DT

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Posts by DT

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  1

  Novella is done

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the complete text of my novella "armageddon's slaves" is now posted on my blog.

  i created my own religion for this, as i want it to be about more than one religion.

  i'm sure you'll find a lot that feels familiar.

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  DT

  Congratulations on finishing your novella. It sounds interesting.

  
  

  Are there any plans to produce an ebook or print version?
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  4

  The Man Who Hated Paradise

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  impressions after lost horizon, by james hilton.

  the valley of the blue moon, a verdant and slightly concave sprawling hollow at the foot of the largest snow-capped rock i ever laid eyes on, is not home to me, nor ever shall it be.

  had i entered paradise under my own steam -- not kidnapped -- i daresay my impressions of utopia would be immeasurably more favorable.. for a certainty, i long for the hustle, the bustle, the din of my dirty and lusty city by the bay, whose roots sink deep into the ancient mire of human folly and wanton avarice.

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  DT

  I read Lost Horizon when I was a young JW. I found the depiction of Shangri-La to be quite appealing. Now that I'm older, my opinion is closer to what you have written.

  
  

  "I have neither desire nor need for a perfect state of affairs and a seeming comfort that coddle the body but eat the soul."

  
  

  Well said. Your words could apply just as well to the JW panda petting paradise.
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  FeelingFree and Slidin Fast,

  
  

  Thank you for the comments and words of encouragement.

  
  

  Compound Complex,

  
  

  Yes, that does describe much of what I tried to do with the novel.

  
  

  Something that kept coming up in my research was a number of Bible characters who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Later, there are indications and predictions in the Bible and elsewhere that these characters will return around the time of the end. I played around with these ideas and offered some fictional explanations for what was going on behind the scenes.

  
  

  Of course, Rutherford also predicted the return of the ancient worthies. I plan on incorporating that in the second book
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  I'm running another free promotion on Amazon. The ebook version will be free until Friday, July 1.

  
  

  https://www.amazon.com/Great-Apocalypse-Sparlock-Multiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B011M755CC
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  Thank you, compound complex.

  
  

  As for backstory, this novel has had numerous sources of inspiration. The infamous "Summer of Sparlock" in 2012 caused me to begin to think about some of the themes I would later use in the book. As I did further research, I learned of how many of these ideas have permeated our myths, legends, and symbolism throughout history.

  
  

  I discovered a purple-clad rebel from Jewish legend who reminded me of Sparlock the Warrior Wizard. This rebel also appears in the Bible and Gnostic writings and has had an important influence over significant historical events such as the Protestant Reformation. I even discovered that two of the characters associated with his story were named Caleb and a Sophia. I couldn't help but to have some fun with these odd coincidences.

  
  

  Setting the story within the context of a multiverse allowed me to leave the existing mythology of Sparlock mostly unchanged while presenting dramatic events in a parallel world that expand upon those themes. However, the multiverse isn't just a plot device. The idea of traveling to other realms or worlds is integral to many of the myths and legends that appear in the novel.

  
  

  In addition to exploring certain aspects of cultural and religious history, the three novels of the Sparlock Trilogy will take a sequential look at the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The first book focused on the predictions of the Millerites and Charles Taze Russell. The second book will introduce Joseph Rutherford, and the third book will include later developments in the organization.

  
  

  Well, that's a general overview. I also did an author interview where I discussed the backstory of the novel in greater depth.

  
  

  http://proofpositive.com/interviews/daniel-thompson-author/
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  This is the last day of the free promotion, so there is still some time to grab a copy.
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  For now, I'm distributing the book exclusively through Amazon. That allows me to run special promotions and have the book available in their lending library. However, I plan to eventually change my marketing plan and also sell the book on the other popular sites.
• 
  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  Neat blue dog, thank you for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I'm working hard on the sequel, but it will take a while. The second book will examine the influence and teachings of Joseph Rutherford and will feature action scenes in a variety of exotic locations and dark deeds from the distant past.
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  9

  Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: Religious Shunning and the free exercise clause

  by defender of truth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the following link is to a pdf file found on the penn law legal scholarship repository website.. " the penn law legal scholarship repository is the institutional repository of the university of pennsylvania law school.

  its purpose is to collect and preserve the scholarly output of penn law.

  http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/.

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  DT

  That is a fascinating article. I have seen some of those arguments debated on this forum, but it was great to see a thorough and scholarly discussion of these issues.

  
  

  I think that part of the problem is that it is much easier for a court to dismiss a case based on the idea of preserving the rights of a religious organization than to interfere in the interest of preserving the legal rights of the individual.

  
  

  It would take a clever lawyer to overcome that hurdle, but I could see it happen in certain shunning cases if the lawyer puts the proper emphasis on individual rights.

  
  

  I'm not religious, but I believe in the value of personal religious liberties. I resent that the courts have so consistently favored the rights of organizations over the rights of individuals. The result is that if a person tries to exercise his freedom of religion by joining a religion, then he must surrender some his rights to the religion itself, according to the way the courts have been deciding these kinds of cases.

  
  

  It makes little difference if the religion is moderate and tolerant. The religion can arbitrarily change its policies and the courts will be unlikely to intervene if this harms the members or interferes with their right to leave freely.

  
  

  I also think it's necessary to distinguish between a person's right to shun and the enforcement of shunning policies by church leaders. I don't think the courts should interfere with personal shunning, but there should be a legal remedy if someone uses his influence to compel others to shun. So an elder, for example, should be free to shun a former member, but if he sits on a judicial committee and punishes a current member for associating with a former member, then he should be held liable if his actions can be shown to interfere with the rights of others.

  
  
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  13

  A Novel Featuring the Millerites, Charles Taze Russell, and Their End Time Prophecies

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to let you know that i'm giving away the ebook version of the great apocalypse on amazon until april 8th.

  http://www.amazon.com/great-apocalypse-sparlock-multiverse-book-ebook/dp/b011m755cc.

  this philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former jehovah's witnesses.

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  DT

  I wanted to let you know that I'm giving away the ebook version of The Great Apocalypse on Amazon until April 8th.

  
  

  http://www.amazon.com/Great-Apocalypse-Sparlock-Multiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B011M755CC
  

  
  

  This philosophical thriller deals with several themes that will be familiar to former Jehovah's Witnesses. Please feel free to download a copy if you have not yet done so.