by pixel 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
S & R wow....... the religion I grew up in would not have once said this.... shameful.
My goodness no one needed to tell us to give Bibles out.....😳😳. You know I think this, more than any single change I've seen, makes the widest bridge to the religion I knew. It really is a different religion.
I think it is understandable they don't want to indiscrimately give them away at the cart witnessing, where some of them might be picked up by someone and then thrown away. I'm sure they are one of the most expensive books that the WT produces. On the other hand, at least where I live (midwest US), most people have some type of device nowadays to use the online version (I haven't seen a JW use a real Bible in quite a while), but in lots of other countries that isn't the case. Having devices and cell/internet access is a luxury for the rich. Having a physical Bible in their language is more significant to those in less developed countries.
The WT is not the largest distributor of bibles, nor the most prolific translator.
road to nowhere : The WT is not the largest distributor of bibles, nor the most prolific translator.
The website claims that more than 240 million copies of the NWT have been published in whole or in part in over 210 languages.
Have any Bible distributors and/or translations surpassed this? Whether that is the case or not, it does indicate their primary interest in Bible translation and distribution.
Wikipedia
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. As of September 2020 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,551 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,160 other languages. Thus at least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,415 languages.[1]
Thanks for that reference, road to nowhere. Those figures doubtless include the translations done by Jehovah's Witnesses and all other translators. But my question was whether any translator - a church, a Bible Society, an evangelical printing house etc. - were more prolific than JWs as you claimed.
I noticed that the silver (or gray) covered 2013 revised edition of the NWT looks considerably thicker and longer than the regular size (including leather covered) editions of the 1984 NWT. Why is that since the 2013 edition doesn't have nearly as many footnotes as the 1963 compilation Large Print (Student's Edition) nor the 1984 With References Edition (which included extensive footnotes of alternate readings and renderings). Is the 2013 edition using thicker paper than the earlier editions of the NWT? The prior editions (other than the ones printed prior to the 1951 revision of the 1950 'NT') used Bible paper (India paper?) instead of the type paper used in most books.
Does the 2013 revised edition of the NWT come in any colors (of the cover) besides the silver/gray color?
Circulation numbers for different versions are not easy to come by. I have tried to research this myself.
King James must be first on the list. I’ve seen estimates of 2 billion copies.
Next is probably the NIV.
The Zondervan site says over 450 million copies of the NIV have sold.
https://www.zondervan.com/bibles/niv-bibles/
I don’t know if the 450 million figure includes Spanish and Portuguese versions translated from the NIV.
How many English copies of the NWT are there? I don’t think that information is available, only the overall figure for all languages combined.
Other versions don’t tend to have derivative translations from an English base text as the NWT does. The NIV appears to be a partial exception with its Spanish and Portuguese versions. The Jerusalem Bible in English used the previous French version as a guide in disputed passages. But in general major versions tend to be translations from the original Bible languages into the target language.
Whatever way you cut it, the NWT has got to be one of the most printed Bible versions ever, and certainly appears in more foreign translations than any other modern version.
In searching online pictures of the 2013 NWT it looks like the they all have silver colored covers (though third party colored covers are available for them). Regarding its size, perhaps the size of its print is that of the 1984 NWT With References (a somewhat large print edition) instead of the size of the 1984 NWT regular size editions. As a result the thickness of the 2013 NWT might be the same as the 1984 NWT With Reference edition. An online search mentioned there is a compact edition of the 2013 NWT; perhaps it has smaller margins and a print size which is the same as the 1984 NWT regular size editions.
Even though I am now tempted to obtain a copy of the 2013 NWT I really need to continue to avoid obtaining any more WT literature and other religious literature. I also really need to stop studying religion and to stop thinking about religion, but all of those things are very hard for me do. Those things are especially hard for me to do since I am very strongly motivated to find ways to persuade people to stop believing in Christianity, religion, God, gods, spirits, and in all types of supernaturalism. In order to be effective in persuading Christian people (especially by writing a pro-atheism book) I have to study Christian literature - looking for evidence of false teachings, contradictions, and failed prophecies in them.
I found online a brief article by a non-JW Christian with degrees in religion, biblical studies, and theology who has written a book which reviews the 2013 NWT and the web page gives a link to his book. [The article promotes his book and his book is called REVIEWING 2013 New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses: Examining the History of the Watchtower Translation and the Latest Revision. He says he is the "Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version".] For a non-JW author of numerous Christian books and articles he says surprisingly good things about the 2013 NWT and of the JW religion, but he also says two things about the NWT which weaken my temptation to obtain a copy of the 2013 NWT. The following are some of the things he says at https://christianpublishinghouse.co/2016/11/08/review-of-2013-revision-of-the-jehovahs-witnesses-new-world-translation/ (the boldface is mine).
"The 2013 New World Translation (NWT) is nothing like the 1984 New World Translation Reference Bible. Yes, the same theological bias exists. However, setting aside the theologically biased verses (e.g., according to Orthodoxy John 1:1, 8:58, Acts 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13 to mention just a few), 2013 is a more accurate translation by far in comparison to the 1984 edition. However, 2013 is a dynamic equivalent (interpretative) translation like the New Revised Standard Version or the New International Version, even on the levels of the Today’s English Version at times, while the 1984 NWT reference Bible was more literal by far and written on an 11th-12th-grade level. The 2013 NWT is written on a 6th-7th-grade level.
The 2013 year of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was the biggest since 1914. While they made many doctrinal adjustments in 2013, it is their 2013 revision of their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures that was most shocking, to both Witnesses and non-Witnesses alike.
... This review is unbiased, frank, and very honest. Most Christians see the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a cult, which they are not. David Koresh, Charles Manson, Jim Jones and Jonestown, these were cults. Anything one can blame the Jehovah’s Witnesses for, so-called orthodox Christians have done as well, even more so in many cases, be it setting false dates, theological bias in translation, costing Christians their lives because of false beliefs, believing that they are the one true religion, mind control, and being biblically wrong. ... In my studies of their history, their translations, I can say, if you set aside the handful of theologically biased verses, the 2013 NWT is not much different than the NIV. Moreover, their study notes (original language terms, Bible background, historical setting, archaeology, textual issues), are actually very good."
