Bridge of Reason

  Image by Andrea Don, Pixabay When Jesus began his ministry it was the kingdom of God that formed the substance of his preaching. ‘ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.’ ( Mark 1:14, 15 ESV) In last week’s Watchtower Wednesday I drew attention to the Watchtower teaching on the Kingdom of God . They use this text to show they understand the good news Jesus preached was the good news of the kingdom. Nothing controversial in this, the message of the New Testament is a kingdom message. They say: 'Jesus Christ said that the Kingdom of God * was “at hand,” or had “drawn near,” because he, as the future King of that Kingdom, was present on the scene.’ The Kingdom The asterisk pulls up a box in which we find their definition of kingdom: ‘ The Kingdom of God is the government in heaven established by God to accomplish his will for the e...

In my last Watchtower Wednesday I pointed to an article on the Watchtower website in which they address this question of Bible accuracy. They offer seven principles by which to test the accuracy of a Bible translation. We will look at how the New World Translation, and Watchtower Society itself, stands up when put to their own test. 1. Context ‘ A ny author can appear to contradict himself if his words are taken out of context.’ You may know that Jehovah’s Witnesses insist Jehovah has an organisation . Yet Charles Russell solemnly warns his Bible students: ‘ Beware of ‘organization.’ It is wholly unnecessary. The bible rules will be the onlyrules you will need. Do not seek to bind others’ consciences...and do not permit others to bind yours. Believe and obey as far as you can understand God’s Word today…’ (Watchtower, Sept.15, 1892, p.216) ‘ ...it is plain that the forming of a visible organisation of such gathered out ones would be out of harmony with the spirit of the ...

  On last week’s Watchtower Wednesday on our Facebook page I pointed to an article on jw.org addressing the question of misinformation, fake news . The Watchtower say: 'Today, you have access to more information than ever, including the kind that can help you stay safe and healthy. But in your search, you need to beware of misinformation, such as: Misleading news, False reports, Conspiracy theories. How can you protect yourself from misleading information and conspiracy theories?’ I asked how you might use the article in a discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness. T he question is, if we applied this advice to the Watchtower Society what would we find? How might we introduce it into our witnessing? It is a very helpful article with a lot of sound, biblical advice – if it is applied honestly. But how does the Watchtower Society fair when put to its own test? The y give several thoughtful helps: Don’t believe everything you see or hear Evaluate the source and content Be...

There is something ugly about the prophesies of the cults. I don’t mean the fact that they raise people’s hopes only to dash them. We have seen this all too often. I mean the way these prophesies detract people from what really matters, so what really matters catches us napping. We have all seen the lists of failed and altered Watchtower prophesies . The Mormon Church has its own problems in the failed and altered prophesies of Joseph Smith . It is an ugly business. The Christian Church has form when it comes to false prophecy , from the Montanists, through the Anabaptists, to some of today’s Charismatic/Restorationist leaders. Charismatic Christians have recently had to deal with an abundance of false prophesies, with some self-styled prophets issuing apologies and taking flak for doing it. A whole industry has grown around the apocalyptic, From Hal Lindsey’s much revised The Late Great Planet Earth, to the Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ Left Behind books. It is miraculous that th...

I am going to stick my neck out here and assume I am not by any means the only one to recognise a distinct lack of beauty and poetry in the New World Translation. I would go further and suggest utilitarianism is the guiding light of its ‘translators.’ In short, they abuse the language and the label 'translator.' Are they so incapable of appreciating the higher arts that clunky and mechanical seems to them to be art? Blessed are the Meek I am thumbing through their Examining the Scriptures Daily, 2020 edition, and verses jump out at me as I think, ‘My Bible doesn’t say that!’ Here is an example from January 17: ‘ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ Mt.5:5 ESV ‘ Happy are the mild-tempered, for they shall inherit the earth.’ Mt.5:5 NWT ‘ Meek’ here is the Greek praus (prah-oos) and is variously translated ‘ meek, gentle, kind, forgiving, mild, benevolent, humane, humble, considerate.’ It identifies the positive moral quality of dealing with p...