Statistics about the Watchtower and Awake! magazines:
THE WATCHTOWER:
The monthly Public Edition has an average print run of about 42,000,000 copies, MAKING IT THE LARGEST CIRCULATION MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD." -Wikipedia; "The Watchtower"; Heading: "Distribution"; par. 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchtower#Distribution
It is published in 195 languages. Since its founding, The Watchtower has not missed a single issue and has enjoyed continuous circulation growth decade-by-decade.
(Read the Watchtower.)
-----------------------------------------------
AWAKE!
"Awake! is considered to be THE SECOND MOST WIDELY DISTRIBUTED MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD (after The Watchtower), with a total worldwide printing of 41,042,000 copies in 84 languages per month."
- Wikipedia; "Awake!" 1st par.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awake!
(Read the Awake! magazine.)
---------------------------------------------------
CHART
Click here to see the worldwide list of printed magazines with the total worldwide circulation, sorted by circulation per issue.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Has the practice of dowsing been proven to work and is it for Christians?
(1) Be capable of being duplicated by anyone who follows the appropriate steps.
(2) Be devised in such a way that the tester can not possibly manipulate the results (whether intentionally or otherwise).
To date, no claim has been found to be verified by a strict following of the steps outlined above.
Additionally, those who claim supernatural help in performing the practice of dowsing is considered divination or spiritism - a practice which is strongly condemned in the Bible. If you wish to follow the Bible, then you cannot do such things.
For much more, see
Dowsing
Practices That God Hates - #5 Magical Spells and Spiritism
Dabbling in the Occult - What's the Harm?
Thursday, December 24, 2009
How do I choose a religion?
The Bible claims to be inspired of God:
"All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness." (2 Tim. 3:16)
The Bible also says that there is “one Lord, ONE FAITH, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:4, 5)
Therefore, one needs to look for the one religion ("one faith") that follows the Bible the closest.
For more, see
Does it matter which religion you choose?
"All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness." (2 Tim. 3:16)
The Bible also says that there is “one Lord, ONE FAITH, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:4, 5)
Therefore, one needs to look for the one religion ("one faith") that follows the Bible the closest.
For more, see
Does it matter which religion you choose?
Where Can I Find The New World Translation Online?
Click here to read the NWT online.
Click here to read the NWT online in ten other languages.
For much more about the NWT, see
Defending The New World Translation
Click here to read the NWT online in ten other languages.
For much more about the NWT, see
Defending The New World Translation
Why Was The New World Translation Printed?
There were several reasons why the NWT was printed:
1) Most of the other translations used were made by those who were influenced by the pagan philosophies and unscriptural traditions that their religious systems had passed down from long ago as well as other influences.
2) Older and more reliable Bible manuscripts were becoming available.
3) As a result of archaeological discoveries, the Greek language of the first century was becoming more clearly understood, and
4) The languages into which translations are made undergo changes over the years. (For example, who today really talks like this?: "And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?" (Gen. 32:17 KJV)
Jehovah's Witnesses wanted a translation that was of the latest scholarship, one that was without spot by creeds or traditions, a literal translation that faithfully presented what is in the original writings and a translation that would be clear and understandable to modern-day readers.
For more, see
Defending the New World Translation
How does the accuracy of the New World Translation Bible compare to other translations?
1) Most of the other translations used were made by those who were influenced by the pagan philosophies and unscriptural traditions that their religious systems had passed down from long ago as well as other influences.
2) Older and more reliable Bible manuscripts were becoming available.
3) As a result of archaeological discoveries, the Greek language of the first century was becoming more clearly understood, and
4) The languages into which translations are made undergo changes over the years. (For example, who today really talks like this?: "And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?" (Gen. 32:17 KJV)
Jehovah's Witnesses wanted a translation that was of the latest scholarship, one that was without spot by creeds or traditions, a literal translation that faithfully presented what is in the original writings and a translation that would be clear and understandable to modern-day readers.
For more, see
Defending the New World Translation
How does the accuracy of the New World Translation Bible compare to other translations?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Did Jesus have a pre-human existence?
Jesus himself said that he lived in heaven before being born as a human:
"He that descended from heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:13)
"Because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38)
"What, therefore, if YOU should behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before?" (John 6:62)
"So now you, Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was." (John 17:5)
The Bible says that his origin was “from early times.” (Micah 5:2)
Jesus was God’s first creation...“the firstborn of all creation”. (Colossians 1:15) This means that Jesus is the only one directly created by God. Jesus is also the only one whom God used when He created all other things. (Colossians 1:16) Therefore, Jesus obviously existed even before "all creation" existed.
For more, see
Prov. 8:22-30 "Wisdom" and Christ
Who is Jesus Christ?
"He that descended from heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:13)
"Because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38)
"What, therefore, if YOU should behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before?" (John 6:62)
"So now you, Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was." (John 17:5)
The Bible says that his origin was “from early times.” (Micah 5:2)
Jesus was God’s first creation...“the firstborn of all creation”. (Colossians 1:15) This means that Jesus is the only one directly created by God. Jesus is also the only one whom God used when He created all other things. (Colossians 1:16) Therefore, Jesus obviously existed even before "all creation" existed.
For more, see
Prov. 8:22-30 "Wisdom" and Christ
Who is Jesus Christ?
If we don't go to heaven or hell, then what motivates us to serve God?
Our love for God motivates us to serve Him.
Must there be a reward or a threat for simply doing the right thing?
For example, do we wish to please our parents simply because we may get something out of it?
We owe Jehovah God everything. But not just that, also "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son." (John 3:16) We cannot possibly pay Him back for all that He has done for us. The least that we can do is to try and follow His requirements for us:
"The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole [obligation] of man." (Eccl. 12:13)
And even keeping God's commandments aren't burdensome but are for our own benefit! "For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)
We should consider ourselves fortunate and eternally grateful just to have the average longevity of 70 to 80 years of precious life that we do enjoy. (Ps. 90:10) But Jehovah God loves us so much that He has even provided for us a future promise of restoring a physical paradise on Earth and living forever upon it.
The more we learn about Jehovah, the more our love for Him grows and motivates us to serve Him.
For more, see
You Can Believe in a Paradise Earth
Must there be a reward or a threat for simply doing the right thing?
For example, do we wish to please our parents simply because we may get something out of it?
We owe Jehovah God everything. But not just that, also "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son." (John 3:16) We cannot possibly pay Him back for all that He has done for us. The least that we can do is to try and follow His requirements for us:
"The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole [obligation] of man." (Eccl. 12:13)
And even keeping God's commandments aren't burdensome but are for our own benefit! "For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)
We should consider ourselves fortunate and eternally grateful just to have the average longevity of 70 to 80 years of precious life that we do enjoy. (Ps. 90:10) But Jehovah God loves us so much that He has even provided for us a future promise of restoring a physical paradise on Earth and living forever upon it.
The more we learn about Jehovah, the more our love for Him grows and motivates us to serve Him.
For more, see
You Can Believe in a Paradise Earth
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)