Posts by saltyoldlady

66

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

by Quendi in

i know this has been discussed before, but i want to reopen the topic.

i am currently reading ray franz's memoir crisis of conscience and ran across this footnote with respect to the new world translation of the holy scriptures:.

"the new world translation bears no translator's name and is presented as the anonymous work of the "new world translation committee.

saltyoldlady

I just LOST my whole contribution in one fell swoop - FRUSTRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I too have the same interests and thoughts as you have expressed above. While I do not come even close to qualifying as a Bible scholar I have begun doing a great deal of side by side comparisons of various translations and it is yielding spiritual fruit for me. I too love the NWT for the same reasons as you have expressed - the restoration of the Divine Name, and its refreshing modern-day terminology. Often the expressions in the Pauline epistles especially are particularly perceptive and well-worded in comparison to others.

However I am also discovering passages that appear preferable in other translations and am making a collection of these. Examining the nuances of grammar, propositions chosen, etc. reveals an amazing variety of meanings for the translator and contemplating the choices made is most fascinating. Careful analytical evaluation of the message being conveyed provides many clues to what may be the correct rendering. It is as much fun as any puzzle I have ever worked upon. And BIAS of the translators really does appear - sometimes rather blatantly.

Just to give a short quick example - in my current Bible study class we covered John Chapter 17 this past week. In my 8 translations of the New Testament side by side produced by Tyndale the fact that the word "name" had been removed in half of them from verses 6 and 11 by 4 translations or versions was fascinating. One has to ask the question - Why? Either the word "name" was there or it wasn't. What is going on here? And then an interesting point came up in the class discussion that some such as the NWT used the phrase "on account of your own name" where others said "by the power of your name" - the shades of meaning and significance are fascinating to explore. In some cases I simply like to incorporate both into my comprehension of the subject. In other cases I find myself discarding NWT wording.

Am sure others must have also made such collections of both the strong (to be preferred) and the questionable passages in the NWT. Looking forward to finding these and examining them myself. Will be checking this thread frequently in the future for what else we can learn.

37

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple (for the) STUPID! Considering 1914 anew

by Terry in

have you ever seen a stop sign?.

what if it were a "decelerate until stationary!

"sign, instead?.

saltyoldlady

Just to have some fun here AND still keeping it simple - ever so simple! If WTS lopped off 100 years from the beginning of Br Russell's calculations for 1914 - changed the beginning from 4126 to 4026 shouldn't EVERYTHING from then on be moved up 100 years - so that means 1914 is NOW 2014 guys - NUUUU Light. I'm all lit up. lol.

24

This stopped me in my tracks. Sad but inspiring, please read...

by unshackled in

jw
friends

this is sad but also quite inspiring...thought i'd share it.. .

a gentleman named derek miller passed away yesterday from cancer.

he was loved and admired by many in the vancouver area (and beyond).

saltyoldlady

Very beautifully done and special. Thank you for sharing. Makes a person contemplate the value of every single moment.

36

Miracles For Sale

by cofty in

new derren brown documentary this evening on channel 4 (uk) 9-10:30pm.

his insights into human psychology is astonishing, some of his previous docs have been jaw-dropping.. "the entertainer investigates the reality behind america's faith-healing phenomenon, and chooses an unsuspecting member of the british public who is prepared to adopt the guise of a pastor.

the selected person then tries to perform healing `miracles' in texas after six months of learning, in an experiment to see whether he will be accepted".

saltyoldlady

Watched the whole set - Wow - thank you! That was quite an education for me.

73

How I Know The Assembly Parts Are Made Up

by lovelylil in

jw
friends

we had a co looking for a certain experience for an assembly part coming up and the elders in my hall at the time sent him to see me, since i usually had good experiences out in field service.. anyway, after speaking with the co, i was sorry to inform him that i did not have an experience that suited the type he needed.

he told me that was o.k.

because he could use me anyway for another part.

saltyoldlady

Giodano - I laughed myself silly reading your experience. Have had similar calls myself - so many people out there who really need a good friend but could care less about religion or the Bible. I always figured I was serving the Lord anyway by just showing human caring and compassion.

Now to relate another pathetic experience about assembly parts - in one of the halls I used to attend they had a sister who was the "gung ho" pioneer - single, worked full time and pioneered full time. So they often featured her. Trouble was I was often the one who worked in field service with her so I knew the true scoop of her experiences, the people she was talking about, etc. etc. But I never forget this once when they wanted to make a big point about how very dedicated she was - how she managed to work full time, and also pioneer full time. And what a horrific sacrifice she made for the truth. Sounds good right?

