I heard this quote many years ago and it came to mind again recently so I did some digging on its origin and meaning. It resonated with me for a number of reasons, the chief one being that humans know what they know due to this principle, and we as servants of God and Christ can and have benefited from it as well. Over the centuries, people have accumulated wisdom, and passed it on through books and other teaching methods. As Christians and as human beings in general, we strive to become more than who we are, and to gain “accurate knowledge” as Philippians 1:9 says.

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So here’s the complete quote:

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We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size. – Bernard of Chartres

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This insightful statement was humbly echoed by seventeenth-century scientist Isaac Newton in a letter to his friend Robert Hooke, dated February 15, 1676:

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If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.

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So where did we receive our Christian education? How did we come to learn what we have learned? Whose shoulders have we stood on to see what we have seen? How elevated are these vantage points? A large portion of our Biblical and Christian education has not come through simply reading God’s Word.  Much of course has, but not all has come from this perfect source. It has been pointed out in the pages of the Watchtower that we have learned what we know through “God’s channel, the faithful and discreet slave” as it is applied to the brothers from Bethel, namely the governing body. Here’s one of many citations from the Watchtower regarding our theocratic education:

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If we get to thinking that we know better than the organization, we should ask ourselves: “Where did we learn Bible truth in the first place? Would we know the way of the truth if it had not been for guidance from the organization? Really, can we get along without the direction of God’s organization?” No, we cannot! (WT 1983 1/15 p. 27 par. 20)

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The above statement is at least partially true for many of us reading this commentary, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing. You will likely agree that not everything that we have come to learn from standing upon these particular shoulders has been false or worthless. Scriptural counsel and sound admonition on parenting, Christian morals, how to be a good husband, a good wife, a good child, a good student, and more can be found in the tens of thousands of pages of accumulated WTS publications. The bulk of the content covered during the meetings at the Kingdom Hall deal with these practical and upbuilding topics. Even in matters of doctrine we have learned much from the pages of the WT, such as Is God a Trinity, the importance of using the Divine Name, what the condition of the dead is, the definition of the soul, and many other topics you could readily think of. But is that the end of the matter? Is there nothing left to learn outside of the Watchtower and Awake magazines?

Quite the contrary! We can broaden and deepen our spiritual education and become awakened to the false teachings and points of departure from the Scriptures that have been taught to many of us since infancy. Some teachings go “beyond the things written” (1 Corinthians 4:6) and others dogmatically cling to past traditions and beliefs right up to the brink of absurdity. We can also stand upon the shoulders of other scholarly Christians in recent times, such as Ray Franz, Carl Olaf Jonnson, Ron Frye, Peter Gregerson, Don Cameron and many, many others. These are not men inspired like Moses was when he took God’s dictation on Sinai for 40 days and nights. But nonetheless they were and are seekers and finders of truth. Not every deep thought and inspired utterance is associated exclusively with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. There are many true and sincere exposers of falsehood and illuminators of truth. (Philippians 2:15)   Websites like Freeminds, JWFacts, Perimeno, FriendofJehovahsWitnesses, JWReform, and a nearly countless number of blogs out there that have shown us the forest for the trees, and given us a broader and sharper picture of what truth is. (John 18:38)  And as our spiritual journey and life unfolds we collate it, we mediate on it and we pray for more insight. “What do we do next? Where do we go from here?” are appropriate questions, asked and answered in our minds only when the vantage point is clear and sharp. “Whom shall we go away to?” was what Peter asked the Lord in John 6:68 after many had been stumbled and shocked at the seemingly-strange words Jesus had spoken about feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood. He also said in John 4:24 that “God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” Deep knowledge and understanding of the Bible and the application of it in our lives is our goal. We want to worship in truth! The Ethiopian eunuch recognized this as brought out in Acts chapter 8, verses 30 and 31:

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Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”   And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.   (New American Standard Bible)

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So we all can benefit from “guides” in our spiritual life- it is an essential part of Christian humility and meekness. A meek person is teachable, and willing to learn more and take in instruction, not close himself off from it and decide he already knows everything. These guides can be a mature Christian brother or sister, or a Biblical Scholar whose work is respected. Guides are also found in commentaries and reference works such as Strong’s Exhaustive Bible Concordance, or Vine’s Expository Dictionary, and yes the Insight books even- especially in light of who write them… These giant-like vantage points can be found online and in book form. What’s important is that we avail ourselves of these guides so we can “stand on the shoulders of giants” and expand our knowledge.

