Please check the quotation below taken from Let Your Kingdom Come page 115.
*** kc 115 12 The "Last Days" and the Kingdom *** The First World War was one of the great convulsions of history.Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August, 1962
What the original quotation say? Well, here you are:
A full bibliography of the subject would fill a book. No other episode in history has been more documented by its participants. They seem to have known, while they lived it, that like the French Revolution, the First World War was one of the great convulsions of history, and each felt the hand of history heavily on his own shoulder.
I believe that the Society is trying to tell us another different thing. The quotation from the Kingdom Come does not say what Barbara Tuchman had in her mind. The Society wants us to believe that the major point in history was the I World War. But this lady says that the French Revolution was as important as the First War in history. Furthermore, was the discovery of fire a turning point in mankind history? What about the discovery of the wheel? And what about the discovery of the scripture? Or the JesusChrists life? Or what about the fall of roman empire? Or the discovery of America or the discovery of the printing? What about of the Industrial Revolution or the Atomic bombs or even internet? Saying that there is one major turning point in history, the First World War, is childless and useless.
From the book Reasoning will take the following:
*** rs 89 Cross *** Cross
Definition: The device on which Jesus Christ was executed is referred to by most of Christendom as a cross. The expression is drawn from the Latin crux.
Why do Watch Tower publications show Jesus on a stake with hands over his head instead of on the traditional cross?
The Greek word rendered cross in many modern Bible versions (torture stake in NW) is stauros'. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: The Greek word for cross, [stauros'], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376.
As you noted the points between ground and Even? they suspicious, are not they? Are you interested what the Imperial Bible Dictionary says? Well, keep reading:
The Greek word for cross, [stauros'], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. But a modification was introduced as the dominion and usages of Rome extended themselves through Greek speaking countries. Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole, and this always remained the more prominent part. But from the time that it began to be used as an instrument of punishment, a transverse piece of wood was commonly added: not, however, always even then. [] There can be no doubt, however, that the latter sort was the more common, and that about the period of the gospel age crucifixion was usually accomplished by suspending the criminal on a cross piece of wood.
If you continue reading the whole page they say that early chriatian as a symbol of Christ, they used to draw a cross.
You may notice that the Dictionary does not agree with the Society idea about Jesus dying in a simple pole or stake.
Continuing with the old doctrine about earthquake, we will quote the book Live on a paradise on earth.
*** pe 151 18 "The End of the World" Is at Hand! *** THERE WILL BE . . . EARTHQUAKES IN ONE PLACE AFTER ANOTHER.Matthew 24:7.
From 1914 until now, there have been many more major earthquakes than in any other like period in recorded history. For over 1,000 years, from the year 856 C.E. to 1914, there were only 24 major earthquakes, causing some 1,973,000 deaths. But in the 63 years from 1915 to 1978, a total of some 1,600,000 persons died in 43 great earthquakes.
I wrote to the International Seismological Centre in England and I sent the paragraph above and I asked the following questions:
1 According to your records, is this quotation correct?
2 Is the reason that more earthquakes are reported in recent history due to better research units such as yours?
3 According to your figures has there been an increase in earthquake activity since 1914?
4 If more people are dying today from earthquakes, is this related to the increase in world population?
Here you are the answer:
Thank you for your letter dated 1996 September 30th quoting earthquake statistics from the
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society.
First of all, the importance of World War I to seismology was that instruments and particularly
timing systems were developed so that earthquakes could be accurately located and quantified.
With this monitoring work reliable and detailed statistics on earthquakes and fatalities were derived.
Another significant fact is the huge increase in the world population in the 20th Century .As the
statistics on the occurrence of earthquakes and fata1ities before this time are less reliable than at
present and with the large changes in population, I believe it makes it impossible to make a
comparison between the numbers of events and loss of life before and after 1914.
Therefore in answer to your specific questions:-
1. I do not believe the comparison mentioned above is possible.
2. The reason for so many more earthquakes being detected is the large deployment of
seismometers presently around the world to monitor them.
3. There have been short-term increases and decreases in global seismic activity since 1914 but
over this time period it is not possible to say that there have been more or less earthquakes than the
present average.
4. It is true that many more people are living in seismic areas due to the increase in population.
Finally you ask for a source of information on major earthquakes and casualties. The Nationa1
Geophysica1 Data Center (NGDC) of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Boulder, Colorado produced a Catalog of Significant Earthquakes
2150BC-1991AD in 1992 September. This probably can be borrowed from the National Lending
Library , Boston Spa, Lincs.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony A Hughes
I do not to add anything else.
Check again this quotation in the book Reasoning:
*** rs 236 Last Days *** There will be great earthquakes (Luke 21:11)
It is true that there were major quakes in centuries past; furthermore, with their sensitive equipment scientists now detect more than a million quakes a year. But no special instruments are needed for people to know when there is a great earthquake.
Has there actually been a significant number of major earthquakes since 1914? With data obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, supplemented by a number of standard reference works, a tabulation was made in 1984 that included only earthquakes that measured 7.5 or more on the Richter scale, or that resulted in destruction of five million dollars (U.S.) or more in property, or that caused 100 or more deaths. It was calculated that there had been 856 of such earthquakes during the 2,000 years before 1914. The same tabulation showed that in just 69 years following 1914 there were 605 of such quakes. That means that, in comparison with the previous 2,000 years, the average per year has been 20 times as great since 1914.
I wrote to the National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado and ordered the catalogue from which the Society took her figures and this is what the catalogue says in the caveat:
Caveat: Erroneous statistical conclusions can be drawn from the numbers of earthquakes taken from Catalog of Significant Earthquakes, 2150 B.C. -1991 A.D. The reporting of large or destructive earthquakes is not homogeneous in space or time. particularly for periods prior to the 1900s. Because this publication mainly lists those earthquakes that have caused death or damage. the number of earthquake reports is dependent on the written history available for a particular region. as well as on the rate of development of population centers and related structures. Therefore. it is misleading to use the numbers of significant earthquakes in that publication to suggest statistically that there has been an increase in worldwide seismic activity since 1900 or for any time period The following observations must be taken into account when looking at that apparent" increase in activity:
Instrumental seismology is a young science. The first calibrated instruments to measure seismic waves travelling through the earth did not appear until the late 1800s. At that time. seismologists became aware of the vast numbers of earthquakes occurring throughout the world. but because of the insensitivity of their instruments they were able to locate only the large magnitude events.
The 1960s saw two major advances. First. a network of seismological observatories was installed by the United States Government. principally to monitor underground nuclear tests. These sensitive instruments could detect and identify earthquakes anywhere in the world from about magnitude 4.5.
Second, computers became available in the late 1960s. Computers allowed seismologists to leave inaccurate and cumbersome graphical methods of locating earthquakes. and to process the increasing volume of new network data more rapidly than ever before. Prior to 1962. on1y hundreds of earthquake epicentres were determined each year by Government and academic institutions. but the number increased to the thousands using computerized location methods. In some special local studies. more than 100.000 earthquakes per year were identified and located
In summary, using the data in Catalog of Significant Earthquakes, 2150 B.C.- 1991 A.D. to suggest that there has been an increase in worldwide earthquake activity is misleading and erroneous. The above observations and reporting factors must also be considered when making statistical studies based on that historical data report.
I believe that the Society is a Lord of Deceiving. I can not understand how there are people in her ranks.