Nate Merit

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Posts by Nate Merit

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  19

  Theocratic Warfare: Is It Still Practiced?

  by Nate Merit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was "in the truth" for about four years and was disfellowshipped thirty-three years ago at the age of nineteen.

  when i became involved, at age fifteen, i was taught 'theocratic warfare' which is 'lying for the truth.

  ' it really didn't bother me until i was several years older and became more introspective.

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  Nate Merit

  Well, I have no experience as an elder, though I was a 'ministerial servant' i seem to recall. I'm impressed. I'm speaking to an apostate elder!
  
  It's nice to know the watchtower leoprad hasn't changed its spots.
  
  Nate
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  19

  Theocratic Warfare: Is It Still Practiced?

  by Nate Merit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was "in the truth" for about four years and was disfellowshipped thirty-three years ago at the age of nineteen.

  when i became involved, at age fifteen, i was taught 'theocratic warfare' which is 'lying for the truth.

  ' it really didn't bother me until i was several years older and became more introspective.

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  Nate Merit

  alamb... Wow! That's marvelous news! Goodonyemate, strike a real blow against the WTBTS!
  
  I must tell you even this somewhat jaded old man was shocked at how brazen the CO was. It's surprising he didn't do time for contempt of court. I'd have given hin 90 days to think it over.
  
  I hope this causes real trouble for the WTBTS.
  
  Cheers,
  Nate
• 
  19

  Theocratic Warfare: Is It Still Practiced?

  by Nate Merit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was "in the truth" for about four years and was disfellowshipped thirty-three years ago at the age of nineteen.

  when i became involved, at age fifteen, i was taught 'theocratic warfare' which is 'lying for the truth.

  ' it really didn't bother me until i was several years older and became more introspective.

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  Nate Merit

  Maybe this worked. Thanks!
  
  Nate
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  13

  What do you feed your cat/dog pets

  by greendawn in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  to all those that have pet cats and/or dogs, what do you feed them?

  it is said that tinned cat/dog food is made with all sorts of horrible things such as anything from an animal that's not fit for human consumption, intestines, spleens, blood, hide, plus dead animals, feathers chemically treated to become digestible protein and rancid discarded oils from restaurants.

  cheap cereal fillers are added to lower production costs.

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  Nate Merit

  Holy Communion, under both symbols.
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  33

  The Septuagint or the Hebrew Text, Which Should Christians Choose?

  by Nate Merit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  (the following article by nathaniel j merritt was originally published in 1996 in the now-defunct orthodox way magazine, a small theological journal which explored obscure or controversial issues in the eastern orthodox spiritual tradition.

  should christians embrace the greek septuagint translation of the old testament or the hebrew text?

  if we are jews, then by all means let us embrace the hebrew text.

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  Nate Merit

  Nathan....I would say that the Bible is an assemblage, an anthology of various different literary genres, and thus some interpretive approaches are more appropriate than others depending on the particular book. In the case of gospels like Mark and John, a mythic approach is especially valuable.

  You may have also seen some of my earlier posts where I, for example, look at the Reed Sea narrative from the point of view of the primeval conflict myth, and how the conflict myth relates to royal ideology.
  
  Hi Leolaia
  
  An "assemblage." Indeed it is, but "assemblage" is striking my funny bone this morning. Sometimes words, simply as sounds devoid of meaning, make me laugh. Words such as 'slob' or 'defunct.' I feel very diaphanous this morning LOL! However, time to get to the point...
  
  Yes, I agree. Different interpretive methods are called for in different literary genres. The main point I try to make is to not not take the Bible as literal, factual, science and history. In my study of "Biblical" archaeology I have not found any evidence for the historicity (another funny word!) of the OT. I have discovered Jesus to be the perrennial Godman myth, ubiquitous in that part of the world. ( I like 'ubiquitous' Such an odd way to say omnipresent).
  
  I haven't read your post concerning conflict myth in Exodus, but I have read other accounts and find them very helpful in understanding the world of that epoch. An epic of an epoch, eh?
  
  I do think the Apostle Paul was an historical figure, but only a few of his epistles are genuine, as you already know. However, I also have concluded he was a Gnostic.
  
  Thanks for the post.
  Nathan
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  27

  jehovah witnesses is not a religon it is a cult

  by dude in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  jw's are in a cult just so the watchtower can make some money, they dont care about anyone or let them do anything, all they want is money whomever is still in this religon that is considered a sheep will in fact get killed when this so called armageddon will happen which it hasn't since the first time they predicted in the year 1914, but i got a prediction the downfall of your so called religon will happen in the next 10 to 15 years

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  Nate Merit

  One mans 'cult' is another mans religion. 'Cult' is simply a synonym for religion. It is used in this sense by all religious scholars. Fundiots began applying the term to religions they didn't like back in the sixties. I was there. Main Entry: cult Pronunciation: 'k&lt Function: noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate -- more at WHEEL 1 : formal religious veneration : WORSHIP 2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents 3 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults> 4 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion - cul·tic / 'k&l-tik / adjective - cult·ish / -tish / adjective - cult·ish·ly / -lE / adverb - cult·ish·ness / -n&s / noun - cult·ism / 'k&l-"ti-z&m / noun - cult·ist / 'k&l-tist / noun - cult·like / -"lIk / adjective

  
  

  For More Information on "cult" go to Britannica.com Get the Top 10 Search Results for "cult"
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  19

  Theocratic Warfare: Is It Still Practiced?

  by Nate Merit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was "in the truth" for about four years and was disfellowshipped thirty-three years ago at the age of nineteen.

  when i became involved, at age fifteen, i was taught 'theocratic warfare' which is 'lying for the truth.

  ' it really didn't bother me until i was several years older and became more introspective.

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  Nate Merit

  Thats quite a quote! I think I'd be concerned with bugging devices if I were him.
  
  Can you please explain to me how to put quotations into boxes?
  

  Nate
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  16

  A Male's Brain?

  by Darth Yhwh in

  1. social
  2. humour

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  (image removed).

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  Nate Merit

  Stand a few feet from your screen so you cannot make out the human figures, and it becomes even more of a male brain. "Squirming like a toad."
  
  Nate
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  24

  CS Lewis Quotations

  by LittleToe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  what resonates with you?every war, every famine or plague, almost every deathbed, is the monument to a petition that was not granted.. .

  c. s. lewis, letters to malcolm: chiefly on prayer, a harvest/hbj book, 1963, 1964, p. 58..

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  Nate Merit

  "But there is worse to come. `Say what you like' we shall be told, `the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.' It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. …The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. …The facts, then, are these: that Jesus professed himself (in some sense) ignorant, and within a moment showed that he really was so." World's Last Night, CS Lewis, Harcourt & Brace, NY 1988 pp 97-100, emphasis mine
  
  Taken from my best buds website www.jcnot4me.com Nate
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  37

  The Watchtower's Unbalanced View of the Internet

  by VM44 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in articles concerning the internet, some of which have been titled "a balanced view of the internet", the watchtower devotes the first paragraph or two to the benefits that the internet offers and has provided.

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  then for the rest of the article they go on and on about the dangers and evils of the internet.. they have been consistent in writing in this manner in all the articles they have written concerning the internet.. can the watchtower itself truly be said to have a "balanced" view of the internet?.

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  Nate Merit

  No, they do not and cannot have a balanced view of the internet. The internet, with its free flow of information and inquiry, is the stuff of nightmares for the Brooklyn Oracles! The internet will be the undoing of the WTBTS in the USA and other developed countries with internet access.
  
  Nate