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The following are quotes added to my Jesus is Jehovah unclassified quotes database in April 2008.
The date format is dd/mm/yy. See copyright conditions at end.
2008: Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
3/04/2008
"In the songbook produced by Jehovah's people in 1905, there were twice as many songs praising Jesus as
there were songs praising Jehovah God. In their 1928 songbook, the number of songs extolling Jesus was
about the same as the number extolling Jehovah. But in the latest songbook of 1984, Jehovah is honored by
four times as many songs as is Jesus. This is in harmony with Jesus' own words: `The Father is greater than
I am.' (John 14:28) Love for Jehovah must be preeminent, accompanied by deep love for Jesus and
appreciation of his precious sacrifice and office as God's High Priest and King." (Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society, "Revelation: Its Grand Climax At Hand!," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1988,
p.36)
5/04/2008
"But the content of the Book of Mormon presents further difficulties. For example, there are many clearly
demonstrated plagiarisms. Material has been taken from ... the King James Bible. Some 27,000 words from the
King James Bible are found in the Book of Mormon. [Hoekema, A.., "The Four Major Cults," Eerdmans:
Grand Rapids MI, 1977, p.85] But if the Book of Mormon was first written between 600 B.C. and A.D. 421,
how could it possibly contain such extensive quotations from the King James Bible, not to be written for
another 1,200 to 2,000 years? The Tanners have listed, one by one, 400 verses and portions of verses
quoted from the New Testament in the Book of Mormon in their book The Case Against Mormonism.
[Tanner, J. & S., "The Case Against Mormonism," Vol. 2, Modern Microfilm Co: Salt Lake City UT, 1968,
pp.87-102] The Book of Mormon even contains King James Bible translation errors. For example, in 2 Nephi
14:5 (Isaiah 4:5) the correct translation of the Hebrew chupaah is `canopy,' not `defense.' In 2 Nephi 15:25
(Isaiah 5:25) the correct translation of the Hebrew suchah is `refuse,' not `torn.'" (Ankerberg, J. & Weldon,
J., "The Facts on the Mormon Church," Harvest House Publishers: Eugene OR, 1991, pp.38-39)
5/04/2008
"The language of the King James Bible is also enlightening. According to Dr. Anthony Hoekema, some
27,000 words taken from the King James Bible appear in the Book of Mormon. Anyone who compares the
following list, which carries just several examples, will see that Smith copied material from the King James
Bible:
o 1 Nephi chapters 20,21-Isaiah chapters 48, 49
o 2 Nephi chapters 7,8-Isaiah chapters 50, 51
o 2 Nephi chapters 12,24-Isaiah chapters 2-14
o Mosiah chapter 14-Isaiah chapter 53
o 3 Nephi chapters 12,14-Matthew chapters 5-7
o 3 Nephi chapter 22-Isaiah chapter 54
o 3 Nephi chapters 24,25-Malachi chapters 3,4
o Moroni chapter 10-1 Corinthians 12:1-11."
(Ankerberg, J. & Weldon, J., "Is the Book of Mormon a Divine Revelation?," Ankerberg Theological
Research Institute, 2005)
5/04/2008
"[Ezr 6:]11. One who alters the edict would probably have included anyone who violated it (cf. Ryle).
There was poetic justice intended in making a man's own house his instrument of execution for tampering
with the house of God. The form of punishment may or may not have been impalement (RSV; cf. GNB's
elaboration of the theme); certainly this hideous practice was no novelty, as Assyrian monuments show.
But the Aramaic reads literally `and lifted up he shall be smitten upon it', which NEB takes to mean `fastened
erect to it and flogged', while BDB understands it as some form of crucifixion,' and 1 Esdras 6:32 as hanging.
The common ground between such punishments was the public spectacle they afforded for disgrace and
warning. It is a relief to know that Israelite law put two crucial restraints on such a practice: the victim was
executed before this, not by means of it (Dt. 21:22; note the sequence), and the display of his corpse must
not be prolonged (Dt. 21:23)." (Kidner, D., "Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary," Tyndale
Press: London, 1979, pp.57-58)
6/04/2008
"Only the vast energy and skill of Darius I (521-486) availed to restore stability by the end of his second
year. This was the year 520 in which Haggai and Zechariah started prophesying, and in which the work on
the Temple was at last resumed, as recounted in Ezra 5 and 6. Zechariah's two visions of horsemen patrolling
the earth (Zc. 1:7ff:; 6:1ff.) may well owe something of their form to the relays of swift couriers who enabled
the king's writ to run throughout his enormous realm (cf. Est. 8:10)." (Kidner, D., "Ezra and Nehemiah: An
Introduction and Commentary," Tyndale Press: London, 1979, pp.14-15).
6/04/2008
"THE TALPIOTH OSSUARIES ... THE TOMB ... was found in 1945 near the Talpioth suburb south of
Jerusalem and beside the old road to Bethlehem. .... In the tomb were fourteen ossuaries. .... [and] a coin of
Herod Agrippa I dating from A.D. 42/43. The pottery was Late Hellenistic and Early Roman. Thus the tomb
appears to have been in use from sometime in the first century B.C. until no later than the middle of the first
century of the Christian era. ... IN THE CENTER of each side of Ossuary no. 8 is a large cross mark, drawn
with charcoal. The one shown here, on one long side of the ossuary, has bars of quite equal length. The
other three have bars of somewhat irregular length. ... their large size and prominent placement suggest some
more significant purpose. ... Cornfeld sees the Talpioth chamber as the burial place of Jewish Christians,
which seems the most likely view." (Finegan, J., "The Archeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus
and the Beginning of the Early Church," [1969], Princeton University Press: Princeton NJ, Revised edition,
1992, pp.363,365. Emphasis original)
7/04/2008
"Jesus was `the fine shepherd' in another sense. He said: `I know my sheep and my sheep know me.' (John
10:14) Think of the word picture that Jesus was painting. To a casual observer, a flock of sheep might seem
just a mass of woolly creatures. The shepherd, however, knows each sheep individually. He knows which
ewes will soon need his aid when they give birth, which lambs still need to be carried because they are too
tiny and weak to walk far on their own, and which sheep have recently been ill or injured. The sheep know
their shepherd as well. They recognize his voice, never mistaking it for that of any other shepherd. When
there is a tone of alarm or urgency in his call, they respond quickly. Where he leads, they follow. And he
knows just where to lead them. He knows where the grass is lush and green, where the streams are fresh and
clear, where the pastures are safe. As he watches over them, the sheep sense that they are secure. - Psalm 23."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Come Be My Follower," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New
York: Brooklyn NY, 2007, p.10)
7/04/2008
"David A. Reed became a baptized Jehovah's Witness in 1969. He served the Watch Tower Society as a full-
time minister, an elder, and a presiding overseer. Eventually, personal Bible reading caused him to question
the organization's teachings, and this led to his formal expulsion in 1982. After embracing biblical
Christianity he began writing articles and tracts with the aim of evangelizing Jehovah's Witnesses. Today he
is the publisher and editor of Comments from the Friends, a quarterly on the JWs; president of Gospel
Truth Ministries, Inc.; editor of The Gospel Truth, which deals with cults in general; and a contributing
editor of Christian Research journal, a publication of Christian Research Institute. His other books
include: Behind the Watchtower Curtain Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse How to
Rescue Your Loved One from the Watchtower ("About the Editor," in Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of
Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI,
1990, p.5)
7/04/2008
"To Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is God's sole channel for
communicating truth to humankind today. Persons associated with the Watch Tower Society are
considered to be `in the truth'-as opposed to outsiders who are `of the world.' Just as Christians speak
of being `in the Lord' by virtue of having accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, in
like manner Jehovah's Witnesses speak of being `in the truth' by virtue of having accepted the Watch
Tower Society as God's `channel of communication.' So, the very mention of error in connection with
the Watch Tower is enough to throw JWs into mental turmoil. How can the organization they call `the
truth' be guilty of error? How can it be so full of errors that an Index listing the Watch Tower's major
mistakes, doctrinal changes, false prophecies, frauds, and deceptions fills an entire volume? Hopefully
this Index will prove such a challenge to the Jehovah's Witnesses who come across it that they will
actually use it to verify the Watch Tower quotes and references listed." (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of
Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids
MI, 1990, p.9. Emphasis original)
8/04/2008
"The fact that stau ros' is translated crux in the Latin versions furnishes no argument against this.
Any authoritative Latin dictionary will inform the examiner that the basic meaning of crux is a `tree,
frame, or other wooden instrument of execution" on which criminals were impaled or hanged. (Lewis
Short) A cross is only a later meaning of crux. Even in the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the
first century B.C., crux means a mere stake. Such a single stake for impalement of a criminal was
called crux simplex, and the method of nailing him to such an instrument of torture is illustrated by
the Roman Catholic scholar, Justus Lipsius, of the 16th century. We present herewith a photographic
copy of his illustration on page 647, column 2, of his book De Cruce Liber Primus: This is the manner
in which Jesus was impaled." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "The Kingdom Interlinear
Translation of the Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, Second printing,
1969, p.1155)
8/04/2008
"The Watchtower itself has appealed to archaeology by citing the work of a Roman Catholic scholar, Justus
Lipsius (1547-1606), in an effort to support its torture stake theory. However, their use of the 16th century
writer is just another clear example of their dishonesty in trying to validate false doctrine. In the Appendix of
the 1950 edition of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, one of several woodcuts is
reproduced from Lipsius' De Cruce Liber Primus. The illustration depicts a man being impaled on an upright
stake and based upon the drawing, readers are told: `This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled.' ["New
World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," 1950, p.770; "Kingdom Interlinear Translation," 1969,
pp.1155-1156; "New World Translation," 1971, pp.1360-1361] However, when one inspects the actual De
Cruce Liber Primus, which is part of the larger work, Opera Omnia, the Watchtower's argument
evaporates. The volume, a Latin work that is difficult to find, includes several woodcut illustrations
portraying impalement or crucifixion. By far most of these illustrations depict not a man on a stake, but an
upright stake affixed with a crossbeam - in other words, a cross. Adding to the deception is the fact that
Lipsius' work does not state that the upright stake `is the manner in which Jesus was impaled,' as the
Watchtower would have its members believe. Lipsius clearly argued for a `cross' with such statements as,
`the cross was inserted and the other crosswise bar is joined and inserted with the upright plank, and thus it
cuts [divides] itself.' [Justus Lipsius, "De Cruce Liber Primus," Chapter IX, p.24, Tseng, M.S., transl.] Lipsius
added: `When a man, hands stretched out, worships God with a pure heart (he resembles a Cross).' [Ibid.,
p.25.] Today, although somewhat modified, the Watchtower continues to appeal to Lipsius in the latest
edition of its Greek New Testament.'" (Goedelman, M.K., "The Crux of the Matter: Jehovah's Witnesses and
the Cross of Christ," Personal Freedom Outreach, 5 November 2002)
8/04/2008
"Another source used to indicate Jesus died on a stake is the 16th century De Cruce Liber Primus,
Secundus, and Tres [sic Tertius] by Justin [sic Justus] Lipsius. The Appendix to the 1950 and 1969
editions of The New World Translation reproduces a woodcut illustration by Lipsius of a stake with the
words `This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled' giving the distinct impression that Lipsius supports
Jesus death on a stake. What is not mentioned is that Lipsius did a total of 16 such woodcuts, mostly
depicting various forms of crucifixion. Under one of the crucifixion woodcuts is inscribed (translated from
Latin) `In the Lord's cross there were four pieces of wood, the upright beam, the crossbar, a tree trunk placed
below, and the title placed above.' Once again, one of the few references used as support for Jesus death on
a stake clearly stated that Jesus died on a cross." (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts About Jehovah's
Witnesses, 18 February 2008)
8/04/2008
"Pagan The Watchtower regularly uses the illogical and contradictory argumentation of paganism to
prevent Jehovah's Witnesses from engaging in common practices. For instance, confetti can not be thrown
at a wedding because it is "pagan" (despite few people having any idea of what the pagan meaning and
origins may be) but the Watchtower allows the use of the "pagan" wedding ring. Likewise, the assertion is
made that the cross was not used by 'true Christians' and is of pagan origins. "The fact that the cross is of
pagan origin only makes the matter worse. The veneration of the cross is not Christian. It does not show
love for God or Christ but mocks what they stand for. It violates God's commandments against idolatry. It
reveres a pagan symbol masquerading as Christian. (Exodus 20:4, 5; Psalm 115:4-8; 1 Corinthians 10:14) To
consider a pagan symbol as sacred violates God's command: "Do not become unevenly yoked with
unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? ... 'Quit touching the unclean
thing.'"" Watchtower, 1989, May 1, p.26] This is a fallacious argumentation, a form of non sequitur.
