Posts by scholar

18

Narrowly focused, sometimes illiterate

by vienne in

three of my sisters - there are five of us - were baptized as witnesses.

one of them has gone from reading voraciously to only reading her textbooks and watchtower publications.

this does not seem to be unusual among witnesses.

scholar

vienne

The writing of letters is an expression of one's literacy skills and such can always be improved over time so its exercise can lead to improved grammar for some or many. Postings on the internet on various forums is also an expression of one's literacy and again its exercise can also lead to improvement as evidenced by p[ostings on JW Talk and the World Forum websites for JW's.

The fact that the Witness community is a publishing agency sets a good example in clear writing, easily comprehended and available to many peoples of different languages and education thus as an organization facilitates a high level of literacy including grammar.

Watchtower does not fear the informed, questioning believer as you allege but fears those who seek to undermine genuine intellectual inquiry and freedom using unquestioned, critical scholarship which lacks coherence and unity of thought.

I agree with you that finishing High School is not a guarantee of literacy and this is an indictment of education departments but such attainment can lead to improvement utilizing other pathways which not always the case. The present modern era provides the opportunity at least for advancement and this fact must be recognized and even if such ones are merely competent report or essay writers then that surely is worthy attainment for not all can be or want to be grammarians.

scholar JW

18

Narrowly focused, sometimes illiterate

by vienne in

three of my sisters - there are five of us - were baptized as witnesses.

one of them has gone from reading voraciously to only reading her textbooks and watchtower publications.

this does not seem to be unusual among witnesses.

scholar

vienne

I agree with Simon that JW's generally have high literacy skills as shown by the fact that we are a Bible reading and studying community with our publications published in hundreds of languages with a continuing emphasis on literacy.

Regarding the claim of poor grammar this also I reject because currently JW's are engaged in an extensive letter-writing campaign which gives the individual Witness much practice in the art of writing which includes proper spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar. Further, because of the internet, a Witness is able to publish posts on various forums which again demand a high degree of literacy and the simple fact that in Western countries Witness youths have completed High School which was not the case when I was in my youth wherein our generation completed the required primary School prior to leaving for employment at mid-teens

scholar JW emeritus.

33

Maths Virus 1914

by Anna Marina in

this is my latest video.

it is part 1 of a series that reveals the mathematical trickery watchtower uses to con people about the 1914 doctrine.

it takes a radically different approach to that of carl olof jonsson who dealt with dates.. this video focusses on how watchtower misuses the numbers in scriptures and creates a mental fog that prevents people from understanding and therefore prevents them from challenging.. the full title of the video is maths virus - revealing the antivirus to 1914. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llkmrul3afg.

scholar

Anna Marina

You claim or imply in your video that Jer.25:1 and Dan.1: are synchronistic, relating to the same event which is nonsense. Jer. 25: 1;46:2 simply deal with events in Jehoiakim's reign dealing with the Babylonian incursion into Syria-Palestine under Nebuchadnezzer whereas Dan1:1 deals with the first deportation by Nebuchadnezzar during the three years of his vassalage to the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar which would have begun in Jehoiakim's' 8th regnal year, for this reason, NWT translates the relevant passage in Da.1:1 as the 'third year of his kingship rather than 'reign' which brings into line with the biblical record of this period of history.

Thus, both verses refer to different events in Late Judean history and must not be conflated which results in a major chronological error.

scholar JW

8

"Congregation Bible Study" - Pure Worship

by Jeffro in

the pure worship book will be 'studied' at the weekly jw 'congregation bible study' starting next week.

anyone 'lucky' enough to attend might like to consider my review of the book for some salient points in the coming weeks.... .

scholar

Jeffro

Printing out this document as a PDF could be improved by a larger print and some of the charts are not colored as the desktop document so the overall presentation needs a slight improvement in order to facilitate a proper examination of its content especially for those who prefer a hard copy.

scholar JW

44

2020--Civil Unrest--Food Distribution Pause--Computer Security! (as of 2020-11-05)

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

3 letters:.

