The New World Translation: A Trust-worthy "Bible”?
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- I agree with most of the article. But (Elohim, Adonai, Father, God, Lord, etc.) are not names but titles. Time for you to go back to english class.
What is God’s name?
Our family members all have personal names. Even pets have names! Wouldn’t it be reasonable for God to have a name? In the Bible, God has many titles, such as God Almighty, Sovereign Lord, and Creator, but he also has a personal name.—Read Isaiah 42:8.
Many translations of the Bible contain God’s personal name at Psalm 83:18. For example, in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, that verse says: “You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
Why should we use God’s name?
God wants us to use his personal name. We use personal names when we talk with those we love, such as our close friends—especially if they invite us to do so. Should it be different when it comes to talking with God? Furthermore, Jesus Christ encouraged the use of God’s name.—Read Matthew 6:9; John 17:26.
However, to be God’s friend, we need to know more about him than just his name. For instance, what is God like? Is it really possible to get close to God? You can find the answers to those questions in the Bible.
“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”
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Biblical Free-Thinking Posters,
Come listen in on a conversation of a sincere Bible believer with a JW:
John 1: 1, which in Greek is theos en ho logos. The A.V. translation of this clause is "the Word was God." But these words are translated in the New World Translation as "the Word was a god." Could this verse means "the Word was divine"? This is the translation given by Goodspeed and Moffatt, quoted approvingly in the New World Translation (p. 773). But the Greek word for "divine" is theios, not theos.
The abstract nouns formed from these words, theiotes (divinity) and theotes (deity), are NOT of the same meaning. These words have been distinguished by the Greek writers Plato and Plutarch. They differ in meaning in Paul, who uses both words once.
- In Rom. 1: 20 he uses theiotes (divinity).
- In Col. 2: 9, theotes (deity); i.e.
- God's divine attributes are revealed in nature, but "the fulness of the deity dwells bodily" in Christ.
In Col. 2: 9, the New World Translation mistranslates theotes as "divine quality".
- The marginal references misdirect to Acts 17: 29, where theios is used.
Rom. 1: 20, where theiotes, is used.
- If John had wanted to say "the Word was divine," he would have used theios and not theos.
How did the "Circuit Minister" of the JWs respond? In typical JW fashion, he said:
It depends very much on the difference in meaning between four Greek words. However, checking Strong's Concordance, we do not find such a difference to exist.
- For theos, the concordance allows "a deity, especially the supreme Divinity".
- for theios, "godlike, divine"
- for theotes "divinity"
- for theiotes, again "divinity"
The questioner speaks about the difference between "divinity" and "deity" and says the Greek philosophers showed they differed in meaning. But in the Oxford Concise Dictionary, for "deity" " it gives "Divine status, quality or nature; a god," and for "divinity," it gives, "Being divine, godhood; a god." So this questioner's rather complicated and detailed argument is not supported by all authorities.
Do I need to tell you the Circuit Minister ignored the argument entirely? No scholar would accept Strong's Concordance as an authority on Greek usage. The reference to the Oxford Concise Dictionary is entirely irrelevant because the meaning of English words is not in question. So the argument remains unanswered.
Let's see if this Circuit Minister, @BroRando, would like to answer the situation above. Will it be more of the same or another website dump of unrelated-convoluted materials? I have as much hope @BroRando is answering as the JW believers on the fulfillment of their 1914 Prophecy. CM
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it gives "Divine status, quality or nature; a god," and for "divinity," it gives, "Being divine, godhood; a god."
Strong's Concordance
theotés: deity
Original Word: θεότης, ητος, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: theotés
Phonetic Spelling: (theh-ot'-ace)
Definition: deity
Usage: deity, Godhead.
The Apostle John revokes the definiate article from theos to render the feminine noun (a god).
Strong's Concordance
theos: God, a god
Original Word: θεός, οῦ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine; Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: theos
Phonetic Spelling: (theh'-os)
Definition: God, a god
Usage: (a) God, (b) a god, generally.
In the beginning was the Word...
Strong's Concordance
arché: beginning, origin
Original Word: ἀρχή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: arché
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-khay')
Definition: beginning, origin
Usage: (a) rule (kingly or magisterial), (b) plur: in a quasi-personal sense, almost: rulers, magistrates, (c) beginning.
