I originally
wrote this blog on August 15, 2009 and updated it on January 1, 2013. It has
been two years since the update and thought I would update the update. Below is
the original blog and the most recent update—February 1, 2015.
At the end I
have reprinted comments from some typical door knocking JW's and a letter from the
TV show Jeopardy about this controversy.
ORIGINAL BLOG—August 15, 2009
Not long ago a Witness wrote to me and said that on a recent episode of
“Jeopardy” the answer was “The New World Translation.” The question—“What is
the most accurate Bible translation?” This was my reply.
Wow! Did your question take me back. Thirty years ago a JW elder told me that, “Billy Graham said that the 'New World Translation was the most accurate translation.'” Of course this was easy to check. I wrote the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and asked them about the quote. His Ministry said that the “NWT was not an honest translation and that many of the WT doctrines were put into the NWT without any support from the original languages. It was not a translation they could endorse”—far from being the most accurate translation.
Now, you tell me that Jeopardy has put its stamp of approval on the NWT. Fortunately, we have the Internet. I did a Google search and typed in the search window, “every jeopardy question.” When the results came up, I clicked on “Digg - Every Jeopardy Question Ever.” In that search box, I typed in “Bible” and scrolled down the list of questions. On 12-19-97 under Organizations for $400 I saw this question, “The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is the legal agency of this religious group?” On 12-01-93 under Religion for $200 I found this question, "This groups corporate bodies are the Watchtower Bible and Tract Societies of PA and NY." On 9-14-84 under Religion for $200 is this question, “More common name for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?” Guess what? No question about the most accurate Bible Translation. I tried other categories—“Religion” and “Translation” but found nothing.
Let me know if you find the elusive, “What is the most accurate Bible translation?” This sounds like something that circulated around the organization but nobody bothered to check on its accuracy—or maybe no one DARED to check on its accuracy. Going against the organization can be so disfellowshipping.
UPDATE—as of 2-1-15
You can find every Jeopardy question and answer at:
Wow! Did your question take me back. Thirty years ago a JW elder told me that, “Billy Graham said that the 'New World Translation was the most accurate translation.'” Of course this was easy to check. I wrote the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and asked them about the quote. His Ministry said that the “NWT was not an honest translation and that many of the WT doctrines were put into the NWT without any support from the original languages. It was not a translation they could endorse”—far from being the most accurate translation.
Now, you tell me that Jeopardy has put its stamp of approval on the NWT. Fortunately, we have the Internet. I did a Google search and typed in the search window, “every jeopardy question.” When the results came up, I clicked on “Digg - Every Jeopardy Question Ever.” In that search box, I typed in “Bible” and scrolled down the list of questions. On 12-19-97 under Organizations for $400 I saw this question, “The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is the legal agency of this religious group?” On 12-01-93 under Religion for $200 I found this question, "This groups corporate bodies are the Watchtower Bible and Tract Societies of PA and NY." On 9-14-84 under Religion for $200 is this question, “More common name for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?” Guess what? No question about the most accurate Bible Translation. I tried other categories—“Religion” and “Translation” but found nothing.
Let me know if you find the elusive, “What is the most accurate Bible translation?” This sounds like something that circulated around the organization but nobody bothered to check on its accuracy—or maybe no one DARED to check on its accuracy. Going against the organization can be so disfellowshipping.
UPDATE—as of 2-1-15
You can find every Jeopardy question and answer at:
Once at the site
I clicked on “All Seasons.”
I used the 'Search Box' to conduct three searches and here are the results. I invite you to conduct your own searches and let me know the results.
I used the 'Search Box' to conduct three searches and here are the results. I invite you to conduct your own searches and let me know the results.
Search "Jehovah's Witnesses"
Jeopardy! Round, Double Jeopardy! Round, or
Tiebreaker Round clues (12 results returned)
"NESS" $2000: In 1931 the religious group called the watch tower Bible and
tract society adopted this new name
|
|
RELIGIONS $800: The Assemblies of God is the USA's top denomination in this
movement associated with speaking in tongues
|
|
RELIGION $1600: Joseph Rutherford of this group had his followers play
sermonettes on record players when going door to door
|
|
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME
RELIGION $1200: You'll find the official website of this
religious group at www.watchtower.org
|
|
RUSSELLMANIA $800: Until 1931 members of this religious movement founded by
Charles Russell were known as Russellites
|
|
KEEP THE FAITH $600: Their magazine is called "The Watchtower" &
their churches are called Kingdom Halls
|
|
THE
"HALL"S $400: Specific term for the place where
Jehovah's Witnesses meet to practice their faith
|
|
SECTS $200: Members of this Christian sect founded by Charles Taze
Russell often go door to door to preach the faith
|
|
ORGANIZATIONS $400: The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society is a legal agency
of this religious group
|
|
RELIGION $200: This group's corporate bodies are the Watchtower Bible &
Tract Societies of PA & NY
|
|
RELIGION $400: They do their publishing through the Watch Tower Bible &
Tract Society of Pennsylvania
|
|
RELIGION $200: More common name for The Watchtower Bible & Tract
Society
|
Final Jeopardy! Round clues (0 results
returned)
Players (0 results returned)
Search "New World Translation"
Jeopardy! Round, Double Jeopardy! Round, or
Tiebreaker Round clues (0 results returned)
Final Jeopardy! Round clues (0 results
returned)
Players (0 results returned)
Jeopardy! Round, Double Jeopardy! Round, or
Tiebreaker Round clues (0 results returned)
Final Jeopardy! Round clues (0 results
returned)
What does the typical JW believe? These comments were gleamed from the WWW.
(1) "Recently on Jeopardy one of the questions was...
'What is the most accurate translation of the
Holy Scriptures?'
"No one got the correct answer, so Alex Trebek
said, "The New World
"Translation of the Holy Scriptures, printed by the Watchtower
Bible Tract
Society."
(2) "I saw that airing; my husband, not a
Witness, was shocked to hear the
question.
"Answer:
Most accurate translation of the Bible.
"Question: The New World Translation of the Holy
Scriptures."
(3) "I saw the
show. I saw, heard, and watched the entire show with my own
two eyes."
Letter
from ‘Jeopardy’ about this controversy.
The following is
from the show 'Jeopardy' to WWW.Truth.net and
is in response to the question about the New World Translation being an answer
to the clue, “What is the most accurate translation of the Holy Scriptures?”
Dear Valued Viewer,
Thank you for your recent letter regarding a
Jeopardy! clue. We are always glad to hear from our viewers.
The clue "What
is the most accurate translation of the Holy Scriptures?" was never a clue
on Jeopardy! Our database containing all our questions and answers does not
have any such clue. Scripts of our games show no clues on that topic.
Our research on the origins of this "clue" has been
traced to an internet rumor. We hope you continue to watch
and enjoy Jeopardy!
Sincerely,
Jeopardy! Writers and
Researchers
No comments:
Post a Comment