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The following list of translators of the New World Translation is a compilation from a variety of sources: Frederick W. Franz: Main translator. Took liberal arts sequence at University of Cincinnati; 21 semester hours of classical Greek, some Latin. Partially completed a two-hour survey course in Biblical Greek in junior year; course titled "The New Testament--A course in grammar and translation." Left in spring of 1914 before completing junior year. Self-taught in Spanish, biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. Entered Brooklyn headquarters facility of Watchtower Society in 1920. Probable ghost writer for J. F. Rutherford (2nd president of WTS) from late 1920s through 1942. Vice president of WTS from 1942 to 1977, president from 1977 until death in 1992 at age 99. |
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Written by Randall Watters
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Heresy and apostasy are two very similar words. Both indicate a variance from an established faith, and can be used to describe those who have strayed from the teachings of a particular religion.
Apostasy (Greek: apostasia) implies that the one leaving the faith was at one time in accurate knowledge of the religion's belief system, and then "falls away" from it. Heresy can apply in a broader sense, applying to those who have embraced a variant of the proper belief or beliefs, whether they are aware of it or not. In other words, one could embrace heresy without actually being an apostate, or one could be both an apostate and a heretic.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Tuesday, 20 December 1983 16:00 |
 Jesus gave a pattern to follow in regards to confronting our brother or sister with regards to unconfessed sin on their part. In Matthew 18:15-18, Jesus outlines three steps to take in talking to your brother, in dealing with unrepentant sin. If the three steps prove unfruitful, he says, "Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer."
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Wednesday, 24 December 2008 10:03 |
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Steven Byington was a scholar who produced his own translation of Scripture. I have not seen his translation but am advised that it contains the name "Jehovah", whether in the New Testament, I do not know. If anyone can enlighten me about this and related matters, I would be very appreciative.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society owns the rights to Byington's translation. I do not know how this came about.
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:56 |
The NEW WORLD TRANSLATION cites 25 Hebrew versions to support 237 occurrences of "Jehovah" in the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament). This book evaluates these Hebrew versions for their suitability as reference sources for the divine name in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009 10:47 |
 It seems that a lot of us still have family members in the Watchtower religion and have frequent arguments with them about some of their controversial beliefs and practices. From my own experience and what I've heard others say, when these arguments come up, they will inevitably say something like "the bible tells us we have to preach door to door" or "where is this 'proof' that Jerusalem wasn't destroyed in 607 BCE?" or "we know Jesus did not die on a cross". There's so much information out there that you don't know where to begin. If you say "let me click on the internet to show you what I've found out", the thought stoppers implanted in their brains are triggered. After all the Internet is run by Satan himself, isn't it?. And so they decline your offer. The aim of my project is to solve this problem.
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Monday, 27 April 2009 11:39 |
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Review of New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures - A Watchtower Society Publication with Commentary and Notes By Dr. Stanford E. Murrell - A Non Watchtower Society Member - SEE WEBSITE
Introductory Summary - Jehovah Witnesses
The history of the Jehovah Witnesses is a recent history being traced back no further than to Charles Taze Russell, born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania on February 16, 1852. A sensitive youth with an inquiring mind, Russell was deeply troubled by the Biblical doctrine on hell. He became a religious skeptic at the age of 17, but not for long.
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Sunday, 31 January 2010 12:28 |
The August 1, 2008 Watchtower magazine article: Should the Name JEHOVAH Appear in the New Testament?
Historic background—The New World Translation Committee's reason for using "Jehovah" in the Greek Scriptures
When the New World Translation Christian Greek Scriptures was released in 1950, the New World Translation Committee published their reason for including the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Their explanation was necessary inasmuch as the Tetragrammaton—the four Hebrew letters of the divine name written as יהוה—never appears in the Greek text from which the NWT Christian Scriptures was translated.[1]
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Written by Randall Watters
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 11:26 |
There are a number of religious groups claiming to be Christian that deny the celebration of holidays to their members, including Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Mother's Day, etc. This is especially the case with Jehovah's Witnesses. While there are some Witnesses who celebrate these holidays secretly for fear of being caught, most take pride in this prohibition. Parents are willing to allow their children to suffer much peer pressure and isolation, and are perfectly willing to isolate themselves from their families during holiday times, even taking the opportunity to go door-to-door during these seasons of celebration. What are the reasons given for this stand against holidays? Is it wrong to celebrate holidays?
