THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
FOUR ARTICLES
What does it mean to believe in the full inspiration of the Bible? This question has now become pertinent because The Watchtower Society has started a new series of books entitled God’s Word is Truth A Handbook to the Bible.
The first volume covers Ezekiel-Joel, and this volume is excellent for Bible study, provided that it is used for interactive study. The least effective way to teach is the lecture, where one speaks, and the audience passively listens to the message.
A most effective way of teaching is to let the student work with the material and have an active part in the teaching process. Making notes and memorizing important points are part of this process. In the Baltic states before World War II, one had to memorize at least 20 scriptures to be baptized and become a Jehovah’s Witness. This is one extreme. But the present stress on meditation instead of Bible study is the other extreme.
It will be interesting to see whether the Handbooks of the Bible will be used for interactive study or used the same way lectures are.
In the 19th century, Christians in the USA generally believed in the Bible’s full inspiration. This was also the case with C.T. Russell and the Bible students. This view meant that:
- All the words of the Bible were inspired by God, though chosen and written down by his secretaries.
- All accounts in the Bible were included by holy spirit with a particular purpose.
- All the nuances and subtleties of the original text were important.
If we compare the present view of the members of the Governing Body with the view of C.T. Russell and the Bible students, we see a great difference — so great that we can say that the members of the Governing Body no longer believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.
I have made a thorough historical, linguistic, and theological study of this situation, which I have presented in four articles.
The articles discuss what I call “the five revolutions” in connection with belief and rejection of parts of the text of the Bible — in the 1870s, 1924, 1965, 1988, and 2015. The articles describe how the members of the Governing Body view parts of the Hebrew Bible as what I call “junk texts” — filling texts with no meaning for us, such as Song of Solomon. They show how the members of the Governing Body, in connection with the bible translation, NWT13, rejected the translation principles used by NWT84 and, in doing so, rejected the view that the nuances and subtleties of the original text are important.
For those interested, below I have prepared outlines of the four articles with references to the articles themselves.
THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE (PART I)
The article discusses what it means to believe in the full inspiration of the Bible. Based on different scriptures, the following requirements are presented:
- We must take every account literally if the context explicitly does not say that a text is figurative.
- We must believe that every account is included with a particular purpose
- We must accept that all subtleties and nuances in the text are important.
MAIN POINTS: THE BEST TRANSLATION OF 2 TIMOTEUS 3:16 IS “ALL SCRIPTURES THAT IS INSPIRED BY GOD” AND NOT “ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD.” IT IS SHOWN THAT TO RIGHTLY SAY THAT A PERSON BELIEVES IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE, THERE ARE THREE REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE FILLED:
- WE MUST TAKE EVERY ACCOUNT LITERALLY IF THE CONTEXT EXPLICITLY DOES NOT SAY THAT A TEXT IS FIGURATIVE.
- WE MUST BELIEVE THAT EVERY ACCOUNT IS INCLUDED WITH A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
- WE MUST ACCEPT THAT ALL SUBTLETIES AND NUANCES IN THE TEXT ARE IMPORTANT.
THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE SCRIPTURES THAT ARE THE BASIS FOR EACH OF THE THREE POINTS.
THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE (PART II)
The article discusses the five revolutions that has occurred among the Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses — in the 1870s, 1924, 1965, 1988, and 2015. Four revolutions had to do with the ransom sacrifice and the resurrection from the dead.
The article discusses the fourth revolution and shows how the members of the Governing Body refuse to accept what the Christian Greek Scriptures say about the resurrection. This refusal to accept the Bible’s text shows that the members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration for the Bible.
MAIN POINTS: THERE HAVE BEEN FIVE REVOLUTIONS AMONG THE BIBLE STUDENTS AND JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES — IN THE 1870s, 1924, 1945, 1988, and 2015. FOUR OF THESE ARE RELATED TO THE RANSOM SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.
THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE REVOLUTION OF 1988, WHEN THE GOVERNING BODY PUBLICLY REFUSED TO ACCEPT WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAID ABOUT THE RESURRECTION, THAT THE INHABITANTS OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH WOULD BE RESURRECTED.
THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES SCRIPTURES SHOWING THAT THE VIEW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY REGARDING THE RESURRECTION IS ERRONEOUS.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:21, 22, WHERE PAUL SAYS, CONTRARY TO THE GOVERNING BODY, THAT ALL WHO HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF INHERITED SIN WILL RECEIVE A RESURRECTION IS DISCUSSED IN DETAIL. THE WORDS OF JESUS REGARDING THE RESURRECTION OF CHORAZIN, CAPERNAUM, TYRE, SIDON, AND SODOM IN MATTHEW 11:20-24 ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL.
