Posts by Doug Mason

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

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

https://jwstudies.com/_The_Origin_of_Life_-_Fails_to_Deliver.pdf

24

Are Jehovah’s Witnesses competent to resolve the issue of blood transfusion?

by 30LPP in

hello everyone.. first of all, i would like to say hello to all of you.i am not a jehovah's witness but i have been a child with "truth" because of my family.

i am interested in the subject of this sect in the hope that i will be able to wake up the rest of my family.i would also like to share with you another interesting book of polish author włodzimierz bednarski, which was released in 2019, quite recently, and which is a small guidebook for the medical community and criticism of the watchtower society’s teachings.the book in pdf format is available for download at: .

are jehovah’s witnesses competent to resolve the issue of blood transfusion?known books of this author are also:armageddon in 1975 'probability' or 'possibility'?year 1925 and millions now living will never die!ever-changing teachings of jehovah's witnessesthis book will probably be released later at:https://wtsarchive.com/pubs/3rd-party-publicationsi encourage you to read the above materials, because they are really worth it.. i wish everyone perseverance and health..

Doug Mason

Biblically, "Blood" represents DEATH, not life. The presence of blood showed that the previous owner had died. People are saved by Jesus' blood -- his death. The life was in the blood, therefore its presence indicates that life had been extinguished. The blood in a medical procedure does not indicate the previous owner is dead. It is a gift of life.

https://jwstudies.com/The_Meaning_of__Blood_.pdf

https://jwstudies.com/Blood_is_a_religious_issue.pdf

The WTS is inconsistent, in that it arbitrarily permits the use of products made from blood.

They used to decry vaccination, since it often requires the use of blood.

https://jwstudies.com/1931_02_04_Golden_Age__Pattillo_on_vaccinations__blood.pdf

Here is communication with the GB

https://jwstudies.com/The_Jensen_letters_analysis_and_commentary.pdf

Significantly, its booklet "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Question of Blood" consistently misquotes and misrepresents sources.

https://jwstudies.com/Handling_Medical_Evidence.pdf

The following is a Guide I prepared that was intended to be a Guide for those developing policies within the medical industry:

https://jwstudies.com/Loyalty_Test.pdf

Doug