Do You Think The Bible is Literal or Allegorical

[~StarBright~]

thanks sara and BW... it does make sense.

I have a question.. the only copy of the bible i have is a jehova version.. is this much different to the christian bible?

[Heaven]

Starbright- I didn't answer coz I'm not sure but it seems no one else knows either! lol. Do you mean a version by the denomination 'Jehovah's Witness'?? If so then I assume it would be different in some ways because JWs have some different beliefs to mainstream christianity. But I really don't know much about it

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

thanks sara and BW... it does make sense.

I have a question.. the only copy of the bible i have is a jehova version.. is this much different to the christian bible?

If you mean a Jehovah's Witness Bible, the only difference is that it mention God's name, Jehovah. The easiest way to tell this is by going to Psalm 83:18 - 'That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.'

[~StarBright~]

Hi there sunflowa! The copy i have is from the JW's who visited me- its the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures... i just checked- yep- psalm 83:18 says just that- also everywhere through it that it mentions g-d he is refered to as Jehova. To be perfectly honest- i havent read the whole thing (not even much at all- i started and got as far as Noah's quest with the Arc) sort of why i wanted to check if its still a "standard bible" before i read it all! Just so i dont confuse myself!!

And yeah SJ- from the little i have gathered- there are fundamental differences with JW beleif compared to Christian beleif- which is i guess why i was wondering if their bibles would be vastly different. Otherwise- how are the differences made known IYKWIM.. maybe Sunflowa can help answer that one for us!

Sorry Bear for kind of taking the thread on a different track- hope its ok.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

There are some differences - we don't believe in the Trinity, or immortality of the soul, or christenings. I can't think off the top of my head of any more major differences, however I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Hi there sunflowa!

Just thought I'd let you know StarBright - you sound so excited, you just made my day!!

[Heaven]

Thanks sunflowa!
Ooh...I have a question. I knew some ppl once, I think they were JWs, and they didn't celebrate any holidays or birthdays or anything and instead they all got presents on their parents wedding anniversary. Is this right??

[~StarBright~]

Hi girls!

Glad i brought a smile to your face sunflowa!! I do get a bit excited about talking religions.. i am quite interested in all sorts of religions and how they fit in with my own theories on life etc- which change about as regularly as i change my undies!

SJ i have heard that too that JW's dont celebrate birthdays or christmas- but i hadnt heard of them exchanging gifts on parents anniversaries. I think it has something to do with not rewarding themselves or something... not 100% sure.

OK - a question now that may bring this thread back to the original topic.. if the bibles are not significantly different.. how come the beleifs can differ between christian and JW- unless the exact words have therefore been interpreted differently????

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

SJ i have heard that too that JW's dont celebrate birthdays or christmas- but i hadnt heard of them exchanging gifts on parents anniversaries. I think it has something to do with not rewarding themselves or something... not 100% sure.

We don't celebrate different holidays for different reasons - generally because they were not instituted by Jehovah or Jesus. Having said that, we do have a similar celebration to Easter, based on instructions at Matthew 26:26-30.

OK - a question now that may bring this thread back to the original topic.. if the bibles are not significantly different.. how come the beleifs can differ between christian and JW- unless the exact words have therefore been interpreted differently????

At times they have been interpreted differently, and some beliefs don't come from the Bible, but were instituted by others along the way. I think the Catholic bible has some extra books to ours, I'm not 100% sure why. I'll hafta research it and come back!

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Thanks sunflowa!
Ooh...I have a question. I knew some ppl once, I think they were JWs, and they didn't celebrate any holidays or birthdays or anything and instead they all got presents on their parents wedding anniversary. Is this right??

Yes, we don't celebrate Christmas, birthdays, Easter, Valentines Day, Mothers/Fathers Day etc. I know a lot of witness families make a big deal out of anniversaries - our family always did - as its pretty much the only thing we celebrate!

We also give gifts through the year, not for any special occasion, just because