Posts by Nathan Natas

27

What Are The Best Threads Here On JWN?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are there any type of threads that you especially enjoy?

.

are there any specific threads or posters that you look out for?.

Nathan Natas

Dear Watchtower Forum,

I always believed that the experiences of pioneers and missionaries were either entirely made up or generously enhanced with the help of Jehovah's Magic Spirit. Then, one day while I happened to be on vacation in an area where the need is greater, I met a young woman who had been praying for release from the bonds that held her in captivity.

It was a pleasant day; the sun was shining and the birds where singing their praises to The Creator. I was on my way to the local liquor store to get myself another jug of "Judgement Joe's Ethyl Elixir" when I heard her soft voice gently call out to me. "Sir... oh, Sir" she breathed. "I was wondering if you would baptize me?"

...

I will never again doubt the experiences I find related in Watchtower Forum magazine. I have submitted my own application to serve where the need is greater. I am sure you will hear from me again.

- Brother Faithfully Longpants, Long Island, New York

13

New Article: Jehovah's Witnesses and Chosen Ignorance

by daringhart13 in

would love your feedback.

thanks gang!.

http://darrinhart.hubpages.com/hub/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-chosen-path-of-ignorance .

Nathan Natas

Right on, right on, right on!

80

My Experience and how I finally let myself see the truth

by OneEyedJoe in

first off - for those lurkers who feel guilty just for being on this site and reading this (even if you don't read any further, as it is your right to choose that course) i want you to know that you're not alone in what you're going through or in what you are feeling.

if you read on, i hope my experience may be of some small help to you.. this may be long, but i'll try to organize it in a way that doesn't make it painful to read.

to start, i feel it is most beneficial if i'm upfront and honest with my goals from posting this, which are (in order of the degree to which they motivated me):.

Nathan Natas

To OneEyedJoe and those who see a bit of themselves in OEJoe: First, welcome! You honor us by your presence here.

OEJoe said, and probably many others feel similarly, that he feels no anger against the WTB&TS or Jehovah's Witnesses.

THAT is because you are still captives of the Borg, most likely to a greater degree than you can now imagine. You are going along with the Watchtower's teaching that anger against "God's people" is wrong. Can you see this? No, probably not... yet.

YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO, AND THE LIARS ARE TELLING YOU THAT YOU OWE THEM A MEASURE OF CIVILITY; THAT YOU MUST FOLLOW THEIR RULES OF BEHAVIOR.

YOU have been wronged.

YOU are the injured party.

Once you come face-to-face with this incontrovertable FACT, you will find an almost overwhelming surge of energy - energy that, if you are wise, you will use to continue the work of the O so great a crowd of APOSTATES who no man could number, who have cleared a bit of the path that YOU have now begun to walk. Contribute your energy into making that path even more clear to those who will come after you in five, or ten, or twenty-five years.

The S. S. Watchtower is a sinking ship, but LOOK! There are men, women and children who need to be rescued! First though you must SAVE YOURSELF, then the one closest to you. You have started that work: continue it!

Advertise, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE that they are LIARS!

10

Brooklyn Bethel in the 1940 census

by dissonance_resolved in

jw
friends

prompted by another post, i looked up 124 columbia heights in the 1940 census.

a few interesting things: all occupants are listed as having the profession of "sell- religious books," except rutherford who is listed as an "editor.

" odd that they aren't listed as ministers.. also, all the educational levels of the occupants were provided- many had not even graduated high school and some not even grammar school.

Nathan Natas

OK, bsmart, consider this your correction.

Did you miss the part of the wikipedia article that said, " An able student, Covington worked his way through law school in San Antonio , successfully passing the Texas bar exam, with an impressively high score, one year before graduation. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1933"?

23

The Fossil Record: vs God Allowing Pain & Suffering

by Shanagirl in

what a man does with the fossil record tells a lot about his worldview.

is it the result of a world-covering deluge?

or did this sorry chronicle of pain, suffering, and death precede humans (and the reign of death) by millions of years?

Nathan Natas

I have been a fan of all The Fossils records since the beginning. I'm especially fond of their first hit, "Drag the Magic Puffin."

30

Serious subject - How to cut your alcohol consumption?

