Greetings,
Anyone who continues to claim that Witnesses are associated with the occult are spreading blatant falsehoods. This question only reveals what the questioner desperately wants to believe and its sole purpose is to prejudice others.
Jehovah's Witnesses condemn divination and spiritualism in all its forms. They have done this from their inception as Bible Students down to today.
This question’s false accusation is a misrepresentation based on the Witnesses simply citing the Catholic translator J. Greber as one of many scholars who had translated Jn.1:1 as the NWT did.
The fact is that Greber's translation had no connection with the translation of the NWT nor was it ever consulted. It was simply listed along with other versions which similarly translated Jn.1:1.
Claiming that Witnesses had some “involvement” with Greber or spiritism is a reprehensible and hypocritical slander.
First, Greber was a Catholic and the church NEVER condemned him nor distanced themselves from his scholarship!
Second other Trinitarian scholars have used Johannes Greber for support (see Metzger's "The Text of the New Testament", Bible Museum and Biblical Research Foundation and Duthie's How to Choose Your Bible Wisely).
And third, criticizing the Witnesses because of Greber's spiritism is hypocritical because almost all modern translations make use of the text by Westcott and Hort. Yet, these two Greek scholars belonged to a club called the Ghostly Guild. They were actually fathers of the New Age channeling movement. The Ghostly Guild evolved into the infamous Society for Psychical Research.
The fact is that almost EVERY translation can be linked to scholars who were involved in spiritism.
The NIV used Dr. Virginia Mollenkott as a consultant throughout its creation. Yet her book, Sensuous Spirituality, tells of her spirit guide and contact with her dead mother and she admits use of Tarot cards and the I Ching.
Even older versions like the KJV/NKJV have links to scholars who were involved in the occult in their textual ancestry. For example, Origen's OT, the Hexapla makes use of texts by Theodotian, Symmachus, and Aquilla. All three were Gnostic occultists.
Look at the NKJV logo. It is a symbol which was used in the ancient Egyptian mysteries. It was also used by Satanist Aleister Crowley around the turn of this century. The symbol can be seen on the covers of New Age books.
It is generally true that when someone cannot defend their theology from the Scriptures they usually distract by presenting slanted, incomplete and outright false accusations of what other religions teach. This type of question is promoted by biased individuals because they cannot defend their own beliefs with Scriptures, logic or facts.
Yours,
BAR-ANERGES
(Ron Rhoades)
From
Jehovah's Witnesses Defended, 2nd edition: Appendix C: The Watchtower and Johannes Greber
In 1955 The Watchtower magazine published a series of articles on the subject of life after death. In Part 3 of this series we read: "It comes as no surprise that one Johannes Greber, a former Catholic clergyman, has become a spiritualist and has published the book entitled ‘Communication with the Spirit World, Its laws and Its Purpose.’ (1932, Macoy Publishing Company, New York) In its Foreword he makes the typical misstatement: ‘The most significant spiritualistic book is the Bible; for its principal contents hinge upon the messages of the beyond to those existing in the present.’"
[1]
A few months later The Watchtower referred to several clergymen who agree with and support spiritism. The article makes this reference to Greber: "Says Johannes Greber in the introduction of his translation of The New Testament, copyrighted in 1937: ‘I myself was a Catholic priest, and until I was fortyeight years old had never as much as believed in the possibility of communicating with the world of God’s spirits. The day came, however, when I involuntarily took my first step toward such communication, and experienced things that shook me to the depths of my soul. . . . My experiences are related in a book that has appeared in both German and English and bears the title, Communication with the Spirit-World: Its Laws and Its Purpose.’ (Page 15, ¶ 2, 3) In keeping with his Roman Catholic extraction Greber’s translation is bound with a gold-leaf cross on its stiff front cover. In the Foreword of his aforementioned book ex-priest Greber says: ‘The most significant spiritualistic book is the Bible.’ Under this impression Greber endeavors to make his New Testament translation read very spiritualistic."
[2]
Thus we can see that Jehovah’s Witnesses knew full well that Johannes Greber was involved in spiritistic practices. That is why, in response to the question, "Why, in recent years, has The Watchtower not made use of the translation by the former Catholic priest, Johannes Greber?" The Watchtower replied: "As indicated in a foreword to the 1980 edition of The New Testament by Johannes Greber, this translator relied on ‘God’s Spirit World’ to clarify for him how he should translate difficult passages. It is stated: ‘His wife, a medium of God’s Spiritworld was often instrumental in conveying the correct answers from God’s Messengers to Pastor Greber.’ The Watchtower has deemed it improper to make use of a translation that has such a close rapport with spiritism. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)"
[3] But if Jehovah’s Witnesses knew back in 1955 that Greber was a spiritist, why is Greber’s translation cited with approval for its renderings of Matthew 27:52, 53 and John 1:1 in editions of The Watchtower between 1955 and 1983?