Christians use a cross in remembrance of Jesus Ransom, not as association with pagan gods. It is true that
pagan religions have used various forms of the cross, but it does not follow that this makes use of the
symbol wrong. Cats were worshipped as gods by the Egyptians but this is not a reason for Christians to
avoid cats. The cross was a common form of Roman torture, not because of any pagan connetation, but
because of it being an effective way to pronlong the agony of death." (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts
About Jehovah's Witnesses, 18 February 2008)
8/04/2008
"What makes the argument of the cross being pagan all the more illogical is that a stake or pole has a
greater sexual and hence pagan connotation than the cross. In Christian times the phallus was represented
by the pole shaped Obelisk of the Egyptians and Romans and the Hindu Lingam. Sacred poles are often
mentioned in the Bible, such as at Exodus 34:13; "But their altars YOU people are to pull down, and their
sacred pillars YOU are to shatter, and their sacred poles YOU are to cut down." If the Watchtower Society
wants to find pagan concepts in the death of Jesus they need look no further than their own teaching of a
stake. Jesus death on a stake mimics the ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna. Inanna descended into the nether
world. There she was turned into a corpse by the seven judges and "the corpse was hung from a stake" for
three days and nights. After this she was resurrected by the instructions of Enki, the god of fertility. (The
Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell, 1973, See also Mythology A Visual Encylopedia, Jo
Forty 1999)" (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts About Jehovah's Witnesses, 18 February 2008)
8/04/2008
"If a symbol should be rejected on the grounds of pagan roots, consider the symbol of the Watchtower
Society. The Watchtower is a Masonic symbol used as a representation of Mary Magdalene, Magdalene
derived from the ancient Greek word for Watchtower. Watchtower is also used in Witchcraft to represent
the four elements, invoked during ritual to cast the magic circle. The Watchtowers originated in the sixteenth
century Enochian magic system." (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts About Jehovah's Witnesses, 18
February 2008)
8/04/2008
"Conclusion Far from being introduced as a pagan idolatrous symbol, the cross was used as a Christian
symbol to prevent pagan idolatry. ... A depiction of Jesus was never used, with symbols such as the cross
used instead, in an attempt to prevent pagans idolising his image: ... Paul showed that we should proudly
boast about Jesus death on the cross. Its use is constant reminder of the importance of the ransom to our
everlasting existence. Galatians 6:14 "Never may it occur that I should boast, except in the torture stake
[cross] of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been impaled [crucified] to me and I to the
world." [New World Translation. There is no justification for inserting the word "torture", the Greek
phrase used is simply "en stauros".]" (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts About Jehovah's Witnesses,
18 February 2008)
8/04/2008
"Medical evidence, Biblical passages, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, history and Archaeology all identify that
Jesus died on a cross. Linguistics supports that stauros meant cross prior to the first century. The cross is
not pagan as it was identified with early Christianity. It is untrue to say it was introduced 300 years after
Christ by Constantine. That some Christians have misused the cross as a symbol for worship is not reason
to reject accurate history. The Watchtower originally used the cross, not as a form of idolatry, but rather as
an accurate historical symbol to keep in the forefront of ones mind the importance of the Ransom." (Grundy,
P., "Cross or Stake," Facts About Jehovah's Witnesses, 18 February 2008)
8/04/2008
"The thrust of Rutherford's preaching was strong anti-Catholicism and during his tenor as President of the
Watchtower Society he tried to disassociate Jehovah's Witnesses from as much of Christianity as possible.
It would appear that Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their teachings to a stake, not on historical or
biblical evidence, but for the sake of segregation. To be concerned that a cross may encourage idolatry for
some Witnesses shows a lack of faith in the motives of the members. Most people do not worship the cross
itself but use it as a reminder of Jesus. Adhering to truthfulness would dictate that Christians recognise that
Jesus died on a cross as a Ransom sacrifice for the sins of mankind." (Grundy, P., "Cross or Stake," Facts
About Jehovah's Witnesses, 18 February 2008)
9/04/2008
"We gratefully recognize that Jehovah's Witnesses thus clearly state their dependence on Scripture as their
final source of authority. As we examine their theology, however, it will become quite evident that this is by
no means a fair and honest statement of the case. Instead of listening to Scripture and subjecting
themselves wholly to its teachings, as they claim to do, they actually impose their own theological system
upon Scripture and force it to comply with their beliefs. As evidence for this I advance, first, the fact that
their New World Translation of the Bible is by no means an objective rendering of the sacred text into
modern English, but is a biased translation in which many of the peculiar teachings of the Watchtower
Society are smuggled into the text of the Bible itself. (Hoekema, A.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses," [1963],
Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1974, p.26. Emphasis original)
9/04/2008
"These are not the worst features of the New World Translation which does have some very positive
aspects to it. Far more serious than the outwardly Arian and anti-traditional nature of this Watch Tower
version are: 1 / its biased translation of certain texts to buttress specific Witness practices, or secondary
doctrines and 2 / its unattractive, unidiomatic English. .... In another instance the translators have `adjusted'
the text of John 17:3 for similar purposes. The New World Translation reads at that verse: `This means
everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one you sent forth, Jesus
Christ.' The words `taking in knowledge' are quite incorrect. The Greek from which they are `translated' is the
word 'ginoskosi' which means simply `that they should or may know'; and since the subjunctive sense of
the word is not necessary in English, most translators are quite correct in rendering it `that they know you.'
That, however, would not serve Watch Tower officials' purposes, for they do not seem to want the ordinary
Witness to have the experience of knowing God spiritually; rather they want him to believe that his
salvation is dependent upon his taking in knowledge - `spiritual food at the proper time' - from the society's
publications." (Penton, M.J., "Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses," [1985], University
of Toronto Press: Toronto ON, Second edition, 1997, pp.175-176)
9/04/2008
"What is perhaps worse than all of this, however, is the fact that in many ways the New World Translation
is a literary monstrosity which is wooden, cold, and filled with a curious American jargon which often comes
straight out of Madison Avenue. ... When one examines Psalm 23:5, for example, this becomes evident.
There the King James Version's `thou anointest my head with oil' is replaced with the thoroughly
unattractive `with oil you have greased my head.' " (Penton, M.J., "Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of
Jehovah's Witnesses," [1985], University of Toronto Press: Toronto ON, Second edition, 1997, p.176)
9/04/2008
"All of this indicates, in part at least, how Jehovah's Witnesses view the Bible. They believe that the original
texts in the original languages were inspired, and they are willing to use textual criticism to attempt to
discover what those texts were. They are honest in admitting that no translation is inspired, but they have
long claimed that the New World is the best extant today. ["All Scripture Is Inspired and Beneficial,"
WB&TS, 1983, pp.326-30; WT, "Bible Translation That Honors God," December 15, 1963, pp.760-763]
Evidently, then, what they are saying by making such a boast is that the New World Translation conforms
most closely to Witness doctrine. So in a real sense, then, the Bible, in its translated form, is used as an
apologia for Witness beliefs as much as a basis for them." (Penton, M.J., "Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of
Jehovah's Witnesses," [1985], University of Toronto Press: Toronto ON, Second edition, 1997, p.176)
9/04/2008
"Easter What of the claim that Easter is of pagan origin because of its name and date of celebration? First
of all, this objection could be only made by people who speak English or German. These seem to be the only
languages of Christian countries where the Jewish name of Passover, Pesach, has not been retained to
refer to the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. In Spain it is called Pasca, in Russia Pashka, in Italy
Pasqua, in Greece Pascha, in France Paque, but it is called Ostern in Germany and Easter in
English-speaking countries. The feast of the Resurrection of Christ was well established, however, before
the term Easter was given to it in the eighth century. The word `probably derives from Eostur, the
Norse word for the Spring season, and not from Eostre, the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess.' It is
equally absurd to claim that the term `Easter' was derived from the name of the goddess Ishtar merely
because there is a similarity in the pronunciation of the two words. Ishtar was an Akkadian deity, and the
Akkadian language had almost no influence on the development of the English language, whose primary
sources are Germanic and Romance languages, not Hamitic-Semitic ones such as Akkadian. Easter is
celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox. This formula
has nothing to do with paganism though. Since Christ was raised on a Sunday, the Church has chosen to
set aside this day to celebrate the Resurrection. In the early Church, some objected to Sunday as the fixed
day for the annual celebration. They wanted it to be linked to whatever day of the week 14 Nisan fell upon-
14 Nisan was Passover in the Jewish calendar (and the actual day on which Jesus died). Passover was
celebrated on the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. Since Christ rose on the Sunday following
the celebration of the Jewish Passover, the Church celebrates Easter on that day each year. The fact that
Passover happens to take place in spring has nothing to do with perpetuating the worship of an Akkadian
fertility goddess. It is odd that the Watchtower will endorse the celebration of its Memorial of the Lord each
year but not call to mind and rejoice in what happened three days later. It is only natural to recall and
celebrate the day that Christ rose, which is why the first Christians adopted the practice!" (Evert, J.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses," Catholic Answers: El Cajon CA, 2001, pp.144-145. Emphasis original)
9/04/2008
"Easter Latin Pascha, Greek Pascha principal festival of the Christian church that celebrates the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. The earliest recorded observance of an
Easter celebration comes from the 2nd century, though the commemoration of Jesus' Resurrection probably
occurred earlier. The English word Easter, which parallels the German word Ostern, is of uncertain
origin. One view, expounded by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, was that it derived from Eostre, or
Eostrae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. This view presumes-as does the view
associating the origin of Christmas on December 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter equinox-that
Christians appropriated pagan names and holidays for their highest festivals. Given the determination with
which Christians combated all forms of paganism, this appears a rather dubious presumption. There is now
widespread consensus that the word derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis, a
Latin phrase that was understood as the plural of alba ('dawn') and became eostarum in Old High
German, the precursor of the modern German and English term. The Latin and Greek pascha ('Passover')
provides the root for Pâcques, the French word for Easter." ("Easter," Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 9
April, 2008. Emphasis original)
10/04/2008
"One of the creeds says that Christ is the Son of God `begotten, not created'; and it adds `begotten by his
Father before all worlds'. ... What does it mean? We don't use the words begetting or begotten much in
modern English, but everyone still knows what they mean. To beget is to become the father of: to create is
to make. And the difference is this. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A
man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds.