1. civil unrest.

2. food distribution pause.

scholar

Atlantis

Please send these letters to my inbox

Thanks

scholar

37

2020-November-S-147-Announcements and Reminders! ( as of 2020-11-03 )

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2020-11-s-147-e--announcements and reminders.

reply below if you want the link, and don't forget to tell the bartender what drink you want!.

booze menu.

scholar

Atlantis

Please send to my inbox.

Regards

scholar

41

The 1950s NWT (1984)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i did a video on this subject once but feel this is a noteworthy topic.

to be honest the old nwt has come under sonsiderable attack from fundie morons attacking it's nt which was translated with a few revisals in 1950.the truth is john 1:1 and 8:58 and other texts, though despite being odd, are within the translation rules as are the inclusion of the word {other} since this was stated in the forward as an interpolation.

jehovah in the nt is odd but certianly lacking as other translations have added more yhwh.. so the ot?

scholar

Jeffro

I am only here for your amusement or perhaps I am trying to bait you.

scholar JW

41

The 1950s NWT (1984)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i did a video on this subject once but feel this is a noteworthy topic.

to be honest the old nwt has come under sonsiderable attack from fundie morons attacking it's nt which was translated with a few revisals in 1950.the truth is john 1:1 and 8:58 and other texts, though despite being odd, are within the translation rules as are the inclusion of the word {other} since this was stated in the forward as an interpolation.

jehovah in the nt is odd but certianly lacking as other translations have added more yhwh.. so the ot?

scholar

Anonymous

Thomas Howe provides a detailed critique of Be Duhn's work of some 100 pages and accuses him of theological bias similar to that uttered against the Witnesses. Much of the discussion in both pieces of scholarship hovers around the correct translation of John 1:1 and what is at issue is whether the anarthrous predicate nominative theos is definite or indefinite.

The NWT is a worry for scholars because it challenges them in a way that they have never had to deal with before and is similar to how WT scholars have a Bible Chronology that with such dates as 607, 537 BCE amongst many others also confounds such scholars causing them much dispute and controversy. It is amazing how much of the scholarly literature centers on the John 1:1 debate and it would appear that the JW's with their brilliant NWT has got it just so.

scholar JW

41

The 1950s NWT (1984)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i did a video on this subject once but feel this is a noteworthy topic.

to be honest the old nwt has come under sonsiderable attack from fundie morons attacking it's nt which was translated with a few revisals in 1950.the truth is john 1:1 and 8:58 and other texts, though despite being odd, are within the translation rules as are the inclusion of the word {other} since this was stated in the forward as an interpolation.

jehovah in the nt is odd but certianly lacking as other translations have added more yhwh.. so the ot?

scholar

Jeffro

So tedious. Acknowledging that your preferred reviewer is simply showing their own doctrinal bias is hardly a credible endorsement. And your pitiful assertion about Jeremiah 29:10 does not even attempt to deal with the flawed JW interpretation. It’s pointless dealing with you, and I’ve only ever done so for the benefit of other readers

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Ditto!!

scholar JW

41

The 1950s NWT (1984)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i did a video on this subject once but feel this is a noteworthy topic.

to be honest the old nwt has come under sonsiderable attack from fundie morons attacking it's nt which was translated with a few revisals in 1950.the truth is john 1:1 and 8:58 and other texts, though despite being odd, are within the translation rules as are the inclusion of the word {other} since this was stated in the forward as an interpolation.

jehovah in the nt is odd but certianly lacking as other translations have added more yhwh.. so the ot?

scholar

Jeffro

Huh? I pointed out that BeDuhn is himself biased toward nontrinitarianism, so your elaboration about BeDuhn’s assessment is pointless.

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No matter for any critic or reviewer will have an inherent bias. Nothing to see here.

scholar JW