jerusalem a dull-looking chart projected on the wall of a university office in jerusalem displayed a revelation that would startle many readers of the old testament: the sacred text that people revered in the past was not the same one we study today.. an ancient version of one book has an extra phrase.
another appears to have been revised to retroactively insert a prophecy after the events happened.. scholars in this out-of-the-way corner of the hebrew university campus have been quietly at work for 53 years on one of the most ambitious projects attempted in biblical studies publishing the authoritative edition of the old testament, also known as the hebrew bible, and tracking every single evolution of the text over centuries and millennia.. and it has evolved, despite deeply held beliefs to the contrary.. for many jews and christians, religion dictates that the words of the bible in the original hebrew are divine, unaltered and unalterable.. for orthodox jews, the accuracy is considered so inviolable that if a synagogue's torah scroll is found to have a minute error in a single letter, the entire scroll is unusable.. but the ongoing work of the academic detectives of the bible project, as their undertaking is known, shows that this text at the root of judaism, christianity and islam was somewhat fluid for long periods of its history, and that its transmission through the ages was messier and more human than most of us imagine.
(cont....) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44117239/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/.
Most scholars agree that God's name, and the concept of God, changed and evolved in the texts throughout time as the Canaanite's evolved from a polytheistic to a monotheistic tradition....
The fact that this endeavor is being head up by an Orthodox Jew is awesome!!! The old argument that "it's just those liberal/progressive academic scholars" will be null and void...
last post for a few hrs... hit my limit...
jerusalem a dull-looking chart projected on the wall of a university office in jerusalem displayed a revelation that would startle many readers of the old testament: the sacred text that people revered in the past was not the same one we study today.. an ancient version of one book has an extra phrase.
another appears to have been revised to retroactively insert a prophecy after the events happened.. scholars in this out-of-the-way corner of the hebrew university campus have been quietly at work for 53 years on one of the most ambitious projects attempted in biblical studies publishing the authoritative edition of the old testament, also known as the hebrew bible, and tracking every single evolution of the text over centuries and millennia.. and it has evolved, despite deeply held beliefs to the contrary.. for many jews and christians, religion dictates that the words of the bible in the original hebrew are divine, unaltered and unalterable.. for orthodox jews, the accuracy is considered so inviolable that if a synagogue's torah scroll is found to have a minute error in a single letter, the entire scroll is unusable.. but the ongoing work of the academic detectives of the bible project, as their undertaking is known, shows that this text at the root of judaism, christianity and islam was somewhat fluid for long periods of its history, and that its transmission through the ages was messier and more human than most of us imagine.
(cont....) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44117239/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/.
JERUSALEM — A dull-looking chart projected on the wall of a university office in Jerusalem displayed a revelation that would startle many readers of the Old Testament: The sacred text that people revered in the past was not the same one we study today.
An ancient version of one book has an extra phrase. Another appears to have been revised to retroactively insert a prophecy after the events happened.
Scholars in this out-of-the-way corner of the Hebrew University campus have been quietly at work for 53 years on one of the most ambitious projects attempted in biblical studies — publishing the authoritative edition of the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, and tracking every single evolution of the text over centuries and millennia.
And it has evolved, despite deeply held beliefs to the contrary.
For many Jews and Christians, religion dictates that the words of the Bible in the original Hebrew are divine, unaltered and unalterable.
For Orthodox Jews, the accuracy is considered so inviolable that if a synagogue's Torah scroll is found to have a minute error in a single letter, the entire scroll is unusable.
But the ongoing work of the academic detectives of the Bible Project, as their undertaking is known, shows that this text at the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam was somewhat fluid for long periods of its history, and that its transmission through the ages was messier and more human than most of us imagine. (cont....) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44117239/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
How 'bout them apples! So much for that whole infallible thingy...
i've just read at a spanish forum for ex-jw that the wt has cooked a new light article series about social celebrations, including birthdays and aniversaries.
according to a member of this forum 'in short' the wt will let witnesses to decide by 'their bible trained conscience' either they celebrate birthdays or not.
is this rumor based in some real facts or it's just bullshit?.
oh no... first birthdays... we all know where those idolotrous birthday celebrations lead... crack smoking, orgies and demonic spiritism... The watchtower bible and tract society will be the atheist satanist society in no time.... child sacrifices and all...
i feel better now.. but just in case you are wondering why i think it sucked, here you go:.
- it was clearly an "insider's only" convention.
why invite the public if you are just going to engage in crazy talk that only jws can decipher?.
My favorite quotes that apply to the DC-
"badges? what badges? we don't need no stinking badges!"
It really is funny how many quotes from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas apply...
"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."
" There was madness in any direction, at any hour. You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning."
"And that, I think, was the handle - that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of old and evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave."
"Jesus, bad waves of paranoia, madness, fear and loathing - intolerable vibrations in this place. Get out."
"Who are these people? These faces? Where did they come from? They look like caricatures of used car dealers from Dallas, and sweet Jesus, there are a hell of a lot of them.... "
I could keep going, but......
I always wondered what it would be like to be on copious amounts of drugs @ the DC... probably wouldn't suck as much... lol
so carrot has borrowed some games for his wii from a bloke at work, and one of the games is called ''dead rising''.
from what i can see you have to kill all the zombies in a shopping centre.... well carrot has got hold of a chainsaw and is slaughtering all the zombies... he is laughing uncontrollably and keeps saying that it's the best game ever!.
is it me or is this something men should have grown out of when they left puberty??.
Did carrot grow up a JW? If so he may have many years of not being allowed to play zombie games to make up for.... if not, well....
i know that most of us here despise the witness religion.
are you soured on all all religions?.
@designs-The Bahai faith is really interesting...I've been to their temples, and have read parts of their holy book... can't think of what it's a called right now... a lot of the apocalyptic fundy types are convinced it will be the one world religion implemented by the one world government...
i enjoyed reading the bible and my favourite was an asv i purchased at an a$$emby.. however, when i wanted to bone up on a passage or verse, i'd look at the insight or watchtowers and found the wtb$ really did ruin my enjoyment when they explained what i was reading.
i think it must have been the self serving spin the wtb$ put on the scriptures!.
anyone else get this and can comment why this happened?.
I totally feel you on this one.... I think this is because rather than look @ the bible for what it is, a collection of texts hodgepodged together to record a history of man and myth... they think the whole thing, in all its parts, has to fit perfectly together or it's useless... in order to do this you have to make illogical leaps and create a context which just isn't there.... I feel so sorry for them... When taken @ face value, and looked @ as a work of literature full of allegory and hyperbole it really is so much more enjoyable...
i know that most of us here despise the witness religion.
are you soured on all all religions?.
I really enjoy going to Orthodox(christian) services... and Jewish Temple... not really for the religious aspect, but I just really enjoy the tradition... I've thought about maybe converting to Judaism... a more liberal brand.... even though I'm agnostic...
consider one experience in which two kingdom publishers were accompanied by a small child.
at the end of the morning, the two witnesses were about to stop their preaching work, but the child was unusually eager to go to the next home.
in fact, he went by himself and knocked on the door!
this has definitely been used by the JW's for over 20 years.... it's a classic...
i dont think any of us are glad we grew up in the org.
but i was thinking about people who get cancer, and if they are lucky enough to beat it often they will say that they were better for the experience.
before they got cancer they were stressed because they had to work extra hours in a shitty job to make ends meet, the kids were nothing but trouble and they spent their lives wishing that time would go faster, that week would be over, that the year would be over.
I learned the art of being a chameleon... I can fit in with just about any group of people anywhere and hold my own...
