When I was a practicing Roman Catholic, I used a rosary to say my prayers to God. This consisted of saying 10 "Hail Mary" prayers and then 1 "Lord’s Prayer", and this I would repeat throughout the whole rosary. When done in Church surroundings, the whole congregation would all say aloud the same thing as I did. I don’t know about anybody else, but I really just repeated from memory exactly the prayer I had been taught. I never gave any thought to what I was saying.
When I started studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses and got the understanding of the Holy Scriptures, I was happy and thought I finally knew what I was missing. I attended the Wednesday theocratic meetings as well as the Watchtower meetings on Sundays. Once I understood what the theocratic meetings were all about, I found I was not comfortable with them. We were being told what to exactly say to the people we would meet door-to-door. I again felt like I was repeating the rosary. It may not have been the repeated prayers but it felt the same.
I eventually only attended the Sunday Watchtower meetings. My general attitude had become one of going through the motions, listening to others as they worded their answers according to the Watchtower’s ‘guidance’. Inevitably, after every one of my attendances, I couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled. Something was missing.
Then came the day I learned about Beroean Pickets and started attending the Sunday Zoom meetings where specific Bible chapters are discussed. I was absolutely thrilled to hear my Christian brothers and sisters being so passionate about what they are learning and understanding. These meetings have done so much for me in understanding the Holy Scriptures. Contrary to what I had come to know as to how I should behave, no such restrictions are placed at the Beroeans’ meetings.
CONCLUSION: Until today, I was searching for a title to explain how unhindered Christians, free of interference, can truly worship. Today’s JW scripture made it perfectly clear to me. By stifling people, you take away enthusiasm and passion. What I am having the privilege of experiencing now is the freedom of unhindered devotion. In JW’s January 21, 2021 message, it asks how can we show support for the organization that Jehovah is using? However, according to the Holy Scriptures, Jehovah’s support for us is through His Son.
NWT 1 Timothy 2:5, 6
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all."
It seems that Jehovah's Witnesses are implying that they are the mediator. Isn’t that a contradiction?
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Comment by Fani on 2021-01-22 05:07:08
Merci Elpida
Oui comme dit le verset qui précède ” Exprimez votre reconnaissance pour tout. C’est là ce que Dieu attend de vous qui êtes en union avec Christ Jésus”
Paul parle de notre union avec Christ qui est la base de notre culte.
Est ce volontaire, la Traduction du Monde Nouveau dit au verset 23 "...Et que l’esprit, l’âme et le corps du GROUPE QUE VOUS FORMEZ soient gardés irréprochables".
Je n'ai trouvé aucune traduction qui employait le terme de groupe. Dans l'interlineaire non plus, je n'ai pas trouvé un terme grec qui correspondait.
Je ne vois que l'idée de complétude.
Même si l'idée que l'ensemble des chrétiens qui se réunissent pour le culte peut être concerné, est ce que c'est juste de rajouter ”le groupe que vous formez" dans le verset 23 ?
Y a t'il réellement une référence au texte grec ?
Est ce que certains peuvent me faire connaître le fruit de leurs recherches ?
Bonne journée à tous
NicoleReply by Frankie on 2021-01-22 18:02:46
Hi Nicole,
I noticed your call, so I will try to share my information with you.
This is the text of your interest:
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV)
Paul prays here for Thessalonians in order they will be sanctified by God completely, as a whole. In this connection there are two parts of text:
- whole
- spirit, soul and body
The division of human nature into spirit, soul and body used the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophers in that time.
You certainly noticed that the word "body" in Greek is "sóma", Strong 4983 - the physical body. It is used also used figuratively of the mystical Body of Christ (= the Church, the one people of God).
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At that time the notion prevailed among the rabbis, as well as the philosophers, that the person of a man was constituted of three distinct substances; 1st, the rational spirit, which survives the death of the body, and is immortal; 2d, the animal soul, which man has in common with the beasts, and which dies with the body; and, 3d, the visible body.
Paul used might use the popular language to which the Thessalonians were accustomed, without adopting the philosophy on which that language was founded: consequently that it is not necessary to consider him as intending more by his prayer than that the Thessalonian believers might be thoroughly sanctified, of how many constituent parts soever their nature consisted.
[Benson Commentary]
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Let's compare the two renderings:
- and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept (ESV)
- and may the spirit, soul and body of the GROUP YOU FORM be kept (NWT)
We can clearly see the WT manipulation here.
The word whole, or entire (holokleron in Greek) is omitted and "of the group you form" is added to word body. Apparently they took advantage of the fact that the word "body" can be used in a broader sense and therefore they deleted the word "whole" in order to add the phrase "of the GROUP YOU FORM". This is the eisegesis method typical for WT (I think they did it because of verses 11-13).
I didn't find the word "GROUP" anywhere. The word "body" is used in some texts in Bible for group of people, for example in Romans 12:5 - "group" of Christians form the body of Christ.
However, with respect to context of entire chapter 5 and considering the historical background presented in Benson Commentary (and also by other Bible commentators) I think that Paul used the word "body" literally, together with other components of human nature - spirit and soul, merely to speak in common and popular language.
The Paul's prayer is intended to individual Christians in Thessaloniki. In my opinion, the point is: "you, Thessalonians, keep blameless yourself in you entirety, completely”. The NWT translation does not make sense because it mentions the spirit and soul of an individual person together with a group of people. So I ask: "Does a group of people have a soul"?
This is my view. God bless you Nicole.
FrankieReply by Fani on 2021-01-23 07:18:04
Merci beaucoup Frankie.
Je suis d'accord avec ce que tu as exposé.
Reply by Elpida on 2021-01-23 16:45:13
Thank you, Frankie.