But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver
builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set - or he may make something more like himself than a wireless set:
say, a statue. If he is a clever enough carver he may make a statue which is very like a man indeed. But, of
course, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It cannot breathe or think. It is not alive. Now that is the
first thing to get clear. What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not
God; just as what man makes is not man. That is why men are not Sons of God in the sense that Christ is.
They may be like God in certain ways, but they are not things of the same kind. They are more like statues or
pictures of God." (Lewis, C.S., "Mere Christianity," [1952], Fount: London, Reprinted, 1997, pp.130-131.
Emphasis original)
11/04/2008
"Another change in viewpoint involved the `cross and crown' symbol, which appeared on the Watch
Tower cover beginning with the issue of January 1891. In fact, for years many Bible Students wore a pin of
this kind. By way of description, C. W. Barber writes: `It was a badge really, with a wreath of laurel leaves as
the border and within the wreath was a crown with a cross running through it on an angle. It looked quite
attractive and was our idea at that time of what it meant to take up our `cross' and follow Christ Jesus in
order to be able to wear the crown of victory in due time.' Concerning the wearing of `cross and crown pins,'
Lily R. Parnell comments: `This to Brother Rutherford's mind was Babylonish and should be discontinued.
He told us that when we went to the people's homes and began to talk, that was the witness in itself.'
Accordingly, reflecting on the 1928 Bible Students convention in Detroit, Michigan, Brother Suiter writes:
`At the assembly the cross and crown emblems were shown to be not only unnecessary but objectionable.
So we discarded these items of jewelry.' Some three years thereafter, beginning with its issue of October 15,
1931, The Watchtower no longer bore the cross and crown symbol on its cover." (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY,
1975, p.148)
11/04/2008
"A few years later Jehovah's people first learned that Jesus Christ did not die on a T-shaped cross. On
January 31, 1936, Brother Rutherford released to the Brooklyn Bethel family the new book Riches.
Scripturally, it said, in part, on page 27: `Jesus was crucified, not on a cross of wood, such as is exhibited in
many images and pictures, and which images are made and exhibited by men; Jesus was crucified by nailing
his body to a tree." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1975, pp.148-149)
11/04/2008
"So began the Great Depression that ran through the 1930's. Yet, during this time of grave economic
distress, Jehovah furnished rich spiritual provisions for his people. And he also made them very much aware
of the deep significance underlying the words, `Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God.'-Isa.
43:12, AS.' Increasing emphasis was being placed on the divine name. For instance, consider the principal
articles in the January 1st issues of The Watch Tower for several years. They were: `Who Will Honor
Jehovah?' (1926) `Jehovah and His Works' (1927), `Honor His Name' (1928), `I Will Praise My God' (1929) and
`Sing Unto Jehovah' (1930)." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1975, p.149. Emphasis original)
11/04/2008
"In exalting Jehovah's name, however, the convention of God's people at Columbus, Ohio, July 24-30, 1931,
was a milestone. . It was unique in that extension conventions were scheduled for 165 other places
throughout the earth. But that was not the most important factor. There was something much more
significant. It was linked with the enigmatic letters `JW' appearing on the printed assembly program and the
title page of The Messenger, the convention newspaper-in fact, seen in many places. `When we got near
the assembly grounds,' remarks Burnice E. Williams, Sr., `we saw "JW" all over the place. But not knowing
what it stood for, we were all wondering, "What is this JW for?"' Sister Herschel Nelson recalls:
`Speculations were made as to what JW stood for-Just Wait, Just Watch, and the correct one ..."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses," Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society: Brooklyn NY, 1975, p.149)
11/04/2008
"The meaning of `JW' was revealed on Sunday, July 26, 1931, when thrilled conventioners heartily adopted a
resolution presented by J. F. Rutherford and entitled `A New Name.' It said, in part: `NOW, THEREFORE, in
order that our true position may be made known, and believing that this is in harmony with the will of God,
as expressed in his Word, BE IT RESOLVED, as follows, to wit: `THAT we have great love for Brother
Charles T. Russell, for his work's sake, and that we gladly acknowledge that the Lord used him and greatly
blessed his work, yet we cannot consistently with the Word of God consent to be called by the name
`Russellites'; that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and the International Bible Students
Association and the Peoples Pulpit Association are merely names of corporations which as a company of
Christian people we hold, control and use to carry on our work in obedience to God's commandments, yet
none of these names properly attach to or apply to us as a body of Christians who follow in the footsteps of
our Lord and Master, Christ Jesus; that we are students of the Bible, but, as a body of Christians forming an
association, we decline to assume or be called by the name `Bible Students' or similar names as a means of
identification of our proper position before the Lord; we refuse to bear or to be called by the name of any
man; `THAT, having been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer, justified
and begotten by Jehovah God and called to his kingdom, we unhesitatingly declare our entire allegiance and
devotion to Jehovah God and his kingdom; that we are servants of Jehovah God commissioned to do a work
in his name, and, in obedience to his commandment, to deliver the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to make
known to the people that Jehovah is the true and Almighty God; therefore we joyfully embrace and take the
name which the mouth of the Lord God has named, and we desire to be known as and called by the name, to
wit, Jehovah's witnesses.'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1975, pp.149-150. Emphasis original)
13/04/2008
"[Dn 10:13] ... He adds next, Behold ! Michael, one of the chief leaders or princes, came to strengthen me.
Some think the word Michael represents Christ, and I do not object to this opinion. Clearly enough, if all
angels keep watch over the faithful and elect, still Christ holds the first rank among them, because he is their
head, and uses their ministry and assistance to defend all his people. But as this is not generally admitted, I
leave it in doubt for the present, and shall say more on the subject in the twelfth chapter." (Calvin J., "A
Commentary on Daniel," [1852], Myers T., transl., Banner of Truth: London, Reprinted, 1966, p.253)
13/04/2008
"[Dn 10:21] ... The angel ... next adds, There is no one who supports me in this duty except Michael,whom
he calls prince of the elect people. ...God seemed, at least for a time, to leave his people without help, and
afterwards two angels were sent to contend for them ; first, a single one was sent to Daniel, and then
Michael, whom some think to be Christ. I do not object to this view, for he calls him a prince of the Church,
and this title seems by no means to belong to any angels, but to be peculiar to Christ." (Calvin, J., "A
Commentary on Daniel," [1852], Myers T., transl., Banner of Truth: London, Reprinted, 1966, pp.265-266)
13/04/2008
"[Dn 12:1] ... By Michael many agree in understanding Christ as the head of the Church. But if it seems
better to understand Michael as the archangel, this sense will prove suitable, for under Christ as the head,
angels are the guardians of the Church. Whichever be the true meaning, God was the preserver of his
Church by the hand of his only- begotten Son, and because the angels are under the government of Christ,
he might entrust this duty to Michael." (Calvin, J., "A Commentary on Daniel," [1852], Myers T., transl.,
Banner of Truth: London, Reprinted, 1966, p.368)
13/04/2008
"[Dn 12:1] ... As we stated yesterday, Michael may mean an angel; but I embrace the opinion of those who
refer this to the person of Christ, because it suits the subject best to represent him as standing forward for
the defence of his elect people." (Calvin, J., "A Commentary on Daniel," [1852], Myers T., transl., Banner of
Truth: London, Reprinted, 1966, p.369)
13/04/2008
"[Jn 1:1] In the beginning was the Word. In this prologue he declares Christ's eternal divinity, to teach us
that He is the eternal God, manifest in the flesh." (Calvin, J., "The Gospel According to St. John," Part One,
[1553], Parker, T.H.L., transl., Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1961, Reprinted, 1979, p.7)
13/04/2008
"Those who presume to dogmatise on the ranks and numbers of angels, would do well to consider on what
foundation they rest. As to their rank, I admit that Michael is described by Daniel as a mighty Prince, and by
Jude as an Archangel. [Dan. xii. i ; Jude 9] Paul also tells us, that an archangel will blow the trumpet which is
to summon the world to judgment [1 Thess. iv. 16]." (Calvin, J., "Institutes of the Christian Religion," [1536],
Beveridge, H., transl., Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, Vol. I, Reprinted, 1964, p.147)
13/04/2008
"[Mt 28:19] Into the name of the Father. This passage teaches that the full and clear knowledge of God,
which had only been darkly foreshadowed under the Law and the Prophets, had at last emerged under the
Kingdom of Christ. The ancients would never have dared call God their Father unless they had taken their
confidence from Christ, their Head. The eternal Wisdom of God was not altogether unknown to them, the
Fountain of light and life. It was one of their acknowledged principles that God exerts His power by the Holy
Spirit. But from the start of the Gospel God was far more clearly revealed under three Persons, then the
Father showed Himself in the Son, His living and express Image, and Christ Himself, by the brilliant light of
His Spirit, shone out upon the world and held out Himself and the Spirit to the minds of men. There is good
reason here for the explicit mention of Father, Son, and Spirit, for the force of Baptism cannot otherwise be
appreciated unless it begin from the free mercy of the Father who reconciles us to Himself through the only-
begotten Son. Then Christ Himself advances into the midst, with the sacrifice of His death, and at last there
comes the Holy Spirit also, through whom He cleanses and regenerates us all, and finally makes us partakers
of all His benefits. So we see that God is not truly known, unless our faith distinctly conceives three Persons
in one Essence; and the efficacy and fruit of Baptism flow from thence: God the Father adopts us in His Son,
and through the Spirit reforms us into righteousness, once we are cleansed from the stains of our flesh."
