what's your take on this?

stillin

why is the weekly "book study" now called the weekly
Bible study?" In terms of sheer word count, there is a lot more "book" studied than "Bible." The questions aren't "What does this scripture seem to mean?" or "Why is this scripture brought to our attention?" The questions are looking for answers found in...the book. Somebody pointed out that the Society has gone back and forth on this a couple of times, and you are considered slow if you still refer to it as a 'book study" but even if we actually do learn something from the Bible while at the book study, make no mistake, we learned it in this book!

sir82

"Bible Study" looks a lot less cult-like when advertised on handbills and on the plaques displaying meeting times in front of the Kingdom Hall.

snowbird

The "Bible" part is to make them look sane.

Sylvia

minimus

They call it that now?

It's called mumbo jumbo.

stillin

it seems like some sort of denial is at work amongst the brethren...

OUTLAW

There never was a Bible Study..LOL!!

Jehovah`s Witness`s study WBT$ books about the Bible.

There never has and there never will be,a Jehovah`s Witness Bible Study..

................................. ...OUTLAW

stillin

well, keeping up with the weekly school reading could be considered "Bible study." The chapters in the "All Scripture" book, considered when we (they) move into another Bible book, are informative and could be said to actually focus on the Bible, but a book studied should be called a "Book study" it seems. I'm really not obsessing over this, it just seems odd.

sd-7

well, keeping up with the weekly school reading could be considered "Bible study." The chapters in the "All Scripture" book, considered when we (they) move into another Bible book, are informative and could be said to actually focus on the Bible,

Well, that's true, to an extent. But much of the Bible highlights/All Scripture stuff is a bird's-eye view kind of approach. There isn't a serious verse-by-verse consideration that actually occurs at the meetings, even though Bible reading is encouraged. There is plenty of useful historical data in the All Scripture book, though. That may be about as close to studying the Bible itself as it comes at the meetings. But the majority of the time is spent in other books, not the Bible, in the long run. And WT reasonings are placed on every verse considered anyway, so it becomes a moot point, doesn't it?

sd-7

But clearly, changing the name of the 'book study' to the 'Bible study', while changing nothing about how the meeting takes place save how long it is, is pointless. You're still studying the book--most of the time is devoted to understanding the Bible AS IT RELATES TO WHAT THE BOOK SAYS. It's a scatter-shot approach to scripture that provides plenty of individual verses to devote to memory, but not a deep understanding of the verses in their context.

Moreover, the statements made in whatever book is being studied are regarded as absolute truth, as if the book itself WAS the Bible rather than merely an attempt at explaining it as it relates to a particular theme under consideration. That's where the line blurs between Bible and book. Even if you saw something in your Bible that clearly shows the book is wrong, you go with what the book says or else. The questions are in one direction--towards you. Any questions you have must be put aside until the lesson has been fully discussed, by which time you will hopefully have forgotten them 'if all goes according to plan'.

So, there you have it. That's my take.

what's your take on this?

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