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

.

how can i cut down without going teetotal?

i love the taste of wine, i'm not fussed with other drinks but just need to rein in it a bit.. going wine-free tonight and tomorrow, as i'm out socially.. i also need to shift a few pounds.. thank you, everyone..

Nathan Natas

"I am drinking too much wine EVERY night - I blame it on the Borg!!"

As long as you blame a cybernetic collective from Star Trek you will be doomed to failure. You need to hide in wait for the bastard who is stocking your cellar with wine and kick his ass when he next appears.

You also need a change of paradigms; the FORCE will be with you, always.

10

Brooklyn Bethel in the 1940 census

by dissonance_resolved in

jw
friends

prompted by another post, i looked up 124 columbia heights in the 1940 census.

a few interesting things: all occupants are listed as having the profession of "sell- religious books," except rutherford who is listed as an "editor.

" odd that they aren't listed as ministers.. also, all the educational levels of the occupants were provided- many had not even graduated high school and some not even grammar school.

Nathan Natas

Wasn't Hayden Covington an attorney? How could he only have had 4 years of High School?

[see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_C._Covington]

25

Can & Do j.ws receive Welfare payments?

by Composer2005 in

can & do j.ws receive welfare payments?.

i would especially appreciate watchtower publications, articles etc if available, no matter how old?.

thank you.

Nathan Natas

More anecdotal evidence, if I may.

(The plural of "anecdote" is "data.")

When I was growing up in New York City, there was a period of about one year when my mother received assistance from the NYC Dept. of Welfare.

My mother was barely literate and barely numerate; a "perfect" JW, in other words. In credit to her, she found the experience humiliating and got off as soon as she was able to. I was there, I recall the experience.

219

An important difference between atheists and true believers

by Hortensia in

true believers, whether christian, muslim or whatever, want to convert you, they want you to believe what they do, and they're willing to go to extremes to make it happen.

atheists don't really care what you believe, and don't go out of their way to convert someone.. http://ow.ly/vn1jz an example of what believers in power do to suppress any difference in thought.

http://ow.ly/vraeo an example of why believers want to suppress different ideas (because they can't win in a fair fight, that's why).

Nathan Natas

I am an atheist.

To be "fair" to the true believers, who think they have something good to sell - "salvation" - atheists have NOTHING to sell (both literally and figuratively).

There are, of course "militant atheists" who feel threatened by believers and feel they need to win arguments against them.

I'm not a militant atheist. I describe myself as a "non-practicing atheist". It's an atheist KOAN; dig it?

I believe I have a true and accurate understanding of the nature of the universe. If I do, nothing can change that reality. Similarly, if Ahura-Mazda is really King of Kings and Lord of Lords, his position is not threatened by my disbelief.

Jehovah, on the other hand, is a bit different. He is insecure and craves - DEMANDS - worship. Without it he will wither and die, like the Forgotten nameless gods who came before him. That insecurity on the part of Jehovah-El-Allah is reflected in the minds of the persons whose brains he inhabits, which is why the Middle East is the bastion of peace and brotherhood that it is today.

37

Photography and HDR

by ILoveTTATT in

as i have mentioned before, i love photography, and specially a technique called hdr.

hdr stands for high dynamic range, and it means the ratio of the "lightness" of the lightest spot in the picture to the darkest.. .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/high-dynamic-range_imaging.

Nathan Natas

Regarding the co$t of digital cameras:

When Gillette introduced the "safety razor" - the one your grandpa used that took replaceable double-edged blades, called "safety" because with these blades properly installed in the handle you could not slash your throat inadvertently... but I digress. My point was that Gillette knew that if he priced the handles at a "bargain" price he would develop a great crowd of customers who would be committed to buying the disposable blades over and over and over and over again.

George Eastman had a similar insight when it came to popularizing photography for the masses. He sold the cameras at a relatively low price, knowing that those customers would have to buy film over and over and over and over again if they wanted to actually get photos out of the little magic box.

Now with digital photography the game is changed just a little. You don't have to buy film - the electronic detector is ALL THE FILM YOU WILL EVER NEED.

BUT! You DO need to buy bunches of batteries to keep those electronic circuits "alive." Note to self: devise a solar cell that can be used with digital cameras to reduce the amount spent on batteries.

But then there is night photography... LUNAR cells???