(Calvin J., "A harmony of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke," Volume III and "James and Jude," [1555],
Morrison A.W.; transl., Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1972, Reprinted, 1980, p.253)
13/04/2008
"Seventh-day Adventists do apply the Biblical name Michael not to a created angel, but to the Son of God
in His pre-incarnate state ... Though some earlier Adventist writers had contended that the Son was not
wholly equal to the Father, and that the former must have had a beginning in the remote past (a form of
Arianism), the denomination today officially affirms Christ's complete equality with the Father and the pre-
existence of the Son from eternity." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Four Major Cults: Christian Science, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-day Adventism", [1963], Paternoster: Exeter UK, Reprinted, 1969, p.113)
13/04/2008
"What if the Watch Tower publications cited reveal that the organization is a false prophet-not simply
having made an occasional mistake, but having promulgated false prophecies repeatedly throughout its
history? What if the prophetic dates were presented by the leaders as `God's dates, not ours' as stated by
the Watch Tower of July 15, 1894 (Reprints, p. 1677)? Then the sincere Witness must pay special
attention to God's words at Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (Watch Tower's New World Translation): `... the
prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak ... that prophet
must die. And in case you should say in your heart: `How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not
spoken?" when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that
is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it.' Jesus foretold that
`false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, even the chosen
ones. Look! I have forewarned you' (Matt. 24:24, 25 N.W.T.). A Witness confronted with the evidence must
choose between obeying Christ or continuing to follow the Watchtower Society." (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index
of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids
MI, 1990, pp.10-11)
13/04/2008
"And the evidence is overwhelming! Referenced in this Index are over one hundred false prophetic
declarations the organization has published as `the truth,' besides more than six hundred other statements
equally damaging to the leadership's credibility. Taken together, these over seven hundred pieces of
evidence demand a verdict of `guilty on all counts.' The Jehovah's Witnesses who examine these references
will be forced to admit that the organization they have been following is not what it claims to be." (Reed,
D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker:
Grand Rapids MI, 1990, p.11)
13/04/2008
"This Index should be an effective tool in the hands of Christians reaching out to Jehovah's Witnesses.
When Christians attempt to share the gospel with them using the Bible alone, Witnesses simply respond
with their own favorite proof texts, and the discussion degenerates into a Scripture-trading match. The
problem is that Witnesses do not really look to the Bible as the final authority on what to believe. They have
been convinced that their leaders represent God's `channel of communication' and that, `unless we are in
touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no
matter how much Bible reading we do' (WT, 12/1/1981, p. 27). Since it is their organization's interpretation of
what the Bible says that determines JWs' beliefs, those beliefs cannot be challenged effectively without first
undermining the authority of the organization. And that is what is accomplished by the use of damaging
quotations from the Society's publications. Its claim to being God's `channel of communication' falls into
question when it communicates many ideas that could not possibly have come from God, including false
prophecies as mentioned above." (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by
Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, p.11)
13/04/2008
"In addition to false prophecies, the sect's books and magazines contain a permanent record of many
peculiar teachings, doctrinal vacillations, and deadly errors taught over the years as `the truth.' From the
beginning until 1953, for example, Almighty God was said not to be omnipresent but rather to reside upon
the star Alcyone in the Pleiades star system ... The inhabitants of the ancient city of Sodom were dragged in
and out of the grave as the organization kept changing its teaching on whether or not they would be
resurrected. The answer was Yes in 1879, No in 1952, Yes in 1965, and No in 1988 ..." (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index
of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids
MI, 1990, pp.11-12" (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve
Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, p.11)
13/04/2008
"And, crossing from the academic to the real world, between the years 1931 and 1952 vaccinations were
prohibited, and during the years 1967 to 1980 organ transplants were banned. Those medical procedures are
now permitted again, but who knows how many Witnesses or their children got sick or died during the
interim for lack of a vaccination or for want of a kidney or cornea transplant? (A former JW elder in England
told reporters that he resigned after a woman in his congregation turned down a cornea transplant in
obedience to the Watch Tower and went blind.) How high will the death toll climb-already estimated by
some to be in the thousands-as loyal followers continue to refuse blood transfusions, adhering to an
interpretation introduced in the 1940s but not yet rescinded ...?" (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower
Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, pp.11-
12" (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John
Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, p.12)
13/04/2008
"As its documented errors pile up, the organization's claim to being `the truth' erodes. .... As Jesus said, `by
your words you will be condemned' (Matt. 12:37)." (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to
1989," Compiled by Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, p.12)
15/04/2008
"stauros, -ou, o, [fr. istemi (root sta) ; cf. Lat. stauro, Eng. staff (see Skeat, Etym. Dict. s. v.);
Curtius § 216; Vanicek p.1126]; 1. an upright stake, esp. a pointed one, (Hom., Hdt., Thuc., Xen.).
2. a cross; a. the well-known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by the
Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed among the Romans, down to the time of
Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and
abetters of insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of the governors,
upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens themselves; cf. Win. RWB. s. v. Kreuzigung;
Merz in Herzog ed. 1 [(cf. Schaff-Herzog) also Schultze in Herzog ed. 2], s. v. Kreuz ; Keim iii. p. 409
sqq. [Eng. trans. vi. 138; BB.DD. s. vv. Cross, Crucifixion O. Zockler, Das Kreuz Christi (Gütersloh, 1875) ;
Eng. trans. Lond. 1878; Fulda, Das Kreuz u. d. Kreuzigung (Bresl. 1878); Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah,
ii. 582 sqq.], This horrible punishment the innocent Jesus also suffered: Mt. xxvii. 32, 40, 42; Mk. xv. 21, 30,
32 ; Lk. xxiii. 26; Jn. xix. 17, 19, 25, 31 ; Col. ii. 14; Heb. xii. 2 ; thanatos stautou, Phil. ii. 8 ; to aima tou
stautou, blood shed on the cross., Col. i. 20. b. i. q. the crucifixion which Christ underwent: Gal. v. 11
(on which see skandalon, sub fin.) ; Eph. ii. 16 ; with the addition of tou Christou, 1 Co. i. 17; the saving
power of his crucifixion, Phil. iii. 18 (on which see echthros, fin.) ; Gal. vi. 14; to stauro tou Christou
diokesthai, to encounter persecution on account of one's avowed belief in the saving efficacy of Christ's
crucifixion, Gal. vi. 12; o logos o tou staurou the doctrine concerning the saving power of the death on
the cross endured by Christ, 1 Co. i. 18. The judicial usage which compelled those condemned to crucifixion
themselves to carry the cross to the place of punishment (Plut. de sera numinis vindict. c. 9; Artem. oneir. 2,
56, cf. Jn. xix. 17), gave rise to the proverbial expression airein or lambanein or bastazein ton stauron
autou, which was wont to be used of those who on behalf of God's cause do not hesitate cheerfully and
manfully to bear persecutions, troubles, distresses,-thus recalling the fate of Christ and the spirit in which he
encountered it (cf. Bleek, Synop. Erkl. der drei ersten Evangg. i. p. 439 sq.) : Mt. x. 38; xvi. 24 ; Mk. viii. 34;
x. 21 [R L in br.] ; xv. 21 ; Lk. ix. 23; xiv. 27." (Thayer, J.H., "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament:
Being Grimm's Wilke's Clovis Novi Testamenti Translated Revised and Enlarged," T & T. Clark: Edinburgh,
Fourth edition, 1901, Reprinted, 1961, p.586. My transliteration)
15/04/2008
"stauroo, -o; fut. stauroso; 1 aor. estaurosa; Pass., I Pres. ores. stauromai; perfect estauromai; 1
aor. estaurothen; (stauros q.v.); 1. to stake, drive down stakes; Thuc. 7, 25, 6 [here oi Surakosioi
estaurosan which the Scholiast renders staurous katepezan]. 2. to fortify with driven stakes, to
palisade: a place, Thuc. 6, 100; Diod. 3. to crucify (Vula. crucifigo): tina, a. prop.: Mt. xx. 19; xxiii.
34; xxvi. 2; xxvii. 22, [23], 26, 31, 35, 38; xxviii. 5 ; Mk. xv. 13-15, 20, 24 sq. 27; xvi. 6 ; Lk. xxiii. 21, 2.3, 33; xxiv. 7,
20; Jn. xix. 6, 10, 15 Sq. 18. 20, 23, 41 ; Acts ii. 36; iv. 10;1 Co. i. 13, 23; ii. 2, [8] ; 2 Co. xiii. 4 ; Gal. iii. 1 ; Rev. xi.
8, (Add. to Esth. viii. 13 [34] ; for talah, to hang, Esth. vii. 9. Polyb. 1, 86,4 ; Joseph. antt. 2, 5, 4 ; 17, 10,
10; Artem. oneir. 2, 53 and 56 ; in native Grk. writ. anastauroun is more common). b. metaph.: ten
sarka, to crucify the flesh, destroy its power utterly (the nature of the fig. implying that the destruction is
attended with intense pain [but note the aor.]); Gal. v. 24; estauromai tini, and estaurotai moi ti, I have
been crucified to something and it has been crucified to me, so that we are dead to each other, all fellowship
and intercourse between us has ceased, Gal. vi. 14. [COMP. : ana-, su(n)- stauroo.]" (Thayer, J.H.,
"A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm's Wilke's Clovis Novi Testamenti Translated
Revised and Enlarged," T & T. Clark: Edinburgh, Fourth edition, 1901, Reprinted, 1961, p.586. My
transliteration)
16/04/2008
"xulon, -ou, to, (fr. xuo to scrape, plane), fr. Hom. down; Sept. for 'ets.; 1. wood: univ. 1 Co.
iii. 12; x. thuinon, Rev. xviii. 12; that which is made of wood, as a beam from which any one is
suspended, a gibbet, a cross, [A. V. tree, q. v. in B. D. Am. ed.], Acts v. 30; x. 39; xiii. 29; Gal. iii. 13; 1
Pet. ii. 24, ('ets, Gen. xl. 19; Deut. xxi. 23; Josh. x. 26 ; Esth. v. 14), - a use not found in the classics [cf. L. and S. s. v.
II. 4]. A log or timber with holes in which the feet, hands, neck, of prisoners were inserted and fastened with
thongs (Gr. kalon, xulopede, podokuke, podostrabe, Lat. nervus, by which the Lat. renders the
Hebr. cad, a fetter, or shackle for the feet, Job [xiii. 27] ; xxxiii. 11 ; cf. Fischer, De vitiis lexx. N. T. p. 458
sqq. ; [B. D. s. v. Stocks]) : Acts xvi. 24 (Hdt. 6, 75; 9, 37; Arstph. eq. 367, 394, 705); a cudgel, stick,
staff: plur., Mt. xxvi. 47, 55; Mk. xiv. 43, 48; Lk. xxii. 52, (Hdt. 2,63; 4,180; Dem. p. 645, 15; Polyb. 6, 37, 3;
Joseph. b. j. 2, 9, 4 ; Hdian. 7, 7, 4). 2. a tree: Lk. xxiii. 31 (Gen. i. 29; ii. 9 ; iii. 1 ; Is. xiv. 8, etc.) ; x. tes zoes,
see zoe, 2 b. p. 274a." (Thayer, J.H., "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm's
Wilke's Clonis Noni Testamenti Translated Revised and Enlarged," T & T. Clark: Edinburgh, Fourth edition,
1901, Reprinted, 1961, p.432. My transliteration)
16/04/2008
"`By 1914 the Lord will have full control. Gentile governments will be overthrown; body of Christ will be
glorified; Jerusalem will no longer be trodden; Israel's blindness will be turned away; there will be world-
wide anarchy; and God's kingdom will take the place of man's governments.' STUDIES [Russell, C.T.,
"Studies in the Scriptures"], Vol. 2, early editions [1889], pp.76-78. `... within the coming twenty-six years all
present governments will be overthrown and dissolved.... the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will
be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.' STUDIES, Vol. 2, pp.98-99 ... `... the `battle of the great day of
God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14.), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present
rulership ...' STUDIES , Vol. 2, early editions, p.101 ... `the full establishment of the Kingdom of God in the
earth at A.D. 1914' STUDIES, Vol. 3 [Ibid., 1891], p.126 `And, with the end of A.D. 1914, what God calls
Babylon, and what men call Christendom, will have passed away, as already shown from prophecy.'
