Take Job for example. We have studied Job many times in the past few years in Watchtower studies. While that isn't bad in itself, we never learn anything new. We only learn about how he kept his integrity and we should keep ours.
Or David. David sinned but repented. If we sin, we should repent. Or Moses. Moses did exactly what Jehovah said even though it was hard at times. Abraham. Joseph. Solomon. Daniel. We know so much about those men and how we can apply their examples in our lives but we never learn anything new about them or their writings.
Think about all the articles we have about how husbands and wives and children should act in the congregation and in the family unit. We have so many articles about the preaching work. We have articles about how Christian's should act in general: No "backbiting". (1 Peter 2:1) No fornication. Etc.
There is nothing wrong with articles like these every once in a while. It is imperative that we continue to walk worthily of Jehovah. We should constantly "pummel" our bodies so that "after [we] preach to others [we] should not be disapproved somehow." (1 Corinthians 9:27) Reminders like these are good for us.
However, the public talks are topics that we know intimately being geared towards the new and interested ones. The Watchtower articles are all the same, how to act. The School and Service Meeting are all about the field ministry. Never do we learn anything new.
So, I was thinking that we could...
Something that I learned that I found interesting was about the book of 2 Corinthians. The tone and theme of 2 Corinthians 1-9 and 2 Corinthians 10-13 are completely different. During 2 Cor. 1-9 Paul is being kind and gentle with the Corinthian congregation. In 2 Cor. 10-13 he is markedly different. "I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you."-2 Corinthians 13:2-3, New International Version
Although we were not there we can come to a good conclusion as to what Paul was talking about. He said to the congregation in Corinth earlier in 2 Corinthians, "For, as it is, if someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or you receive a spirit other than what you received, or good news other than what you accepted, you easily put up with him. For I consider that I have not in a single thing proved inferior to your superfine apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, I certainly am not in knowledge; but in every way we manifested it to you in all things." (2 Cor. 11:4-5) It seems that false apostles were coming into the congregation and teachings things contrary to what the brothers and sister in Corinth has originally been taught. They even built themselves up by putting Paul down!-2 Cor. 10:10
By really paying attention to what we read, we can get a good background of 1 and 2 Corinthians. It seems that altogether, Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthians, two inspired letters and two uninspired. (See 1 Cor. 5:9-11; 2 Cor. 2:3-4) We find out that Paul wrote his very first letter to the Corinthians (not 1 Corinthians), which was not understood so he clarified his words in 1 Corinthians 5. After writing 1 Corinthians, Paul evidently wrote another letter, sometimes dubbed "The Severe Letter". Why? Something bad happened in the Corinthians congregation, something that hurt Paul, so he says that he wrote "The Severe Letter" with tears because he was experiencing "much tribulation and anguish of heart" regarding this.
Some may counter and say that he was speaking of the first letter to the Corinthians but there is nothing in 1 Corinthians that could explain his saying that he wrote it "with many tears." So there had to be another letter. Uninspired letters are not unheard of in the Christian Greek Scriptures.-Col. 4:16
What happened with this letter? Well, there are some theories. One group says that due to the difference in tone and subject, 2 Corinthians 1-9 and 2 Corinthians 10-13 were two different letters. Perhaps, some say, 2 Corinthians 10-13 is the severe letter that Paul wrote first and it was attached later to 2 Corinthians 1-9. This is probably not the case because there is no evidence of this. There would be something out there to prove this but nothing has been found.
Whatever happened to this letter, it must not have been important or else Jehovah would have seen to it being preserved to our day.
Interestingly, it seems that the Corinthian congregation was not unaccustomed to writing Paul letters of inquiry in certain subjects. (1 Cor. 7:1; 8:1) Maybe someone wrote Paul a letter explaining that some people were speaking against him. This may have prompted him to write "The Severe Letter", sending it along with Titus.-2 Cor. 12:18
After the incident of the riot caused by Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths, Paul might have left Ephesus and gone to Troas. (Acts 19:23-34; 1 Cor. 16:8) Upon arriving at Troas, Paul says that "a door was opened to me by the Lord." However, he "had no rest in [his] spirit because [he] did not find [our] brother Titus" and so he "said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia." (2 Cor. 2:12-13, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Many say that perhaps Paul was anxious because he wanted to know how "The Severe Letter" was received by the Corinthians.
After he left Troas, Paul went into Macedonia. He talked about his body having no rest due to "fights without - fears within." Titus then arrived with the report from Corinth (because he had been there earlier) and it was good, effectively encouraging Paul from what had been troubling him.-2 Cor. 7:5-7
The people who hold this viewpoint say that the inspired letter stayed in Corinth and was worn out from use, Jehovah not moving anyone to copy it. They also go on to explain about the difference in word and tone from 2 Cor. 1-9 and 2 Cor. 10-13. They say that while Paul was writing 2 Corinthians 1-9, word came to him that some people in Corinth were still causing trouble about Paul's position and authority as an apostle. This caused him to continue on and write the last four chapters.
Of course, there is no proof to back either of these viewpoints. We can not know if 2 Corinthians 10-13 is "The Severe Letter" or if 2 Corinthians 10-13 was added on later because Paul got a report that some people were still causing trouble after receiving the severe letter. No one can say for sure or else they would be going "beyond the things that are written" but we can see that something happened to Paul in between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians because of 2 Cor. 2:4, 12-13.
