Posts by Nathan Natas

20

Dodgy poetry

by Gargamel in

it is a stretch to call my dodgy poetry 'entertainment' but i wasn't sure where else to put it.. .

self-fulfilling prophecy.

precipitation.

Nathan Natas

Roses are red,

After reading your poetry my eardrums burst

alas, I can still read.

The pain, the pain, the pain!

135

I've been found out!

by pale.emperor in

well, thats it folks.. my identity on here has been rumbled and reported to the elders.

someone, somehow, has figured out that im a member of this site and - rather than speak to me - has promptly reported me to the elders.

i just feel sad for my daughter.

Nathan Natas

I just read your first post.

Are you serious? You did everything except give us your real name!

Your poor "strategery" is the reason you were found out. Take personal responsibility for your misteaks.

(Yes, that was intentional. DUH.)

19

Disfellowshipped ex-wife Dies - Now What?

by snugglebunny in

it was a shock despite us being divorced for over 40 years.

my son from that marriage phoned me with the news of sandra's death a couple of days ago, followed by my daughter.. sandra was one of 5 siblings.

the other 4 are still jw's.

1930s Vertical Phonograph for Bethelites and Pioneers- of passing interest.

by Balaamsass2 in

just thought this might be of passing interest to a few members.

we were unpacking some estate items from a 1930s bethelite and were confounded by his vertical phonograph.

lots of old rutherford books, and some trashed rutherford records, but the phonograph was something to behold.

Nathan Natas

Some recordings are archived here: http://www.freeminds.org/wav/wav.htm

133

Why Are You Here?

by Believer in

i'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.

as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.

Nathan Natas

I am here to serve you.

Would you like some atheism with that?

"When persons are in great danger from a source that they do not suspect or are being misled by those they consider their friends, is it an unkindness to warn them? They may prefer not to believe the warning. They may even resent it. But does that free one from the moral responsibility to give that warning? - THE WATCHTOWER January 15,1974"

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

Nathan Natas

Religion has been described as "the opium of the masses." What does that mean?

Life is filled with pain; physical pain, emotional pain, and "phantom" pain caused by defects in our nervous system.

Opium is a pain killer.

"Metaphysical opium" (religion) soothes the existential ache and help us sleep at night without worrying about all the threats challenging us.

It is difficult and unrewarding to face the reality of existence. "Happily ever after" does not last. Everything ends eventually. We are star-stuff, contemplating the irony of our being.

9

Fact : 1 We live in the 21st Century Fact : 2 Why do we tolerate Religions of yesteryear that dominate ,interfere with our progress

by smiddy in

jw
friends

why in this 21st century are we still cow towing to religions that are based in the distant past, of thousands of years ago , whether it be christian islam or whatever.?

and not to restrict it to just those two , but all ancient religions.. all of them are hypocritical , on the one hand rejecting modern day society and it`s technology and on the other hand embracing it for their own advantage .. when is the human race ever going to rid itself of pie in the sky beliefs.?.

smiddy.

Nathan Natas

Your question might be alternatively phrased as, "We live in the 21st century; why do we still have six-year-olds?"

We are not all the same age, chronologically or experientially. It is not reasonable to expect OTHER PEOPLE to respond to things the same way YOU do.

Imagine that there is someone else - Carl Sagan, for example - who came to the same conclusion you did, but arrived there 20 years ahead of you. Are you willing to hoist yourself up for mockery because you failed to keep up with Carl Sagan? Of course not. So why should anyone else be hoisted because they failed to arrive at this destination at the same time you did?

Let the six-year-olds have their Santa Claus, their Easter Bunny, their risen Christ, their Buddha, their Shiva, Kali and Vishnu, even their Allah, as long as they're not killing all the other kids in the sandbox in his name.

"Allah-hu FUBAR!"

So, to answer your question, "When is the human race ever going to rid itself of pie in the sky beliefs?"

Not for a very long time, possibly never. Our Monkey brains came from the "half-price" counter at Radio Shack; there is only so much we can ask of them.

51

My son is not sure about what he has been taught about the common ancestor

by KateWild in

this week my son expressed he is agnostic as he is not sure what to believe about evolution and the common ancestor.. i thought any jw hang ups were gone.

i told him that what they teach in school is trustworthy and he can be rest assured that there is evidence to support that the common ancestor was the real link to the evolution of humans.. he has got critical thinking skills.

and responded with "for hundreds of years schools have been teaching things and have changed their thoughts".

Nathan Natas

KateWild said, "My point about the amoeba is that it's in cofty's thread which I don't understand which is not high school biology."

You're right Kate, that is not High School Biology - it is JUNIOR High School (now called "Middle School" in the USA) Biology - or it was when I went to Junior High School in 1964. By the way, Gene Simmons of KISS attended the same school!

Where is this backwards High School you complain about? I strongly suspect that it is either not within the borders of the USA or it is an American school that has been lobotomized by political correctness and new-age junk science.

11

The Bunker

by TimeBandit in

jw
friends

i ran across this cool video.

i think it's a parody on some recent jw video series or something.

i'm not up to date on jw news and such.

Nathan Natas

Excellent!

I'm going to post a link to one of my favorites...

30

Simon: What happens when you can no longer support this site?

by StephaneLaliberte in

hey simon, .

the recent closure of jwr made me realize that this site may not be eternal as well.

a great deal of people attach a lot of importance to xjw communities and yours is the best.

Nathan Natas

Richard had a library that possibly was only exceeded by the Watchtower archives in Brooklyn. There are a handful of Watchtower archivists across the country, and Richard was well-known and respected by them. Fortunately Richard's library was passed to a person very well known for their own extensive research. I'll let them comment if they wish to identify themselves.

I would like to add a comment. Simon said, "In case anyone is worried, I'm feeling OK."

And may you continue to do so, Sir. But as you probably know, Richard suffered a series of strokes during his adult life as a result of being hit by a truck while crossing the street one day. The strokes gave him his trademarked gravelly voice. Prior to that he had a wonderful public speaking voice, I've been told. Maybe we'll get to hear a recording of him someday... (a few do exist).

Undoubtedly Richard was glad to have survived the initial accident, and his feeling of invulnerability might have been enhanced as he survived a number of additional strokes over time. But he went to sleep one night feeling fine and didn't wake up the next morning.

It is GREAT that you feel well now Simon; it's a perfect time to prepare a will.