STUDIES, vol. 3, p.153 ... `... the Scriptural declaration that the Millennium of peace and blessing would be
introduced by forty years of trouble, beginning slightly in 1874 and increasing until social chaos should
prevail in 1914.' WT 10/1890, p.1243 `The date of the close of that `battle' is definitely marked in Scripture
as October, 1914. It is already in progress, its beginning dating from October, 1874.' WT 1/15/1892, p.1355
`There is no reason for changing the figures; they are God's dates, not ours; 1914 is not the date for the
beginning, but the end! WT 7/15/1894, p.1677 ... All of the Lord's people looked forward to 1914 with
joyful expectation. When that time came and passed there was much disappointment. .. They were ridiculed
by the clergy and their allies in particular, and pointed to with scorn, because they had said so much about
1914, and what would come to pass, and their "prophecies" had not been fulfilled.' LIGHT [Rutherford,
J.F., "Light," 1930], vol. 1, p.194" (Reed, D.A., ed., "Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989," Compiled by
Steve Huntoon and John Cornell, Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1990, pp.99-101. Emphasis original)
17/04/2008
"KNOW ... 1. GINOSKO (ginosko) ... 2. OIDA (oida) ... The differences between ginosko ... and
oida demand consideration: ... while ginosko frequently implies an active relation between the one who
knows and the person or thing known ... oida expresses the fact that the object has simply come within
the scope of the knower's perception ; thus in Matt. 7:23 " I never knew you " (ginosko) suggests ` I
have never been in approving connection with you,' whereas in 25:12, " I know you not " (oida) suggests
'you stand in no relation to Me.'" (Vine, W.E., "An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: With
Their Precise Meanings for English Readers," [1940], Oliphants: London, Nineteenth impression, 1969, Vol.
11., pp.296-299. Emphasis original)
17/04/2008
"On his return in Kingdom power in the year 1914, did Christ find a `faithful and discreet slave' class
providing spiritual `food,' or information? Yes, he found such a `slave' made up of the remaining ones on
earth of his 144,000 `brothers.' (Revelation 12:10; 14:1, 3) And since 1914 millions of persons have accepted
the `food' they provide, and have begun practicing true religion along with them. This organization of God's
servants is known as Jehovah's Witnesses." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "You Can Live Forever in
Paradise on Earth," [1982], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition,
1989, p.193)
17/04/2008
"[Jn 17] 1-3 These things spoke Jesus, and having lifted up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour
has come. Glorify your Son in order that the Son may glorify you, even as you gave to Him authority over all
flesh, in order that all that you have given Him as a permanent gift, He should give to them life eternal. And
this is the eternal life, namely, that they might be having an experiential knowledge of you, the only genuine
God, and of Him whom you sent on a mission, Jesus Christ. " (Wuest, K.S., "The Gospels: Wuest's
Expanded Translation of the Greek New Testament: Volume I.," Pickering & Inglis: London, 1956, p.299)
17/04/2008
"John 17:3 `This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the
one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.' (NWT) One of the verses most frequently quoted by doorknocking
Jehovah's Witnesses is John 17:3. ... although most translations render the Greek as `to know' God, the
Watchtower version says `taking in knowledge.' This enables Witnesses to use the verse in offering
listeners a `free home Bible study' in order to take in this so-called knowledge of God. ... After that, the
persons studying with the Witnesses are `Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth' (2 Tim. 3:7, KJV). Jesus Christ himself revealed that he is `the Way and the Truth and the Life,' and that
`no one comes to the Father except through Me' (John 14:6, MLB). The `facts' that keep filling Witnesses'
heads never make up for the lack of actually knowing Jesus, the living Truth. It is like the situation of a
young fan of a famous movie star who has seen all the star's movies, read volumes of biographical material,
and decorated his walls with the star's pictures. Yet all of this knowledge can never add up to the sort of
relationship enjoyed by the star's adopted son, who lives in a close relationship with him. Real Christianity
involves being adopted by God as his child, and really coming to know him (see Gal. 4:5-9; Rom. 8:14-39).
Watchtower-supplied `knowledge' can never equal that." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered
Verse by Verse," [1986], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.80. Emphasis original)
17/04/2008
"That Jehovah's Witnesses assume such an intellectualist view of the knowledge of God may be illustrated
by their translation of John 17:3 in the NWT: `This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you,
the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.' Taking in knowledge refers to the
acquiring of doctrinal knowledge about God, implying that such acquisition is what is essentially involved
in knowing God and gaining everlasting life. A more literal rendering (as may be seen from the KIT
interlinear reading, as well as in virtually every other translation) would be, `This is eternal life, that they may
know you ...' (emphasis added). Here it becomes evident that what Jesus is referring to is personal
knowledge of God, knowledge that in essence involves a personal relationship with God. Of course this
will imply some doctrinal knowledge about God as well, but the emphasis is decidedly different. The
Jehovah's Witnesses' emphasis on doctrinal study is in their case a simple corollary of their rationalistic
approach to faith." (Bowman, R.M., Jr., "Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the
Way They Do," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1991, p.81. Emphasis original)
19/04/2008
"SCELEDRUS: ... But I must keep my mind on this job, and my eye on this door. [He plants himself squarely
across the door with arms outstretched, facing the door.] I'll stand this way. Nobody's going to make a mug
of me. ... PALAESTRIO: You're just in the right position to be spread-eagled on a cross [dispessis manibus,
patibulum quom habebis] outside the gate ... I know I'm going to end up on a cross; that's where I shall
follow my ancestors - father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather. " (Plautus, "Miles
Gloriosus," 359-360, in "The Pot of Gold and Other Plays," Watling, E.F., transl., Penguin: Harmondsworth,
1965, pp.166-167. Emphasis original)
19/04/2008
"A Roman citizen of no obscure station, having ordered one of his slaves to be put to death, delivered him
to his fellow-slaves to be led away, and in order that his punishment might be witnessed by all, directed
them to drag him through the Forum and every other conspicuous part of the city as the), whipped him, and
that he should go ahead of the procession which the Romans were at that time conducting in honour of the
god. The men ordered to lead the slave to his punishment, having stretched out both his arms and fastened
them to a piece of wood which extended across his breast and shoulders as far as his wrists, followed him,
tearing his naked body with whips. The culprit, overcome by such cruelty, not only uttered ill-omened cries,
forced from him by the pain, but also made indecent movements under the blows. This man, accordingly,
they all thought to be the unacceptable dancer signified by the god." (Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, "The
Roman antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus," Book VII. 69, Cary, E., transl., Heinemann: London, Vol.
VII, 1943, Revised 1950, Reprinted, 1962, pp.355,357)
19/04/2008
"21 `Jesus.' Gr. [...] (Ioe-soun'); J1-14, 16-18,22 (Heb.), [...] (Yeoshu'a ; `Jeshua,' meaning `Jehovah Is
Salvation')." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World translation of the Holy Scriptures: With
References," [1961], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1177)
19/04/2008
"Jesus as Jehovah in John 8:58 Among biblical scholars a growing consensus has formed behind the
opinion that John 8:58 deliberately echoes Yahweh's `I am' statements in Isaiah 40-55. The NWT obscures
the parallels in Isaiah by rendering them `I am the same One' or `I am the same'; but the Hebrew in each case
reads simply ANI.HU (literally, `I [am] he'), which the LXX renders as ego eimi (Isa. 41:4; 43:10; 46:4; 52:6;
compare with Deut. 32:39)." (Bowman, R.M., Jr., "The Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of
John," [1989], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Reprinted, 1995, p.120. Emphasis original)
20/04/2008
"Luke 23:43 And he said to him, `Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'(RSV).
The Watchtower Society's translators have moved the comma from before the word `today' to
after it. This moves the adverb `today' from the second half of the sentence to the first half. So,
instead of `today' identifying the time when the repentant evildoer on the cross will be with the Lord `in
Paradise,' the text is changed so that `today' appears to identify simply the time when Jesus was speaking.
This is another case in which JW leaders have changed the Bible to fit their doctrines. They teach that the
man who turned to the Lord on the cross and said, `Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom'
(v 42), did not go to be with Christ in Paradise that day. Rather, they claim that he was annihilated at death,
has not existed anywhere at all for the past two thousand years, and will eventually get to be with the Lord
in Paradise at some time during the future millennium. It was difficult for Jehovah's Witnesses to teach this
doctrine in view of Jesus' words to the dying man. Therefore, when they produced their own Bible, they
changed his words-or at least the punctuation, which changes the meaning of the words. ... Jesus used the
expression `truly I tell you,' or `truly I say to you,' on many different occasions. ... How did the New World
Bible Translation Committee punctuate the same expression in every other place where it appears? Where
did all the commas go? ... of the six verses where the Lord used this same expression in the Gospel of Luke,
as well as all seventy-one passages where he used it in the four Gospels. ... Luke 23:43 ... is the only verse
that they punctuated differently, so as to include the time element in the first half of the sentence-obvious
proof that Watchtower translators altered this verse to fit the sect's doctrines." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's
Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," [1986], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Thirty-first printing, 2006, pp.69-70.