[4]
First it must be stated clearly and emphatically that such citations of Greber’s New Testament in no way lend support to occultism or those who embrace it. From its beginning, The Watchtower magazine has opposed spiritism and it continues to do so.
[5] The simplest explanation for The Watchtower’s citation of Greber’s translation is that those writers who used it in certain articles were unaware of the articles that had previously discussed Greber’s involvement with spiritism.
It is also possible that certain Watchtower writers believed that Greber’s translation was the work not only of a spiritist, but of a man who had a good grasp of ancient Greek grammar. (I personally do not have much confidence in Greber’s translation skills.
[6]) That is perhaps one reason why
Bruce Metzger chose to cite Greber’s New Testament translation when discussing Codex Bezae, which is the principle text used by Greber for his translation.
[7] It is a fallacy to argue that Greber, being a spiritist, is therefore incapable of apprehending the sense of the original language of the New Testament, at least in some instances. (underline added)
Witness critics would do well to ponder the account in Acts 16, where a demonized girl followed Paul and Silas shouting, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are publishing to you the way of salvation." (verse 17) Indeed, Paul did not get tired of her until she kept doing this "for many days," and finally he exorcised the demon from her. (verse 18) Even though the girl "had a demon of divination" and "used to furnish her masters with much gain by practicing the art of prediction" (verse 16), Paul tolerated her for some time. No doubt he realized that even though what she said was correct, her association with the spirit world could no longer be tolerated.
It is similar with the Watchtower’s use of Greber’s translation. In their case, however, those who cited Greber’s translation, among others, as supporting what they considered to be an accurate translation of certain passages, likely did so without knowing the details of Greber’s involvement with spiritism, even though other Watchtower writers knew and wrote about it.
Footnotes:
[1] "What Do the Scriptures Say About ‘Survival After Death’?" Part 3. The Watchtower, 1 October 1955, 603.
[2] "Triumphing over Wicked Spirit Forces," The Watchtower, 15 February 1956, 110-111.
[3] "Questions from Readers," The Watchtower, 1 April 1983, 31.
[4] See, for example, "‘The Word’—Who is He? According to John," The Watchtower, 15 September 1962, 554; "Questions from Readers," The Watchtower, 15 October 1975, 640; "Insight on the News," The Watchtower, 15 April 1976, 231.
[5] References proving this point are so numerous that the reader is best referred to the Watchtower Publications Index 1930-1985 and the 1986-1990 Index (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1986, 1990).
[6] See, for example, John 17:3, 20:28; 1Jo 5:20 and Rev 1:17, 18, to name a few.
[7] Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 3d ed. (New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 50-51, note 2. It could be that Metzger is simply making reference to a translation of Codex Bezae, without regard to its accuracy.
[This footnote refers to the third edition of 1992, but it was also in the second edition of 1968:
It may be mentioned that English translations of codex Bezae have been published by William Whiston (The Primitive New Testament [London, 1745] and by Johannes Greber (The New Testament: a New Translation and Explanation based on the Oldest Manuscripts [New York, New York, 1937).
The Text of The New Testament. Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. By Bruce M. Metzger. Professor of New Testament Language and Literature. Princeton Theological Seminary. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1968, p.50, note 2, p.51. (Note however that the first edition of this book is 1964 and the first Watchtower corroborative citation of Greber is 1962.)]
In closing, I want to stress that Johannes Greber never claimed that he used demonism to translate Matthew 27:52, 53 and John 1:1. The Watchtower was thus only using his translation to show that its translation in the NWT was not alone.
Final points:
- Even the esteemed Bible scholar Bruce Metzger cited his translation.
- The Watchtower was only using his translation to show that its translation in the NWT was not alone.
- When the Watchtower staff compared notes, it was seen that Greber claimed uncanny influence, thus it was inappropriate for the Watchtower to make any more use of it, and Metzger provided the bad example of citing his translation.
- Greber claimed to be influenced by angels, not demons. (In reality, I think he was a sham.)
The end!
Related news: The Vatican commissioned "teams of psychics":
Meet the Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism's Forgotten Martyrs
In identifying the remains of martyrs, the Vatican commissioned "teams of psychics": these "would journey through the corporeal tunnels, slip into a trance and point out skeletons from which they perceived a telling aura. After identifying a skeleton as holy, the Vatican then decided who was who and issued the title of martyr."
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-the-fantastically-bejeweled-skeletons-of-catholicisms-forgotten-martyrs-284882/?no-ist
Imagine that: official, unapologetic sanction of uncanny power!
Jehovah's Witnesses. Why do demons hate the "Trinity" doctrine?