HELPS Word-studies
746 arxḗ – properly, from the beginning (temporal sense), i.e. "the initial (starting) point"; (figuratively) what comes first and therefore is chief (foremost), i.e. has the priority because ahead of the rest ("preeminent").
Do you beleive in grace?? Jehovah Witness do! Jesus is the personification of Grace...
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
For by {Jesus Christ} are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Strong's Concordance
pistis: faith, faithfulness
Original Word: πίστις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis'-tis)
Definition: faith, faithfulness
Usage: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.
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Greek word for Grace is: ◄ 5485. charis ► Ephesians 2:8
Strong's Concordance
charis: grace, kindness
Original Word: χάρις, ιτος, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: charis
Phonetic Spelling: (khar'-ece)
Definition: grace, kindness
Usage: (a) grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, (b) favor, (c) gratitude, thanks, (d) a favor, kindness.
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The NWT is riddled with mistakes, insertions, mistranslations, inaccuracies, interpretations instead of translations, redefined words, bias, etc. e.g.
- The NWT translators rendered the words kurios and theos in very many places with Jehovah. They justify this action by saying the reading of the tetragrammaton in medieval and renaissance translations into Hebrew of our Greek New Testament is for the establishment of the original reading is not so.
- They tried to render important Greek words by one English equivalent wherever they occur. Therefore, one would find in many places in the NWT strange and awkward expressions, such as:
- "So they stumble at him" (Matt. 13:57).
- "Then also many will be" (Matt. 24:10).
- "And responsively Peter said" (Mark 9:5).
- "in the bosom position with Him" (Luke 16:23).
- "Lazarus in the bosom position with Him" (Luke 16:23).
- "Lazarus in the bosom position with Him" (Luke 16:23).
- There are cases where the rendering is inaccurate:
- Matt. 27:52: "And memorial tombs were opened and many bodies of the holy ones had fallen asleep were thrown up (and persons, coming out from among the memorial tombs after his being raised up, entered into the holy city), and they became visible to many people."
- Footnotes add:
- "raised up" as an alternative for "thrown up."
- "they"; but not "the bodies."
- The word is used of Christ later in the passage, where it is correctly rendered "raised up."
- There are cases where the rendering is inaccurate:
- The inaccurate rendering of John 1:1: "The Word a god".
- Monotheism of the Jews and the nature oftheir charges against the Christians writer could ever conceive such an expression. It carries the oder pagan polytheism and add strength to Jewish anti-Christian argument.
- The NWT failed to keep in focused the context and the passages of Genesis -- attributes Divine power to the Word. In the sentence theos is simply the predicate and none of the arguments advanced in the long note in the appendix don't amount to "a hill of beans." This isn't a perfectly normal Greek usage identifying the Word with God. Some may see this as an "odium theologicum" [The Latin phrase, literally meaning "theological hatred", is the name given to the particular rancour and hatred generated by disputes over theology].
- The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell explained above term as:
"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion". "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish'" in Unpopular Essays 1950.
To further illustrate the latin term above read The poem, “Odium Theologicum” by Foss (1858-1911). See sources.
Not giving an atheist the last word, in the NWT of John 8:58, "Before Abraham came into existence, I have been", and the note to that accompanied it, may astonished some. Anyone else would translate ego eimi as "I am", but it is rejected by the translators, although the echo of Exod. 3:14 is the climax and the explanation of the Jewish reaction.
The above examples show NWT to be of poor quality. Mainly because it is biased, in the extreme. CM
SOURCES:
P. Benoit, "The Holy Eucharist-II", Scripture, IX, 1957, pp 5ff
The poem, “Odium Theologicum” by Sam Walter Foss as published on the internet: http://holyjoe.org/poetry/foss.htm
PS. The poem may be of great interest to @Bill_Coley's taste. CM😀
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@C Mc predicted:
PS. The poem may be of great interest to @Bill_Coley's taste.
An insightful prediction, CM. Thanks.
Perhaps in these forums we should discuss the equine more than the divine. After all, who's ever accused someone of holding to an "appalling" horseology?