An obvious point of argument though is how reliable and credible is the source?  Are we being guided and edified by mature counselors? Or ones that tell us only what we want to hear? Here is an excellent Bible example, mentioned in this excerpt from the Insight Book:

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Rehoboam, however, disregarded the good advice of the older counselors in preference to that of younger men his own age who told him to increase the workload of the people. The ten tribes responded to this harshness by making Jeroboam their king.—1Ki 12:1-20; 2Ch 10:1-19. (IT-2 p. 37 Jeroboam)

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So are we being guided by the right “giants”? Or does just listening to our peers and shutting everyone else out, like Rehoboam did qualify? While under inspiration Job said this:

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Does not the ear itself test out words as the palate tastes food?  Is there not wisdom among the aged and understanding in length of days? (Job 12:11-12)

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To add to our enlightenment we need data, and seeking out wisdom from the aged and experienced is a good thing. We need information and the WT Library is only one source. The Insight Books, as good as they are despite some flaws, are only a single source. Since Witnesses only “see” from these vantage points, they must widen out in their research.  As a person wakes up to the facts about Jehovah’s Witnesses and its organization and leadership, they need more perspective. Which of course can and does apply to any thinking person, in any group or movement. Suppose you had a good friend that was a sincere member of the LDS Church. Let’s say you asked them to do research on the authenticity of the account of Joseph Smith receiving golden plates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_plates) from the angel Moroni. This is one of their core beliefs, yet most Christians and others in society do not believe that the Book of Mormon is inspired by God or that there ever was an angel named Moroni in the first place. Your friend does believe though- because this is their faith and their religion. Ridiculing them is wrong and probably won’t work anyway. You ask them to genuinely test that belief and see if it is true or not, showing them Paul’s words at 2 Corinthians 13:5 where it says:

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Keep testing whether YOU are in the faith, keep proving what YOU yourselves are.

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They agree to objectively study the subject. Wonderful! You are excited to see what they come up with, confident that they will learn something concrete and hopefully new. If they spent, say, a dozen hours reading LDS literature and visiting official websites such as LDS.org would they be any closer to knowing whether this account was true or not? What if they consulted one of their elders, or even their stake president (a high ranking leader among their church) and asked him for help and clarification? Would they learn anything new on the authenticity of the story of Joseph Smith receiving the golden plates from an angel? It is highly unlikely. Would their search have been a thorough one?  Sadly, we would have to answer, “No.” He would not be very much (if any) closer to his goal if he did not go outside his faith and check all sources of information, secular and otherwise. Paul said that “the spiritual man examines indeed all things, but he himself is not examined by any man.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) The key word in this passage is “examine”. The original Greek word is anakrino. Notice its meaning:

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Strong's Greek Definition for #350
350  //an-ak-ree'-no//  AV-examine, judge, ask question,
     search, discern
1) examine or judge
1a) to investigate, examine, enquire into, scrutinise, sift, question
1a1) specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation
1a2) to interrogate, examine the accused or witnesses
1b) to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or
    defects of any person or thing

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To “examine all things” means that that topic or “thing” would have to undergo an intense scrutiny and investigation. Yes, Paul’s words have an urgency about them for us- this is a weighty matter to the Christian ear. After all, couldn’t a person’s everlasting life be at stake? What about their relationship with their heavenly Father Jehovah God and his Son Christ Jesus? Getting to know our Heavenly Father and his will for us is important- so much so that Paul said:

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[Jesus will come with] his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

