Jehovah's Witnesses No Longer Participating In the Work of a Bible Society

[yellowbird]

He sticks with using the physical Bible and handing them out. I imagine some combination of responses could occur. **He also said that they are building an average of 2 Kingdom Halls a day through-out the world. There numbers seem to be increasing **and yes, they might find it more cost effective to wait before issuing Bibles to everyone they stop to speak too.

Again, I can’t accept all of their teachings, but I can say they are persistent, generally know their Bible inside and out, and do a lot more sharing of responsibility for ministering to God than most Faiths do. I have to respect that, regardless of how I feel about their beliefs.

They do know their Bible and their beliefs… sadly, the wrong. Their belief that Jesus was a created angel is waaaaaay off base. Also - that only 144,000 have the hope of heaven. Or that their Organization is Jehovah’s mouthpiece.

Are they good people? Many of them, yes, which makes it especially sad that they spend their lives peddling a false gospel.

I’m curious how they can remain in business? Back in the 1980s when I was a JW, there were only a few thousand anointed left on Earth. We were told Armageddon would have to take place prior to all of them going to heaven. And since they were “selected” prior to 1925 - tick tock… aren’t they all dead yet? How do the JWs explain that??? It was literally one of the key points of our faith. I wonder how many partook at the most recent memorial?

OP - do they still call themselves the WBTS??? I think not distributing the Bibles is a cost saving measure. At least that my uninformed guess.

 

[Cricket2]

I am not in any way contradicting what you or your uncle are saying. You misunderstand me because we are not talking about the same thing. You’re discussing the day-to-day life of the Jehovah’s Witness and their preaching work up to now.

I’m discussing the work of their Bible society–a legal corporation owned and run by the Jehovah’s Witnesses–and a new directive, released just the other day that will go into effect beginning February 2014. This will change the way Witnesses have been freely offering their translation of the Bible up to now (as we did in my day when I was a Witness).

The work of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is not connected to their building of Kingdom Halls or even how their religion is run. It is a non-profit organization that, by law, has to fulfill its charter or lose that status. While the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is run by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is not the religion of the Witnesses. It can close down without their religion ending.

I understand it can cause confusion if you don’t know the difference, but as the title of this thread shows it is about the “Jehovah’s Witnesses No Longer *Participating In the Work of a Bible Society.” *I am not talking about their religion’s growth or what practices they currently employ in their BIble distribution up to this new directive, just the end of doing the work of a Bible distribution organization.

I apologize for not making that clearer.

No misunderstanding. Just general conversation. There are plenty of folks out there that would automatically assume that the discontinued participation in the Work of a Bible Society, would mean that they are suffering from a loss of growth in their religion, or that shutting down the buildings mentioned was a sign of their own “failing.”

My uncle was genuinely interested in this forum and what people might be thinking, so I simply shared what he had told me about events he was aware of.

 

[DelsonJacobs]

No misunderstanding. Just general conversation. There are plenty of folks out there that would automatically assume that the discontinued participation in the Work of a Bible Society, would mean that they are suffering from a loss of growth in their religion, or that shutting down the buildings mentioned was a sign of their own “failing.”

My uncle was genuinely interested in this forum and what people might be thinking, so I simply shared what he had told me about events he was aware of.

How do define failure?

As for me…Their failure is found in following a leadership that constantly sets incorrect dates for the end of the world, failing to listen to Christ’s words:

“See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not follow them!"–Luke 21:8.

If you tell people to follow you because you have special knowledge that the time of the end is at hand, isn’t that a failure to obey Christ? No one knows the day or hour.–Matthew 24:36.

They fail in that they claim Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and all others who are not members of their religion are children of the Devil:

The churches of Christendom claim to be children of God, but they cannot be, for they grossly disobey God’s commandments on love and ‘slaughter their brother.’ They can only be children of ‘the wicked one.’”–Watchtower, May 1, 1989, p. 28.

“People who are members of false religions may sincerely believe that they are worshiping the true God. But they are really serving Satan. He is ‘the god of this world.’—2 Corinthians 4:4.”–RQ lesson 4, p. 8.

Do you, as a Catholic, view these teachings of theirs a success?

And in the end, no longer participating in the work of a Bible society is an embarrassing failure. Why?

