• We do not have the original writings of the New Testament. What we have are copies of these writings, made years later—in most cases, many years later. And none of these copies is completely accurate since the scribes who produced them inadvertently and/or intentionally changed them in places. All scribes did this.



• There are more differences among preserved manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.
• The twenty-seven books we call the New Testament were not gathered into one canon and considered scripture, finally and ultimately, until hundreds of years after the books themselves were first produced.
• We do not know precisely how old the New Testament is. It could be 1,200 years; we just don’t know. But we do know that it’s not 2,000 years old as I was taught growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness.
• The third-century church father Origen, made the following complaint about the copies of the Gospel at his disposal: “The differences among the manuscripts have become great, either through the negligence of some copyists or through the perverse audacity of others; they either neglect to check over what they have transcribed, or, in the process of checking, they make additions or deletions as they please.”
• The story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery in John 7:53 – 8:12 is arguably the best known story about Jesus in the Bible. It is a brilliant story, filled with pathos and a clever twist where Jesus uses his wits to get himself—not to mention the poor woman—off the hook. However, to the careful reader, the story raises many questions. To name just two:
  • If Jesus did teach a message of love, did he really think that the Law of God given by Moses was no longer in force and should be obeyed?
  • Did he think sins should not be punished at all?
• Good questions, but as it turns out, the aforementioned verses were not originally in the Gospel of John. In fact, they were not originally part of any of the Gospels. Scribes added these twelve verses later. This story and these verses are not found in the oldest and best manuscripts of the Gospel of John and the writing style is very different from what is found in the rest of John.
• The last twelve verses in the Gospel of Mark were invented by a scribe many years after it was in circulation, and absent from the two oldest and best manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel. It’s a mysterious, moving, and powerful passage and used by Pentecostal Christians to show Jesus’ followers could speak in unknown tongues. Ironically, it’s also the principal passage used by “Appalachian snake-handlers” who take poisonous snakes in their hands to prove their faith in the words of Jesus.
• Paul did not write verses 34 and 35 in 1 Corinthians 14. They were added by a scribe, possibly influenced by 1 Timothy 2, which we know was written by a follower of Paul, not by Paul. (1 Timothy was forged in Paul’s name by someone living later.)
• The anti-Jewishness of some second- and third-century Christian scribes played a role in how the texts of scripture were transmitted. One of the clearest examples is found in Luke’s account of the crucifixion, where Jesus is said to have uttered a prayer for those responsible: “And when they came to the place that is called ‘The Skull,’ they crucified him there, along with criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:33-34) As it turns out, this prayer of Jesus cannot be found in the oldest manuscripts which date back to about 200 C.E. It’s first found in manuscripts produced during the Middle Ages.
• The Christian scribes—whether of the early centuries or of the Middle Ages—not only copied scripture, they changed scripture. Sometimes they didn’t mean to – they were simply tired, or inattentive, or on occasion, inept. At other times, though, they meant to make changes, as when they wanted the text to emphasize precisely what they personally believed about the nature of Christ, or about the role of women in the church, or about the wicked character of their Jewish opponents. (In the 1950s, Jehovah’s Witnesses rewrote the Bible, calling it The New World Translation, to make it fit their unique beliefs. So it should not come as a surprise that this type of thing happened many, many times in the long history of the Bible.)

How the Bible was finalized -- a basic history…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXFYgI5kld4

I did my research and talked to several friends. As it turns out, Rick and his wife, Inez, are fully committed to a very unique ministry that exposes the false teachings and hypocrisy of the Watchtower Society. It didn’t take me long to decide to appear on his show.

Fearon’s site, along with FreeMinds.org, Ex-JW.com, and BRCI.org , to name just a few, are all doing a great job sharing the truth about this dangerous cult.

I dialed into the show at 6:35 PM and listened in on an active conversation between several ex-JWs and people studying cult behavior. One of the alarming observations came from a disfellowshipped woman whose son was a known pedophile. She knew that he and society would be better off if he was in jail, but his local congregation’s elders were protecting him. They had no intention of reporting him to the local police because they believed his confession and resolve to stop his sordid behavior was enough evidence for them to forgive him of his sins.

At 7:00 PM, Rick closed the outside lines so that only the two of us could talk while assuring his phoned-in audience that there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of listeners already listening to the call.

Rick spoke for twenty-five minutes, sharing the goals for the Six Screens Ministry and reporting new developments in the activity and loss of members for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Promptly at 7:25 PM, Rick began the interview. For well over an hour he asked me questions about why I wrote my book, Growing Up in Mama’s Club, what my childhood was like, what I liked and disliked about Bethel, etc.

During the interview, he expressed his belief in the inevitable demise of the Watchtower Society in the very near future – which I took exception to. While I would certainly love to see such a thing happen, cult-like religions exist because they appeal to a certain type of people who cannot find what they are looking for in mainstream religion. All in all, I found Rick an enthusiastic and gracious host.