Well here's the whole story - one, I knew how she was getting her time. She accompanied her elderly mom - that in itself was nice - and since her mom wasn't so capable of walking door to door for very long they sat in coffee shops and tea shops for hours - talking to one another and anyone else that happened by and wanted to join the conversation. The rules of the game with her is they had to have a tract sitting on the table at all times - didn't have to be talking about it per se - in fact any topic of conversation was okay - as long as that little tract was visible on the table. Our territory had a plethora of eateries - so they spent their day - the entire day that way to get mega hours. Then at work she kept a tract on her desk too - and so that too counted as time. As much time as she needed to make the quota every month. Her literature placements - they were rolled up mags stuck in random doors whenever she felt the need to bring up her placement count. And of course if you left something at a door it must be a back call, right? For her - she had worked in that territory for so many years every call was always a back call no matter what. Plus we had mega accumulation of apartment buildings to work on cold or wet days where nobody would be home but you could just walk down the hallway and leave lit at every door. Etc. Etc. So her stats were SORRY fakes for the real thing but on paper they looked good.

But the true story about her tremendous sacrifice - she had inherited "millions" from her father when he died (actually it was only about 2 mil) - she didn't need to work at all. She had a wardrobe that was beyond belief, and she took the "posh" vacations, all over the globe. She was big into going to spa's and beauty treatment things and I have to say it did make her beautiful in comparison to me. I was three years older than her but she truly did look 25 years younger. Her job was one she had had for over 20 years and she held onto it to get the retirement benefits which were handsome from the University. It was the kind of job where she could come and go as she pleased - could do some of it at home online, etc. and was simple enough never took her more than 15 to 20 hours of real "job" turn up time to report to her boss. Yet she was held out as a paragon of virtue that we should all work harder. If she could do it we could too. Made me ill to my stomach to watch that portrayal.

Misleading if what I would call it - big time!

67

I feel so alone here...

by Pams girl in

jw
friends

thanks to all who helped me escape my imminemt baptism after 6 years of study.

it was a close call.. ive clearly been labelled spirituallly weak, as nobody has called here to say hi or anything and its been 2 monthes now....their divine justice for me i guess.

i did see my study teacher a while back when she dropped off my memorial invite, and that was after a chat, nothing to do with the wbts...seemed like it was an afterthought on her part.. they all know about my problems with agoraphobia and panic.

saltyoldlady

Dear Paula - Just want you to know - I love your appealing picture and your postings. And I love the fact you are "so real" with us - so "genuine." I don't think there is a one of us that haven't felt lonely in life at some point - loved Mrs. Jones contribution of that poem. Loneliness is a universal experience - probably one of the biggest reasons we turn to religion and the concept of God. I carry on conversations with Him all day long - and somehow I think I get answers too - oh not in an audible voice, or anything like that - but just a sense of comfort, that someone else really does know my feelings and my inner longings. Others might say I'm just daft in the head, fooling myself, imagining things but whatever - for me "it's real." It works to get me out of that feeling down rut we sometimes get lodged into - reading a favorite book and carrying on a conversation in your head with the characters or author works too - the imagination can work both for us or against us. Dancing in my imagination can uplift my spirits. Music can uplift my spirits. Beauty of any kind works.

And I have to tell you a funny story that removes my loneliness at present. I had a birdfeeder on my balcony sitting on the corner platform - viewable from my dining table where I spend a great deal of time with study and reading. I loved watching the birds come and go all day long. Then some squirrels started coming and I started tossing them whole nut meats - and THEN the rats learned how to claw their way up the wall and help themselves to the sunflower seeds, peanuts, etc. Well neither my neighbors nor the apartment building management were very enthralled with my new friends. They started setting traps under my balcony - I'm just above the ground level by about two or three feet and they even hired a professional rodent trap outfit with their little black boxes filled with "meth." Lots of critters were caught I guess - no squirrels thank goodness. I admit prejudice in favor of the squirrels. Finally they asked me to remove my birdfeeder because the seed that fell overground was attracting the rodents plus the nuts the squirrels didn't get to first. And they asked me to stop tossing nuts to the squirrels. I was SO LOW in spirit - these were my friends.

