by Hecce 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison mentions the Charles De Wilda episode at Bethel and the missionary's suicide in her book VISIONS OF GLORY--A History and Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Barbara Harrison served at Bethel during the time that the incidents took place and has written an excellent memoir confirming Bill Cetnar's account.
Thanks for that Athanasius, I have recently bought BGH's book and not had time to read it yet.
I remember Knorr at an assembly at Twickenham west London (Twickers). 1969? He was wearing a raincoat and looked completely miserable. I recall he pushed into a lunch queue without the social grace of smiling and saying "Would you mind?" to the person he was pushing in front of. I was new then... why didn't I realize at that moment that JWs were just another God and Jesus business?
My other recollection from that time was that he was a boring speaker lacking human warmth. I saw then that rank within the hierarchy was all. He had the right to make rambling unstructured talks because the drones were programmed to clap at everything utterance of his as if from heaven.
Is Bill Cetnar the anonymous source behind the book Edmond Gruss wrote, "The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society"?
http://www.amazon.com/Presidents-Watch-Society-Jehovahs-Witnesses/dp/1594671311/
I also remember reading that Knorr was obsessive and uptight in his attitudes to sex and the like, even giving each new set of bethel recruits instructions on how to use the bathroom.
Is this where Knorr introduced the use of cake tongs when taking a pee?
I think Knorr was the first one who associated masturbation with homosexuality.
If I had to guess, I'd say he jerked it a lot in his teens, started noticing good-looking guys, and naturally associated the two. :smirk:
Over the years, the organization has engaged in a significant degree of impression management and has gone PR mad.
Nowadays, the organization does its best to avoid the more unpalatable excesses of the Rutherford and Knorr eras and even Franz's era.
But its hard-nosed, unity-at-all-costs remains firmly in place.
The ungloved fist has simply become the lovely gloved fist.
What a starkly unloving organization. Talk about knowing a tree by its fruit.
What kind of person was Nathan H. Knorr?
As did Rutherford, Nathan Knorr always travelled first class, and often bought two seats. He would put his briefcase on the other vacant seat. Someone speculated he did this because he became very uncomfortable when travelling and people would ask him what he did for a living.
I believe Knorr lived on a 7th floor and had a fantastic view of the City. His quarters were also air conditioned and he had a full kitchen and full-time personal chef.
What a freakin' hypocrite......farkel
.
PASSPORT WITH SIGNED "OATH OF ALLEGIANCE" OF
WATCHTOWER SOCIETY PRESIDENT NATHAN H. KNORR"
.................
I recall an incident back in the 1960s when Knorr visited a local congregation to give the dedication talk for their new building (KH).
Local brethren were jockeying for position to sit next to him, take him to lunch/dinner and, um, field service. I was in the auto when Knorr went on the anticipated FS trip. It was entertaining. We got to the territory and, after all the fuss to work with him, Knorr declares that we could cover more ground and do it more efficiently if we each worked alone. He promptly opened the car door, stepped out, turned his back on everyone in the car and started strolling down the road. He turned to the left at the corner and went his own way.
The last thing Knorr wanted was to have his worshippers watch his less-than-convincing presentations to people who didn't give a rat's patootie who or what he was, or was not. By the way, the man sounded like a squirrel with stopped up sinuses in person.
