GOOD NEWS FROM GOD! Not the WATCHTOWER! Part 1

I was recently given a copy of a new WT pamphlet, GOOD NEWS FROM GOD! (GNFG) It is 31 pages long and I read it in just under two hours. I am going to devote a few blogs to my thoughts about GNFG. WT quotes are in BLUE.

When I was handed GNFG, my first thought: A person receiving this might think that the Watchtower is generous, giving away this publication.

The Watchtower is NOT GENEROUS, because they SELL every one of their publications to their CASH COW, the individual JW at your door. (See my blog on the WT's CASH COW here.) The individual JW is generous. And they are generous because they are working hard for their salvation. “It is for the reward of eternal life that every last person on earth should now be working… [Jehovah’s Witnesses] are working hard now for the reward of eternal life… making themselves eligible to receive the reward of eternal life…Your hard work [is] proclaiming the good news of his kingdom.” WT, Aug. 15, 1972, p 491

Next, I noticed the collage of faces on the cover. There was a variety of ages, sexes and nationalities. CONCLUSION: this book is for everyone. 

Next, I decided to do a Picture Walk. If you are familiar with teaching reading at the Elementary School level, you may have heard of the term Picture Walk which is previewing the pictures in a book to familiarize the reader with the story prior to introducing the text. So what does a Picture Walk show? On page two (page one is the cover), there is a picture, covering half the page, of a young woman engaged in a "Watchtower Bible Study." She is reading GNFG, pen in hand, and an open Bible in front of her to be used (maybe) to look up the verses that are referenced in the text. What should concern a person who wants to study the Bible with one of Jehovah's Witnesses is that once you become a Witness the WT discourages real Bible studies.

Want to study the Bible? “Heavy research is not necessary. The Watch Tower has done it for you. The most beneficial study you can do is to read The Watchtower or Awake! or a new book by the organization.” The Watchtower, June 1, 1967, p. 338. This is why you rarely see a JW reading a Bible, and only a Bible, but you often see them reading a Watchtower or Awake! magazine.

Why does the WT stress this kind of Bible study? 

(1) Because the WT sincerely believes that if you read the Bible alone you will be in spiritual darkness, however, if you read only WT material, you will be in spiritual light. (Zion’s Watchtower—later renamed The Watchtower 9-15-1910, p. 298.)  The full quote can be found in my blog,"What is Wrong with Studying the Bible the Watch Tower Way? Part 2" here.

AND

(2) Because the WT sincerely believes that “Jehovah caused the Bible to be written in such a way that you need his human channel (WTBTS) to understand it.” The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 17 also “An individual must have The Watchtower to understand the Bible.” 1983 Yearbook, p. 21 

Back to our Picture Walk. As I made my way through GNFG, I noted that there were nine (9) pictures depicting a WT approved Bible study, i.e. reading a WT publication with a Bible nearby, ready to use but not necessarily used. The last picture, which takes up half of the last page, shows two couples at a "WT Bible study." All four are holding WT publications (two have the GNFG and two are holding What Does the Bible Really Teach?) and all four have a closed Bible on the table. A not so subliminal message as to the correct method for studying the Bible.

Two pictures were decidedly different than all the rest. On page 29 was the only Black and White picture which drew my attention. It shows a JW playing a record from a portable player to two prospective converts. The portable player was popular during Judge Rutherford's tenure as President of the WTBTS. Again, the WT material (on the record) takes precedent  over the Bible.

The second picture that caught my attention was on page 27. It is the only picture showing a child studying and it shows an adult studying a WT book with a child. Again, no Bible can be seen.

I then turned to page 3 and scanned down the page. There were three questions plus their answers. Question 1, "What is the news from God?", Question 2 "Why is the good news urgent?," Question 3, "What should we do?" The beginning answer to Question 3: "We should learn about God from his Word, the Bible. It is like a letter to us from a loving father."

What the WT fails to mention is that they do not want JW's studying the Bible without the WT guiding that study. I will look at this in Part 2 here.