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Think again how about much we need to examine these matters, and take advantage of the guides available to us. The Ethopian eunuch did this and benefited, as would our LDS friend that is struggling to verify the truth of the story of Joseph Smith and those gorgeous golden plates. Standing upon the shoulders of a variety of “giants” lets us see farther and possibly even see better than those that came before us. Or at the very least to see with clarity, above the haze of Satan’s World as he endeavors to “blind the minds of the unbelievers.”  (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) So we want and need a knowledge of the history and the track record of the Watchtower Society and its leaders. The Proclaimers book is a start, but only just that- a start. Not an end. Don Cameron in his excellent book “Captives of a Concept” recommends Witnesses research their theocratic history. Start with the Proclaimers book and then verify, “examine all things” to learn the facts of the matter. Look up these older publications. Go beyond mere surface knowledge and verify it, as did the ancient Beroeans. (Acts 17:10)  As thinking Christians endeavoring to “press on to maturity” we need to examine our beliefs and see if they stand the up to Bible truth. Evidence and vantage points are all around us in books, on the Internet, and from faithful ones that are still with us in the flesh. And even though the stereotypical “Angry Apostate” or person with an axe to grind that only spews negativity isn’t usually the best guide, we do recognize that sometimes we have to dig through mountains of mud to find gems, even occasionally on a site like that. (Proverbs 2:1-5) Some of these sites contain news and testimony from eyewitnesses and ones that have seen firsthand what goes on behind the scenes at Bethel. Just as our LDS friend needs to go outside his comfort zone and study more than just what his church leaders tell him, we too need to do the same. This quote from the Watchtower says it well:

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You have nothing to fear in examining your beliefs by the standard of God’s Word, for if you have the true religion you can only be reassured. And if what you believe is not in keeping with the Bible, then you should welcome the truth, because it leads to eternal life.—John 17:3. (WT 1968 7/1 p. 389 Is Your Religion the True One?)

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So then where did the Watchtower Society originally get their teachings and beliefs from? Independent Bible study and reading? Partially, yes. Standing on the shoulders of giants? Definitely yes. Individuals within the religion such as Russell, Rutherford, and Fred Franz  held sway and shaped 99% of the theology.  The Adventists among others “perfected” the 1260 days and the 3 1/2 times prophecies years before Russell started publishing the Watchtower. Many others tinkered with dates such as 1799, 1874, 1914, etc. Where did Rutherford get 1925 as the end date? Someone somewhere probably knows, but more important than the fact that Rutherford “made an ass out of himself” (WT 1984 10/1 p. 24) is what Newton later said:

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The time times and half time do not end before 2060. …. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. Christ comes as a thief in the night, and it is not for us to know the times and seasons which God hath put into his own breast. -From  An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture (1704), regarding his calculations “Of the End of the World” based upon the prophecies of Daniel

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IN SUMMARY, we consider the question Jesus asked of the apostles when he said “Whom do we go away to?” This is becoming an easier question for us to answer. We have learned that it is not a “where” question. It is not about a group, a movement, or an organization.  We serve God and Christ and that’s where our loyalty should be. We look to them first, and their written words. All other guides are a distant second as this 1946 Watchtower brings out. These are the ultimate shoulders that we stand upon.

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SOURCES OF INTEREST:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23401099-the-world-will-end-in-2060-according-to-newton.do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants
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14 Comments on “The Shoulders of Giants”

  1. andrew says:

    I agree JJ. We should see the Society as only one teacher among many. As you said there are things of value taught by the organization, unfortunately they insist on being viewed as the only channel of spiritual enlightenment.
    I like the quote from Newton which says that rash conjectures on the time of the end has brought the bible into discredit. We have seen how many when they leave the JW organ. become atheists. A visit to certain websites will confirm this. Although JWs respect the bible, their dogmatic approach to prophecy and understanding of doctrine in reality can weaken a persons respect for the bible. When many see that they have been misled about the organization, they may come to the conclusion that they also have been misled about the inspiration of the bible or the very existence of a loving Creator.

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  2. greybeard says:

    Great job JJ!

    I really like your example of the Mormon examining his faith. Think about it, If anyone from any religion or organization came to your door today trying to change you, what is the first thing you would do? Would you just join because it sounds good? Maybe except a Bible study? I know I would go online to the internet and research them as much as I could. If only JW’s or Mormons or any faith would do that now that they have the internet. Sadly many if not most who are JW did not have the internet when they joined. Know they are sinning if they look up anything on the GB/JWorg that is not from the Watchtower.

    I agree, Rutherford did make a total A** out of himself. Sad to say, the BG/JWorg still think he is a “giant” and they still stand on his shoulders. If anyone in the JW faith could be considered as a “giant” in my opinion it would be brother Russell. True he did get much from other “giants” but he did do much personal study and relied on holy spirit to guide him. He actually found much of the truth’s that the WT teach today. I believe most of the changes by Rutherford were way off if not all of them.