They predicted that all other Bible societies like the United Bible Societies were under the influence of Satan and would be destroyed, leaving only their Bible education work up and running in the end. But the UBS and its associated Bible societies are going on strong while they have closed up their printing facilities and stopped their Bible society work.

To continue to put faith in an organization that constantly fails to live up to its own predictions and the teachings of Christ—building more meeting places, distributing more and more of its literature—isn’t that a failure?

 

[dronald]

The revisions are actually quite welcome from the standpoint of mainstream Christianity. This may prove problematic to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Except for two, basically all the changes made to the New World Translations text seem to be lifted from the New Revised Standard Version that was released in 1989. (I do not say this because I favor the NRSV. The changes also match renditions in most other translations too, it’s just that most changes reflect the word choices and order particular to the NRSV).

It should be noted that some of the newly-adopted changes were at one time condemned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as dishonest and unfaithful renditions.

1. “Soul” once rendered literally for each occurrence of the Hebrew word “nefesh” and the Greek “psyhke” (considered essential for their “soul-sleep” doctrine), is now rendered according to context. These words sometimes mean “person,” “living being,” etc., and the NWT now acknowledges this in their revision.
2. While not going so far as to copy all of the inclusive language choices of the NRSV, they did adopt those choices which reflect common English-language uses, such as “humankind” for “mankind,” albeit done unevenly.
3. The use of “sheol” and “hades” has been replaced with “grave,” reflecting the most common rendition of those words in American Catholic liturgy and the New Testament of the New American Bible.
4. A major change is to their rendition of John 17:3. The text used to read that “taking in knowledge” of God was essential to gaining everlasting life. For over half a century the Witnesses loudly proclaimed that the traditional Christendom rendering of “to know” was a prime example of weak, incomplete, inaccurate, and unfaithful scholarship. This is now the rendering chosen for the main text reading in this verse of the NWT, demoting their previous rendition to the footnote.
5. While still clumsy and sometimes confusing in a few places, the readably of the text has improved. In fact, this is where it seems to copy the NRSV most of all by adopting the NRSV’s motto to translate “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.” No other translation on the market currently does this like the NRSV, and no one has even attempted to actually try (and that’s what makes each Bible translation unique). But the adoption of this approach can read like an eerie “coincidence”(?).

(While not my translation of choice, I am quite familiar with the NRSV, and I still can’t shake off that the revision of the NWT “tastes too similar,” in my humble opinion. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they used it as a model for their revision though their claim is to original academic scholarship of their own abilities–and I am not officially claiming they copied anybody. I just mean I get that “been-done-before” feeling.)

1. They have removed the short and long endings from the main text of Mark claiming they are not inspired.
2. They have removed John 7:53-8:11, the story of the woman caught in adultery, from the main text, also claiming it is not inspired.

Much else is still the same. John 1:1 still has Jesus being called “a god” in opposition to their belief that Jehovah is “the only true God.” (John 17:3) They still ignore the fact that the Greek words for “stake” meant “cross” to the Romans who wanted to show the Greeks up in their form of torture. And they still add the name “Jehovah” to the New Testament, even though they acknowledge they do so on the basis of no textual evidence, on the basis of what they call a “theory” (it’s really a hypothesis), and without validating the hypothesis by independent disinterested parties (like you’re supposed to do before you can have a working theory).

In conclusion, there is more good news than bad. They demonstrate through this revision that the doctrines and translations they reject today will likely be the doctrines and translations they endorse and preach tomorrow. They are adopting more mainstream teaching and, while not doing so apologetically, are now in some instances preaching a gospel they once condemned as evil (at least in the details).

To add, I heard they removed the brackets around the word [other] in Colossians 1:16 and the surrounding passages. Is this true? If so, it just seems so deceitful.

 

[DelsonJacobs]

To add, I heard they removed the brackets around the word [other] in Colossians 1:16 and the surrounding passages. Is this true? If so, it just seems so deceitful.

You heard right.

In an effort to advance their teaching that Jesus is a created being (St. Michael the Archangel, according to them) they previously inserted the word “other” in brackets at Colossians 1:16, 17 in the previous New World Translation. The insertion of the word “other” in brackets was made on the claim that the ‘support of other texts in favor’ of their non-trinitarian belief implied the need for this bracketed word in these instances. The brackets were their way of telling you that the word “other” was not found in the original text nor inferred by the original Greek language.