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 12:26 |
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The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS) has inserted numerous changes into a proper translation of the Bible in an effort to validate the non-Christian doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs). Consequently, they claim that their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is superior to all others.
In the examples below, the New International Version of the Holy Bible (New York International Bible Society, c. 1978) has been used to depict a correct translation in the first quotation. (The translators' choice of words is further verified by highly similar renditions in the King James Version, Revised Standard Version and New American Standard Bible.)
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Written by Randall Watters
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Tuesday, 16 January 1996 00:00 |
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"How can I interpret this passage?" we ask. Can most passages in the Bible be interpreted any number of ways? Were the parables of Jesus meant to be rich with hidden allegories and detailed significance? Are there no grammatical rules for interpreting the Bible?
Yes, there are. They are basically the same rules used to determine the historical significance of any ancient document that has become obscure due to changes in culture, ethics and philosophy. They are the same basic rules that we would follow to determine the meaning of the writings of Shakespeare, Aesop, Plato or Hippocrates. When a person uses these rules to determine the meaning of ancient or even contemporary documents, it is called hermeneutics. When these rules are applied to interpreting the Bible, we call it hermeneutic theology.
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Friday, 16 January 2009 15:45 |
from: Steve McRoberts
to: Teaching Committee at Bethel headquarters, 124 Columbia Hts, Brooklyn, NY
Teaching Committee
Dear Brothers:
I must first of all apologize for the length of this letter, I feel, however, that the complexities of the subject herein presented necessitates this length.
The purpose of my writing is to hopefully accomplish some good. It was stated at the breakfast table one morning that this committee desired to hear such observations from the brothers as; 'We are not benefiting too much from the Monday night Watchtower study.' Acting under this premise, I wish to here set forth my observations regarding the society in the manner of constructive criticism. In doing this my sole purpose is to be helpful, I am not here attempting to tear down the society; I would say nothing at all if I though it would not be in some way beneficial.
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 10:50 |
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A recent Watchtower Magazine (May 1, 2002) addresses a question that we thought would be interesting to cover. In the section titled, Questions from Readers the magazine answers the question, “When John saw the ‘great crowd’ rendering sacred service in Jehovah’s Temple, in which part of the temple were they doing this? -Revelation 7:9-15”
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WT) teaches that there are two classes of Christians, the anointed, numbered at 144,000, and the other sheep, which is an innumerable “great crowd.” The anointed serve Jehovah in the sanctuary of the temple (heaven) while the great crowd is said to serve Him in the outer courts of the temple (on earth).
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Written by Dr. Robert Morey
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Saturday, 17 January 2009 12:38 |
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When God created man in His own image, He gave man a holistic outlook on life. This world-and-life view was a system of thought in which Adam and Eve were able to see all of life from God's perspective. They could interpret all of reality in its proper meaning and significance. This original creation world-and-life view was internally and externally consistent, harmonious, satisfying and complete. Since it was internally satisfying, Adam and Eve experienced intellectual and aesthetic pleasure as they interpreted the world around them. From the stand point of this comprehensive world-and-life view, Adam was able to name all the animals (Gen.2:20). Prior to the fall, then, Adam had an "answer" for everything he experienced in life.
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Written by Randall Watters
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Tuesday, 14 July 1992 00:00 |
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Free Minds, Inc.
July 14, 1992
Dear friend,
Thank you for your letter and inquiry regarding my stand on inerrancy. I will say that my main quarrel with the inerrancy theory is that it is not a biblical doctrine (being established much later, after the canonization of the Bible around 400 A.D.) and that the geological and historical record offers some serious contradictions with the timing and order of the events in the book of Genesis. I also do not believe that the events of Revelation were written to be fulfilled in our day, but were meant to apply to the first and second century. Since I am kind of a history buff regarding the early church, this is a matter of honesty to me in representing the Bible.
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Sunday, 06 September 2009 07:26 |
Watch this professionaly created short movie discussing the claims the Watchtower makes about its preaching activity.
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