Today I had a visit from a Jehovah Witness. These people are very committed to sharing their beliefs, but they are also very guilty of the mutilation of the translation of scripture. They took five men, four that had zero experience with the translations of the original Hebrew and Greek, and one that studied Hebrew and Greek for just two years, and with those five men developed their own version of the Bible. Their entire belief system is based on flawed and very slanted translations.
If you ever hear them quote from their Bible, you will note that it does not sound like other translations of the Bible. It’s been changed to support their hope and their intention of what they want it to say. They have read into the translation those things that support their premises about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the 144,000 that will be saved, the end of times, etc. This is clearly a cult and does not represent Christianity, or the real Jesus Christ, or what was recorded 2000 years ago, etc.
Danger! Beware! People that are able to manipulate the truth to support what they want to believe can be dangerous and destructive. The enemy of a cult is truth and light. Cult members, like the JW, are indoctrinated to argue away at truth; they’ve been deceived and lied to so much that they won’t accept the truth and/or are afraid to hear it.
The Christian faith embraces both faith and reason. Our greatest theologians and thinkers have shown the bond and benefit of wedding faith and reason together. In fact, one leads to the other. But to be afraid to seek reality and truth leads people away from God—not closer to Him! God is not afraid of us discovering truth about all things. It is Satan that is fearful of transparency and truth.
When I read His Word I must bravely ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes and heart to comprehend what was written. I don’t assume to understand all that was inspired over a span of 1500 years, but I know what awaits those that “add to or take away” from the Holy Scripture.
But beyond the Bible, the same standard for looking for truth should apply those that give us news or lead us. Those that suggest that they are unbiasedly reporting the news from the Capitol, the UN or from our streets should be very careful to share the truth, rather than what fulfills their dreams or agenda.
Our media is presently guilty, as I see it, of offering a mutilated translation of what’s going; they seem intent on following the old adage, “Never let a couple of facts stand in the way of a good story”. But now, more than ever, we need to not only be honest and courageously find and hold on to the truth, we need to demand this from those that give us information and from those that we have elected, called or endorsed to lead us.
Comments