However, they removed the brackets in the revised version. It now reads:

Because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist.–Colossians 1:16, 17, NWT 2013 version.

They use this unfaithful rendering to impress upon readers their belief that Jesus is also among the created. As they put it, Jesus, an angel, was created first, and then in turn Jesus created “all other things.”

 

[Cricket2]

How do define failure?

As for me…Their failure is found in following a leadership that constantly sets incorrect dates for the end of the world, failing to listen to Christ’s words:

“See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not follow them!"–Luke 21:8.

If you tell people to follow you because you have special knowledge that the time of the end is at hand, isn’t that a failure to obey Christ? No one knows the day or hour.–Matthew 24:36.

They fail in that they claim Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and all others who are not members of their religion are children of the Devil:

The churches of Christendom claim to be children of God, but they cannot be, for they grossly disobey God’s commandments on love and ‘slaughter their brother.’ They can only be children of ‘the wicked one.’”–Watchtower, May 1, 1989, p. 28.

“People who are members of false religions may sincerely believe that they are worshiping the true God. But they are really serving Satan. He is ‘the god of this world.’—2 Corinthians 4:4.”–RQ lesson 4, p. 8.

Do you, as a Catholic, view these teachings of theirs a success?

And in the end, no longer participating in the work of a Bible society is an embarrassing failure. Why?

They predicted that all other Bible societies like the United Bible Societies were under the influence of Satan and would be destroyed, leaving only their Bible education work up and running in the end. But the UBS and its associated Bible societies are going on strong while they have closed up their printing facilities and stopped their Bible society work.

To continue to put faith in an organization that constantly fails to live up to its own predictions and the teachings of Christ—building more meeting places, distributing more and more of its literature—isn’t that a failure?

You may be putting too much into this posting. The JW, like many other Christians of different Faiths are searching for God. Now I don’t accept their teachings, but I certainly could not convert to their Faith. All Faiths have failings in their history, including the Catholic Church.

But, as I indicated in other posts, I could never be anything but Catholic because of my near death experience at the age of 4. So I will say this: The Church, my family, my neighbors, absolutely no one at all, brought me to the Church, except God. Because of my near death experience I became very spiritually sensitive to life and aware of many different things I previously had not known. As a result I knew that I wanted to be Catholic and nothing else.

I say this because I truly believe that God can bring people to Him regardless of their choice of Faith, as long as the person is truly seeking God. It is so easy to get wrapped up in erroneous ideas and arguments about different Faiths that we can forget what our real focus is. I don’t mind learning about any Faith, but I will never leave mine.

I guess I think folks get a little wound up about details and citations, and exactness when others are just sharing ideas and feelings. Guess that is what makes it all interesting.

 

[DelsonJacobs]

You may be putting too much into this posting. The JW, like many other Christians of different Faiths are searching for God. Now I don’t accept their teachings, but I certainly could not convert to their Faith. All Faiths have failings in their history, including the Catholic Church.

But, as I indicated in other posts, I could never be anything but Catholic because of my near death experience at the age of 4. So I will say this: The Church, my family, my neighbors, absolutely no one at all, brought me to the Church, except God. Because of my near death experience I became very spiritually sensitive to life and aware of many different things I previously had not known. As a result I knew that I wanted to be Catholic and nothing else.

I say this because I truly believe that God can bring people to Him regardless of their choice of Faith, as long as the person is truly seeking God. It is so easy to get wrapped up in erroneous ideas and arguments about different Faiths that we can forget what our real focus is. I don’t mind learning about any Faith, but I will never leave mine.

I guess I think folks get a little wound up about details and citations, and exactness when others are just sharing ideas and feelings. Guess that is what makes it all interesting.

There is no difference between what you express here and what I believe. There is much good in what the Witnesses believe, and they have the potential of being very moral and examples to the international community.

But as a former Jehovah’s Witness minister who used to teach the official doctrines of their religion–including that only they speak for God Almighty–they had me condemning every Catholic and teaching that their Bible Society was placed in Brooklyn by God himself and would never fade away before Armageddon sent the Church down in flames. So forgive me if I see this sudden change of events differently from you and seem wound up over nothing.