Post edited by Bill_Coley on -
It should be noted that trintarians who deny the Dvivinty of Christ in (Rev20:13) Also reject the personfication of Grace. The claim of "begin Saved By Grace" is simply a con to fool the novice since the trinity is nowhere in Bible.
This scripture is denied by trinitarians and atheists because thay don't beleive in the divine power that Jesus is the Resurrection. They will looke crossed eye at you with their three heads and spew demonic propagand that hell is eternal and Jesus has no powere to empty Hell. They also claim "works' is worthless so why do them. Yet, they were judged every man according to their works.
When a false christian see this, all of sudden they stop mentioning Grace. I wonder why? Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Greek word for Grace is: ◄ 5485. charis ► Ephesians 2:8
Strong's Concordance
charis: grace, kindness
Original Word: χάρις, ιτος, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: charis
Phonetic Spelling: (khar'-ece)
Definition: grace, kindness
Usage: (a) grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, (b) favor, (c) gratitude, thanks, (d) a favor, kindness.
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Brethren,
Let's not forget the source of this destructive, "religious" body: The NEW WORLD TRANSLATION BIBLE.
Proof the NWT can't be trusted. Unfortunately, there is much more... CM
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I think nearly all major translations come from true scholars with godly hearts, who poured their all prayerfully into authentically translating the Bible.
Not so with the NWT.
While, I do not consider the NWT to be a major translation on par with most others, I do agree with Gordon Fee in his book, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. He refers to the New World translation as being an "extremely literal translation" filled with "heretical doctrines".
An analysis of NWT scholarship is here:
Here is the twisted up Watchtower "anointed" responses to revealed translation corruption:
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/new-world-translation-accurate/
More on NWT as untrustworthy here:
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@BroRando, when it comes to interpretation of the Bible
The WBTS claims that its Governing Body, its highest administrative authority, is the “faithful and discreet slave” mentioned in Matthew 24:45 (New World Translation). It considers itself and its publications the only legitimate channel of directly inspired leadership and the only totally correct interpreters of Scripture in the world today. Thus, the Governing Body says that only WBTS literature is reliable and can be trusted to interpret the Bible correctly.
All Christian churches, their teachers, writers, and preachers are regarded as part of the evil world system, under the control of Satan. Their interpretations are thus dismissed as flawed, corrupted, and distorted, and are never consulted except to confirm WBTS teachings?
Well? What say ye? CM
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JWs Twisted Scripture
When it comes to 2 Corinthians 11:4, Cult leaders often preach “another Jesus.” For instance:
- Reverend Sun Myung Moon teaches that Jesus was the second Adam who only partially succeeded at His mission; thus, Rev. Moon must complete it.
- Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist (aka Christian Science), wrote of Jesus as a divine being who only appeared to have a physical body.
- Victor Paul Wierwille, the founder of The Way International, rejected the preexistence of Jesus and taught that Jesus was a man with a fallen nature, yet without sin.
Charles Taze Russell, the architect of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (aka Jehovah’s Witnesses), taught that the pre-incarnate Jesus was the archangel Michael, the first of God’s creation. The heresy = Jesus is "the first of God’s creation. See my posts (@C Mc) on "Michael".
- Mormonism teaches that Jesus was the first and mightiest spirit son of God and the brother of all the other spirits who would eventually become humans on earth. Followers of the Word-Faith embrace a belief that Jesus was born again after His death and descent into hell.
- New Age gurus espouse a Jesus who was a great world teacher for His age, but they believe that a new world teacher is about to appear. To accept another Jesus is tantamount to receiving “another spirit” and “another gospel.” The authentic gospel is the free offer of salvation to all who believe.
SOURCE:
- Roberts, P. R. (2007). Are Scientology and the Bible Compatible? In T. Cabal, C. O. Brand, E. R. Clendenen, P. Copan, & J. P. Moreland (Eds.), The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (p. 1748). Holman Bible Publishers.
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The pallid, dying hand of the JayDub
Throws a rock hoping to break a window in the House of God
Flinging in a hook hidden in false promises of Paradise
Drawing souls from the ark of safety tp drown in the murky dark waters of the Watchtower.
They fail.
[Crossed posted somewhere else, because I don't know how to link to other locations and the hook of death found in the post above was also found elsewhere. ]
