What Does the Bible Really Teach?
What Does the Bible Really Teach? is a 224-page book published in 2005, distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. It is used to help interested people to learn about the Bible as interpreted by Jehovah's Witnesses.
It was written under the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses[1]. The book's copyright is held by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc. and its stated "publisher" is Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc[2].
More than 99 million copies have been produced in 189 languages since the book was released in 2005.[3] It is informally known as the Bible Teach book.
Content
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The book's preface is intended to present the personal relevance of the Bible through a series of pictures and scriptures, along with a small description of how to locate Bible chapters and verses.
Each chapter begins with questions to focus the reader on what will be studied in that chapter. Other questions are found within each chapter, intended to help the student think about the subject. The book is purposely written in simple language, with an appendix containing further information on various doctrinal matters.[4]
The Bible Teach book discusses various biblical subjects as they relate to the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, such as “What is God’s Purpose for the Earth?”, “Real Hope for your Loved Ones Who Have Died”, and “What is God’s Kingdom?”. The Bible is frequently cited throughout the book.
Purpose
Jehovah’s Witnesses are encouraged to use the book to initiate Bible studies while preaching door-to-door. Once a Bible study is started, the goal is for the Bible teacher to continue visiting the student so that both may study the book together, on a regular basis if possible.
The book is intended to help teach people from various educational levels and religious backgrounds. The stated purpose of the publication is to study the material at whatever pace is required by the student to understand the information, rather than completing an entire chapter per session (as was encouraged with previous bible-study publications of Jehovah's Witnesses). The publishers encourage instructors to discuss the illustrations with the student, along with examples relevant to the student's own experiences.[4]
Students are encouraged to examine the material prior to studying each chapter with the Bible study conductor, using the questions at the bottom of each page, to "help prepare the student for the Bible study"[5]. It is also recommended that the student have a Bible at hand to refer to the cited scriptures. Jehovah’s Witnesses customarily read each paragraph aloud together with the student, and then ask the question(s) provided for that paragraph.[4]
References
- ^ Watchtower Society. “Jehovah Trains Shepherds for His Flock.” The Watchtower 1 May 2006: 26.
- ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania 2005. | p. 1 "Credits"
- ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Membership and Publishing Statistics
- ^ a b c Watchtower Society. “Teach What the Bible Really Teaches.” The Watchtower 15 Jan. 2007: 24-25.
- ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania 2005. | p. 7 Is This What God Purposed?”
External links
- Watchtower.org: Jehovah's Witnesses' official website.
- On-line availability of the book in MP3/ACC formats, at the jw.org web site.