As to details and citations–well, being objective means you need to cite your sources. I can get too lost in opinion and feeling–and what good would it be to just offer my opinions and feelings? I would rather offer facts that can be checked up on that I may not like than offer my opinion and feelings which aren’t factual or advantageous at all.

You are entitled to your opinions, and I have no fight with you. After all, I was wrong for choosing to be a Jehovah’s Witness. I may be wrong in posting this even now!

 

[adf417]

As to details and citations–well, being objective means you need to cite your sources. I can get too lost in opinion and feeling–and what good would it be to just offer my opinions and feelings? I would rather offer facts that can be checked up on that I may not like than offer my opinion and feelings which aren’t factual or advantageous at all.

Hi Delson. At the risk of derailing a thread I would like to ask about the bolded statement above. In your opinion do you believe JWs hold to this standard also? I know their “sources” are only of one origin, the Watchtower, but how does one reconcile with “objectivity”, in their own mind, in the JW world? This has always baffled me.

Peace!!!

 

[Cricket2]

There is no difference between what you express here and what I believe. There is much good in what the Witnesses believe, and they have the potential of being very moral and examples to the international community.

But as a former Jehovah’s Witness minister who used to teach the official doctrines of their religion–including that only they speak for God Almighty–they had me condemning every Catholic and teaching that their Bible Society was placed in Brooklyn by God himself and would never fade away before Armageddon sent the Church down in flames. So forgive me if I see this sudden change of events differently from you and seem wound up over nothing.

As to details and citations–well, being objective means you need to cite your sources. I can get too lost in opinion and feeling–and what good would it be to just offer my opinions and feelings? I would rather offer facts that can be checked up on that I may not like than offer my opinion and feelings which aren’t factual or advantageous at all.

You are entitled to your opinions, and I have no fight with you. After all, I was wrong for choosing to be a Jehovah’s Witness. I may be wrong in posting this even now!

Delson, No I don’t think your wrong. It does interest me. Having family members that are still JWitnesses allows me an opportunity to know a bit more about their teachings than others might have. It has also allowed me to observe some of the errors in their teachings. My uncle actually converted to the Faith as an effort to save his marriage.

His believes have sustained him during the last two years since his wife died. I have to say that the way the Congregation took care of his family at the time of her illness and death was remarkable. I have never witnessed that anywhere else. They literally had everything taken care of for the family, including cleaning the house, shampooing rugs, setting up the funeral, reception and providing for guests. It was remarkable and something many other Faiths could do better at in comparison.

 

[DelsonJacobs]

Hi Delson. At the risk of derailing a thread I would like to ask about the bolded statement above. In your opinion do you believe JWs hold to this standard also? I know their “sources” are only of one origin, the Watchtower, but how does one reconcile with “objectivity”, in their own mind, in the JW world? This has always baffled me.

Peace!!!

While they do cite sources, they do not seek to be objective as they do. They seek to direct and expect unquestioning obedience.

As the Governing Body recently stated:

The life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization [the Governing Body] may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.–The Watchtower, November 15, 2013.

Witnesses are warned to avoid independent thinking and second-guessing what they are told to do, even to go as far as to turn themselves in to congregation elders if they find it hard to accept and/or follow any instruction from the Governing Body.

 

[DelsonJacobs]

Delson, No I don’t think your wrong. It does interest me. Having family members that are still JWitnesses allows me an opportunity to know a bit more about their teachings than others might have. It has also allowed me to observe some of the errors in their teachings. My uncle actually converted to the Faith as an effort to save his marriage.

His believes have sustained him during the last two years since his wife died. I have to say that the way the Congregation took care of his family at the time of her illness and death was remarkable. I have never witnessed that anywhere else. They literally had everything taken care of for the family, including cleaning the house, shampooing rugs, setting up the funeral, reception and providing for guests. It was remarkable and something many other Faiths could do better at in comparison.

I know from being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses that they can be very charitable. I was like that too.

But at the same time I was going door-to-door preaching to people the official Witness doctrine that Catholics were all blindly worshipping Satan, that the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity was a poisonous lie, and that the Jews deserved what they got during the Nazi Holocaust because they were blood guilty due to their rejecting Christ (this last one was a deal-breaker for me because I am a Jew).

