Doug Mason

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Posts by Doug Mason

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  8

  Researching the "The Origin of Life" brochure

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am preparing a critique that looks at the 51 instances the wts's brochure "the origin of life" uses scientists.. without preempting what i am looking for, i will appreciate your thoughts on the following endnotes: 7, 12, 17, 21, 23.. i need you to read what the brochure's author wrote and then compare that with the source.. thanks,.

  doug.

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  Doug Mason

  Thank you LeeT for taking the time and making the effort.

  Again I have saved your contribution to my computer where I can study it better.

  I appreciate your help,,

  Doug
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  50

  Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

  by sweetyj in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

  but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

  i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

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  Doug Mason

  Sea Breeze,

  "The wages of sin is death".

  My understanding is that according to the Biblical narrative, Cain was the first sinner, and his action certainly resulted in death.

  Adam and Eve were simply prevented from accessing the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Bad. In other words, they were refused access to the knowledge of everything, which would have made them the same as the gods.

  Doug
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  50

  Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

  by sweetyj in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

  but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

  i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

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  Doug Mason

  I had not looked into this "stake versus cross" debate for some years (decades).

  At the time, my understanding was that the WTS said the merits of Jesus' death were applied solely to the 144,000. They appeared to confirm this wit their practice at their annual "Memorial". Is this still the case?

  Secondly, I cannot comprehend their "Ransom" reasoning. If Jesus's death paid a price, to whom does the WTS say it was paid? Who was holding them captive? After having the Ransom paid, can it still be forfeited and the payment returned?

  If you would like to see the pictures from Justus Lipsius' book that the NWT used to cite in its NWT:

  https://jwstudies.com/Pictures_from_Lipsius_de_Cruce_Liber_Primus.pdf

  I guarantee that these are genuine, as I had them copied in the 1970s from an original book held at the Victorian State Library in Melbourne, Australia.

  Doug
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  50

  Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

  by sweetyj in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

  but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

  i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

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  Doug Mason

  Leo's answer reminded me of my regular complaint that Jesus was not "impaled". Justsus Lipsius illustrates impalement, with the pole entering the anus and exiting the mouth.

  Have they dropped the term "impale"? I guess theirs is more like pole dancing than impalement.

  Doug
• 
  50

  Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

  by sweetyj in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

  but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

  i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

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  2. 
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  Doug Mason

  They don't worship a cross?

  But do they worship a pole?

  Surely it was the death that mattered, not the implement.

  The early NWT NT had pictures from Justus Lipsius showing a stake being used. I have a 1950 edition and it's on page 770.

  They did not tell its readers that the book by Justus Lipsius has pictures of several methods (Andrews Cross, upside down, etc., etc.) and that Lipsius "preferred" the conventional cross.

  Doug
• 
  8

  Researching the "The Origin of Life" brochure

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am preparing a critique that looks at the 51 instances the wts's brochure "the origin of life" uses scientists.. without preempting what i am looking for, i will appreciate your thoughts on the following endnotes: 7, 12, 17, 21, 23.. i need you to read what the brochure's author wrote and then compare that with the source.. thanks,.

  doug.

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  Doug Mason

  I apologise, but I had not wanted to force the direction of any research.

  I need to make myself less obscure.

  I will appreciate being able to verify whether my findings are correct. Perhaps I have missed something, and I need to make certain I am correct regarding these Endnotes to “The Origin of Life”.

  Doug

  ======

  Endnote 7

  The link provided at Endnote 7 brings up the article by Steven Schultz. Not one of the brochure’s reference words, including: cells, bone, blood, or trillion, appears in the article.

  ======

  Endnote 12

  Neither the expression “several hundred thousand different kinds” or anything like it, or parts of it, appears in the 7-page article referenced as Endnote 12. The word “million” appears only once.

  ======

  Endnote 17

  Key word attributed by the brochure at Endnote 17 that do not appear in the Berkeley Lab article include: carries, chance, coded, design, evidence, instructions, transmits, and undirected.

  https://www2.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/LSD-molecular-DNA.html

  https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2006/07/17/molecular-dna-switch-found-to-be-the-same-for-all-life/

  ======

  Endnote 21

  The following words do not appear in this article listed as Endnote 21: dense, information, teaspoonful, instructions, building, 350, humans, alive, today, seven, billion, people, living, earth, barely, make, film, teaspoon.

  ======

  Endnote 23:

  The passage attributed to Alberts does not mention the “origin of life” or identifying life’s origin.