Finally Rick reopened the telephone lines to allow listeners to ask questions, which I found interesting and challenging. One caller from Kansas asked me to share some of the humorous events that occurred during my childhood. One woman, who had never been a Club member, called to tell me how entertaining my book was. She really enjoyed learning what being a Jehovah’s Witness was like. A caller from Washington expressed concern about the high incidence of child molestation among members of the Club. Another caller from Georgia asked when my sequel, Ghosts from Mama’s Club, would be published. I told him that it would be available in six months.

I enjoyed the nearly three-hour experience on the phone and look forward to hearing good results from Rick and Inez Fearon’s ministry on “Six Screens of the Watchtower” in the months ahead.

Shortly after the conference call, I checked my emails and was pleased to receive the following message from one of my good friends who encouraged me to be on Rick’s show: “I’m two hours into your call and you are doing great. You really hit the ball out of the park. You are calm, logical, and very friendly.”

I’ve been invited to be a guest on an open telephone conference call moderated by Rick Fearon at “Six Screens of the Watchtower” on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 7:00 PM (EST).

You can get specific information about how to join in and listen to the call at Six Screens of the Watchtower – Conference Calls. Access to the call is free (except for your own long distance call charges, if any), and you will have the ability to participate during the question and answer segment.

Here is the site’s official announcement:
“Richard Kelly author of the book “Growing up in Mama’s Club” will be our guest this Sat. Sept. 26, 2009 7PM EST. What can happen when a child is forced to adhere to strict religious ideology that he or she is unable to comprehend or believe? “Growing Up In Mama’s Club – A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses” answers that question by disclosing the rare insights of a boy and his day-to-day life experiences grappling with religious confusion for over sixteen years.”

Six Screens of the Watchtower is a good source of information about Jehovah’s Witnesses and the history of the Watchtower Society. It has a wide readership and its bi-weekly conference calls are attended by hundreds of former and current Jehovah’s Witnesses. The website has an audio collection of many of their past calls, many of them that you might find interesting and want to listen to at your leisure. I recommend that you take a few moments and check out Six Screens of the Watchtower.

If you have time, be sure to listen in on Saturday. I’d love to read your comments and impressions of the show.

Instructions on how to join the call:
Call (712) 432-8710. When asked for pin number use #9925. It’s easy to participate. When you come into the conference, you may have to hit *1 to unmute yourself. The conference call takes place every two weeks on Saturday night at 7pm EST.

Check it out…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMDbTB6YNAg

He also shares the following 1981 quote from the father of the USA conservative movement, Barry Goldwater: “There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this Supreme Being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God’s name on one’s behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I’m frankly sick and tired of these political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, and D. Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who think it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I’m warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of conservatism.”

Today, Douglas Adams says that respected writers and politicians, particularly in the United States, are no longer willing to challenge religious ideas. They are not allowed to say those things. And yet, when you look at it rationally there is no reason why those ideas shouldn’t be as open to debate as any other. Fortunately, it was a Brit, Richard Dawkins, who had the courage to speak up, fervently believing that religious extremists are a serious threat to democracy and human betterment. His book, The God Delusion is easy to read and loaded with facts to support those assertions.

“Oh, but he’s an Atheist,” some will say. But be reminded that people like Einstein and Carl Sagan, to name just a few, did not believe in a personal god. However, that didn’t diminish the scientific data they accumulated and shared in their lifetime.

My mother, a hard-core Jehovah’s Witness, won’t read the book. Her church leaders tell her that it is “the work of the Devil.” That’s a pretty good reason why I think a thinking person would want to do otherwise.

What Richard Dawkins has to say and how he says it in The God Delusion is not only an important work of science, but a clear, articulate warning of what could happen if the current wave of passionate religious irrationality is allowed to continue unchecked. It is one of the best books I have read in the last ten years and I agree with the New York Times Book Review when it said that The God Delusion contained “Lots of good, hard-hitting stuff about the imbecilities of religious fanatics and frauds of all stripes.”

As a boy of fifteen, Samuel Clemens had an acquaintance he was very fond of – a delightful young black man named Jerry – a slave – who had the daily habit of preaching sermons from the top of his master’s woodpile. He imitated the pulpit style of the clergymen of his day, and did it well. One of Jerry’s favorite texts was, “You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I’ll tell what his ‘pinions is.”

It seems that the black philosopher’s idea was that a man is not independent, and cannot afford views which might interfere with his bread and butter. If he was to prosper, he had to train with the majority; in matters like politics and religion, he had to think and feel with the bulk of his neighbors, or suffer damage in his social standing. In other words, he had to restrict himself to corn-pone opinions – at least on the surface. He must get his opinions from other people; he must reason out none for himself; he must have no first-hand views.