While it is important for a religion to care for those in the way you describe, does that mean God looks the other way when preaching falsehoods and condemning the Holy See?

Jesus scolded fellow Jews who were being hypocrites because some were doing something similar to what the Witnesses do in this regard. Some Pharisees in Jesus’ day felt it was so important to do good deeds that they tithed even 10% of insignificant herbs to the Temple. But they were judgmental of others and at times were guilty of leading fellow Jews into false worship. So Jesus told them:

You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. Blind guides, you are–careful to strain out a gnat but swallowing a camel in the process!–Matthew 23:23, 24.

What good is it to perform many good deeds while neglecting being just, preaching judgment and not mercy? Does God prefer we care for someone who has lost a family member in death while we teach others to reject the Trinity–even if we care for this individual in a way that other religions may not readily match?

Should we not instead do just as good as you report but not neglect to preach and defend the truth of the Catholic faith? (I am not saying you are not doing so. I am being rhetorical to leave coming to a conclusion to those who read this.)

 

[adf417]

As the Governing Body recently stated:

The life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization [the Governing Body] may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.–The Watchtower, November 15, 2013

Would it be deceiving if I used this next time I had a conversation with a JW and just edit “magisterium” for “Jehovah’s organization”?

Peace!!!

 

[DelsonJacobs]

Would it be deceiving if I used this next time I had a conversation with a JW and just edit “magisterium” for “Jehovah’s organization”?

Peace!!!

Funny!

Of course, not even the Catholic Church demands that we adhere to such direction.

While Catholics may never disobey the directives of conscience (CCC 1800), the Governing Body has always demanded that Witnesses be ready to act even contrary to conscience at the pain of excommunication.

These above-quoted words, “be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not” has caused a great outcry of concern among non-Witness family members. Some are worried that as Witnesses choose obedience instead of life when the issue of accepting blood transfusions arise, this directive might demand equally life-threatening adherence in some yet to be announced directive from the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

This is why the February 2013 directions to avoid openly displaying and offering Bibles will be accepted by all Witnesses with open arms. The buildings closed and sold at Brooklyn were no small thing but a major complex sold around $375 million. Called “Bethel” (meaning “House of God”) by the Witnesses, it was the center for their printing and the work of distributing Bibles. Their “House of God” now lies empty.–Compare Matthew 23:38.

 

[Honorius]

The revisions are actually quite welcome from the standpoint of mainstream Christianity. This may prove problematic to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Except for two, basically all the changes made to the New World Translations text seem to be lifted from the New Revised Standard Version that was released in 1989. (I do not say this because I favor the NRSV. The changes also match renditions in most other translations too, it’s just that most changes reflect the word choices and order particular to the NRSV).

It should be noted that some of the newly-adopted changes were at one time condemned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as dishonest and unfaithful renditions.

1. “Soul” once rendered literally for each occurrence of the Hebrew word “nefesh” and the Greek “psyhke” (considered essential for their “soul-sleep” doctrine), is now rendered according to context. These words sometimes mean “person,” “living being,” etc., and the NWT now acknowledges this in their revision.
2. While not going so far as to copy all of the inclusive language choices of the NRSV, they did adopt those choices which reflect common English-language uses, such as “humankind” for “mankind,” albeit done unevenly.
3. The use of “sheol” and “hades” has been replaced with “grave,” reflecting the most common rendition of those words in American Catholic liturgy and the New Testament of the New American Bible.
4. A major change is to their rendition of John 17:3. The text used to read that “taking in knowledge” of God was essential to gaining everlasting life. For over half a century the Witnesses loudly proclaimed that the traditional Christendom rendering of “to know” was a prime example of weak, incomplete, inaccurate, and unfaithful scholarship. This is now the rendering chosen for the main text reading in this verse of the NWT, demoting their previous rendition to the footnote.
5. While still clumsy and sometimes confusing in a few places, the readably of the text has improved. In fact, this is where it seems to copy the NRSV most of all by adopting the NRSV’s motto to translate “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.” No other translation on the market currently does this like the NRSV, and no one has even attempted to actually try (and that’s what makes each Bible translation unique). But the adoption of this approach can read like an eerie “coincidence”(?).