  I could only locate the Third Edition (2009) so I cannot vouch with precision whether the claimed passage appears in the Second Edition. Page 201 of the online Third Edition does not contain the claimed text.

  The sole appearance of the word “rungs” is at page 234: “Bases in other configurations are indicated by broken rungs”.

  Possibly the closest I could find to the passage in the brochure is:

  DNA replication in bacterial and eucaryotic chromosomes is therefore termed bidirectional. The forks move very rapidly—at about 1000 nucleotide pairs per second in bacteria and 100 nucleotide pairs per second in humans. The slower rate of fork movement in humans (indeed, in all eucaryotes) may be due to the difficulties in replicating DNA through the more complex chromatin structure found in these organisms. (Alberts, Bruce (2004). Essential Cell Biology: Third Edition, page 203, online edition)

  I could not locate the expression: “enzyme machinery”. Any assistance with locating the passages in Alberts’ books that are presented by the brochure will be greatly appreciated.
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  11

  Why do JWs reject the 587/586 BCE date?

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i do not want this to develop into another discussion on "607 bce date is wrong".. when the a-e section of "aid to bible understanding" was published, i was able to show that the article on "chronology" employed deceptive techniques when it cited its sources.

  whenever i provided jws the evidence in print, it was like water off a duck's back.

  "the brothers in brooklyn have done all the research, write to them", they would tell me.. i soon recognised that the jws followed the wts because of who it claimed to be.. it became clear that another, stronger force existed--the impact of shunning with the loss of close friendships and with the impact on their family relationships.. one could only stand by with concern thinking of the impact of the cognitive dissonance and observing the regular changes requiring lock-step obedience.

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  Doug Mason

  I do not want this to develop into another discussion on "607 BCE date is wrong".

  When the A-E section of "Aid to Bible Understanding" was published, I was able to show that the article on "Chronology" employed deceptive techniques when it cited its sources. Whenever I provided JWs the evidence in print, it was like water off a duck's back. "The brothers in Brooklyn have done all the research, write to them", they would tell me.

  I soon recognised that the JWs followed the WTS because of who it claimed to be.

  It became clear that another, stronger force existed--the impact of shunning with the loss of close friendships and with the impact on their family relationships.

  One could only stand by with concern thinking of the impact of the cognitive dissonance and observing the regular changes requiring lock-step obedience. What was anathema one day became orthodoxy, only to become anathema once more

  I now see a reason why the JWs I knew would look forward to changes, probably with the hope that their internal beliefs had become policy.

  Today we see the same, with the WTS being deemed "celebrated scholars". The scenario has not changed.

  I can only guess that those JWs who keep in contact with the WTS's "chronology guru" (RF) would be concerned at his personal opprobrium should any of his fans openly disavow him.

  Doug
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  62

  Evolution - A Conversation with Alex Williams

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  alex - thank you for your offer to have a conversation about evolution.. i accept the scientific evidence that all life - including humans - evolved from a common ancestor through unguided evolution over millions of years.

  this isn't even a controversial position in the scientific community.. the evidence rests on the data from many interconnected fields including paleontology, comparative anatomy, geology and especially genetics.

  it is no exaggeration to say that the evidence for your own non-human ancestry is contained in every cell in your body.. it is my experience that jws are generally quite ignorant (not in a pejorative sense) of the scientific case.

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  Doug Mason

  Alex,

  How does creation "testify to Jehovah's eternal power?"

  It could just as easily testify that dozens of gods were involved.

  Is proof decided by subjective, emotive opinion?

  So this "eternal power" spoke and suddenly there was "something" when previously there was nothing. Is that more reasonable than science?

  Evolution is seen today in the constant changes in bacteria and viruses, causing science to constantly develop new tools to combat them. This is making mankind today's greatest influence on evolution.

  Doug
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  8

  Researching the "The Origin of Life" brochure

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am preparing a critique that looks at the 51 instances the wts's brochure "the origin of life" uses scientists.. without preempting what i am looking for, i will appreciate your thoughts on the following endnotes: 7, 12, 17, 21, 23.. i need you to read what the brochure's author wrote and then compare that with the source.. thanks,.

  doug.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  Doug Mason

  Wow, LeeT, Thank you.

  I have saved your information to my computer and I will go through it very carefully and meticulously..

  Thank you!

  Doug
• 
  4

  New Jerusalem finds are evidence of Babylonian siege, archaeologists say

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-jerusalem-finds-are-evidence-of-babylonian-siege-archaeologists-say/ .

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  Doug Mason

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-jerusalem-finds-are-evidence-of-babylonian-siege-archaeologists-say/