Posts by Odrade

You might try Unitarians. They hold very little formal doctrine, yet provide a very nice sense of community and a good mix of bible study. That being said, I agree with the above posters, and I am not personally a Christian.

27

COLLEGE IS EVIL!!!!!

by why??? in

hi everyone...this year i had to go to the district convention and with my newly opened mind...i sat there rolling my eyes the whole time...i was however very distrubed by a talk on higher education...im sure you all know of it...basically telling all of us outright that it was no good and we shouldnt be going...now i know they have done it in the past...but it seemed so blatant this year in your face...college is evil.....here's a related link .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7vxnzoeeys&mode=related&search= .

hopefully the links work ..im not really sure how to do it .......

Odrade

Yep, no college here either, and I never had a job (except waitressing,) that paid more than $15k/year until I was 32. Then I (finally) went to vocational school. Last year I made 2x that $15k job. This year I will easily make 3-4x that 15k job if I keep working 4-5 days a week. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had gone to school at 19 instead of at 32. I almost certainly would have made a LOT more money and poured a LOT less water...

28

Comments You Will not Hear will be taking a brief hiatus for the next 2 wks

by blondie in

or so due to health, availability of articles, and personal priorities.

after that, the format will be briefer consisting mostly of the article with fewer comments by me allowing more comments by readers/posters.. love, blondie.

Odrade

Thanks Blondie, enjoy your break, and I'll be glad to see your reviews even if brief. I read them nearly every week though I don't often comment.

51

My hubby just laid down some rules to my elder dad

by Es in

jw
friends

recently an elder called mike's mob phone wanting to speak to me, the only person who could have passed on that info was my elder dad.

mike has been waiting for my dad to call him to arrange to see the kids, as he wont deal with me at all.

so mike said to him i dont appreciate you giving our number out to the elders, we want nothing to do with them or your religion etc... mike than called me and said there was so much more i wanted to tell him.. i get a phone call about 30 mins later, mike had rang my dad and said if you want to see your grandkids then there are a few rules you will need to follow, 1. dont ever give out our personal details (which my dad apologised for and acknowldeged that he shouldnt have done that ) and 2. if you want to see your grandkids you need to speak to your daughter, you can msg her phone or even speak to her.

Odrade

Good for him! He sounds like a peach!

21

Sept KM - how those "still in" can comment

by still_in74 in

well all, we know this is a big deal.

i for one will sit there during the discussion of this ariticle wanting to scream yet i will say nothing if i am not prepared, and of course i have to "comment" with an angle that doesnt arouse suspicion.. so here it is folks, we need to put together brief, very well worded comments to use during these meetings.

any takers?

Odrade

Thanks, I was amused that the '95 and '99 editions were identical for that one paragraph, more confirmation that most of the new publications are just regurgitated old publications...

21

Sept KM - how those "still in" can comment

by still_in74 in

well all, we know this is a big deal.

i for one will sit there during the discussion of this ariticle wanting to scream yet i will say nothing if i am not prepared, and of course i have to "comment" with an angle that doesnt arouse suspicion.. so here it is folks, we need to put together brief, very well worded comments to use during these meetings.

any takers?

Odrade

WT 10/15/99

Millions of readers have done just that and have discovered the NewWorldTranslation to be not only readable but scrupulously accurate. Its translators worked from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, using the best texts available. Unusual care was also exercised to render the ancient text as literally as possible but in language that would readily be understood. Accordingly, some scholars praised this translation for its integrity and accuracy. For example, the AndoverNewtonQuarterly of January 1963 said: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."

WT 9/15/95

The major concern of the Masoretes was the accurate transmission of each word, even each letter, of the Bible text. To ensure accuracy, the Masoretes utilized the side margins of each page to record information that would indicate any possible change of text made either inadvertently or deliberately by past copyists. In these marginal notes, the Masoretes also noted unusual word forms and combinations, marking how frequently these occurred within a book or within the entire Hebrew Scriptures. These comments were recorded in a highly abbreviated code, since space was limited. As an additional cross-checking tool, they marked the middle word and letter of certain books. They went so far as to count every letter of the Bible in order to ensure accurate copying.
In the top and bottom margins of the page, the Masoretes recorded more extensive comments regarding some of the abbreviated notes in the side margins. These were helpful in cross-checking their work. Since the verses were not then numbered and there were no Bible concordances, how did the Masoretes refer to other parts of the Bible to make this cross-check? In the top and bottom margins, they listed part of a parallel verse to remind them of where the word or words indicated were found elsewhere in the Bible. Because of space limitations, often they would write just one key word to remind them of each parallel verse. For these marginal notes to be useful, these copyists would virtually have to know the entire Hebrew Bible by heart.

