Posts by Nickolas

86

Sleeping with the enemy

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i have been wondering of late about the extent to which jwn's minions (one of whom i am beginning to see myself to some extent) differentiate the machine from its parts.

what i mean is, what degree of separation is discerned between the watchtower bible and tract society and its individual members?.

henry milner, who is a polical scientist at the university of montreal, posits that those who rely heavily on the internet for their information ultimately become dogmatic.

Yes, trailerfitter, I am atheist, but only a fairly recent arrival, so to speak. It took me a long time and a lot of research and thinking to get to where I am. As has been pointed out already, however, atheism will not be an effective position from which to turn your wife around. She is seeking answers and the Watchtower is providing them. She does not yet realise that the Watchtower will not allow her to ask her own questions or question the answers they provide her.

If you can exert an influence on the matter, delay your wife's decision to get baptised. As you will discern from reading the comments in this thread, baptism is a game changer. Ask her for a time out so that you can collect your thoughts on the dynamic that is coming between you - and make no mistake, a wedge is being driven between you and the Watchtower is about to become the third party in your marriage and in your marriage bed. It has great potential to destroy your marriage. Get hold of and read Captives of a Concept by Don Cameron. It is a quick read and does an excellent job of demolishing the Watchtower's claim as God's Organisation. Go from there, and the best of luck.

86

Sleeping with the enemy

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i have been wondering of late about the extent to which jwn's minions (one of whom i am beginning to see myself to some extent) differentiate the machine from its parts.

what i mean is, what degree of separation is discerned between the watchtower bible and tract society and its individual members?.

henry milner, who is a polical scientist at the university of montreal, posits that those who rely heavily on the internet for their information ultimately become dogmatic.

Nickolas

Another arrow in my quiver. Thank you, Shelby.

Quendi, your lucid take on things is probably close to hitting the mark, if it doesn't actually hit it square on. I've been thinking about parallels, specifically post-war attitudes towards peoples who were enemies. I was born in 1952 and the second world war had been over for 7 years. By the time I was old enough to take notice and understand prejudice it was the early 60's and there were still hard feelings felt toward Germans who had emigrated after the war and, indeed, the country was still occupied by the armies of the victors. But my best friend who was just 4 days younger than I was of German decent and there was no memory for us of what had transpired between our parents. His father had been in the SS in Hungary and Poland and my father in the Royal Canadian Navy chasing and destroying U-boats in the North Atlantic. His father and mine were civil toward one another but probably said no more than a dozen words in conversation. Intense memories are for a lifetime. It really took a generation for the bile to clear out of the mouths of people who had suffered because of what the German people took part in during the 30's and 40's. But it was only the German people, the "rank and file" if you will, who were forgiven and with whom relations were normalised. The Nazi leadership of the German people, and to some extent the rank and file who did their heinous bidding, were never forgiven but vilified and to the extent allowed by evidence and law eradicated. Perhaps something of the same dynamic happens between former and active Jehovah's Witnesses.

91

Awake! November 2011 - correct cover

by processor in

there was an error on the latest awake!

cover.

here is the correct version.. .

Nickolas

If you have ever thought of the idea of an aeroplane flying then i am sure you would be trully fascinated about how magnificent it is, i mean with all that weight, but it does work right?. so you never know until you try.

Ok, bioflex, one last word from me to you. No, I would investigate the physics behind how the plane flies, and once I comprehended Bernoulli's Principle, I would understand why the plane flies and it would no longer be a mystery to me. Similarly, I would investigate the dynamic behind the existence of life, and once I comprehended evolution through natural selection it too would no longer be a mystery to me. With respect, bioflex, you have not done this with your thoughts and beliefs. Evolution through natural selection is incomprehensible to you and you default to creation and intelligent design. That the evidence supporting evolution is so overwhelmingly great holds no water with you, because you don't believe it. And you don't believe it for two key reasons. One, you don't want to believe it and, two, you will not take the time to consider it, because of reason #1. You claim to be learning, but are you? You can't learn if your mind is already made up.

10

The evolution of the WT tyrant...

by Aussie Oz in

jw
friends

musing the other day...this is my take on the evolution of the watchtower.. once upon a time, i am sure old charles really was a believer...i reckon he probably still was when he died in his toga too, although perhaps somewhat befuddled that his cherished predictions were as successful as 'father' miller's were.

and by then he seemed to have inadvertantly started a sort of non organized organization that he could hide the $$ that came his way as a sort of bonus from the lord.. perhaps rutherford, i should say,''rogueford'', was a believer too at some point.

but some time after russel booted him out of bethel his inner killer instinct surfaced...waiting for the old man to pop his clogs.