Emphasis original)
20/04/2008
"Abaddon In his apocalyptic vision the apostle John saw an army of locusts ruled by `the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name
Apollyon.' (Revelation 9:11) Who is this angel of the bottomless pit? The Watchtower Society's 1917
commentary on Revelation titled The Finished Mystery explains the verse this way: `Whose name in the
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon.-And he is 'a bad one,' sure enough.-2 Cor. 4:4. But in the Greek tongue hath
his name Apollyon.-That is, Destroyer. But in plain English his name is Satan, the Devil.' (page 159,
emphasis in original) However, its 1969 commentary Then Is Finished The Mystery of God offers an
entirely different explanation: `In the Hebrew his name is Abaddon, meaning 'Destruction'; and in Greek it is
Apollyon, meaning 'Destroyer.' All this plainly identifies the 'angel' as picturing Jesus Christ, the Son of
Jehovah God.' (page 232). What a dramatic reversal! It is difficult to imagine a more drastic change in
teaching. The Watchtower organization identifies the angel of the bottomless pit first as Satan the Devil,
and then as Jesus Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses today are familiar with the latter interpretation but generally
unaware of the former. Orthodox commentaries point out that the angel of the bottomless pit experienced a
`fall' from heaven (Revelation 9:1) and hence classify him as demonic. But the goal in sharing this
information with JWs would be not to persuade them of Abaddon's true identity, but rather to help them
learn two more important lessons: (1) that their leaders employ the tyranny of authority in place of sound
hermeneutics, simply asserting interpretations for followers to accept, and (2) that an organization guilty of
confusing Satan with Christ can hardly be relied upon today for an answer to the vital question of who
Jesus is." (Reed, D.A., "Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," [1996], Baker: Grand Rapids
MI, Second printing, 1998, pp.15-16. Emphasis original)
20/04/2008
"Adventist Origins ... Jehovah's Witnesses are accustomed to defending themselves against the charge
that they are "upstarts, just a new religion started by some religious crank recently and without a good
background." ["Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose," 1959, p.8] Their official response has often
been to the effect that "Jehovah's witnesses are the most ancient religious group of worshipers of the true
God, the people whose history runs back farther than any religious denomination of Christendom, or even of
Jewry." [Ibid] In fact, their book Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose amplifies upon this by
asserting that "Jehovah's witnesses have a history almost 6,000 years long, beginning while the first man,
Adam, was still alive," that Adam's son Abel was "the first of an unbroken line of Witnesses," and that
"Jesus' disciples were all Jehovah's witnesses too." (pages 8-9) An outsider listening to such claims quickly
realizes, of course, that the sect has simply appropriated unto itself all the characters named in the Bible as
faithful witnesses of God. By such extrapolation the denomination is able to stretch its history back to the
beginnings of the human family-at least in the eyes of adherents who are willing to accept such arguments.
But outside observers generally dismiss this sort of rhetoric and instead reckon the publication of the first
issue of Zion's Watch Tower in July, 1879, as the birth of the Jehovah's Witness sect." (Reed, D.A.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," [1996], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Second printing,
1998, pp.19-20. Emphasis original)
20/04/2008
"Adventist Origins ... outside observers generally ... reckon the publication of the first issue of Zion's
Watch Tower in July, 1879, as the birth of the Jehovah's Witness sect. It was .... part of a large family of
Adventist denominations spawned by the Millerite movement of the early 1800s. William Miller was a
Baptist lay preacher who, in 1816, began proclaiming that Christ would return in 1843. ... disappointed
followers kept the movement alive, although in fragmented form, and their activities eventually led to the
formation of several sects under the broad heading of "Adventism." These included ... the Seventh-Day
Adventists, and various Second Adventist groups-one of which later split to form the Watch Tower
movement. ... a group headed by N. H. Barbour of Rochester, New York, looked to 1873 or 1874, and
published their calculations in Barbour's periodical the Herald of the Morning. ... " (Reed, D.A.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," [1996], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Second printing,
1998, pp.19-21. Emphasis original)
20/04/2008
"Barbour and Storrs were among the Adventist leaders who shaped the thinking of a newcomer to the
religious scene, teenager Charles Taze Russell. Born on February 16,1852, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Russell was ... raised a Presbyterian ... and a member of the Congregational church in the year 1868 when he
found himself losing faith. He had begun to doubt not only church creeds and doctrines, but also God and
the Bible itself. At this critical juncture a chance encounter restored his faith and placed him under the
influence of Second Adventist preacher Jonas Wendell. ... For some years after that Russell continued to
study Scripture with and under the influence of various Adventist laymen and clergy, notably Advent
Christian Church minister George Stetson and the Bible Examiner's publisher George Storrs. He
acknowledged this later in life ... In January 1876, when he was 23 years old, Russell received a copy of the
Herald of the Morning,N. H. Barbour's magazine. One of the distinguishing features of Barbour's group at
that time was their belief that Christ returned invisibly in 1874, and this concept presented in the Herald
captured Russell's attention. It meant that this Adventist splinter group had not remained defeated, as
others had, when Christ failed to appear in 1874 as predicted; somehow they had managed to hold onto the
date by affirming that the Lord had indeed returned at the appointed time, only invisibly. " (Reed, D.A.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," [1996], Baker: Grand Rapids MI, Second printing,
1998, pp.21-22. Emphasis original)
22/04/2008
"The Society also falsely claims that crux meant only `stake' in the days of the Roman historian Livy (59
B.C.-A.D. 17). We read in the 1950 New World Translation appendix: `The fact that stauros is
translated crux in the Latin versions furnishes no argument against [the `torture stake' doctrine]... .A cross is
only a later meaning of crux. Even in the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the first century B.C.E.,
crux means a mere stake' (p. 770). The 22 June 1984 Awake! likewise remarked: `The Latin word used for
the instrument on which Christ died was crux which, according to Livy, a famous Roman historian of the
first century C.E., means a mere stake' (p. 17). Finally, the version of the New World Translation published
in the same year stated: `In the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the first century B.C.E., crux means
a mere stake. `Cross' is only a later meaning of crux' (p. 1577). But this claim does not stand up to critical
scrutiny. Notice that the Society never backs up its claim with references to Livy's writings. A careful
examination of Livy's writings shows the historian never used crux the way the Society says he did, i.e.
with specific reference to a crux simplex. According to Packard's Concordance to Livy,the word crux
in its various inflected forms appeared six times in Livy's writings (p. 1011). These are quoted below with
their contexts: `Whereupon he scouraged the guide, and, to terrify others, crucified ( crucem sublato )
him, and going into the camp behind the entrenchments, dispatched Maharbal with the cavalry' (22.13.9).
`Five and twenty slaves were crucified ( crucem acti ), on the charge of having conspired in the Campus
Martius' (22.33.2). `He thereupon ... ordered them [high-ranking officials] to be scourged and crucified (
cruci adfigi ). Then he crossed over to his ships to the island of Pityusa' (28.37.3). (4) `The deserters were
severely treated than the runaway slaves, Latin citizens being beheaded, Romans crucified (crucem
sublati)' (30.43.13). `Some, who had been the instigators of the revolt, he scouraged and crucified
(crucibus adfixit), others he turned over to their masters' (33.36.3). `In this I for my part should trust my
own cause even if I were pleading, not before the Roman, but before the Carthaginian senate, where
commanders are said to be crucified (crucem tolli) if they have conducted a campaign with successful but
defective policy' (38.48.13). Each and every one of these references to crucifixion are laconic and devoid of
detail as to the manner of the execution; none of the six excerpts reveal any information indicating what the
nature of the crux was like. When Livy did refer to the crux simplex,he used the word palus: `Bound
to a stake (deligati ad palum) they were scouraged and beheaded' (28.29.11; cf. also 26.13.15). The
Society's claim must therefore be dismissed as false." (Leolaia, 2005, "The facts on crucifixion, stauros,
and the `torture stake,'" Jehovah's Witnesses Discussion Forum, 11 June)
22/04/2008
"5C `Torture Stake' Gr., [...] (stau-ros'); Lat., crux `Torture stake' in Mt 27:40 is used in connection
with the execution of Jesus at Calvary, that is, Skull Place. There is no evidence that the Greek word stau-
ros' here meant a cross such as the pagans used as a religious symbol for many centuries before Christ."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures: With References,"
[1961], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1577. Emphasis original)
22/04/2008
"In the classical Greek the word stau-ros' meant merely an upright stake, or pale, or a pile such as is used
for a foundation. The verb stau-ro'o meant to fence with pales, to form a stockade, or palisade, and this is
the verb used when the mob called for Jesus to be impaled. It was to such a stake, or pale, that the person to
be punished was fastened, just as the popular Greek hero Prometheus was represented as tied to rocks.
Whereas the Greek word that the dramatist Aeschylus used to describe this simply means to tie or to fasten,
the Greek author Lucian (Prometheus, I) used a·na·stau·ro'o as a synonym for that word. In the Christian
Greek Scriptures a·na·stau·ro'o occurs but once, in Heb 6:6. The root verb stau-ro'o occurs more than 40
times, and we have rendered it `impale,' with the footnote: `Or, `fasten on a stake (pole).'" (Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures: With References," [1961], Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1577)
22/04/2008
"The inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi-ne') Greek and used the
word stau-ros' to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a simple stake, or pale, without a
crossbeam of any kind at any angle. There is no proof to the contrary. The apostles Peter and Paul also use
the word xy'lon to refer to the torture instrument upon which Jesus was nailed, and this shows that it was
an upright stake without a crossbeam, for that is what xy'lon in this special sense means. (Ac 5:30; 10:39;
13:29; Ga 3:13; 1Pe 2:24) In LXX we find xy'lon in Ezr 6:11 (1 Esdras 6:31), and there it is spoken of as a
beam on which the violator of law was to be hanged, the same as in Ac 5:30; 10:39." (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures: With References," [1961], Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1577)
22/04/2008
"The Latin dictionary by Lewis and Short gives as the basic meaning of crux `a tree, frame, or other
wooden instruments of execution,on which criminals were impaled or hanged.' In the writings of Livy, a
Roman historian of the first century B.C.E., crux means a mere stake. `Cross' is only a later meaning of
crux. A single stake for impalement of a criminal was called in Latin crux sim'plex. One such instrument
of torture is illustrated by Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) in his book De cruce libri tres,Antwerp, 1629, p. 19.
The photograph of the crux·simplex on our p. 1578 is an actual reproduction from his book." (Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures: With References," [1961],
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1577)
22/04/2008
"The book Das Kreuz und die Kreuzigung (The Cross and the Crucifixion), by Hermann Fulda, Breslau,
1878, p. 109, says: `Trees were not everywhere available at the places chosen for public execution. So a
simple beam was sunk into the ground. On this the outlaws, with hands raised upward and often also with
their feet, were bound or nailed.' After submitting much proof, Fulda concludes on pp. 219, 220: `Jesus died
on a simple death-stake: In support of this there speak (a) the then customary usage of this means of
execution in the Orient, (b) indirectly the history itself of Jesus' sufferings and (c) many expressions of the
early church fathers.'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures:
With References," [1961], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1578)
22/04/2008
"Paul Wilhelm Schmidt, who was a professor at the University of Basel, in his work Die Geschichte Jesu
(The History of Jesus), Vol. 2, Tübingen and Leipzig, 1904, pp. 386-394, made a detailed study of the Greek
word stau·ros'. On g. 386 of his work he said: `[...] [stau·ros'] means every upright standing pale or tree
trunk.' Concerning the execution of punishment upon Jesus, P. W. Schmidt wrote on pp. 387-389: `Beside
scourging, according to the gospel accounts, only the simplest form of Roman crucifixion comes into
consideration for the infliction of punishment upon Jesus, the hanging of the unclad body on a stake,
which, by the way, Jesus had to carry or drag to the execution place to intensify the disgraceful
punishment... . Anything other than a simple hanging is ruled out by the wholesale manner in which this
execution was often carried out: 2000 at once by Varus (Jos. Ant. XVII 10. 10), by Quadratus (Jewish Wars II
12. 6), by the Procurator Felix (Jewish Wars II 15. 2), by Titus (Jewish Wars VII. 1).'" (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures: With References," [1961], Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1984, p.1578)
22/04/2008
"Evidence is, therefore, completely lacking that Jesus Christ was crucified on two pieces of timber placed at
right angles. We do not want to add anything to God's written Word by inserting the pagan cross-concept
into the inspired Scriptures, but render stau·ros' and xy'lon according to the simplest meanings. Since
Jesus used stau·ros' to represent the suffering and shame or torture of his followers (Mt 16:24), we have
translated stau·ros' as `torture stake,' to distinguish it from xy'lon,which we have translated `stake,' or,
in the footnote, `tree,' as in Ac 5:30." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the
Holy Scriptures: With References," [1961], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY,
1984, p.1578)
22/04/2008
"Matthew 10:38 - `torture stake' ([...], stau·ros',Greek; [...], tzelab' or [...], tzeluhb',Hebrew; crux,
Latin) This is the expression used in connection with the execution of Jesus at Calvary. There is no evidence
that the Greek word stau·ros' meant here a `cross' such as the pagans used as a religious symbol for many
centuries before Christ to denote the sun-god. On the ancient sculptures of Egypt may be seen
representations of their gods bearing the so-called crux an·sa'ta,a T-cross With a loop at the top, it being
a phallic symbol of life' In Babylonian inscriptions Tammuz was signified by a heart from which sprang a
single or a double cross. India, Syria, Persia, as well as Babylon and ancient Egypt, have all yielded objects
marked with crosses of various designs, including the swastika among the early Aryans. This betrays the
worshiping of the cross to be pagan." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the
Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.768-769.