(While not my translation of choice, I am quite familiar with the NRSV, and I still can’t shake off that the revision of the NWT “tastes too similar,” in my humble opinion. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they used it as a model for their revision though their claim is to original academic scholarship of their own abilities–and I am not officially claiming they copied anybody. I just mean I get that “been-done-before” feeling.)

1. They have removed the short and long endings from the main text of Mark claiming they are not inspired.
2. They have removed John 7:53-8:11, the story of the woman caught in adultery, from the main text, also claiming it is not inspired.

Much else is still the same. John 1:1 still has Jesus being called “a god” in opposition to their belief that Jehovah is “the only true God.” (John 17:3) They still ignore the fact that the Greek words for “stake” meant “cross” to the Romans who wanted to show the Greeks up in their form of torture. And they still add the name “Jehovah” to the New Testament, even though they acknowledge they do so on the basis of no textual evidence, on the basis of what they call a “theory” (it’s really a hypothesis), and without validating the hypothesis by independent disinterested parties (like you’re supposed to do before you can have a working theory).

In conclusion, there is more good news than bad. They demonstrate through this revision that the doctrines and translations they reject today will likely be the doctrines and translations they endorse and preach tomorrow. They are adopting more mainstream teaching and, while not doing so apologetically, are now in some instances preaching a gospel they once condemned as evil (at least in the details).

Thank you very much for those! Slightly off topic, but I was thinking about it, and it may just be me, but does the whole Jehovah’s Witness view on Christ seem vaguely familiar to Arianism?

 

[1Tim215Mommy]

Thank you very much for those! Slightly off topic, but I was thinking about it, and it may just be me, but does the whole Jehovah’s Witness view on Christ seem vaguely familiar to Arianism?

It totally does. Either because there is nothing new under the sun or maybe like the leader of the Remnant Fellowship in TN, the Watchtower read the early writings of the Arians and since the Church condemned Arianism at the Council AND because they bring their preconceived notion that the Church of that era was fallen away, they came to the conclusion that Arianism is authentic, but the Trinity is heresy. Either way, God save them.

 

[Emeth]

Thanks. I would appreciate anything that could be added to this.

I did get this information:

They have recently closed their massive Brooklyn Heights printing plant and have sold the buildings in October. The giant iconic “Watchtower” sign that people used to see as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan has gone dark, and they have moved their offices upstate to Warwick.

What offices are left in Brooklyn had all references to “Read the God’s Word the Bible daily” removed (it was in large letters that could be read by travels on the Brookly Bridge), and all signs using the word “Watchtower” have been dropped in exchange for a small blue and white logo that reads “JW.org”.

While their religion is still running, the Watchtower Society may be gone after all.

Your information is wrong. The Printing Plant in Brooklyn was already abandoned since 2004 because they did build a HUGE printing plant in WallKill . There they print books, bibles etc etc 24/7 . Also in Japan is a HUGE printing plant printing Bibles 24/7. They have many more Printing plants in various countries, for example big ones in Germany and the UK.

The real estate they sold in Brooklyn was not used anymore and before 2017 they want to sell all the real estate they have in brooklyn since they are moving to a New World Head Quarters that is being build right now. So they move out completely from New York City.

Their New World Translation is now printed and distributed in more than 100 languages and they produce bible based literature in over 600 different languages.

So what is the new rule about? Since 2011 they started a project called ‘project Manhattan’ with literature carts and stands in public places like busy streets and train/subway stations. That was a huge success and they decided to roll out this project world wide. Since we give all literature for free and people can take from the carts and stands what they want we decided to give the most valuable ‘product’ only to people who really want it or show a good interest in our free bible studies.

Our goal is not to spread bibles but to teach people what is in it. To explain what the bible really teaches and make them disciples. So on the cart are brochures, magazines and a bible study aid book called ‘What does the bible really teach?’ if people take those things and start reading it they will see many references to Gods word the bible. if they like what they read they will definately come back to the cart, or a local Kingdom Hall, or our one and only official website www.jw.org to get a bible or start a free bible study.

So the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is still doing what it always did and will continue to do so.

How do i know all this? I am a Jehovah’s Witness. If i made spelling mistakes please consider the fact that my native language is dutch.

