm writing a ya novel inspired by my experiences growing up and being a teenager as a jehovah's witness.

it is a fictional story though.

however, my critiquing beta readers are torn between whether i should make it the actual jw religion in the book, or if i should make a fictional religion based on the jws.

Doug Mason

Exactly who is your intended readership? What do you want to tell your reader? Do you want them to take action as a result of your story?

To help your reader identify with your story, it might be better to identify the religion.

I think your difficulty lies over your shoulder, rather than with the WTS's legal eagles. In other words, will your friends and relatives be able to identify themselves? If so, will they feel personally aggrieved? If so, what actions might they take? Have you spoken with them?

Doug

12

If Heaven is such a good place then how was it ever allowed to get to the state where a war was necessary.?

by smiddy3 in

a precedent has been established .if it happened once it can happen again..

Doug Mason

The idea of a "war inside heaven" was invented in the 3rd century BCE, when apocalyptic ideas began to flourish, notably with writings such as Enoch and Jubilees.

The idea was promoted by the Dead Sea Community (Esseenes?), who said that war events on earth reflected wars in heaven. Later Jewish writings, especially Revelation, continued the ideas.

Most Christian beliefs find their genesis in that period, generally known as the Second Temple Period -- rather than from the canonised Hebrew Scriptures. For example, the present-day ideas about Satan, which is relevant to the "war in heaven", comes from this Second Temple Period. The being named Satan in the OT is not the source of present-day ideas.

I do not know if the problem of Theodicy played a part in the rise of this 3rd century BCE apocalyptic movement. It likely was aided by the failure of the Jews to achieve their self-appointed expectations, which were thwarted by Greece in particular. The Book of Daniel, which was written in the 2nd century BCE (164 BCE) is the direct outcome of that political oppression combined with the apocalyptic fervour that had arisen a century earlier.

Doug

9

The name Jehovah in the New Testament

by Jerome56 in

among the reasons the watchtower society gives in appendix c of the new world translation for inserting the name jehovah in the new testament is the following:.

· " in greek, is the definite article missing from before kyʹri·os (lord), where it would normally be expected grammatically, thus indicating that a proper name may originally have appeared in the greek text?

d. does anyone know if this is a valid argument?

Doug Mason

I do not know if my information is really relevant, but in 1985 (35 years ago, pre-WWW) I wrote about the Watchtower's NT use of "Jehovah": https://jwstudies.com/Witnessing_the_Name.pdf

In 2007 I cobbled together: https://jwstudies.com/Translating_with_prejudice.pdf

Early Christian practice lay with the use of Nomina Sacra, in which certain sacred words were reduced to two letters with a line above. https://jwstudies.com/Roberts__Nomina_Sacra_chapter.pdf

Doug

26

"The Origin of Life" fails to deliver

by Doug Mason in

https://jwstudies.com/_the_origin_of_life_-_fails_to_deliver.pdf .

Doug Mason

Shawn,

PM is fine but always feel very free to email me. I provide my address on the second page. All correspondence is kept private, guaranteed.

I fully agree that I need to be precisely correct, especially in view of my assertions that the WTS is less than completely honest or forthright.

Doug

26

"The Origin of Life" fails to deliver

by Doug Mason in

https://jwstudies.com/_the_origin_of_life_-_fails_to_deliver.pdf .

Doug Mason

FadetoBlack

Yes, typos do bother me.

Today I found a few typos in the Summary, and I have just uploaded the corrected file. None of these has impacted any point individually or generally.

Thank you for your offer to help, which I appreciate and I look forward to.

Doug

26

"The Origin of Life" fails to deliver

by Doug Mason in

https://jwstudies.com/_the_origin_of_life_-_fails_to_deliver.pdf .

Doug Mason

Thank you Smiddy3 for your confidence.

In this Critique I touch on several topics related to the Evolution/Creation debate. Rather than arguing point-by-point, which would have crippled me, I touch on several topics that the brochure mentions but far more importantly, I open the discussion on subjects the brochure should have presented but it did not.

It is not a Critique to be read from page 1 and so on. Given the wide range of the material, I provide a Summary near the beginning.

Please use this as a starting point. Access the sources I provide and discover the gems I left behind.

This is not a short story that you can read at the table while waiting for the meal to be served.

Please please tell me of any corrections. I know that each reader will find some things new and challenging.

The most important lesson is provided on page 16.

Doug