Jehovah’s Witnesses & Christians: Do you ever wish we could focus more on the Bible?

I do agree that people have begun to depend on secondary sources too much. It's okay to read these things in order to see the view points of others, but this is not an excuse to neglect the Bible itself. My personal favorite for a study guide is Our Daily Bread. You can find it at www.rbc.org. It gives a short story lesson each day, but also gives you a certain amount of chapters/verses to read directly from your Bible each day. So not only are you studying the view points of others, you're also studying your Bible by itself.

We do have public talks and lessons where we focus in-depth on chapters or verses of the Bible.

For Jehovah's Witnesses, our study is not just for the purpose of knowing what the Bible says, but for learning how to practically apply this information in our everyday service to God, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But could we use more direct Bible study? Certainly, and we are always encouraged to do so.

For several decades, the welcoming sign on the Watchtower building approaching the Brooklyn Bridge in New York has advised:

READ GOD'S WORD THE HOLY BIBLE DAILY

I agree with you about reading the bible. It is, after all God's word & thus is the main book we should constantly refer to for everything.

We, as Jehovah's Witnesses have a weekly bible reading program so that we all study/read the same chapters of the bible each week. That's beside our own preference of bible reading that we choose to do also. It's not a case of just reading through the scriptures, but meditating on them too.

Also, the scriptures are always referred to in all of our meetings. A point is never made without a scripture being referenced to support that point. We each use a bible at all of our meetings.

The public talk on a sunday is always 'sola scriptura' (as you said)

I know you disagree with our beliefs but have you ever been to a Kingdom Hall meeting? They are open to the public & all are invited to attend. I encourage you to bring your own copy of the bible if you ever come along.

This invitation is open to everyone

edit..

Naturally, people there would be friendly with you but if you stated that you were simply there to observe a meeting as you'd never been to one before, they wouldn't overpower you or anything. We are not interested in persuading anyone to do anything they don't want to. I do hope you at least try it.

Our meetings on sundays are in two sections.

The first part is a 30 minute public talk & the second is the Watchtower study where all the congregation is invited to participate if they choose to. The public talk is given by a brother who invites us to look up the scriptures as he goes through a particular subject. Some people at first choose to attend just the public talk

I agree, I'm a Jehovah's Witness, and that is why I enjoy the meetings at the Kingdom Hall so much. If you haven't been, your in for a treat, you will flip through the Bible so much your hands will be sore ;)

The Bible was provided to us by Jehovah, 2 PETER 1:21 - “Prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.”

We should feel as did the psalmist who said, “How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern.”—PSALM 119:97.

I'm reading the 4 Gospel accounts right now, but I think that the most encouraging books to read are Psalms and Proverbs, but "all scripture is inspired and beneficial".

**Edit**

All of our publications are scripturaly based, and readers are encouraged to look up ALL cited scriptures in their own Bible. They are in no way, intended to replace the Bible, they are simply Bible study aids.

Non Denomination Christian:

I understand your point of view, I would suggest that if something is missing in your congregation, and you feel uncomfortable, it may very well be a sign that you should start one yourself.

Secondly, I understand why people study those books etc etc, since people have different needs/ etc.

Far as I know, right living is more important than right believing. Just as Tony Campolo said in his iinterview. "We are not going to be asked theological questions like VIRGIN BIRTH: Agree, Disagree , Undecided?

Rather judged on something like Matthew 20 "When I was hungry, did you feed me" - whatever you did for the least of these you have done also unto me.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I feel that we DO focus very much on the Bible. I don't know any group of people who knows the Bible as well as we do. Why? for me 53 years of studying it, all parts of it. Intensely. We are not 50/50. Every lesson we have is focused on the Bible.

I was listening on the radio today and a talk show host was talking about how when he went to "Sunday school" they spent all summer playing "Jesus Christ Superstar". Why not spend the time reading the gospel accounts instead? All that music and entertainment doesn't seem to me that it really gets to the heart of who Jesus was and what he did.

Everyone should focus more on the Bible because it is the key to learning the truth.

And BTW Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians.

Why are you including JW's here...? Seems odd.

Anyway, I agree with you. I avoid "religious" books, at least most of the modern ones. A visit to any Christian bookstore shows you just how lucrative and explosive the "religious book" industry is. It's insane. No wonder Christianity is struggling nowadays.

(John 3:16) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that >>>everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.<<<

There is something to be learnt everywhere! One's religious choice is so much an accident of circumstance anyway!