The Worlds Most Dangerous Book!!
Would you place you trust in a surgeon who was
about to perform a major operation on you, if he refused to give you his name
or credentials? OR ... Would you place your faith in an attorney, who was defending
you against false accusations of felony charges, if he also refused to give
you his name or credentials? We can see how important it is that we rely on
the names and credentials of those who serve us in the important aspects of
our life. As in the case of the lawyer, it is essential to know these things,
for without knowledge, we would have no assurance that he would truly and honestly
represent you. It is therefore of the utmost importance to know the men, the
credentials and the qualifications of those who we entrust our spiritual lives!!
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has failed the public at this most crucial
point, as they refuse to give their followers the names and credentials of the
Translation Committee of their Bible, The New World Translation of the Holy
Scriptures (see pg. 258 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose). This
is more important than the Watchtower Society will admit since the New World
Translation Committee has deceived many in their translation of the Bible in
the following ways:
- They have invented non-existent rules of
Greek grammar and then proceeded to follow these rules only when necessary
to support their peculiar theology. A clear example of this is John 1:1,
where the Translation Committee has rendered the Greek “and the Word was
a god”. We cite the appendix of another Watchtower publication (The Kingdom
Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, page 1158), for their footnote
concerning John 1:1:
“The reason for their rendering the Greek
word Divine and not God is that it is the Greek noun Theos without the definite
article...” May we call the Watchtower Society’s attention to verses 6,
12 and 13 (also found in the first chapter of the Gospel of John). Here
the Greek noun Theos appears without the definite article (as in John 1:1)
and yet the Translating Committee has translated each verse as (Jehovah)
God. Another example of non-existent rules followed only when needed to
support their theology is found in the forward of the afore mentioned Kingdom
Interlinear Translation (pg. 18). Here we are taught how to restore the
Divine name. We are instructed that we can render the Greek words “Kyrios”
(Lord) and “Theos” (God) into Divine name by determining if the Christian
(Greek) writers have quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).
If so, we can render “Kyrios” (Lord) and “Theos” (God) as Jehovah God. Once
again, the Watchtower “rule” is avoided by the Translation Committee as
they translate Philippians 2:11. The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23 as
he states that “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Jehovah
God (Kyrios) to the glory of God the Father.”
- The Translation Committee has made up a
Greek tense that is non-existent. We cite the 1950 edition of their “New
World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures” rendering of John 8:58
where they have translated “ego eimi” as “I have been” and state that it
is “properly rendered in the perfect indefinite tense” in the Greek language.
There is NO “perfect indefinite sense” in any language! After the Watchtower
Society was informed of this fact, they made the change to the “perfect
tense indicative” but as the Greek student knows, it is present tense and
is correctly translated “I AM” (see Exodus 3:14).
- They have added words to Scripture which
changes the meaning of the texts to agree with their theology. Notice the
Watchtower’s rendering of Colossians 1:16,17, where the word “other” has
been added four times to the text, completely changing its meaning. When
Paul wrote those passages that the Son created all things, it is obvious
that the Son was not himself created. The Watchtower, however, believes
that the Son is also a created being and has therefore added “other” - not
found in the Greek Biblical text at all - to make it appear that the Son
is also a creature. As mentioned before, the Translation Committee has added
the word “a” to John 1:1 to make the Son a creature rather than God Himself.
Take note also of the same deceitfulness displayed in Philippians 2:9 where
the word “other” is again added, when it is not found or even suggested
in the original Greek.
- The men who comprised the Translation Committee
had no adequate schooling or background to function as critical Bible translators.
The self-appointed “scholars” who made up this Translation Committee were:
N.H. Knorr, F.W. Franz, A.D. Schroeder, G.D. Gangas and M. Henschel. Aside
from the current President Franz, none of the Translation Committee members
knew Biblical Greek or Hebrew and Franz’s ability is open to serious question.
This came out in the Scottish Court Sessions in November, 1954 (just four
years after the release of the Watchtower Scriptures). The following exchange
of question and answers between the attorney and Franz is taken from the
trial transcript:
Q. Have you also made yourself familiar with
Hebrew?
A. Yes ...
Q. So that you have substantial linguistic apparatus
at your command?
A. Yes, for use in my biblical work.
Q. I think you are able to read and follow the
Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French?
A. Yes ... (Pursuer’s Proof, pg. 7)
Q. You, yourself, read and speak Hebrew, do
you?
A. I do not speak Hebrew.
Q. You do not?
A. No
Q. Can you, yourself, translate that into Hebrew?
A. Which?
Q. That fourth verse of the second chapter of
Genesis.
A. You mean here?
Q. Yes.
A. No, I wouldn’t attempt to do that. (Pursuer’s
Proof, pgs. 102,103).
What Franz failed to do was a simple exercise
which an average first or second year Hebrew student in any seminary would have
no difficulty (see further, “We left
Jehovah’s Witnesses - A non-Prophet Organization”
- Edmond C. Gruss, pg. 59-101). It is also interesting to note that no Greek
scholar with andy credentials will ednores the New World Translation.
Bill Centnar, in 1954 (while still a Jehovah’s
Witness working at Bethel), was assigned to interview a well known Bible translator,
Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed, asking him for his evaluation and recommendation of
the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Dr. Goodspeed replied: “No,
I’m afraid that I could not do that. The grammar is regrettable...”
We agree with Dr. Goodspeed and go a step further
and state that the theology brought forth in this translation is a fatal distortion
of Biblical truth. We ask you not to put your trust in such a bias translation
of Holy Scripture or in the Society that has deceived many in the writing of
it; we ask that your faith and trust be placed in the Lord Jesus Christ who
said that unless you believe that HE IS the Eternal God (Ego Eimi - “I AM”),
you will die in your sins (John 8:24). It is because of the danger of the perversion
of the New World Translation of Holy Scriptures that this warning has been written.
Our concern is for you to come to know the TRUE LORD Jesus Christ...
Let us help you discover more...
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