Mark Twain thought Jerry was right, in the main, but he did not go far enough. It was Twain’s belief that a man conforms to the majority view of his locality by calculation and intention; that a coldly-thought-out and independent verdict upon a fashion in clothes, or manners, or literature, or politics, or religion is a most rare thing – if indeed it ever existed. Basic human instinct moved one to conformity. It is man’s nature to conform; it is a force which not many can successfully resist. The cause is the inborn requirement of self-approval. And its source is the approval of other people.

We get our notions and habits and opinions from outside influences; we don’t study them. We are creatures of outside influences; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate.

The outside influences are always pouring in upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts. Morals, religions, politics, get their following from surrounding influences and atmospheres, almost entirely; not from study, not from thinking.

Why are Catholics, Catholics; Baptists, Baptists; Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jehovah’s Witnesses; Republicans, Republicans; and Democrats, Democrats? Mark Twain believed it is a matter of association and sympathy, not reasoning and examination, that hardly a man in the world has an opinion upon religion or politics which he got otherwise than through his associations and sympathies. Broadly speaking, there is nothing but corn-pone opinions. And broadly speaking, corn-pone stands for self-approval.

Men think they think upon great political questions, and they do; but they think with their party, not independently. They arrive at convictions, but they are drawn from a partial view of the matter in hand which is of no particular value.

We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking. Its name is Public Opinion. It is held in reverence. It settles everything. Some think it’s the Voice of God.

Now I don’t know if my awareness of corn-pone opinions is why I have no religious affiliation or why I can’t join a political party. But I’m not ashamed to admit that a lot of what I believe, I learned from Mark Twain. Like he said, “The trouble with the world is not that people know so little, but that they know so many things that ain’t so.”

Who can it be knocking at my door?
Go ‘way, don’t come ’round here no more.
Can’t you see that it’s late at night?
I’m very tired, and I’m not feeling right.
All I wish is to be alone;
Stay away, don’t you invade my home.”

(Lyrics by Men At Work)

“Easily recognizable by their tracts and immaculate appearance, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been going door to door for decades, spreading religious dogma, doing their bit to share their interpretation of the bible, and looking for converts.

“For obvious reasons this isn’t the easiest task in the world, and when you consider that this is all done on a voluntary basis, ( in the sense that you don’t get paid) it becomes even more remarkable that people would be motivated to rise to the challenge.

“To quote British comedian Tommy Cooper:

“The recruitment consultant asked me ‘What do you think of voluntary work?’ I said ‘I wouldn’t do it if you paid me.’ ”

“This book offers insights into ‘The Club’ through the eyes of a young man whose mother fully embraced JW doctrine, and found the spiritual guidance that she was desperately seeking at that time of her life. Naturally, his mother expected her family to join her on the path to eternal life in a New World, and despite early resistance, she succeeded in converting her husband, and together they set the rules for their children.

“Young Dickie was an unwilling participant, quickly concluding that something seemed wrong with some of the rules and beliefs, which would sometimes change drastically depending on the Club president at the time. Mainly to please his mother, he remained with the Club for sixteen years, abiding by the strange rules for the most part, participating in the long and frequent Club meetings at the Kingdom Hall and performing his door-to-door duties. At the same time he found himself leading a double life, as he never fully embraced the teachings of the Club and wished to lead a more normal life.

“Despite having his parents’ religious beliefs forced upon him, he managed to make the best of it, becoming an accomplished public speaker and perfecting his interpersonal skills. He also formed his own opinions on ‘the truth’ as preached by Club members, and observed how some rules seemed not to apply to the upper levels of the hierarchy.

“From this book, the reader will have a better understanding of this controversial religious group, the administrative structure and its influence over its members. Well written, easy to read, humorous in places and shocking in others, anyone considering joining JW or any similar group should read this before making a final decision.”

Esther and I have chosen “Two Remarkable Stories of Growing Up in Cults – Told with Compassion & Humor” as the title of our presentation. The format will be a lively interactive discussion between us talking about growing up in two totally different cults – Old Order Mennonites and Jehovah’s Witnesses – with surprising and shocking commonalities between these two very unique and secretive groups.

Our meeting started promptly at 4:00 pm at Applebees near the Tucson Mall. Rose Mary introduced me to the group, telling me that I should tell a bit of my story. It took only a few minutes, before it was non-stop questions and interesting observations. Liz Leggett wanted to know how my negative experience with religion as a child had impacted my view of religion today and asked how she could get a copy of the book. Mary Letts was curious about why the Club believes only 144,000 will go to heaven. Jan Graunke grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, which ironically was the city my sister, Mary Lyn, was living in when she was murdered. Sophie Katz and Betty Griffis shared their thoughts about organized religion and both purchased copies of my book. Prudy Cain mentioned that alot of people claim to be agnostics but on their death bed, most of them are praying to a Higher Power. She also commented that she was looking forward to reading my book.

All in all, it was fun to be the center of attention for an afternoon and I look forward to getting feedback on my book from the ladies in “Books with Rose Mary.”