JW Bible. What do scholars say? Is it respected, or scriptural OK or accurate?

Ok, yes we know the Jehovah Witnesses scripture is written to support their beliefs.Example:On the cross when Jesus tells the one thief he will be in paradise a catholic/protest, American, kjv, niv and the other translations all say this:

quote:

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I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

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But the Jw's version, (I forget the actual name of it) says this:

quote:

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I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.

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Notice the difference?
A comma can change the dogmaNow I have actually heard, from the Jw's I had a bible study with that their translation has been highly esteemed and has had great acclaim for it from actual scholars and scripture readers, writers, the guys that come up with the new translations etc.Is this actually true?Does anyone know if their bible is a credible one?Please don't respond from your beliefs of what your christianity says. I want to know if the Jw's are warranted to use their translation.Basically, is it a good translation or one that is shady, that has tampered with the actual scripture.I care about the moral issues of the JW's, I know them. I have studied with some of them and studied their faith. Though if someone would like to start a thread on what you've think they've done or do I would be extremely interested.
It isn't good manners to do one whole JW thread, too many topics.I will appreciate all replies.-Chris Porteus

The JW Bible is called the New World Translation. When you ask what scolars think, you have to be more specific. JW scholars are quite happy with their translation. Orthodox Christian scholars are not as happy with it. Perhaps your topic could focus more on either JW scholars or more on Protestant scholars or even more on Catholic scholars....all of whom have some good arguments akin to their beliefs. Personally, I do not agree with JW theology entirely, but I will give them credit for being able to back up their theology using their interpretations of scripture! Which way do you want to go with this one, Chris? Other Mods...a little input also?

Social and religious issues, maybe.

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

the greek word order is "and he said to him, truly i say to you, today with me you will be in paradise."anyone have a good knowledge of greek grammar? i suspect that if it were to be rendered with the comma after "today," "today" would have been in the place of "truly."

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Is the meaning...the intent...found through the mind of logic or the Heart of a changed individual???

You think that's dishonest to do since they elieve immediate nirvana doesn't happen?

not sure. depends on the greek grammar, really.(even without a belief in immediately going to heaven on death, it's possible that christ was making an exception. so i suspect the answer is probably "yes.")

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I wish doctrbill was around.

quite

Is the location of the Kingdom one of the friction points? JWs say it will be on Earth and other Christians say it will be in heaven?

i think that might be it. although christians to TEND to believe that there will be a kingdom of "heaven on earth" after the end-times.

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Dear Chris Porteus;First. here is a link to the New World Translation on the web. Check it out, look up some verses and compare it to other Bibles.
http://www.watchtower.org/bible/index.htmhere is a link to an general article on some of the advantages of the NWT's renderings over other Bible translations.Advantages of the New World Translation Advantages of the New World Translation:This issue was raised recently in another thread and here is what I responded with. That seems to be a common misconception about the New World Translation, but it is a very accurate translation and I have found it to be extremely reliable in it's renderings. Here are a couple of links to sites which rate the NWT very highly. The first uses Colwell's Rule of Bible Translations of using 64 different test verses to determine accuracy in a translation of the New Testament. hector3000.future.easyspace.com is no longer available "What Is The Best New Testament" .
Here is a link where the NWT is ranked the highest out of 21 commonly used Bible translations.
hector3000.future.easyspace.com is no longer available
As the links show, the NWT is one of the best Bible translations available today.As for creating a altered translation to support nonbiblical doctrines, that would be foolish in the extreme, what would be the point? All people would have to do is to point out the alterations, and we wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Now when you consider how many people oppose us and say bad things about us, why are they so vague on the claim of us having an altered Bible? Simply because the NWT is faithful to the original language text and a good case can be made for the wording used in the NWT and frequently another translation will use the same word or phrase in question. Now changing the Bible to try to fit your doctrine is of course pointless, what Jehovah's Witnesses have done is to change their doctrine to fit the Bible. If we see a difference, we change what we believe to better conform with God's Word, which is why you hear the old complaint about us changing our beliefs all the time. But which is it better to do, to change what you believe to better fit what the Bible teaches, or to keep a doctrine that you know conflicts with the Bible? In a way, we cheat, instead of trying to defend a traditional doctrinal position that has some problems, we have simply moved to the best position that we know of, which is why we always have the high ground in a biblical discussion. We jettisoned all the old doctrines that have scriptural problems from their being based more on the word of man than the Word of God.Sincerely Yours; Wm Scott Anderson

that's what he did in the op, scotty. how do you justify the change in the comma placement?

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Here's another for wmscott:
John 1:1
New world translation:1 In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.Others:In the beginning the Was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.