Kindest regards from the Netherlands, Europe

Emeth

 

[Protestor]

DelsonJacobs:

Hey look here

I hope this quote works

I read the February 2014 but I got the link from a youtube video so I am not sure that it is valid. I think that it says they may have a bible to give to someone who wants it. I think that the idea could be that they want their members to have the verses memorized. Being as I do not think a youtube link leading to a google doc is vary reliable I will understand if this was not in the real flyer. Please provide a link if you have a real copy. It is a little early to be putting out material for february which is why I do not trust it.

 

[Emeth]

But with the release of this newest revision this past October something changed. The release was not made to the public in general but only to Witnesses living up to a certain standard (tickets were issued for these to be present for this special release).

Upon its release they were instructed not to show the new edition to others, and this latest information seems even more odd.

All this is also not true. The first week of October we had our General annual meeting. For the first time in history about a million english speaking witnesses were able to enjoy this meeting because it was streamed to many assembly halls around the world and the USA. Up till last year this meeting was only attended by a few witnesses simply because the number of seats in that one location were limited.

Anyway, so this year they decided to stream the meeting and to invite over a million english speaking witnesses around the world. The meeting was broadcasted over 2 days. Everyone present at the first day meeting got a New Revised World Translation but were told to keep their mouth shut for at least a day till all others that would attend the meeting the next day would have their present, their new translation.

As of January 2014 this Revised New World Translations will be used at the Watchtower Study (in english speaking territories) so you can be sure that all witnesses have one by now.

Even i have one although i live in the netherlands and we dont speak english here and i also did not attend the General Annual Meeting.

The expectation is that this new Revised World Translation will be released in more languages in the next few years.

 

[Porknpie]

Your information is wrong. The Printing Plant in Brooklyn was already abandoned since 2004 because they did build a HUGE printing plant in WallKill . There they print books, bibles etc etc 24/7 . Also in Japan is a HUGE printing plant printing Bibles 24/7. They have many more Printing plants in various countries, for example big ones in Germany and the UK.

The real estate they sold in Brooklyn was not used anymore and before 2017 they want to sell all the real estate they have in brooklyn since they are moving to a New World Head Quarters that is being build right now. So they move out completely from New York City.

Their New World Translation is now printed and distributed in more than 100 languages and they produce bible based literature in over 600 different languages.

So what is the new rule about? Since 2011 they started a project called ‘project Manhattan’ with literature carts and stands in public places like busy streets and train/subway stations. That was a huge success and they decided to roll out this project world wide. Since we give all literature for free and people can take from the carts and stands what they want we decided to give the most valuable ‘product’ only to people who really want it or show a good interest in our free bible studies.

Our goal is not to spread bibles but to teach people what is in it. To explain what the bible really teaches and make them disciples. So on the cart are brochures, magazines and a bible study aid book called ‘What does the bible really teach?’ if people take those things and start reading it they will see many references to Gods word the bible. if they like what they read they will definately come back to the cart, or a local Kingdom Hall, or our one and only official website www.jw.org to get a bible or start a free bible study.

So the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is still doing what it always did and will continue to do so.

How do i know all this? I am a Jehovah’s Witness. If i made spelling mistakes please consider the fact that my native language is dutch.

Kindest regards from the Netherlands, Europe

Emeth

Emeth,

Welcome, hope you stay in the forum. Question that I have for you is how do you know that the books in your bible are all inspired and inerrant? The bible does not come with a listing of what books should be in it, so how do you know, how do you trust that the books in your bible are all the Word of God?

PnP

 

[DelsonJacobs]

Your information is wrong…

Our goal is not to spread bibles…

So the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is still doing what it always did and will continue to do so…

Emeth

I never said that the Witnesses closed all their printing facilities down. But I have stated that the ones associated with the Watchtower Bible Society are now closed.

My point is that Jehovah’s Witnesses have stopped doing the work of a Bible society. (Please re-read the title of this thread.)

As can be seen from your own post, you agree. You say: “Our goal is** not** to spread bibles.”

The charter of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, written by Charles Taze Russell himself states that the society’s purpose was not only the printing and distributing of Bible literature but “teaching the Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles.”-- J. F. Rutherford, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, 1915, p. 14, italics added.

Your words, “our goal is not to spread bibles” compared to the charter’s words of existing for the purpose of the “distribution of Bibles” proves my point.