by lyfe 2 Replies latest watchtower bible
Hi All,
I'm looking for a bit of help. I'm in the process of reviewing the following three JW publications:
* The Watchtower No2. 2016 Why did Jesus Suffer and Die (this is the publication I am unable to find much information online)
* Was Life Created 2010 copy
* Awake No2. 2016 Is the Bible Just a Good Book?
I'm looking for critical detailed reviews with supporting evidence for or against.
I would appreciate any information you can share?
Thank you in Advance fo any feedback.
Welcome to the forum lyfe.
Perhaps you could be more specific?
lyfe,
(1) Why Did Jesus Suffer and Die? The idea of a substitutionary death comes from the fertile imagination of Paul (the NT's earliest writer). The writers of John's Gospel (written about 60 years after Jesus' death and about 30 years after Paul's death) evolved the Jesus story, saying that one only needed to believe in Jesus, with no requirement for any death. There was any number of followers of Jesus, some of whoim agreed with Paul's imaginings and opinions, and many others who did not agree. The only reason that the Pauline Church triumphed was that it was appointed as the official State religion by Constantine (no doubt urged by his mother Helena - see her Wikipedia entry).
(2) Was life created? Is God alive? Who created his life?
(3) The Bible (and there is any number of versions) that the Watchtower uses was formed by the Trinitarian Church of the 4th century. The Bible is not inspired. A person might believe (hope) that individual documents were inspired (scholars prefer the term inscripturation, given the innumerable corruptions) but the decsion on which writings to include took centuries, and even today there is no unanimous agreement. So ask why the WTS accepts Christendom's Bible(s) and also ask why Christianity uses the Jews' sacred writings. Of course one should argue that the NT is also an assemblage of Jewish documents, although Luke/Acts and the Pastoral Epistles might not be Jewish; I am not certain regarding the document that was written last - 2 Peter, which was written about 125 CE. (Paul did not write Colossians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, or Hebrews).
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The invisible features that underlie Pauline Christianity consist in an elaborate doctrinal construct developed by Paul’s fertile mind on the subject of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Compared to his vision, the theology of the Synoptic Gospels and of the Acts of the Apostles appears primitive, but Paul finds his match in John’s superb mystical portrait of the superhuman Christ.
Deep familiarity with Judaism and at least a superficial acquaintance with classical culture, linked to a powerful spiritual imagination, enabled Paul to re-use the Jewish religious concepts … and create out of these elements an impressive doctrinal synthesis in which Christ was depicted as the final Saviour. (Christian Beginnings, page 99, by Geza Vermes)-----------
Doug
