What is a Generation? Does the Dictionary Agree with the Watchtower

From the "Aid to Bible Understanding" volume, now replaced by the "Insight on the Scriptures" volumes.

Why, why, why have the Governing Body decided to change the definition of the word 'generation' that in Hebrew, Greek and English means "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively"?

The only possible reasons are;
1. it suits their purposes*
2. they think Jehovah's Witnesses are stupid

* for those who don't understand the purpose of this post;
Consider, however, the definition the Governing Body give to the word "generation" in the April 15th 2010 Watchtower magazine;

How, then, are we to
understand Jesus’ words about “this generation”?
He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed
who were on hand when the sign began to become
evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other
anointed ones who would see the start of the great
tribulation. 

New Light or Old Light? The Generation

The Watch Tower publication "Insight on the Scriptures", dispensed as "spiritual food" by the "faithful slave" aka the Governing Body, provides Jehovah's Witnesses with truths about the Bible.

In volume one, under the heading "generation" the following definition is given;

"A Generation commonly refers to all persons who were born about the same time."

Since the publication of this tome, Jesus has "evidently" changed the meaning of "generation". So, should this entry in "Insight of the Scriptures" be rejected as "old light"? 


See also "Which Truth is "the Truth"? and Question for Jehovah's Witnesses: Do You Own a Dictionary?

Is it Later Than You Think?

Apparently it is. Notice, this magazine was published 42 years ago in 1968.

And the questions asked on the cover?

• is it later than you think?
• is time running out for this generation?
• what will the 1970s bring?

It turns out that, no, it isn't later than Jehovah's Witnesses were led to think in 1968. 42 years later this "old system" keeps lumbering onwards. Imagine being 18 years old when you received your copy of this Awake! magazine. You'd now be 60. Has your life turned out as you expected it to at the end of the 1960s?

And during those 42 years it became clear that the answer to the second question is 'yes', time had run out for 'this generation'. Thrice, in fact. First, in 1995 when the Governing Body decided that Jesus evidently meant 'this generation' referred to all of the wicked people who refused to repent since 1914. 

Then in 2008 the Governing Body decided that Jesus evidently meant the anointed on earth right now where 'this generation'.

And now, in 2010, again the Governing Body has decided that 'this generation' is actually two overlapping generations, as illustrated by the life of Fred W Franz (baptised in 1913) and the lives of the current members of the Governing Body, some of whom were born many years after 1935.

Of course, with each 'new'* iteration of what Jesus evidently meant by 'this generation', 7 million Jehovah's Witnesses automatically, by default, change what they evidently understand 'this generation' to mean.

But then they are instructed to view the words of the Governing Body as being the words of Jehovah God himself.**

What about the answer to the third question? Well, quite simply, the 1970s brought another failed prophetic expectation from the Governing Body, as published in magazine articles such as this 1968 Awake! With the failed expectations, many left the ranks of the Watch Tower Society.

I wonder what the rest of this decade will bring?

* the change in understanding published in 2008 was actually a re-hash of what they understood Jesus to evidently mean back in 1928.

** see references to the September 2010 Study Edition of the Watchtower magazine.

Question for Jehovah's Witnesses: Do You Own a Dictionary?

generation |ˌjenəˈrā sh ən|

noun

1 all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively : one of his generation's finest songwriters.

• the average period, generally considered to be about thirty years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children of their own.

• a set of members of a family regarded as a single step or stage in descent : [as adj., in combination ] a third-generation Canadian.

• a single stage in the development of a type of product : a new generation of rear-engined sports cars

I have a dictionary built into my computer. Technology is wonderful. But even for those who don't have this function, dictionaries are available in every library and school. When the word "generation" is consulted in the dictionary, it renders several definitions such as those outlined above. It's made fairly clear to us that the word "generation" in the English language means, when applied to a group of people,  all of the people born and living at about the same time.

In simple terms, a generation of people would be all of those born around the years 1970-1975, for example. They become a generation, and as they grow up and get married and have children of their own, a new generation is born.

Consider, however, the definition the Governing Body give to the word "generation" in the April 15th 2010 Watchtower magazine;

How, then, are we to
understand Jesus’ words about “this generation”?
He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed
who were on hand when the sign began to become
evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other
anointed ones who would see the start of the great
tribulation. 

 Perhaps it's not the Governing Body that's confused about the definition of "generation", but rather Jesus himself. After all, in this paragraph, the Governing Body tells readers of the Watchtower that Jesus "evidently meant" something completely different to how "generation" is actually defined and understood. In this case, when Jesus said "generation" he "evidently meant" groups of people living several decades apart who lives "overlap".

One has to wonder how gullible Jehovah's Witnesses are that they will willingly consume this "spiritual food" when it flies so fast and loose with the truth.

My question for Jehovah's Witnesses is this; do you own a dictionary?