Jehovah's Witnesses Knocked on My Door

[Super Universe]

Super Universe,
Please allow me to give a little insight on what you have said. In the first place, a lie is very different from an honest mistake. You must be trying to misguide a person on purpose, or it is not really a lie.
Now, let me ask you something that is very important. Did you research the Scriptures in question, to make sure of exactly what the Scriptures were saying?? Many times there are variant Scriptures, that come from different manuscripts, both being reliable, and no one is completely sure which is more accurate.
Just about the best way to be as sure as is possible, is to compare different translations, and see what they all say. Remember, it is impossible for a human being to translate or even copy the entire Bible, without making a mistake, so comparing translations will show which one differs from the majority. Many times translators translate words technically correct, but not in agreement with the rest of the Bible. Hebrew and Greek have many words, just like in English, that mean different things, but to translate accurately everything translated word must agree with the whole Bible. This is called Intertextuality. Many translators translate the wrong meaning, because they do not understand the whole purpose of God.
God, Himself, has promised that He would protect His words from every Generation, Psalms 12:6,7. This means that the truth of God’s message can always be found, even if some translators mKe a mistake here and there. Very few translators will translate falsely, b ecause of the warnings in the Bible.
Another point to remember, 2Corinthians 10:3-6, tells us that people who tell the truth will be upsetting the majority of people who have strongly intrenched, false beliefs. Also consider what Paul said at 2Timothy 4:2-5. Jesus, Himself, even said that, some people would strongly believe that a person was against God’s message, that they would kill God’s people, believing that they were doing a service to God. That is just how far from the truth that some get, even while they think they are right. So do not be too quick to condemn translators, unless you can prove things yourself, and not what someone told you.

Did I research the scriptures in question? I did. Bible Gateway online is fantastic.

Many times there are variant scriptures that come from different manuscripts? I was forced to attend Kingdom Hall for 12 years. I've seen it over and over and over and over again. They change the verses in their magazines. It's not an accident, they do it on purpose. They also take thousand year old ideas and attempt to apply them to today's problems as if the bible has ultimate truth and the answer for every situation. It doesn't.

The bible has many different translations? Once again, JW's don't translate ancient Greek or Aramaic texts. Their religion was invented by Charles Taze Russell in 1879. Charlie admitted that he did not have a vision, he simply read the bible and interpreted it in his own way. He was very much against the idea of hellfire and did not understand the trinity so those were things the future JW's did not believe in. Charlie also got into the idea of bible prophecy, he thought the end was coming very soon and so JW's today still think the end is coming in their time.

God promised to protect His words in Psalm 12:6,7? A human wrote that.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

If you want to post a biblical quote and THEN give your Jehovah's Witness interpretation of it, that is fine, but purposely changing quotes to make the bible say what you WANT it to mean is dishonest.

From my perspective, this seems more like a case of "fan fiction". Like if I re-wrote a version of Harry Potter for my own purposes and changed his scar from a lightning bolt into a poo emoji. It's not lying... simply another fiction.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

From my perspective, this seems more like a case of "fan fiction". Like if I re-wrote a version of Harry Potter for my own purposes and changed his scar from a lightning bolt into a poo emoji. It's not lying... simply another fiction.

Funny, since the New Testament strikes me as fan fiction of the Torah.

 

[Super Universe]

From my perspective, this seems more like a case of "fan fiction". Like if I re-wrote a version of Harry Potter for my own purposes and changed his scar from a lightning bolt into a poo emoji. It's not lying... simply another fiction.

That view is correct for an atheist but most of the world believes in some kind of religion and the religions are based upon writings in books.

 

[Super Universe]

Funny, since the New Testament strikes me as fan fiction of the Torah.

But the New Testament does not change the Old Testament. They are new books.

If the JW's want to promote their ideas, that's fine, but they are changing the verses to fit their ideas.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

But the New Testament does not change the Old Testament. They are new books.

Like fan fiction, which is also "new books."

If the JW's want to promote their ideas, that's fine, but they are changing the verses to fit their ideas.

I don't disagree.

 

[DavidFirth]

But the people doing it are religious more often than not.

Why would you think salesmen and such are religious?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why would you think salesmen and such are religious?

Because in this society, most people are religious.

Edit: and I expect most salespeople are religious, not all.

 

[DavidFirth]

Because in this society, most people are religious.

Edit: and I expect most salespeople are religious, not all.

Really? More and more people are turning away from the churches and to atheism every day. Religious people don't outnumber non-religious people in all places, you shouldn't assume that they do. I believe in the UK now most people do not believe in a god of any sort.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

You were a JW?

Attended their churches as a kid, was never baptized.
Went to a lot of other churches too but none so long or so young.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Really? More and more people are turning away from the churches and to atheism every day.

True, but self-described atheists are still in the minority in most places.

Religious people don't outnumber non-religious people in all places, you shouldn't assume that they do. I believe in the UK now most people do not believe in a god of any sort.

Religion in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

No religion: 25.7%

(And since you mention god-belief: a fair chunk of those "no religion" people are theists)

 

[DavidFirth]

Attended their churches as a kid, was never baptized.
Went to a lot of other churches too but none so long or so young.

Wow, they are a very strict church. I can understand why they turned you off.

 

[DavidFirth]

True, but self-described atheists are still in the minority in most places.


Religion in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

No religion: 25.7%

(And since you mention god-belief: a fair chunk of those "no religion" people are theists)

Okay, but a lot of those theists say they're theists when in fact they aren't religious at all.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Okay, but a lot of those theists say they're theists when in fact they aren't religious at all.

Wait... so your position is that most of the door-to-door salespeople you get are atheists. You believe this despite the fact that the vast majority of people in the UK describe themselves as belonging to some sort of religion, and the reason you disregard the huge percentage of religious people is that you think a lot of purported religious people are lying about being religious? Do I understand you correctly?

 

[DavidFirth]

Wait... so your position is that most of the door-to-door salespeople you get are atheists. You believe this despite the fact that the vast majority of people in the UK describe themselves as belonging to some sort of religion, and the reason you disregard the huge percentage of religious people is that you think a lot of purported religious people are lying about being religious? Do I understand you correctly?

No, you don't. Sales people might as well be atheists because they're not talking to me about religion, they are pushing secular, not spiritual.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Wow, they are a very strict church. I can understand why they turned you off.

The stictness never bothered me so much (I grew up on a farm). But they didn't turn me off really, I did go to many other churches after my experience, learned a lot about a lot of different religions. I just eventually stopped pretending I believed in a god when I didn't.

 

[DavidFirth]

The stictness never bothered me so much (I grew up on a farm). But they didn't turn me off really, I did go to many other churches after my experience, learned a lot about a lot of different religions. I just eventually stopped pretending I believed in a god when I didn't.

Well, that's good, you shouldn't pretend, that's wasting your life.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

No, you don't. Sales people might as well be atheists because they're not talking to me about religion, they are pushing secular, not spiritual.

What a bizarre way of looking at the world.

 

[DavidFirth]

What a bizarre way of looking at the world.

So you view salesmen and people who knock on your door as religious people because they bother you? Aren't you kind of pot calling the kettle black here?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

So you view salesmen and people who knock on your door as religious people because they bother you?

No, I don't. Their religion doesn't generally come up. This doesn't mean that I assume that they don't have one.

Aren't you kind of pot calling the kettle black here?

No, I'm really not. You were the one who brought up the religiosity - or lack thereof - of door-to-door salesmen, remember?