Nickolas

Don Adams, I believe, is the current president.

91

Awake! November 2011 - correct cover

by processor in

there was an error on the latest awake!

cover.

here is the correct version.. .

Nickolas

good bye, bioflex. No more playing with ignorant trolls for me today. You are just like the smug 15-year-old highschool freshman who smirks at his 60-year-old biology teacher when she tries to enlighten him about life on earth. You know it all without having had the benefit of studying even the the most basic fundamentals. You are intellectually lost. I have nothing to teach you.

86

Sleeping with the enemy

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i have been wondering of late about the extent to which jwn's minions (one of whom i am beginning to see myself to some extent) differentiate the machine from its parts.

what i mean is, what degree of separation is discerned between the watchtower bible and tract society and its individual members?.

henry milner, who is a polical scientist at the university of montreal, posits that those who rely heavily on the internet for their information ultimately become dogmatic.

Nickolas

My guess is that your guess is not a guess but an observation.

86

Sleeping with the enemy

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i have been wondering of late about the extent to which jwn's minions (one of whom i am beginning to see myself to some extent) differentiate the machine from its parts.

what i mean is, what degree of separation is discerned between the watchtower bible and tract society and its individual members?.

henry milner, who is a polical scientist at the university of montreal, posits that those who rely heavily on the internet for their information ultimately become dogmatic.

Nickolas

Do you liquor them up at all?

Actually, yes, but it is not a difficult sell. If I might be permitted to exercise a little bit of generalisation in a thread I have started that poo-poos it, most of the Jehovah's Witnesses with whom I associate do not turn their noses up at alcohol. That's good, because neither do I.

86

Sleeping with the enemy

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i have been wondering of late about the extent to which jwn's minions (one of whom i am beginning to see myself to some extent) differentiate the machine from its parts.

what i mean is, what degree of separation is discerned between the watchtower bible and tract society and its individual members?.

henry milner, who is a polical scientist at the university of montreal, posits that those who rely heavily on the internet for their information ultimately become dogmatic.

Nickolas

Same page, I think, unshackled.

You are a wise man, OUTLAW. Wiser than your wisecracks (which often provide a tough old blister with a rare belly laugh) might indicate. As much as I try not to be careless about declaring an understanding of something, I think I understand why you have persevered so long in here.

Sab I can conceptualise what you are saying. Maybe I am perceived as big game, but my amour is too thick for their arrows. The people who are Jehovah's Witnesses who are also in my circle of concern know that. That some of them still try to penetrate it doesn't bother me. They're not going to succeed. Others know they are not going to succeed, but they stay in my circle regardless. They're making a choice, even as much as they may be rationalising it by telling themselves they're working toward recruiting me. I've been doing the same thing with them. Stalemate, but we still get along.

22

Mass Apostasy- Sign of the Lords presence

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

this quote is from the watchtower 1980 8/1.

"are you profoundly shocked and unduly disturbed when you see or hear of a christian you know yielding to doubts, cooling off and perhaps even becoming rebellious to the point of deserting the christian congregation and trying to draw others away with him?

if so, you may be comforted in knowing that, sad as such occurrences may be, the scriptures forewarn us that they will happen.. among the various causes of apostasy, one of the foremost is unquestionably a lackoffaith through doubt.

Nickolas

Self fulfilling prophecy is the definition of a magic trick, right? An illusion is as good as the real thing in some cases

Indeed it is, sab.

22

Mass Apostasy- Sign of the Lords presence

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

this quote is from the watchtower 1980 8/1.

"are you profoundly shocked and unduly disturbed when you see or hear of a christian you know yielding to doubts, cooling off and perhaps even becoming rebellious to the point of deserting the christian congregation and trying to draw others away with him?

if so, you may be comforted in knowing that, sad as such occurrences may be, the scriptures forewarn us that they will happen.. among the various causes of apostasy, one of the foremost is unquestionably a lackoffaith through doubt.

Nickolas

It would bother me too, NRFG, if it wasn't all psychological bullshit. All the negative implications of leaving the Watchtower or any other Christian sect are driven by the sect itself. Self fulfilling prophesy is not miraculous but is manipulation.