...
Millions of readers have done just that and have discovered the NewWorldTranslation to be not only readable but scrupulously accurate. Its translators worked from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, using the best texts available. Unusual care was also exercised to render the ancient text as literally as possible but in language that would readily be understood. Accordingly, some scholars praised this translation for its integrity and accuracy. For example, the AndoverNewtonQuarterly of January 1963 said: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."

WT 6/15/85

Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are recognized even by their critics as excellent Bible students, have found that the NewWorldTranslationoftheHolyScriptures admirably meets the requirements of clarity and accuracy. It renders that passage from the Sermon on the Mount: "Happy are those consciousoftheirspiritualneed."

WT 12/1/62

By making a distinction between anástasis and exanástasis the NewWorldTranslation again gives proof of its exactness and accuracy.

WT 10/15/61

Taking advantage of the oldest Bible manuscripts that have been found as well as the improved understanding of koine Greek, the translators of this version have produced a copy of the Bible in English that is extremely accurate. It carefully expresses the fine shades of meaning in the Hebrew and Greek words. Its literalness, however, is not carried to the point where reading is made difficult. At all times an easy, expressive flow of thought is maintained. Its accuracy makes it more desirable than a free translation, that is, one in which the translator takes the general thought and expresses it freely in his own words. The extreme care taken to make the NewWorldTranslationoftheHolyScriptures accurate is an assurance to readers that what they read is as near to the original thoughts as is possible to express them at this time.

WT 7/15/62

The word "sanctified" is to be preferred to the word "hallowed" since it is used far more commonly. Not only that but, except for its use in our Lord’s prayer, hagiazo is always translated "sanctified" by the KingJames translators as well as the many others that use "hallowed" in this one instance; there are some twenty-five instances of such translation all told. So the NewWorldTranslation is only different in this instance because it alone is consistent.

WT 12/15/63

Among other ways in which the NewWorldTranslation shows itself to be an outstanding translation is in its consistency and accuracy. For one thing, it distinguishes between gnosis (knowledge) and epignosis (accurate [full] knowledge); between makários, which means "supremely blest, . . . fortunate, well off," and eulogetós, which means "blessed."

21

Sept KM - how those "still in" can comment

by still_in74 in

well all, we know this is a big deal.

i for one will sit there during the discussion of this ariticle wanting to scream yet i will say nothing if i am not prepared, and of course i have to "comment" with an angle that doesnt arouse suspicion.. so here it is folks, we need to put together brief, very well worded comments to use during these meetings.

any takers?

Odrade

Don't have WT library at my disposal presently, but in the Reasoning Book it insists that the NWT is to be appraised on its own merits, that it is "an accurate, largely literal translation from the original languages. It is not a loose paraphrase, in which the translators leave out details that they consider unimportant and add ideas that they believe will be helpful. As an aid to students, a number of editions provide extensive footnotes showing variant readings where expressions can legitimately be rendered in more than one way, also a listing of the specific ancient manuscripts on which certain renderings are based."

Ironically, in view of this latest KM, the RS book also goes on to say this:

"Some verses may not read the same as what a person is accustomed to. Which rendering is right? Readers are invited to examine manuscript support cited in footnotes of the Reference edition of the New World Translation, read explanations given in the appendix,"* "and compare the rendering with a variety of other translations. They will generally find that some other translators have also seen the need to express the matter in a similar manner."

*which also reference secular and religious scholarly (non-WT) materials

It should be noted that the RS book was designed to be used with the public by reading the answers to Householders' questions directly from the book. Thus it is to be expected that there are stronger statements of the NWT's supposed superiority contained within other literature. In any case, the belief that the NWT is superior is implicit in WT publications, and most JWs credulously accept the idea.

21

Sept KM - how those "still in" can comment

by still_in74 in

well all, we know this is a big deal.

i for one will sit there during the discussion of this ariticle wanting to scream yet i will say nothing if i am not prepared, and of course i have to "comment" with an angle that doesnt arouse suspicion.. so here it is folks, we need to put together brief, very well worded comments to use during these meetings.

any takers?

Odrade

"We have already been told by the Society that the NWT is the best translation available today, so there is no reason for anyone to waste time studying biblical Hebrew and Greek to confirm its accuracy. That time would best be spent reading the Watchtower publications."