Emphasis original)
22/04/2008
"In the classical Greek the word stau·ros' meant merely an upright stake or pale, or a pile such as is used
for a foundation. Th verb stau·ro'o meant to fence with pales, to form a stockade or palisade, and this is
the verb used when the mob called for Jesus to be impaled. To such a stake or pale the person to be
punished was fastened, just as when the popular Greek hero Pro·me'the·us was represented as tied to a stake
or stau·ros'. The Greek word which the dramatist Aes'chylus used to describe this means to fasten or fix
on a pole or stake, to impale, and the Greek author Lucian used a·na·stau·ro'o as a synonym for that word.
In the Christian Greek Scriptures a·na·stau·ro'o occurs but once, at Hebrews 6:6. The root verb
stau·ro'o occurs more than 40 times, and we have rendered it `impale', with the footnote: `Or, `fasten on a
stake or pole.'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek
Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.769)
22/04/2008
"The inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi·ne') Greek and used the
word stau·ros' to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a stake or pale, a simple one
without a crossbeam of any kind or at any angle. There is no proof to the contrary. The apostles Peter and
Paul also use the word xy'lon to refer to the torture instrument upon which Jesus was nailed, and this
argues that it was an upright stake without a crossbeam, for that is what xy'lon,in this special sense m e a
n s. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) At Ezra 6:11 we find xy'lon in the Greek
Septuagint (1 Esdras 6:31), and there it is spoken of as a beam on which the violator of law was to be
hanged, the same as at Luke 23:39; Acts 5:30; 10:39." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World
Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn
NY, 1950, p.769)
22/04/2008
"The fact that stau·ros' is translated crux in the Latin versions furnishes no argument against this. Any
authoritative Latin dictionary will inform the examiner that the basic meaning of crux is a `tree, frame, or
other wooden instrument of execution' on which criminals were impaled or hanged. (Lewis-Short) A cross is
only a later meaning of crux. Even in the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the first century B.C.,
crux means a mere stake. Such a single stake for impalement of a criminal was called crux simplex,and
the method of nailing him to such an instrument of torture is illustrated by the Roman Catholic scholar,
Justus Lipsius, of the 16th century. We present herewith a photographic copy of his illustration on page
647, column 2, of his book De Cruce Liber Primus. This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.769-770)
22/04/2008
"Religious tradition from the days of Emperor Constantine proves nothing. Says that monthly publication
for the Roman Catholic clergy, The Ecclesiastical Review,of September, 1920, No. 3, of Baltimore,
Maryland, page 275: `It may be safely asserted that only after the edict of Milan, A.D. 312, was the cross
used as the permanent sign of our Redemption. De Rossi positively states that no monogram of Christ,
discovered in the catacombs or other places, can be traced to a period anterior to the year 312. Even after
that epoch-making year, the church, then free and triumphant, contented herself with having a simple
monogram of Christ: the Greek letter chi vertically crossed by a rho,and horizontally sometimes, by an
iota. [...] The oldest crucifix mentioned as an object of public worship is the one venerated in the Church
of Narbonne in southern France, as early as the 6th century.' After showing the pagan origin of the cross,
The Encyclopædia Britannica,Vol. 7, of edition 11, page 506, says: `It was not till the time of Constantine
that the cross was publicly used as the symbol of the Christian religion.' That was but logical, for Emperor
Constantine was a worshiper of the pagan sun-god, whose symbol was a cross. Other experts have pointed
out that `before the fourth century the cross was not used as a Christian emblem in the East any more than
in the West'." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek
Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.770-771)
22/04/2008
"Rather than consider the torture stake upon which Jesus was impaled a relic to be worshiped, the Jewish
Christians like Simon Peter would consider it to be an abominable thing. At Galatians 3:13 the apostle Paul
quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 and says: `It is written: `Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.' Hence the
Jewish Christians would hold as accursed and hateful the stake upon which Jesus had been executed. Says
the celebrated Jewish authority, Moses Ma mon'i des, of the 12th century: `They never hang upon a tree
which clings to the soil by roots; but upon a timber uprooted, that it might not be an annoying plague: for a
timber upon which anyone has been hanged is buried; that the evil name may not remain with it and people
should say, `This is the timber on which so-and-so was hanged.' So the stone with which anyone has been
stoned; and the sword, with which the one killed has been killed; and the cloth or mantle with which anyone
has been strangled; all these things are buried along with those who perished.' (Apud Casaub. in Baron.
Exercitat. 16, An. 34, Num. 134) Says Kalinski in Vaticinia Observationibus Illustrata,page 342:
`Consequently since a man hanged was considered the greatest abomination-the Jews also hated more than
other things the timber on which he had been hanged, so that they covered it also with earth, as being
equally an abominable thing.'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian
Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.771)
22/04/2008
"The evidence is, therefore, completely lacking that Jesus Christ was crucified on two pieces of timber
placed at a right angle. We refuse to add anything to God's written Word by inserting the pagan cross into
the inspired Scriptures, but render stau·ros' and xy'lon according to the simplest meanings. Since Jesus
used stau·ros' to represent the suffering and shame or torture of his followers (Matthew 16:24), we have
translated stau·ros' as `torture stake', to distinguish it from xy'lon,w h i c h we have translated a `stake',
or, in the footnote, `tree,' as at Acts 5:30." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of
the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.771)
23/04/2008
"But the difficulty experienced by Carthaginians in pronouncing Latin names caused the guide to [B.C. 217]
understand Casilinum instead of Casinum; and quitting the proper road he led him down through the
districts of Allifae, Caiatia and Cales into the Plain of Stella. There Hannibal, looking round on the mountains
and rivers that enclosed the plain, called up the guide and asked him where in the world he was. And only
when the guide had answered that he should lodge that night in Casilinum, did he perceive at last how the
man had blundered, and that Casinum lay far off in another direction. Whereupon he scourged the guide,
and, to terrify the others, crucified [crucem sublato] him, and going into camp behind entrenchments,
dispatched Maharbal with the cavalry to ravage the Falernian country side." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book
22.13.6-9, Foster, B.O., transl., Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann: London, Vol. V, 1929, Reprinted, 1957,
p.245)
23/04/2008
"At about this time a Carthaginian spy who for two years had eluded capture was caught in Rome, [B.C. 217]
and after his hands had been cut of}, was allowed to go; and five and twenty slaves were crucified
[crucem acti], on the charge of having conspired in the Campus Martius." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book
22.33.1-2, Foster, B.O., transl., Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann: London, Vol. V, 1929, Reprinted, 1957,
pp.309,311)
23/04/2008
"Mago, upon his return to Gades finding himself shut out of the city, put in with his fleet to [B.C. 206]
Cimbii, a place not far from Gades. He sent emissaries and complained because the gates had been
closed against him, an ally and friend. The Gaditani tried to excuse themselves, saying it was done by a
mob enraged on account of some looting committed by the soldiers as they were embarking. He
thereupon enticed their sufetes-the highest magistrates among the Phoenicians-together with the
treasurer to a conference and ordered them to be scourged and crucified [cruci adfigi]." (Livy,
"History of Rome," Book 28.37.3, Moore, F.G., transl., Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann: London,
Vol. VIII, 1949, Reprinted, 1955, p.149)
23/04/2008
"The ships Scipio ordered to be put to sea and to he burned. Some historians relate that there [B.C.
201] were five hundred of them - every type of vessel propelled by oars; and that when the
Carthaginians suddenly caught sight of the fire it was as doleful for them as if Carthage itself were in
flames. The deserters were more severely treated than the runaway slaves, Latin citizens being
beheaded, Romans crucified [crucem sublati]." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book 30.43.12-13,
Moore, F.G., transl., Loeb classical library, Heinemann: London, Vol. VIII, 1949, Reprinted, 1955,
p.533)
23/04/2008
"While these events were taking place in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia, a slave insurrection rendered [B.C. 196]
Etruria almost a battle-field. Manius Acilius Glabrio, the praetor exercising jurisdiction in cases between citizens
and aliens, was sent with one of the two city legions to investigate and suppress it, and destroyed part of them,
cutting them off in detail, part of them by encountering them in a body; many of them were killed and many
captured; some, who had been the instigators of the revolt, he scourged and crucified, others he turned over to
their masters." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book 33.36.3, Sage, E.T., transl., Loeb Classical Library,
Heinemann: London, Vol. IX, 1935, Reprinted, 1953, p.373)
24/04/2008
"Now, since I have answered the charge that I initiated the war, I must render account for its conduct. [B.C. 187]
In this I for my part should trust my own cause even if I were pleading, not before the Roman, but before the
Carthaginian senate, where commanders are said to be crucified [crucem] if they have conducted a campaign
with successful result but defective policy ..." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book 38.48.13, Sage, E.T., transl.,
Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann: London, Vol. XI, 1936, Reprinted, 1958, p.169)
24/04/2008
"The herald's voice was heard, calling out the: names of those condemned in the war-council. [B.C. 206]
They were being dragged out into the centre stripped, and at the same time everything requisite for
punishment was being brought out. Bound to a stake [Deligati ad palum] they were scourged and
beheaded, while the spectators were so paralysed by fear that not only was no fierce protest against the
severity of the punishment heard, but not even a groan." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book 28.29.11,
Moore, F.G., transl., Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann: London, Vol. VIII, 1949, Reprinted, 1955, p.123)
24/04/2008
"I shall not see Appius Claudius and Quintus Fulvius, emboldened by their insolent victory, nor [B.C. 211]
shall I be dragged in chains through the city of Rome as a spectacle in a triumph, so that I may then breathe
my last in the prison, or else, bound to a stake [ad palum deligatus], with my back mangled by rods, may
submit my neck to the Roman axe." (Livy, "History of Rome," Book 26.13.15, Moore, F.G., transl., Loeb
Classical Library, Heinemann: London, Vol. VII, 1943, Reprinted, 1958, pp.51,53)
25/04/2008
"actio, -onis f action, doing; official duties, negotiations; (law) action, suit, indictment, pleading,
case, trial; (RHET) delivery; (drama) plot; ... ad prep (with acc) to, towards, against; near, at;
until; (num) about; with regard to, according to; for the purpose of, for; compared with; besides; ...
adfigo, -gere, -xi, -xum vt to fasten, attach; to impress (on the mind). ... adfixus ppp of adfigo.