    Now this brings us to the governing body today. What have they come up with on their own? Do they guide most of the changes lately or does the legal department? I think many of us know the answer to that one. I actually view them more like midgets. I was standing on the shoulders of midgets! LOL That would make a funny picture wouldn’t it? But think about it, what new information have they came up with? What “new light”? I would like to know. I honestly can’t think of anything. One thing for sure is they will not be honest about their mistakes.

    Yes I believe I learned many good things at the Kingdom Hall but do I credit the GB/JWorg for that? Looking back, yes I did at one time. Now do I, NO WAY, I credit the true source, Jehovah and his son Christ Jesus. I bothers me to no end when the GB takes credit, patting themselves on the back and saying, “to follow us is the same as following Jesus.” YES it is true! They have made statements like that! Repulsive! As far as I am concerned they did not direct me to the true “channel” Gods holy spirit. They taught me they were the true “channel”. Am I sorry I was raised a JW? Honestly? Sometimes yes I am. I believe that most religions today teach good ethics here in the USA. i am glad I wasn’t raised in China, Russia or may other counties that are not God fearing as a whole. But as a whole, this country was based on serving God with freedom. I happen to think I would have had a very good chance of learning good morals in many other churches. Also I would have been much more likely taught to rely on holy spirit for direction in any other “christian” church. PLEASE do not take me wrong. I love my parents and I believe they did the best they knew how to do. I am glad I was taught good morals and biblical principles. Who is really the “giant”? Any man at all? In my opinion the only giant is Christ Jesus and that is it. Everyone else learned from him. He is the true channel and source of all good things. He and his father alone deserve ALL the credit.

    Do I sound like a bitter “apostate”? I hope I do not to you but if I do than maybe your viewpoint could be off. We have a right to be disappointed in false teachers, false Christ’s and false prophets. Please understand I am not trying to undermine your example of “giants” here JJ. I really like the point you are making and I know you know who the source of all wisdom is. I just have a problem with crediting any man for what God has given him. Are we not all “good for nothing slaves”?

    TMO 😉
    Your brother,
    Greybeard

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  3. greybeard says:

    I just read that 1946 watchtower article you pointed out JJ. http://i1218.photobucket.com/a.....eBible.jpg

    They really did have the right idea about organizations didn’t they… It makes me wonder how they did such a about face and preach otherwise. The person that wrote these words must have been around sense Russell’s day. That’s all I can figure. i just don’t se how a religion can flip flop so much without loosing many.

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  4. serein says:

    i didnt learn morals from the jws i learned them on my own i had them already, no one gave em or told me them i learned the bible befor i met jws, i may not have understud it or read it as much befor but i did still do it on my own i still folowed my prinsibles and i still wanted to be with god and be loved by him rememberd i folowed jws cos i was lonly and they made me think if i didnt i was gona die and that paradise was around the corner and id die if i didnt,so i had a study and got sucked in,cos i loved god and didnt want to die,that was over 22 years ago,they make themselfs the giants and people look up to them, im looking up to jehovah only man dosnt know how to lead himself never mind anyone else,i think the holy spirit comes to those who ask for knowlage and they only need a teacher if they dont understand still, i dont think anyone has the bible to a tee anymore and so im following my own path and hoping hes leading me.

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  5. LonelySheep says:

    JJ what a wonderful article. Well reasoned and very applicable. Nothing much more to add. Well done.

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  6. JJ says:

    Thanks Lonely Sheep. I hope that your Christian journey is going well. Are you an active Witness if I may ask?

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    • LonelySheep says:

      Hi JJ, Yes I am. Even as I type this reply to you, I’ve just come off the field service. Interestingly I had a conversation with an elder (about 2 hrs ago) and he got around asking me about the FDS. I kinda of dodged the question but it rankled me that every conversation with the elders and the like always come down to whether one has faith in the so called FDS.

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      • andrew says:

        I know how you feel LS

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      • Dennis says:

        Hi LonelySheep,

        Good to have you here. If you want to stay in you better be careful when they start asking you about your thoughts on the FDS. Could be that they are probing you as to your organizational loyalty.