THE FAILURE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY TO ACCEPT THE WORDS OF PAUL AND JESUS REGARDING THE RESURRECTION SHOWS THAT THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.
THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE (PART III)
The article discusses the fifth revolution, where the members of the Governing Body, in The Watchtower of March 15, 2015, show that they do not believe that all accounts in the Bible were included with a particular purpose. This means that they, in reality, believe in biblical “junk texts.”
The Song of Solomon is such a “junk text,” and this book is discussed in detail. The article shows that the members of the Governing Body do not take numerous texts in the Hebrew Scriptures at face value. But they have transferred the authority of the Bible’s text to themselves by saying that what is important is what these texts remind the members of the Governing Body of, not their literal meaning.
By refusing to accept that all accounts in the Bible are included with a particular purpose and that the nuances and subtleties of the original text are important, they show that they do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.
MAIN POINTS: THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES WHAT I CALL “JUNK TEXT.” AN ARTICLE IN THE WATCHTOWER OF MARCH 2015 SHOWED THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ALL ACCOUNTS IN THE BIBLE WERE INCLUDED WITH A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THIS MEANS THAT MANY ACCOUNTS HAVE NO MEANING FOR US TODAY AND MUST BE CALLED “JUNK TEXTS.”
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS NEW VIEW (THE FIFTH REVOLUTION) ARE THAT 38 BOOKS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BY THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY, IN PART OR IN WHOLE, ARE PURE FICTION. HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES IN THE WATCHTOWER ARE ALSO PURE FICTION. THE 38 BOOKS ARE LISTED.
THE SONG OF SOLOMON IS VIEWED AS A “JUNK TEXT.” IT HAS 8 CHAPTERS AND 117 VERSES, AND MORE THAN 95% OF THIS TEXT IS “JUNK” — IT HAS NO MEANING AND NO PURPOSE FOR GOD’S SERVANTS, ACCORDING TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY. THIS TEXT OF THIS BOOK IS DISCUSSED IN DETAIL.
THE NEW WAY OF TREATING THE TEXT OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES, AS REMINDERS FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY INSTEAD OF FINDING THE LITERAL MEANING OF THE TEXTS, IS DISCUSSED. IT IS SHOWN THAT MOST OF THE REMINDERS THAT ARE PRESENTED BY THE GOVERNING BODY ARE PETTY STATEMENTS RATHER THAN IMPORTANT MESSAGES FROM GOD.
THE FIFTH REVOLUTION, AND THE NEW WAY OF TREATING THE TEXTS IN THE BIBLE, SHOWS THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.
THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE (PART IV)
The article discusses the New World Translation revised in 2013 (NWT13) in contrast to the original New World Translation (NWT84). The members of the Governing Body instructed the translators to produce an idiomatic translation rather than conveying all the nuances and subtleties of the original text into English. Therefore, the text of the NWT13 is a witness, showing that the members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.
MAIN POINTS: THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY REJECTED THE TRANSLATION PRINCIPLES OF THE ORIGINAL NWT84:
- ACCURATE RENDERINGS OF THE NUANCES OF GREEK, HEBEREW AND ARAMAIC VERBS.
- THE USE OF ONE ENGLISH WORD FOR FOR EACH WORD IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT WHEN THE CONTEX ALLOWS IT.
- THE EXTREME CARE TO RENDER ALL NUANCES AND SUBTLETIES IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT INTO ENGLISH.
BASED ON THE PRESENTATION OF NWT13 IN THE WATCHTOWER OF DECEMBER 15, 2015, I SHOW THAT THE NWT13 TRANSLATORS DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE HEBREW AND GREEK VERBS, AND NEITHER DID THEY UNDERSTAND THE REASONS WHY THE NWT84 TRANSLATORS RENDERED THE VERBS THE WAY THEY DID.
THE FAILURE OF RENDERING THE NUANCES AND SUBTLETIES OF THE VERBS AND OTHER WORDS IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT, HAVE LEAD TO A TRANSLATION LACKING ACCURACY. EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS LACK OF ACCURACY CONFUSE DOCTRINAL ISSUES ARE GIVEN.
NWT13 IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE SHOWING THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.
