Juan, the site isn't mine. it belongs to the authors of A Separate Identity, a history of the Watch Tower's early years. I am a fan of their research and have scanned material from my own collection for them. I think their project is worth while. I want to keep it going.
Help me keep this site active
by Old Goat 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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steve2
A blog site that needs others to request visits to avoid closing down is hardly worthy of staying up and running. If you need to artificially pump life into something that would otherwise die, isn't it a kindness to let it die?
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fulltimestudent
steve2: A blog site that needs others to request visits to avoid closing down is hardly worthy of staying up and running. If you need to artificially pump life into something that would otherwise die, isn't it a kindness to let it die?
Steve, is that an argument for legitimisation by popularity? (grin)
Sadly, so much knowledge of the past has been lost for a variety of reasons. It would be wonderful to know more about the early days of Christianity. We only know what was saved, and what was saved was often only saved by the victors in ideological battles.
Witness the arguments of Arian, seeking to preserve the notions of Jewish Christianity in which was not portrayed. Much of what he wrote was burned by the victors, and most of his arguments can only be reconstructed via the Athanasian counter arguments. How wonderful for historians if a cave could be found with copies of all the Arian wrote.
Think also of the famous library of Alexandria. How wonderful if that still existed. Yet it was burned during wars, famously the ideological war of Christians who tried to destroy anything not in the Bible, and then again by the Muslims for similar reasons -( the decree of Pope Theophilus in 391 AD; and the Muslim conquest of Egypt in (or after) AD 642.)
I argue that the site has value, at least for those who wish to understand a little more about the organisation that wasted our lives. A rational argumetn based on knowledge has far more value than the screaming of an irrational mob.
Flooded as we are by a surfeit of information all that's asked is that we visit and read from time to time.
Scroll through that site - the information is worth saving, though I have no idea how. Maybe a post about the information from time to time on on this site.
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steve2
FTS, I can acknowledge your points - who wants to be accused of arguing for legitimisation by popularity? Yikes - that's kind of close to the mob mentality.
Yet I also see a difference between the preservation of written material so it can be added to the fund of human learning and knowledge and "visiting" a site in order to "preserve" the availability of the information (which judging by so few visits, who is the site being preserved for?). It's akin to recommending people volunteer to take out old tomes held by the library and flick through the pages then return them in the hope that it will make it seem as if the books are still worth being retained by the library.
"Here ye! Here ye! Some older books risk being dumped. Therefore here is a roster of people who can borrow them so it creates the impression the books are still of relevance to readers".
Now that sounds eerily like legitimisation by popularity (see how many people "want" to borrow it): Generate an appearance of popularity so that blog site owners are able to justify its continued existence.
Perspective is everything.
BTW, the blog site actually looks incredibly informative. I knew Rutherford had progeny - but not how many and how damn good looking his son was and that he lived to be 96. Those nuggests are worth the price of admission alone.
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fulltimestudent
I understand your POV steve2.
And, I guess Old Goat's suggested solution is short term only. Maybe we need an internet museum for old (and useless) religions. There was once a site (dealing with ancient religion) called, "Where old Gods go to die," a sort of retirement village for the un-worshipped gods of the past. Purely a virtual place. ( I heard that Yahweh and Jesus made a forward booking, and all the other old gods put on a big protest and moved out.
I still argue for some way to preserve the information on the web-site in question.
Maybe some of the other web-sites could link it, like JWfacts, as an example. So that those who want to nosey around in the past can do so.
Strange, isn't it? IF I could have my life over, I think I'd like to be a historian. Not much money in it, but interesting to tease out what may have happened at some juncture in history.
The reason it would never have happened is because (as you've likely guessed) is that I became a witness and university was a no-no! Now I argue for the preservation of information about the JW religion.. haha! but part of the reason I do, is that (likely) the blokes at the top would like to see that information dead and buried, lost forever, so that they can make up a new mythology.
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In connection with Malcom, how interesting that he's with his father in 1915, during the well publicised debate with the reverend Troy, and in 1917 asks for exemption from the military draft (as a Christian) but then in 1918 he enlists in the army.
What happened? Did he break then with Joe R, or did he undergo a change of mind as to military service?