Bridge of Reason

  The Transfiguration, Carl Bloch, 1865 In the January 2023 Study Edition of the Watchtower magazine the Watch Tower comes up with another of its quaint and awkward 'translations.' “ Be transformed by making your mind over, so that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—ROM. 12:2. They write: 'HOW often do you clean your home? Perhaps before you first moved in, you scoured it thoroughly. But what if you neglected it afterward? As you know, dust and dirt can accumulate quickly. To keep your home presentable, you need to clean it regularly. 'A similar ongoing effort is required when it comes to our thinking and our personality. Of course, before getting baptized we worked hard to make necessary changes in our life in order to “cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.” (2 Cor. 7:1) Now, though, we need to follow the apostle Paul’s counsel to “continue to be made new.” (Eph. 4:23) Why is continual effort neede...

  In their Examining the Scriptures Daily for 2022, The Watch Tower begin the year with what seems a call to reason your way into the truth: 'From infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. —2 Tim. 3:15. Timothy’s faith was built on facts that drew him closer to Jehovah. You too must logically reason on what you have learned about Jehovah from reading the Bible. To start with, you need to prove to yourself at least three basic truths. First, you need to be convinced that Jehovah God is the Creator of all things.  (Ex. 3:14, 15; Heb. 3:4; Rev. 4:11) Second, you must prove to yourself that the Bible is God’s inspired message to mankind. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) And third, you need to confirm that Jehovah has an organized group of people who are worshipping him under Christ’s headship and that Jehovah’s Witnesses are that group. (Isa. 43:10-12; John 14:6; Acts 15:14) This does not require that you be...