For now, the Governing Body will do as it pleases.
Although we were not there we can come to a good conclusion as to what Paul was talking about. He said to the congregation in Corinth earlier in 2 Corinthians, "For, as it is, if someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or you receive a spirit other than what you received, or good news other than what you accepted, you easily put up with him. For I consider that I have not in a single thing proved inferior to your superfine apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, I certainly am not in knowledge; but in every way we manifested it to you in all things." (2 Cor. 11:4-5) It seems that false apostles were coming into the congregation and teachings things contrary to what the brothers and sister in Corinth has originally been taught. They even built themselves up by putting Paul down!-2 Cor. 10:10
By really paying attention to what we read, we can get a good background of 1 and 2 Corinthians. It seems that altogether, Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthians, two inspired letters and two uninspired. (See 1 Cor. 5:9-11; 2 Cor. 2:3-4) We find out that Paul wrote his very first letter to the Corinthians (not 1 Corinthians), which was not understood so he clarified his words in 1 Corinthians 5. After writing 1 Corinthians, Paul evidently wrote another letter, sometimes dubbed "The Severe Letter". Why? Something bad happened in the Corinthians congregation, something that hurt Paul, so he says that he wrote "The Severe Letter" with tears because he was experiencing "much tribulation and anguish of heart" regarding this.
Some may counter and say that he was speaking of the first letter to the Corinthians but there is nothing in 1 Corinthians that could explain his saying that he wrote it "with many tears." So there had to be another letter. Uninspired letters are not unheard of in the Christian Greek Scriptures.-Col. 4:16
What happened with this letter? Well, there are some theories. One group says that due to the difference in tone and subject, 2 Corinthians 1-9 and 2 Corinthians 10-13 were two different letters. Perhaps, some say, 2 Corinthians 10-13 is the severe letter that Paul wrote first and it was attached later to 2 Corinthians 1-9. This is probably not the case because there is no evidence of this. There would be something out there to prove this but nothing has been found.
Whatever happened to this letter, it must not have been important or else Jehovah would have seen to it being preserved to our day.
Interestingly, it seems that the Corinthian congregation was not unaccustomed to writing Paul letters of inquiry in certain subjects. (1 Cor. 7:1; 8:1) Maybe someone wrote Paul a letter explaining that some people were speaking against him. This may have prompted him to write "The Severe Letter", sending it along with Titus.-2 Cor. 12:18
After the incident of the riot caused by Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths, Paul might have left Ephesus and gone to Troas. (Acts 19:23-34; 1 Cor. 16:8) Upon arriving at Troas, Paul says that "a door was opened to me by the Lord." However, he "had no rest in [his] spirit because [he] did not find [our] brother Titus" and so he "said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia." (2 Cor. 2:12-13, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Many say that perhaps Paul was anxious because he wanted to know how "The Severe Letter" was received by the Corinthians.
After he left Troas, Paul went into Macedonia. He talked about his body having no rest due to "fights without - fears within." Titus then arrived with the report from Corinth (because he had been there earlier) and it was good, effectively encouraging Paul from what had been troubling him.-2 Cor. 7:5-7
The people who hold this viewpoint say that the inspired letter stayed in Corinth and was worn out from use, Jehovah not moving anyone to copy it. They also go on to explain about the difference in word and tone from 2 Cor. 1-9 and 2 Cor. 10-13. They say that while Paul was writing 2 Corinthians 1-9, word came to him that some people in Corinth were still causing trouble about Paul's position and authority as an apostle. This caused him to continue on and write the last four chapters.
Of course, there is no proof to back either of these viewpoints. We can not know if 2 Corinthians 10-13 is "The Severe Letter" or if 2 Corinthians 10-13 was added on later because Paul got a report that some people were still causing trouble after receiving the severe letter. No one can say for sure or else they would be going "beyond the things that are written" but we can see that something happened to Paul in between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians because of 2 Cor. 2:4, 12-13.
"Interesting Points from the Bible"
Going back to the above statement from the April 1, 2007 Watchtower, there is nothing wrong with explaining interesting points from the Bible. Even Jesus explained interesting points from the Bible. (Matt. 17:10-13; Mark 9:10-13; Malachi 4:5-6) Why can't we do the same?In the April 1, 2007 Watchtower on page 23, the Governing Body made this statement: "The collective steward would not simply be a group of intellectuals who explain interesting points from the Bible." While this may be the case, it wouldn't be wrong to branch out and do this. There are many, many, many "interesting points from the Bible" that are neglected all the time because we focus on the same subjects far too much.
We can learn a lot from really, really looking at the entire Bible. For a long time, the Governing Body was really good at doing that and then they just stopped. While there is only vague evidence supporting the above overview, the evidence is there. It is interesting to learn. And even though we cannot be sure right now if all of those scholars who hold the above to be possible we can learn from this.
We can learn a lot from really, really looking at the entire Bible. For a long time, the Governing Body was really good at doing that and then they just stopped. While there is only vague evidence supporting the above overview, the evidence is there. It is interesting to learn. And even though we cannot be sure right now if all of those scholars who hold the above to be possible we can learn from this.
For now, the Governing Body will do as it pleases.
With Sincere Christian Love and Affection,
Brother Ebed Abodah
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