..." (Kidd, D.A., "Collins Paperback Latin Dictionary," HarperCollins: London, 1995, pp.4-5. Emphasis original)
26/04/2008
"WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES o There is only one true religion.-Matthew 7:13,14. o True religion is
identified by its teachings and practices.-Matthew 7:16, 17. o Jehovah's Witnesses practice the worship that
God approves.-Isaiah 43:10." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "What Does the Bible Really Teach?"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 2005, p.153. Emphasis original)
26/04/2008
"`IT IS only logical that there would be one true religion. This is in harmony with the fact that the true God is
a God, `not of disorder, but of peace.' (1 Corinthians 14:33) The Bible says that actually there is only `one
faith.' (Ephesians 4:5) Who, then, are the ones who form the body of true worshipers today? We do not
hesitate to say that they are Jehovah's Witnesses," declares the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on
Earth." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Jehovah's Witnesses: Proclaimers of God's Kingdom,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1993, p.704. Emphasis original)
26/04/2008
"It is only logical that there would be one true religion. This is in harmony with the fact that the true God is a
God, `not of disorder, but of peace.' (1 Corinthians 14:33) The Bible says that actually there is only `one
faith.' (Ephesians 4:5) Who, then, are the ones who form the body of true worshipers today? ... We do not
hesitate to say that they are Jehovah's Witnesses." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "You Can Live
Forever in Paradise on Earth," [1982], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second
edition, 1989, p.190. Emphasis original)
26/04/2008
"How to Identify the True Religion LOGICALLY there must be just one true religion. This is in harmony
with the fact that the true God is a God, `not of disorder, but of peace.' (1 Corinthians 14:33) Furthermore,
Jesus Christ spoke of those who practice such religion as worshiping God `with spirit and truth,' and truth is
never at disagreement with itself. (John 4:23, 24) But who are these true worshipers today? How can you
identify them and know that their worship is indeed the one approved by God? ... Who, then, are the ones
who form the body of true worshipers today? On the basis of the evidence, which is known or available to
persons in all parts of the earth, we do not hesitate to say that they are the Christian witnesses of Jehovah."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life," Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society: Brooklyn NY, 1968, pp.122,130. Emphasis original)
26/04/2008
"We have seen that already in Jesus' lifetime magicians began to use his name in their spells. Acts 19.13
shows that the practice was continued, even by Jewish magicians, after his death. Accordingly, of the three
oldest representations of the crucifixion, two are on magical gems and the third probably refers to Christian
magical beliefs. Of the gems, one, a brown jasper formerly in the Pereire collection, shows Jesus hung by his
wrists from the cross and seated on a bar that projected from the upright to carry the weight of the body. His
legs are dangling and slightly spread. (These traits correspond to Roman practice.) Around the figure, and
on the reverse of the stone, is a magical inscription: `One Father, Jesus Christ, soa mnoa moa' etc.-a long
screed of mumbo jumbo. This probably dates from about A.D. 200." (Smith, M., "Jesus the Magician:
Charlatan or Son of God?," [1978], Seastone: Berkeley CA, Reprinted, 1998, p.81)
26/04/2008
"Perhaps the earliest of all representations of the crucifixion is a graffito, a picture scratched on the plaster
of a schoolroom on the Palatine hill in Rome. It shows a crucified figure seen from behind. The feet rest on a
small crossbar, the head is turned to one side: On that side, slightly below, stands a young man, one hand
raised in reverence. A misspelled Greek inscription reads `Alexamenos reveres God.' The date is about 200,
possibly a bit before. So far so good. But the head of the crucified figure is that of a donkey. There was a
long standing legend that the god of the Jews was a donkey, or donkey-headed. The legend probably arose
from the fact that the donkey was the sacred animal of Seth, the villain in the Egyptian pantheon, who was
commonly thought by the Egyptians to be the god of foreigners. .... The Jews were among the largest
groups of foreigners in Egypt, so their god, Iao, was identified with Seth. ... Therefore the donkey-headed
Seth on magical gems is identified as Iao (= Yah or Yahweh, the personal name of the Israelite god). The
Palatine graffito shows a further identification of Seth-Iao with the crucified Jesus. " (Smith, M., "Jesus the
Magician: Charlatan or Son of God?," [1978], Seastone: Berkeley CA, Reprinted, 1998, pp.81-82)
30/04/2008
"Matthew 10:38 - `torture stake' ... stau·ros', Greek; ... tzelab' or ... tzeluhb', Hebrew; crux,
Latin) This is the expression used in connection with the execution of Jesus at Calvary. There is no
evidence that the Greek word stau·ros' meant here a `cross' such as the pagans used as a religious
symbol for many centuries before Christ to denote the sun-god. On the ancient sculptures of Egypt
may be seen representations of their gods bearing the so-called crux an·sa'ta, a T-cross With a loop
at the top, it being a phallic symbol of life' In Babylonian inscriptions Tammuz was signified by a heart
from which sprang a single or a double cross. India, Syria, Persia, as well as Babylon and ancient Egypt,
have all yielded objects marked with crosses of various designs, including the swastika among the
early Aryans. This betrays the worshiping of the cross to be pagan." (Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society
of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.768-769. Emphasis original)
30/04/2008
"In the classical Greek the word stau·ros' meant merely an upright stake or pale, or a pile such as is
used for a foundation. Th verb stau·ro'o meant to fence with pales, to form a stockade or palisade,
and this is the verb used when the mob called for Jesus to be impaled. To such a stake or pale the
person to be punished was fastened, just as when the popular Greek hero Pro·me'the·us was
represented as tied to a stake or stau·ros'. The Greek word which the dramatist Aes'chylus used to
describe this means to fasten or fix on a pole or stake, to impale, and the Greek author Lucian used
a·na·stau·ro'o as a synonym for that word. In the Christian Greek Scriptures a·na·stau·ro'o occurs
but once, at Hebrews 6:6. The root verb stau·ro'o occurs more than 40 times, and we have rendered it
"impale", with the footnote: "Or, `fasten on a stake or pole."'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society,
"New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New
York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.769)
30/04/2008
"The inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi·ne') Greek and used
the word stau·ros' to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a stake or pale, a simple
one without a crossbeam of any kind or at any angle. There is no proof to the contrary. The apostles
Peter and Paul also use the word xy'lon to refer to the torture instrument upon which Jesus was
nailed, and this argues that it was an upright stake without a crossbeam, for that is what xy'lon, in
this special sense m e a n s. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) At Ezra 6:11 we find
xy'lon in the Greek Septuagint (1 Esdras 6:31), and there it is spoken of as a beam on which the
violator of law was to be hanged, the same as at Luke 23:39; Acts 5:30; 10:39." (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.769)
30/04/2008
"The fact that stau·ros' is translated crux in the Latin versions furnishes no argument against this.
Any authoritative Latin dictionary will inform the examiner that the basic meaning of crux is a `tree,
frame, or other wooden instrument of execution' on which criminals were impaled or hanged. (Lewis-
Short) A cross is only a later meaning of crux. Even in the writings of Livy, a Roman historian of the
first century B.C., crux means a mere stake. Such a single stake for impalement of a criminal was
called crux simplex, and the method of nailing him to such an instrument of torture is illustrated by
the Roman Catholic scholar, Justus Lipsius, of the 16th century. We present herewith a photographic
copy of his illustration on page 647, column 2, of his book De Cruce Liber Primus. This is the manner
in which Jesus was impaled." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the
Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950,
pp.769-770)
30/04/2008
"Religious tradition from the days of Emperor Constantine proves nothing. Says that monthly
publication for the Roman Catholic clergy, The Ecclesiastical Review, of September, 1920, No. 3, of
Baltimore, Maryland, page 275: `It may be safely asserted that only after the edict of Milan, A.D. 312,
was the cross used as the permanent sign of our Redemption. De Rossi positively states that no
monogram of Christ, discovered in the catacombs or other places, can be traced to a period anterior to
the year 312. Even after that epoch-making year, the church, then free and triumphant, contented
herself with having a simple monogram of Christ: the Greek letter chi vertically crossed by a rho,
and horizontally sometimes, by an iota. [ + ] The oldest crucifix mentioned as an object of public
worship is the one venerated in the Church of Narbonne in southern France, as early as the 6th
century.'" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek
Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.770)
30/04/2008
"After showing the pagan origin of the cross, The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 7, of edition 11,
page 506, says: `It was not till the time of Constantine that the cross was publicly used as the symbol of
the Christian religion.' That was but logical, for Emperor Constantine was a worshiper of the pagan sun-
god, whose symbol was a cross. Other experts have pointed out that `before the fourth century the
cross was not used as a Christian emblem in the East any more than in the West'." (Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.770-771)
30/04/2008
"Rather than consider the torture stake upon which Jesus was impaled a relic to be worshiped, the
Jewish Christians like Simon Peter would consider it to be an abominable thing. At Galatians 3:13 the
apostle Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 and says: `It is written: `Accursed is every man hanged upon a
stake.' Hence the Jewish Christians would hold as accursed and hateful the stake upon which Jesus
had been executed. Says the celebrated Jewish authority, Moses Ma mon'i des, of the 12th century:
`They never hang upon a tree which clings to the soil by roots; but upon a timber uprooted, that it
might not be an annoying plague: for a timber upon which anyone has been hanged is buried; that the
evil name may not remain with it and people should say, `This is the timber on which so-and-so was
hanged.' So the stone with which anyone has been stoned; and the sword, with which the one killed
has been killed; and the cloth or mantle with which anyone has been strangled; all these things are
buried along with those who perished.' (Apud Casaub. in Baron. Exercitat. 16, An. 34, Num. 134) Says
Kalinski in Vaticinia Observationibus Illustrata, page 342: `Consequently since a man hanged was
considered the greatest abomination-the Jews also hated more than other things the timber on which he
had been hanged, so that they covered it also with earth, as being equally an abominable thing.'"
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.771)
30/04/2008
"The evidence is, therefore, completely lacking that Jesus Christ was crucified on two pieces of timber
placed at a right angle. We refuse to add anything to God's written Word by inserting the pagan cross
into the inspired Scriptures, but render stau·ros' and xy'lon according to the simplest meanings.
Since Jesus used stau·ros' to represent the suffering and shame or torture of his followers (Matthew
16:24), we have translated stau·ros' as `torture stake', to distinguish it from xy'lon, which we have
translated a `stake', or, in the footnote, `tree,' as at Acts 5:30." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society,
"New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New
York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.771)
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to this page would be appreciated.
Created: 30 March, 2008. Updated: 2 January, 2009.