Well I have worked out a compromise plan - the birdfeeder is now on an iron grillwork table away from all walls or chairs. The squirrels are able to jump onto it so now the four of them come right up to my balcony and one even alerts me to when the nuts are gone by clawing on my sliding glass door, waits patiently on the table while I replace the larder. The rats are unable to get to the food on the table (except for two very smart fellows) turns out there are six of them - they never seem to get caught in the traps - and they use my deck as a play pen - are lots of entertainment and laughter for me - if I step out there they all disappear. But I was feeling sorry for them because I have been keeping the balcony carefully swept everyday to keep my landlady happy so there just is no food for them. Yet they look very healthy, shiny coats, and are growing rapidly. So they are finding food elsewhere that is sufficient and then I witnessed one of my local bluejays come to their rescue - he wanted peanuts - and he started impatiently flicking all the sunflower seeds out of the tray to find the peanuts or pistachio's but the sunflower seeds fall easily thru the grillwork of the table and the rats are happy. Now when they hear the jay's caw they all gather round for the feeding frenzy. So God's critters keep me from ever being lonely - haven't been evicted yet. That's probably coming next. LOL.

22

Hello from NW USA

by Haulin Oats in

jw
friends

hey there, gang.. i'm haulin oats.

i came to full awareness recently after finding a work-mate who also had "seen the light" finally.. i was born/raised a jw, having made some pretty big sacrifices in the name of the organization, even moving to where the need was greater before the start of high school.

needless to say, small mid-west farm towns don't look too highly on jw's.

saltyoldlady

Welcome aboard - I'm from Seattle area. I see we have others from my neck of the woods. Hope to get to meet all of you in the flesh someday. I'm sure you'll get some good help from the others with persuading your daughter to "see the truth - the real truth that is" - and you'll find much of interest on this site also. Might I recommend the www.jwfiles.com site - by one of our contributors - Sab. Tons of items there to consider as a family - tastefully done and he's a brilliant thinker. I especially love Jonathan Dough's contributions too - and ever so many others. That's just for starters.

Will be looking forward to hearing about your future discoveries as you pursue "Christian Freedom" - it's refreshing! Like the "salt" air - if you can forgive my local euphenism and pun on my name. Haulin Oats made me think of farm work - we used to have a farm on the Camas Prarie in Idaho.

18

How did that MYSTERIOUS transition from Russell to Rutherford happen?

by Terry in

"judge" josephh rutherford helped pastor russell draft his last will and testament.

as legal advisor this was fitting.

russell never stated that they were to only publish his writings.

saltyoldlady

Thank you Terry - I had never picked up on that discrepancy before - from five to six and was that in the same document? Very interesting. Somewhere - in the Harvest Siftings of the Bible Students I think - I read that Russell had actually started to become concerned about Rutherford just shortly before his death. Had Russell not died at the time he did Rutherford might never have been able to pull off the shenanigans (sp?) he did. (A good old Irish term that so well fits the circumstances I believe.)

23

Is this just an Incredible Coincidence?!.....Amazing!

by journey-on in

jw
friends

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/26/long-lost-half-brothers-reunited-6000-miles-home/.

thousands of miles away from home, two long-lost half brothers from massachusetts were reunited in a chance encounter on a hawaiian beach, myfoxboston.com reported monday.. rick hill from massachusetts, his wife and their kids were on the beach in waikiki when a man offered to snap their picture.. "he said 'say leominster', that's where he's from.

so we smiled and said 'wow, what made you say that?

saltyoldlady

I believe these kinds of things DO happen. The reasons behind it - I'm not sure, but it does definitely seem like more than just coincidence.

Myself - I had a similar experience re my two Norwegian Elkhounds. They were puppies of a mother dog I purchased many years before - always wanted to meet her sire but never could track him down - Prince Valiant of Northgate was his name. I went everywhere trying to find some old breeder that might have a picture of him. Finally had to give up. Then one day (we had just moved into a new home) on a rather busy road when a couple people were driving by - I was outside working in the yard and they saw the two Norwegian Elkhounds - just had to stop and talk to me. They used to own the breed and so loved them. All their's had now passed away. So of course I asked what bloodlines their dogs were from as I had made quite a study of pedigrees being represented in the local dog shows.

You could have picked me up from a dead faint as they told me the name of their old dog - Prince Valiant - we almost broke into tears together as I told them they were looking at two of his grandpups - my dam was his daughter - and how I had always wanted to see him. Guess what - they sent me the most beautiful 8x10 pic of him and my female had the exact same sparkle of eye and seemed like just a spittin image. She had long since died so they did not get to see her but they took oodles of pics of Hans and Greta. Turns out they did not live in that area - and this was the very first time they had ever driven down that road.

31

Pinch me. Am I Dreaming?

by headisspinning in

jw
friends

i can't even believe what's happened.

i'm really in shock.. without any warning i got an email from my son yesterday afternoon.

"ive been doing a lot of thinking lately, and i have decided i no longer want to be a jehovah's witness.

saltyoldlady

Great advice has been given by others but I just have to say - Another prayer answered! Thank you Jehovah.