Unlearning the Learned

It is my custom, after my morning prayers, to read JW’s daily Examining the Scriptures, read the Kingdom Interlinear, when available.  and I look not only at the New World Translation scriptures quoted but also those of the Kingdom Interlinear.  In addition, I also scan the   American Standard, King James and Byington versions quoted by the Watchtower publications for comparison purposes.

It soon became obvious to me that NWT does not always follow what is written in the Kingdom Interlinear or the scriptures quoted by the various bibles used as comparisons by JW.

Once I began a follower of  Beroean Pickets and listened to the participants stories and their experiences and observations, I felt inspired and encouraged to do my own research.  Like others, I wondered how much that I considered as “The Truth” was based solely on the NWT bible.

I didn’t know how to begin my search until I realized I did have a starting point. – JW’s Examining the Scriptures.   I felt relieved as looking at the whole Bible without a reference point was just too daunting.

I take the scriptures in NWT, then check them against the Berean Study Bible (BSB) and the American English Bible (AEB) aka The Septuagint and compare them against the NWT quotes.  Where needed, I then go to Biblehub.com which contains 23 bible versions and all you need to do is enter the scripture you wish to research, and it will show you how each bible version reads.

What this has accomplished for me is that I am able to now quickly establish what is The Truth.

Here is an example of one of the scriptures that I used as a comparison between the NWT, BSB and AEB translations:

Ephesians 1:8

 NWT: “This undeserved kindness he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding.”

BSB: “…that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

AEB: “[and that we have received] such an abundance of wisdom and good sense.”

On reviewing this scripture on Biblehub.com and the many bible translations it features, not one of them refers to God’s grace as “undeserved kindness” as stated in NWT.

Whenever this scripture would come up in the Watchtower or talks, I felt inadequate and as NWT stated, did not deserve the attention God gave to me.   I don’t know how it affected others as I couldn’t even bring myself to ask.  It was a huge relief to me that it turns out not to be true.

Why, I wonder, were we taught that we don’t deserve God’s kindness?  Is it that JW believes that as long as we believe His kindness is undeserved, we will try harder?

Elpida

I am not a Jehovah's Witness, but I studied and have attended the Wednesday and Sunday's meetings and the Memorials since about 2008. I wanted to understand the Bible better after reading it many times from cover to cover. However, like the Beroeans, I check my facts and the more I understood, the more I realized that not only did I not feel comfortable at the meetings but some things just didn't make sense to me. I used to raise my hand to comment until one Sunday, the Elder corrected me publicly that I should not be using my own words but those written in the article. I couldn't do it as I don't think like the Witnesses. I don't accept things as fact without checking them out. What really bothered me were the Memorials as I believe that, according to Jesus, we should partake anytime we want to, not just once a year; otherwise, he would have been specific and said on the anniversary of my death, etc. I find Jesus spoke personally and passionately to people of all races and colour, whether they were educated or not. Once I saw the changes made to God's and Jesus' words, it really upset me as God told us not to add or alter His Word. To correct God, and to correct Jesus, the Anointed, is devastating to me. God's Word should only be translated, not interpreted.