I found a tract folded and placed between my gate and gatepost one day last week. I am not sure exactly when it was placed there as I only infrequently use the gate. It must have been left sometime between Sunday afternoon when I used the gate last and Thursday afternoon when I found it. It is a curious little pamphlet. When opened up it measures approximately 11.37 by 5.75 inches. It is meant to be folded in three in the long dimension. The folding of this particular pamphlet was a bit off and so when folded the front does not cover the folded portion. It was folded yet again when left so that it would maintain its position. A corner was slightly crumpled in the process of placement.
The title of the tract is: “Jesus Christ Who is He?” I had to read the entire tract to discover the organization that printed and distributed it. The last sentence reads: “Jehovah’s Witnesses will be happy to help you. – John 13:34, 35” I am not sure how the verses, John 13:34, 35, relate to why Jehovah’s Witnesses will be happy to help you.
John13:34 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John13:35 - By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Maybe they want to help because they love you. Alternately they want you to know they are disciples of Jesus.I would have thought that Isaiah 43:10 might have been more appropriate. This is the verse (as translated in the American Standard Version) that they take their name from.
Isaiah 43:10 - "Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah"...
The official bible of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, while retaining the Jehovah is not nearly as pithy. Perhaps that is why they did not use Isaiah. Still I found all of that a bit strange.
The most curious thing about the tract was what I did not find in it. There was not one mention of the impending doom (Armageddon) or of the number, 144,000. I am sure that you are aware that Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the end is imminent and that only 144,000 will be “sealed” – shorthand for going to heaven - in the aftermath of the battle of Armageddon. I don’t believe that I have ever seen one of their tracts or publications without either of those items before.
The most objectionable part for me was referring to the four gospels as “historical works”. In the quest to define who Jesus is, the tract mentions the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke and says that they relate all that is known of Jesus’ childhood. Well yes that is true. But I find those two sources strange history in that the only points they agree on are that Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth, Jesus was born in Bethlehem while Herod was king and that eventually they returned to Nazareth. Furthermore both the stories contain obvious historical inaccuracies. Luke 2:1 has Quirinius as governor of Syria during Herod’s reign. Quirinius was not governor until long after Herod’s death. Matthew 1 has a genealogy that states there were 14 generations from the “exile to the Christ” but has only13 names for that period of time. It is obvious that we are not dealing with fact here.
After writing the last paragraph I checked the definition of “history” using the online Merriam-Webster dictionary and found to my chagrin that one of the definitions of “history” is “Tale” or “Story” so that technically the gospels could be called historical. That doesn’t make me like it any better.
OK, that is enough Jehovah’s Witnesses dissing. There two points on which they have my respect. The first is the absolute and courageous stand on military service. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been jailed in nations with very diverse political frameworks. The USSR, Hitler’s Germany as well as the United States have imprisoned them for this stand. The other point that they earn my respect for is their absolute rejection to the theory of the trinity. Have I mentioned the fact that I am an Arian?
Now if they would only not place litter on my property.
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