Aid to Bible Understanding (1969) was the first doctrinal and biblical encyclopedia of Jehovah's Witnesses. The book was originally published in 1969 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, revised in 1971 but superseded in 1988 by the two-volume work Insight on the Scriptures. It is also referred to as the Aid Book. Year 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia, encyclopaedia or (traditionally) encyclopædia,[1] is a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge. ... WT-Logo The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, headquartered in New York City, is the corporate entity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Insight on the Scriptures is a hard cover two-volume Biblical reference work, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania in 1988. ...

Contents

The Aid Book cross-references articles by biblical subject using over 40 different translations of the Bible. In this sense, the work is more like a concordance than encyclopedia. The first volume, covering articles beginning with A-D and part of E, was released on July 9, 1969 at the "Peace on Earth" International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The work has 1,696 pages, contains color maps on its end sheets and some black and white illustrations within with the text, but is not indexed. Text retrieval is simply cross-reference from text to text, hence hypertext. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... For other uses, see concordance. ...

Background

The writing of and research for Aid Book lead to different interpretations of Bible verses and seems to have been a catalyst for Jehovah's Witnesses to adjust doctrines after its publishing. For example, in the mid 1970's the Watchtower Society delegated oversight of congregations and branch offices to committees of elders. (See Nathan Knorr:Organizational Adjustments.) The commentary on the subjects "Older Man" and "Overseer" in the 1971 publishing of this book had called into question the use of individual elders as overseers, or single points of authority within the religion's organizational structure.^[1] This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ... A number of corporations are in use by Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Nathan Homer Knorr (April 23, 1905 - June 8, 1977) was the third president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society doing so on January 13, 1942, replacing Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had served in the position since 1916. ... Jehovahs Witnesses are organized into a hierarchy. ...

Controversy also arose regarding the Aid Book as high-profile members of the religion who contributed to its articles eventually left the organization. (See Raymond Franz.) Officially, the encyclopedia has an anonymous author, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, yet the organization admits over "250 researchers ... contributed to the work". (Aid 5). Raymond Franz, an ex-Jehovah's Witness, claimed to be one of these researchers and says the vast majority of the contributions submitted could not be used because of credibility or superficiality.^[2] Instead, Franz says that Nathan H. Knorr appointed Lyman Swingle (later part of the Governing Body), Edward Dunlap of the Gilead school staff, along with Franz in the Writing Department, as the primary writers. Frederick W. Franz, the organization's vice president, advised these writers when scholarly questions arose, or referred them to secular, Bible commentaries held by the world headquarter's library.^[3] Raymond Franz, circa 1980 Raymond Franz was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses from 1971 until 1980, and served at the organizations world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. ... A number of corporations are in use by Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Raymond Franz, circa 1980 Raymond Franz was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses from 1971 until 1980, and served at the organizations world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. ... Credibility is the believability of a statement, action, or source, and the propensity of the observer to believe that statement. ... Nathan Homer Knorr (April 23, 1905 - June 8, 1977) was the third president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society doing so on January 13, 1942, replacing Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had served in the position since 1916. ... The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses is a body of elders that oversees all the activities of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Watchtower Bible School of Gilead is the name given to the missionary school of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Frederick William Franz - (September 12, 1893-December 22, 1992) was an important figure in the organization of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Biblical exegesis (from the Greek ἐξηγεῖσθαι to lead out) is an extensive and critical interpretation of the Bible. ...

References

• Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Aid to Bible Understanding. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.: New York, 1971.

Official websites of Jehovah's Witnesses

• Jehovah's Witnesses: Watchtower Society Official Web Site
• Jehovah's Witnesses: Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information

External link

• Aid To Bible Understanding Read online (458MB)