        Dennis

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        • greybeard says:

          Hi lonely sheep and welcome. Most of us are in the same boat here. May I ask you, why the “elders” are probing your loyalty? Have you expressed doubts? Be very careful talking to the “elders”. But sounds like you know this. I just tell them, “there are some things I really do not understand but I am waiting on Jehovah to clear it up.” At this time I do my best not to go to meetings and avoid them when they come knocking. I am in the middle of fading out if possible.

          Your brother,
          Greybeard

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  7. LonelySheep says:

    Hi Guys,

    Thanks for the welcome :-)

    This site has become my ‘second’ home. I permanently reside at e-jehovahwitness, but this is a nice place to be as well.

    What I like about you guys is that you are still positive in wanting to worship Jehovah and his son Jesus. Sadly so many JW’s become embittered and turn their backs on God, when they find out that the organisation is far from perfect. This is so often reflected by the type of anti-God, anti-Witness sites that either spring up from their hatred or the type of posts they put up. They fail to realise that the R&F witnesses are completely ignorant of the MOL in their midst and have been thoroughly deceived. IMHO, their is no need to snipe at these as they don’t know better. It is the leadership at HQ who are the guilty ones. For the most part the R&F are in my opinion truly wanting to serve God, but have sadly been mislead.

    The reason the elders keep probing me is because I don’t hand in a report, yet go on field service, so I am ‘inactive’ active publisher if that makes any sense, and have been for the last 5/6 years. I have told them that the Friday meetings are boring and repetitive and that I’m not learning anything and therefore took myself of the school and don’t go any more. I’ve said to them as God’s people in the ‘last days’ how is it that we don’t have the FULL light as Daniel promised? And so it goes on… I go the Sunday meetings, but don’t answer up. Now the real sticking point is that I have 3 sons, who live with me. They have all come into the ‘truth’, are active publishers, one is a mini man, they do the talks, handle the microphones, etc, so they are puzzled that I could bring 3 children into the ‘truth’ yet be so spiritually ‘useless’ myself. So as one fellow brother who is also a doubter said to me, they don’t have a rule book for somebody like me. I’m ‘there’, but not ‘there’ and this all very confusing to them. To boot, I used to be a pioneer, took a book study group and was being groomed for the next level in the food chain. As the elder said to me yesterday on FS, why cant I just go back to how things were. I made it perfectly clear to him that I had no intention of changing my current course, much to his dismay. So he asked me why I bothered to go to the Sunday meetings? I told him just to keep in touch with the bros/sis and not to make myself a total stranger. And that is why I won’t fade. I really believe the time will come, when we will have to explain things to our Bros/Sis when the whole WT edifice comes crashing down and hopefully Jah will answer my prayers so that he may use me in some way to explain and help them. If I fade how will I do that?

    Any case, before I bore you guys to death I’ll sign off now. Keep up the good work of probing and asking and eventually our Great God and his son Jesus will show us the full light. Thanks for listening. :-)

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  8. belongingtojah says:

    greybeard:
    enjoyed your comments
    – the organization is more like the samaritan woman in John 4 – she went and told everyone in her town – come and see the man who told me everything I did.
    Then Jesus went and spent two days with them – then the men said to the woman – We do not believe any longer on account of your talk; for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man is for a certainty the savior of the world.

    No matter (who) introduces us to Jesus and his Word and the hope of eternal life.

    When we give ourselves over to him – Jehovah and Jesus come and make their abode with us personally – and teach us by Holy Spirit.

    How much we read and rely on his Word of truth – makes a difference in our progress.

    Does this sound correct to you?

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  9. Don Cameron says:

    “I don’t see how anybody can read Captives of a Concept and walk away thinking WT is God’s organization.“

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  10. miscreant droid says:

    Someone had once posted that some JWs joined up because of the WatchTower, and others remain in spite of it. We’ve gone searching for truth outside of the Org. because of our dissatisfaction, but we would find the same dissatisfaction from almost any church. Considering the media’s attention on the Catholic sex scandals it’s difficult to imagine that there would still be anyone in the pews, but, oddly enough, remain they do. Although I’ve abandoned the doctrinal teachings of the Org. as something worthless (1914, birthdays, blood transfusions, etc) it’s still possible for me to attend meetings and feel that God’s Spirit is there. I hope the same is true for any disillusioned Catholics who still fill the pews, but have learned to to be “innocent as doves and cautious as serpents” along the way.

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