God, Thought and Wisdom

◆ Commenting on the scripture at Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge,” R. F. Horton wrote in The Expositor’s Bible: “There can be no true knowledge or wisdom which does not start from the recognition of God. This is one of those contentions, not uncommon in the Sacred Writings, which appear at first sight to be arbitrary dogmas, but prove on closer inquiry to be the authoritative statements of reasoned truth. We are face to face, in our day, with an avowedly atheistic philosophy. According to the Scriptures, an atheistic philosophy is not a philosophy at all, but only a folly: ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.’

◆ “We have thinkers among us who deem it their great mission to get rid of the very idea of God, as one which stands in the way of spiritual, social, and political progress. According to the Scriptures, to remove the idea of God is to destroy the key of knowledge and to make any consistent scheme of thought impossible. Here certainly is a clear and sharp issue.

◆ “Now, if this universe of which we form a part is a thought of the Divine mind, a work of the divine hand, a scene of operations, in which God is realizing, by slow degrees, a vast spiritual purpose, it is self-evident that no attempt to understand the universe can be successful which leaves this, its fundamental idea, out of account; as well might one attempt to understand a picture while refusing to recognize that the artist had any purpose to express in painting it, or indeed that there was any artist at all. . . .

◆ “But if the universe is not the work of a Divine mind, or the effect of a Divine will; if it is merely the working of a blind, irrational Force, which realizes no end, because it has no end to realize; if we, the feeble outcome of a long, unthinking evolution, are the first creatures that ever thought, and the only creatures who now think, in all the universe . . .; it follows that of a universe so irrational there can be no true knowledge for rational beings, and of a scheme of things so unwise there can be no philosophy or wisdom. No person who reflects can fail to recognize this, and this is the truth which is asserted in the text. It is not necessary to maintain that without admitting God we cannot have knowledge of a certain number of empirical facts; but that does not constitute a philosophy or a wisdom. It is necessary to maintain the without admitting God we cannot have any explanation of our knowledge, or any verification of it; without admitting God our knowledge can never come to any roundness or completeness such as might justify our calling it by the name of Wisdom.

◆ “Or to put the matter in a slightly different way: a thinking mind can only conceive the universe as the product of thought; if the universe is not the product of thought it can never be intelligible to a thinking mind, and can therefore never be in a true sense the object of knowledge; to deny that the universe is the product of thought is to deny the possibility of wisdom. We find, then, that it is not a dogma, but a truth of reason, that knowledge must start with the recognition of God.”

Questions From Readers

● Why does the New World Translation at Matthew 6:9 read: “Let your name be sanctified,” whereas ever so many other English translations read “Hallowed”?—C. M., United States.

In rendering what is known as the Lord’s Prayer into English, the New World Bible Translation Committee adhered to a principle that was stated in the Foreword of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, namely, to restrict themselves as far as possible to one English word for each distinct word in the original Greek. The Greek word here is hagiazo, meaning “to set apart to a sacred use.”

The word “sanctified” is to be preferred to the word “hallowed” since it is used far more commonly. Not only that but, except for its use in our Lord’s prayer, hagiazo is always translated “sanctified” by the King James translators as well as the many others that use “hallowed” in this one instance; there are some twenty-five instances of such translation all told. So the New World Translation is only different in this instance because it alone is consistent. Why the King James translators chose to make an exception in the Lord’s Prayer and render hagiazo there “hallowed” we do not know. It may be that they thought it had a more pleasing sound. Certain it is that for the sake of literary effect they repeatedly took liberties, resulting in a beautiful piece of literature, but at the cost of consistency and accuracy. And quite likely others followed their example for the same reason.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

Being privileged to dwell in the house of Jehovah God results in innumerable blessings. Jehovah’s witnesses look with appreciation upon that spiritual house, the temple of God, and strive to aid others to appreciate it too. During July this will be done by offering the Bible-study aid “Let Your Name Be Sanctified” to all persons on a contribution of 50c.

STILL A FEW LEFT

Not all the Courageous Ministers Assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses are now just a happy memory. If you are among those still to experience the blessings that these Christian conventions have in store, be sure your plans are in order to attend all three days. Write for rooms if you have not already done so. You will want to realize to the full the upbuilding and enlightening program that has been planned to strengthen your faith and give you courage for the troubled days ahead. Write to WATCHTOWER CONVENTION at any address below.

UNITED STATES

JULY 13-15: Columbus, Ga., 4000 Beallwood Ave., Columbus. Greensboro, N.C., 918 Glenwood Ave., Greensboro. Hammond, Ind., 636 Conkey St., Hammond. La Crosse, Wis., 418 N. 16th St., La Crosse. Oakland, Calif., 1739 Eighth Ave., Oakland 6. Pomona, Calif., 1546 Garey Ave., Pomona. Pueblo, Colo., 523 E. Pitkin, Pueblo. Saginaw, Mich., 2112 W. Genesee St., Saginaw. Sheboygan, Wis., 1324 Michigan Ave., Sheboygan. Toledo, Ohio, 2409 Wayne St., Toledo 9. Trenton, N.J., 2044 Greenwood Ave., Trenton 9. Tucson, Ariz., 207 W. Flores St., Tucson. West Palm Beach, Fla., 532 Iris St., West Palm Beach.

JULY 20-22: Cape Girardeau, Mo., 313 N. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau. Helena, Mont., 1018 Cole St., Helena. Jersey City, N.J., 582 Bramhall Ave., Jersey City 4. Lexington, Ky., 746 N. Broadway, Lexington. Lima, Ohio, 1401 S. Sugar St., Lima. Northridge, Calif., 7441 Tampa St., Reseda. Springfield, Mo., 534 W. Catalpa, Springfield. Timonium, Md., 1625 Bellona Ave., Lutherville, Md.

JULY 27-29: Bakersfield, Calif., 1631 Lake St., Bakersfield. Canton, Ohio, 416 High Ave. SW., Canton 11. Eureka, Calif., 1324 5th St., Eureka. Fargo, N. Dak., 1014 S. 19th St., Moorhead, Minn. Jackson, Mich., 219 W. Prospect St., Jackson. Orlando, Fla., 1701 Lee St., Orlando. San Angelo, Tex., 1502 N. Magdalen St., San Angelo. Terre Haute, Ind., 303 S. 14th St., Terre Haute. Utica, N.Y., 910 Kellogg Ave., Utica.

AUG. 3-5: Charleston, W. Va., 812 Bigley Ave., Charleston 2. Longview, Wash., 1206 Douglas, Longview. Macon, Ga., 2230 Menden Ave., Macon. Manchester, N.H., 450 Hanover St., Manchester.

AUG. 10-12: Costa Mesa, Calif., 2277 Canyon Dr., Costa Mesa. Peoria, Ill., 127 W. Duryea Ave., Peoria Heights.

AUG. 17-19: Hutchinson, Kans., 328 East B, Hutchinson.

AUG. 24-26: San Antonio, Tex., (Spanish only), 114 Apperson Ave., San Antonio 7.

CANADA

JULY 13-15: Nanaimo, B.C., 305 Prideaux St., Nanaimo.

JULY 20-22: Kamloops, B.C., 260 Leigh Rd., North Kamloops. Prince Albert, Sask., 1204 3d Ave. W., Prince Albert.

JULY 27-29: Edmonton, Alta., 12425 125th St., Edmonton. Quebec, Que., (French only), 215 rue Anna, Quebec 8.

AUG. 3-5: Hamilton, Ont., 64 1⁄2 Wentworth St. N., Hamilton. Lethbridge, Alta., 125 13th St. N., Lethbridge.

AUG. 10-12: Brandon, Man., 834 10th St., Brandon.

AUG. 17-19: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 54 Wellington St. W., Sault Ste. Marie.

AUG. 24-26: Moncton, N.B., 15 Granville Dr., Moncton. Corner Brook, Newf., 34 Country Rd., Corner Brook.

BRITISH ISLES

JULY 13-15: Coventry, War., Kingdom Hall, Holyhead Rd., Coventry, Warwickshire. Edinburgh, Scotland, 5 Millar Place, Edinburgh 10.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

August 26: “Give Us More Faith.” Page 425.

September 2: The Deceptive Power of Wealth. Page 431.